Florida Sen. Geraldine Thompson filed a bill aimed to work to improve theme park safety after Tyre Sampson’s death in Orlando

ORLANDO, Florida — In the state of Florida, a bill was introduced to work on different ways to make theme parks and amusement rides safer.

Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Windemere, filed the “Tyre Sampson Act” on Thursday. It would require “permanent amusement rides operated for the first time in this state after a certain date to have a ride commissioning and certification report on file with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services within a specified timeframe.”

SB 902 would let the department do inspections without notice for certain reasons. The bill would also change the situations in which “the owner or manager of an amusement ride is required to report an accident and in which the department may impound an amusement ride involved in an accident.”

Click here to read the full text of the bill.

Thompson met with Nikki Fried, who was the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture at the time, in November 2022 to talk about what was being done after 14-year-old Tyre Sampson died in Orlando.

Sampson, who was from Missouri and visiting Florida, fell off the FreeFall drop tower. This led to an investigation into the ride’s problems.

Fried said that one goal is to find the problems that they think directly led to the death of the teen. There are also other goals.

Thompson told WFTV, “I think that when people come to Central Florida and Florida in general, they need to know that there is accountability and that there are checks on how amusement rides are run.”

If the bill is passed, it would become law on July 1, 2023.