In a flurry of activity, the General Assembly finished its 2025 legislative session Friday night, passing many bills that will affect thousands of Rhode Islanders in the years to come.

Among those bills is a measure introduced by a pair of Johnston lawmakers and championed by the Johnston widow of a man who died on a golf course, and it deserves a moment of recognition.

The David Casey Act, named in honor of the Johnston man who died in February 2023 after suffering a cardiac episode at the Cranston Country Club, is an example of local advocacy and local government working together to address a correctable flaw in our society with a fix that could save lives.

Although no one will ever know for certain if Mr. Casey would have been saved by the presence of an automated external defibrillator after he went into cardiac arrest on that day, the science is clear that having fast and effective access to an AED can make a huge difference.

With that in mind, and knowing that AEDs are already mandated in pretty much every space where large crowds of people gather (including gyms, health clubs, stadiums and other sports fields), it makes perfect sense to include golf courses among those facilities where they are required.

And although there has been some resistance to the idea that golf courses should have to finance the purchase of an AED, or the training of employees to be able to quickly and effectively administer one during an emergency, we would argue this is a very light lift and burden of responsibility in the context of what the measure can achieve now that it has become state law.

Is a person’s life really not worth the $2,500 it could cost for a golf course to buy an AED? Is it not worth the small fee (which could be free if municipal fire departments are willing to provide training to golf course employees in private/public partnership efforts) to provide a brief training session to show employees how to use the devices, which are designed to be simple enough so that anyone can use one?

This bill being passed in advocates’ second attempt, especially in light of so many other high-profile bills being discussed this year, represents a win-win for the state and those who enjoy our wonderful golfing amenities throughout it.

We commend the Johnston legislators, Rep. Deborah Fellela and Sen. Andrew Dimitri, as well as their colleagues who saw the potential benefits of the bill, and for the efforts of Mr. Casey's widow, Betsy, to advocate for its passage.

Through their efforts, they have made effective action the postscript of a tragedy.