COPIAGUE – A grieving mother joined Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern to introduce the Suffolk Safer Waterways Act on Monday. Gina Lieneck lost her daughter Brianna in a 2005 accident involving inexperienced boaters who crushed her family's boat in Great South Bay on the way home from Fire Island.

The new legislation would require all boat operators to complete a Coast Guard-approved water safety course and to display their certificate to law enforcement if they are caught violating the rules.

Lawmakers are hoping to have the Suffolk Safer Waterways Act passed and enacted for boating season next year.