A bill to protect children attending military-style boot camps will be introduced by lawmakers Carol Liu, D-Glendale, and Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena.

Liu, a state Senator, and Assemblyman Portantino co-authored SB 1089, which adds private boot camps and other non-traditional youth programs to the list of programs licenced under the state’s Health and Safety Code.

The move comes after this newspaper published two disturbing videos and a series of articles on alleged abuses at Pasadena-area boot camps.

The videos feature Kelvin “Sgt. Mac” McFarland coercing children to binge-drink water. The binge-drinking, known as “smoking,” can lead to brain swelling and death, according to medical professionals.

“As a father of two, I understand the concept of tough love. I also know that there is a line that should not be crossed in putting our children’s safety at risk,” Portantino said in a statement Wednesday. “I look forward to working with Sen. Liu to develop strict oversight for children’s `boot camps’ in California to make sure our children’s well-being is maintained.”

Liu said the first priority must be to protect children.

“We must make sure these boot camps are safe, and we need to know the background and training of any instructors,” she said.

In addition to the binge-drinking of water, one of the videos shows a boy carrying a truck tire around his neck and being berated by McFarland and other boot-camp instructors. The crying boy is shown falling to the ground.

McFarland’s fellow boot-camp instructor, Keith “Sarge” Gibbs, can be heard talking on one of the videos.

Both McFarland and Gibbs deny being present during the video-taping.

At the time the video was shot, McFarland and Gibbs worked together, according to several sources familiar with the boot camps.

McFarland and Gibbs parted ways in August 2009, when McFarland started his own camp.

In May, McFarland was arrested on unrelated felony charges of kidnapping, child endangerment, extortion and child abuse, as well as a misdemeanor charge of unlawful use of a badge.

No additional charges have been brought against McFarland and no charges have been filed against Gibbs.

Boot camps remain largely unregulated as federal lawmakers have failed several times to pass boot-camp legislation.

According to a federal Government Accountability Office report in 2007, more than 1,600 incidents of child-abuse and 10 deaths occurred in boot camps nationwide between 1990 and 2007. The numbers could be worse, as the data is difficult to gather due to the lack of industry regulation, the report said.

Contact Brian via email, by phone at 626-578-6300, ext. 4494, or on Twitter @JBrianCharles.