OKLAHOMA, USA — The Oklahoma House unanimously passed "Andy's Law", a bill that would require carbon monoxide poisoning warning stickers on motorized boats that operate in Oklahoma waters.
Originally HB2010, the bill was named by Rep. Dean Davis, R-Broken Arrow after Andrew Free, who died in 2020 of open-air carbon monoxide poisoning after wakeboarding with his family at Lake Eufaula. Free was nine-years-old when he died.
Cassi Free, Andrew's mom and a former teaching colleague of Davis, brought the need for the legislation to his attention after the death of her son. She was in the House gallery on March 8 to witness the bill's passage.
"Andy's death was shocking and heartbreaking not only to his family but also to our entire community," Davis said. "No parent should have to go through what my friends have endured.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gasoline-powered engines on boats, including onboard generators, produce carbon monoxide (CO), a colorless and odorless gas.
Carbon monoxide can poison or kill someone who inhales too much of it. The gas can build up near swim decks or water platforms and in the air spaces inside a boat. The CDC says every year at least 420 people die in the U.S. from accidental CO poisoning. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. visit the emergency department each year due to accidental CO poisoning.
"Andy's Law" would amend state statute to require certain boats and other water vessels to have a carbon monoxide warning sticker affixed in plain view to the interior of the vessel. The sticker and related literature would be developed by the Department of Public Safety and distributed by Service Oklahoma through annual boat registration or when a title is transferred.
The bill now moves to the state Senate where it is authored by Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry.
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