To: Florida State Legislators and Representative Brad Yeager

My name is Leandra Mak. I am a Pasco County mother who lost my five-year-old daughter, Hannah, to a preventable safety failure.

Safety measures were required. Inspections were completed. On paper, everything passed.

In reality, the environment was not safe, and my daughter paid the price.

What happened to Hannah was not the result of a rare accident or a lack of rules. It exposed a dangerous gap between what inspections claim and what is actually safe. When inspections are treated as paperwork instead of protection, children are left vulnerable.

That is why I am asking Florida legislators to support Hannah’s Law.

Hannah’s Law is built on a simple, common-sense principle:

When a safety device is required, it must be shown to work. And when an inspection passes, it should mean a child is truly protected.

What Hannah’s Law Would Do

Hannah’s Law would strengthen child safety by requiring:

Functional testing of required child-safety devices at the time of inspection

Photographic or video documentation showing those devices working as intended

Clear accountability when inspections are negligent or misrepresented

Standardized inspection protocols for properties where children reside, including rental and multi-unit housing

These measures are practical, reasonable, and achievable. They do not create unnecessary burdens, they ensure that existing safety requirements are real, not symbolic.

In our case, one small failure, something as simple as a loose screw, stood between my daughter and her life. That is a reality no family should ever have to carry.

Florida continues to face unacceptably high rates of preventable child injury and drowning, numbers that increase annually. Laws meant to protect children only work if they are enforced in a way that prioritizes function over form.

Our Request

We respectfully ask Florida legislators to:

Support the drafting and sponsorship of Hannah’s Law

Strengthen inspection standards so safety devices must function, not just exist

Ensure that a “passed inspection” truly means a child is protected

Hannah should still be here. While nothing can bring her back, her life can help prevent another preventable loss.

Please stand with me. Please help pass Hannah’s Law.

— Leandra Mak

Pasco County, Florida

Hannah’s mom