Gov. Rick Scott,

Please sign HB 41 into law. While it is only a small step to provide safety to our children, it is a necessary one. HB 41 is the Hazardous Walking Conditions Bill and is the first step to ending Florida's legacy of more student pedestrian walking deaths than any other state in the nation.

What HB 41 does do:

HB 41 requires local municipalities to report hazardous walking conditions that are not part of the 5 year county plan to the Department of Education along with the reason that it is not being fixed. This will allow state level assessment of conditions and if necessary, state and federal responses to fix them. In large, this bill provides the framework to gather the information necessary to fix the problems that may exist which are causing such a large number of our children in getting killed walking to and from school.

What HB 41 does NOT do:

1. HB 41 has no financial impact to the local municipality nor does it force the local community to address its hazardous conditions. In short, the bill does not mandate any changes.

2. HB 41 does not provide an undue burden on a local municipality. It only minimally clarifies what is considered a hazardous walking condition so storm drains are no longer considered safe walking condition. Retention ponds are still considered safe walking areas, so the bill is very minimal in the changes that it does purpose.

3. HB 41 does not place the school district or local municipality at a greater liability for lawsuits. Matter in fact, it further protects school districts from law suits that could result from placing children in life threatening situations, when doing so kills the children.