TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Senator Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) filed a bill Friday, called "Miya's Law," that plans to improve tenant safety in apartment buildings, a news release from The Florida Senate reports.
Representative Robin Bartleman (D-Weston) will reportedly file the companion House bill.
This bill is inspired by and named after Miya Marcano, a 19-year-old college student believed to have been killed by Armando Caballero, a maintenance worker who was employed by the apartment complex, the release explains.
Marcano's family claims Caballero used a master key fob to enter her apartment and waited for her to return.
“Miya’s death is an awful tragedy – one that has put a spotlight on problems with apartment safety and security,” Stewart said in a statement.
“We’ve heard too many horror stories of some landlords disregarding the security of their tenants by issuing master keys to maintenance workers without running any background checks. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their homes and we are hopeful that ‘Miya’s Law’ will help make that a reality.”
This new bill will require landlords to perform background screenings for all employees at an apartment complex, the release reports. The screening has to include "a national screening of criminal history records and sexual predator and sexual offender registries," along with specifically including "criminal offenses involving violence or a disregard for the safety of others."
The background screening allows landlords to reject any applicants who have criminal records, senate leaders explain. It also strengthens the requirements regarding a person's access to individual apartment units.
“As the parent of a daughter in a rental apartment at the University of Florida, it is my expectation that she is safe and will come home," Bartleman said in a statement.
“Those were Miya’s parent’s expectations, and their lives are forever changed. This horrible tragedy helped shed light on gaping security holes that exist, and we must ensure the safety of all Floridians in multi-family rentals. Everyone has the right to expect safety in their own home. This bill and the work through the foundation will ensure the safety of not only our children but millions of families who rent in our state.”
Marcano's family and loved ones have worked to honor her legacy by making sure tenants are protected in their own homes through the Miya Marcano Foundation, the release says.
“On behalf of the Miya Marcano Foundation, we thank you for your continued support,” Miya's mother Yma Suling Scarbriel and Miya’s father Marlon Marcano said in a statement. “Our daughter meant the world to us. Although we still mourn the loss of Miya, we are sincerely grateful to everyone who has come together to help our family get Miya’s Law filed within the state of Florida."
"We firmly believe that passing ‘Miya’s Law’ will save lives. It is our hope that lawmakers on both sides unanimously vote to pass ‘Miya’s Law,’" Marcano's parents continued. "Our daughter’s law can potentially save your daughter or loved one’s life, so when you go to vote, please think of Miya.”
The Florida college girl disappeared Friday, Sept. 24, shortly after Caballero was seen letting himself into her apartment with a master key, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Her body was later found in a wooded area around the Tymber Skan on the Lake Condominiums in Central Florida, with a purse containing her identification having been located in the area, Sheriff John Mina said.
Caballero reportedly lived at the complex at some point, and he had been considered a person of interest in the case. He was found dead on Sept. 27 in an apparent suicide.