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NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Signs 'Brianna's Law,' Requiring Boat Safety Training

COPAIGUE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- New York state has a new law designed to make our waterways safer.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed "Brianna's Law" during a ceremony in Copaigue on Tuesday.

It's named after 11-year-old Brianna Lieneck, who died in a 2005 boating accident off the coast of Long Island.

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The new law requires boat operators to take a state-approved boating safety course.

"It's not intuition. It's not, 'Well, I'm smart. I know how to drive a car. I can do this.' No, you [can't]. It's a totally different environment, and you don't want to learn the hard way that you don't know how to handle this totally different environment," Cuomo said.

Brianna's mother was at the ceremony and thanked the governor for supporting the new law.

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