Bill in honor of the Conception Dive Boat Fire tragedy passes in the House of Representatives
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.– The Small Passenger Vessel Liability Fairness Act inspired by the 2019 Conception Dive Boat Fire and championed by Congressman Salud Carbajal passes in the House of Representatives.
The act would create a legal pathway to hold small passenger vessels responsible for damages in a boating accident. It would also increase the period for victims and family members to file claims to two years.
If passed into law the Small Vessel Liability Fairness Act would only apply to future incidents and not to past victims and boating crashes.
Representative Carbajal looks to the impact the act would have in the future.
“As I have made clear since March, I completely disagree with that line of thinking, especially when it comes to getting justice for victim’s families—but I believe fixing our laws for the future will be the best case for proving them wrong. I am actively exploring the pathway to building on today’s success by enabling restitution for the families of Conception victims that I have worked with and gotten to know over the past three years.”
