Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy has signed into law towing-age restrictions that require boat operators to be at least 16 years old when towing a person — called “Emily’s Law” — and require them to have passed safe-towing education and a safe-boating course.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association said Malloy signed the law this week after the state House, in memory of Emily Fedorko, the 16-year-old who was killed last summer in the waters off Greenwich, voted 144-0 to raise the minimum age to 16 for those piloting watercraft and towing skiers or tubers, according to the Connecticut Post.
It also will require safe-towing certifications. “Emily was very much loved in our town,” state Rep. Fred Camillo, R-Greenwich, told the newspaper.
The bill also prohibits boat owners from allowing those under 16 to operate vessels while engaged in water skiing. Fines would range from $60 to $250.
The bill grandfathers in those people who are under the age of 16 and have already obtained a safe-boating certificate, according to the NMMA newsletter, Currents. The boater operator age will remain at 12 years and older with education.
The law goes into effect October 1, 2015.
This post originally appeared here.
