TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Legislation from Pinellas County lawmakers that makes it illegal for a vehicle to drive fast enough to create an "excessive wake" on flooded streets was passed by both chambers last week and only needs Gov. Ron Desantis’ signature to become law.

What You Need To Know

  • A bill regulating vehicle wakes on flooded streets passed both chambers of the Florida legislature last week 

  • The new law makes it illegal for vehicles to create an excessive wake when driving through floodwaters

  • The legislation will allow police will be able to issue citations with fines to violators  

  • Gov. Ron Desantis is expected to sign the bill, which will go into effect on July 1

“We got feedback from local law enforcement that they did not have the ability to deal with the situation,” said State Sen. Nick DiCeglie, a Republican from Indian Rocks Beach. “This bill simply allows the local government, local law enforcement, to address an issue.”

DiCeglie sponsored the bipartisan bill on the Senate side, while State Rep. Lindsay Cross, a Democrat from St. Petersburg, sponsored the House version. In order to get it passed, the proposed legislation was amended, which DiCeglie then tucked into Senate Bill 462, a larger transportation bill.

“It's always good to have the ability to translate a very specific issue, within a specific geographical area, in one's district and to translate that into solid legislation,” he said. “To help them not only this year but many, many years to come.”

Cross said she first heard about vehicles pushing water into residents’ homes in the Shore Acres and Riviera Bay neighborhoods during Tropical Storm Eta in 2000.

“This is an issue that goes back several years,” she said. “A time when residents really started to get impacted by having water flooding in the streets.”

Cross said she knows about cases where a resident’s home stayed dry during the storm, only to be flooded by a vehicle driving by.

“Cars, trucks, Jeeps, driving too fast, actually pushing a wake, pushing water into their homes, creating in some cases, tens of thousands of dollars of damage,” she said. “That wasn't caused by the rain or the flooding, but from people driving too fast on these flooded streets.”

Riviera Bay resident Kristen Detroia, 29, lives in an elevated home but her garage sits lower. Detroia said vehicles driving through flooded streets have pushed water into her garage and welcomes the new no wake law.

“Super excited," she said. "I think any anything that can help the city with any of the water issues here, the infrastructure the random people driving through on their joyrides, any help that we can get, I will take it. I'm very, very grateful for any of it.”

Representatives from the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said the departments support the no wake vehicle law.

Local governments in Louisiana and South Carolina were the first to adopt similar laws making it illegal to travel faster than 5 mph on flooded streets. DeSantis is expected to sign Florida’s legislation, which will go into effect on July 1.