Roxie Rules Act Introduced by Senator Portantino to Bring Oversight to Summer Camps

Sacramento, California – State Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) has introduced SB 955, the Roxie Rules Act, which seeks to regulate recreational camps. The lack of regulation for these camps was brought to the Senator’s attention after the tragic drowning death of six-year-old Roxie Forbes in an Altadena camp swimming pool. In researching camp safety issues, Roxie’s parents Doug Forbes and Elena Matyas discovered that more than a million children attend thousands of California camps and that these camps are largely unregulated.  Portantino agreed that under California law there exists a deficiency in camp licensing, inspection, and oversight.  The Forbes family established the Meow Meow Foundation to educate the public about this gap in oversight.  They are collaborating with Senator Portantino on SB 955 so that horrific, preventable outcomes are eliminated and camp experiences are safer for the children who attend them.

“As a father myself, I cannot begin to comprehend what has happened to the Forbes family. Losing a child is the single worst thing that can happen to a parent. It hurts even more because we know that this was a preventable tragedy. I am very grateful that Roxie’s family is channeling their tremendous grief to make sure that tragedies such as this do not happen again. I want to commend them for all the work they have done to raise awareness and knowledge of the gaps in state law regarding recreational camps,” commented Senator Portantino.

California sadly trails well-behind many other states in regulating recreational camps. Thirty-eight states have some sort of statewide camp regulations while California does not. This bill will correct this clear omission in state law and bring camps in line with other regulated services such as daycare facilities.

“Meow Meow Foundation is honored to work with Senator Anthony Portantino on The Roxie Rules Act, a comprehensive recreational camp licensing, oversight, and safety bill that finally affords millions of California children the protections they deserve,” added Doug Forbes. 

SB 955 will be heard in its first Senate policy committee in March. The bill must pass both houses of the legislature by the end of August. If signed into law by Governor Newsom it would go into effect on January 1, 2021.  The Forbes were in Sacramento on Monday for the bill’s introduction to support this important legislation.  Assemblymember Maienschein (D – San Diego) is a principal co-author on this bill.