A bill in Florida that would have imposed new policies regarding electrical inspections died before it ever saw a committee hearing, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Companion bills, House Bill 795 and Senate Bill 926, also referred to as the Calder Sloan Pool Safety Act, called for inspections of commercial pools by county health departments every five years; a disclosure statement about the potential hazards of high-voltage pool lights during the sale of a home; and the installation of underwater lights greater than 15 volts in new or existing residential or public swimming pools.

The bill stemmed from a grassroots effort by Chris Sloan to ban 120-volt pool lights following the tragic pool electrocution death of his 7-year-old son Calder Sloan in April 2014. Last fall, Miami-Dade and Broward counties enacted codes requiring low-voltage lights on new installations.

Although industry members supported the effort by the father to enact change in the name of safety, many suggested the language of the bill did not address the underlying problem.

“The bills are sort of a misdirected reaction to the Sloan tragedy,” said David Pruette, a member of the FSPA executive committee and an electrician specializing in pools. “We are not opposed to 12-volt lights, but we think the bills are going to the wrong source. If you make everything 12-volt, it doesn’t change how safe your pool is.”

While the father's campaign to have the bill passed failed, he was successful in getting an amendment added to a bill on building codes that would create the Calder Sloan Swimming Pool Electrical Safety Task Force, the news agency reported. The task force will work create new guidelines on pool and electrical safety.

The Sloan family currently is suing Pentair Aquatic Systems, which produced the light on their pool when their son was electrocuted. Also named in the suit is the service firm, All Florida Pool and Spa Center, which the family says worked on the pool weekly.

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