Garbarino, LaLota Reintroduce Bill To Improve Boating Safety In Honor of Long Islander Brianna Lieneck

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-02) and Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY-01) reintroduced the Brianna Lieneck Boating Safety Act. The legislation directs the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to study and submit to Congress a report on recreational vessel operator education and training in order to improve boating safety and reduce the number of boating accidents that occur due to untrained boat operators. 

The legislation is named in honor of a young girl from Long Island who was killed in a tragic boating accident. In August 2005, a 25-foot boat driven by Steven Fleisher, an air traffic controller, collided with a boat carrying 11-year-old Brianna Lieneck and her family in the Great South Bay off the coast of Bay Shore. Brianna was killed, her parents suffered severe head and facial injuries, and her sister’s arm was nearly severed. Criminal charges of boating while intoxicated were dismissed. The driver did not have a boating license. Since then, her mother, Gina Lieneck, has advocated for mandatory licenses for all boaters.

“Many Long Islanders spend their summers enjoying boating and other water activities, but if we don’t proactively prioritize safety that’s when tragedies, like the one that befell the Lieneck family, happen,” said Rep. Garbarino. “According to the Coast Guard, boat operators who did not receive boating safety instruction were involved in 75% of fatal recreational boating accidents in 2023. This legislation would help eliminate these incidents and keep boaters on Long Island and around the country safe through education and training programs.”

Between 2018 and 2023, there have been 3,871 accidental boating deaths nationwide, according to data provided by the USCG. Boating deaths have remained consistent year over year, averaging between 560-760 deaths annually. USCG has determined alcohol to be a leading factor in boating deaths overall. 

“As a Navy man, boater, and Long Islander, I understand that increasing boating education and safety training will go a long way to preventing injuries and fatalities like what happened to Brianna Lieneck,” said Rep. LaLota. “Our legislation will save lives and ensure that families can safely enjoy our waters. I am proud to join my Long Island colleague in introducing this bill to keep more Americans safe.”

Specifically, the Brianna Lieneck Boating Safety Act would require the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to study and report to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation regarding recreational vessel operator training. The study and report shall include a review of Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron training programs, existing state boating education programs, and other hands-on training programs available to recreational vessel operators. Among other things, the legislation would also require the report to include:

• A section laying out steps the USCG and National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) have taken to encourage States to adopt mandatory recreational vessel operator training;
• A section outlining the minimum standards for education of recreational vessel operators;
• A section analyzing how the Coast Guard would administer a Federal boating education, training, and testing program, and;
• An analysis of the extent to which a Federal boating education, training, and testing program should be required for all waters of a State, including internal waters.

The full text of the bill can be found here.

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