- November 16, 2024
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The Florida Legislature passed about 130 new laws this year, many of which went into effect July 1. Among the more controversial are a 24-hour waiting period on abortions — that one has already been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union — and the repeal of the state’s gay adoption ban. Beer fans can celebrate a law allowing the filling of 64-ounce beer containers called “growlers,” aerial drone fans are barred from using the gadgets for snooping, letter carriers in rural areas have been exempted from seat belt laws while on their routes, and the state has specified protocol for isolating patients to control the spread of disease. A collection of the more notable, controversial or odd bills passed this year that have already gone into effect is listed below. The laws listed below went into effect July 1 unless otherwise noted.
Education: HB 7069: Reduces the number of standardized tests students have to take, and revises a requirement for the uniform opening date of public schools to no earlier than Aug. 10. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/7069.
Disabled Parking Permits: SB 132: Lets veterans who are designated permanently and totally disabled submit a United States Department of Veterans Affairs Form Letter 27-333 issued within the last 12 months as proof of disability for renewal or replacement of a disabled parking permit. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0132.
Alcoholic Beverages: SB 186: Lets a brewer or vendor fill 64-ounce beer containers called “growlers” for drinking off site, places a cap on the number of vendor licenses a brewer can hold, limits the size of cups for beer tastings to 3.5 ounces and requires that tastings be held inside. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0186.
Animal Control: SB 420: Lets law enforcement officers and animal control officers take custody of animals found neglected or cruelly treated. If the animal’s owner is found unfit by the court, the animal may be ordered to be destroyed or may be ordered to be sold at auction or given to the custody of the SPCA, the Humane Society, the county or the municipality. Lets law enforcement and animal control officers humanely kill stray livestock or offer them for auction if they are unclaimed after a three-day notice period. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0420.
Labor Pools: SB 456: Revises methods of pay for day laborers to update language on electronic fund transfers and debit cards, requires a labor pool to provide certain notices before a day laborer’s first pay period, requires that workers be given itemized statements showing any deductions from their wages, and specifies that the statement may be given electronically. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0456.
Transitional Living Facilities: SB 682: Provides requirements for clients’ admission, transfer and discharge policies at transitional living facility policies, bars facilities from discharging clients or taking various retaliatory actions under certain circumstances, and specifies certain client rights. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0682.
Surveillance by a Drone: SB 766: Bans people or agencies from using aerial drones to capture images of privately owned real property or its owners or occupants without written consent in cases where there’s a reasonable expectation of privacy, usually when the people would not have been visible form the ground. There are exceptions for law enforcement agency counter-terror use, and for uses like aerial mapping, utility service maintenance and use by a property appraiser’s office. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0766.
Public Records Exemption, E-mail Addresses/DHSMV: SB 7040: Exempts email addresses collected by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from public records requests. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/7040.
Public Records Exemption, E-mail Addresses/Tax Notices: SB 200: Exempts taxpayers’ email addresses obtained by tax collectors in the process of sending tax notices from public records requirements. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0200.
Online Voter Application: SB 228: Requires the Division of Elections to create an online voter registration system, which must compare the voter information submitted online with Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles records. The Division of Elections must make a formal report of its progress in creating the new system by Jan. 1, 2016, and potential voters must be able to register and update registrations online by Oct. 1, 2017. The law authorizes $1.8 million in appropriations for the new system. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0228.
Civil Liability of Farmers: SB 158: Specifies that an existing exemption from civil liability for farmers who let people enter their land to removing farm produce or crops applies at any time, rather than only after harvest. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0158.
Public Records/Body Camera Recording Made by a Law Enforcement Officer: SB 248: States that videos recorded on a police body camera on private property without the owner’s permission, or in certain medical settings, are exempt from public records requirements. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0248.
Carrying a Concealed Weapon or a Concealed Firearm during evacuation: SB 290: Lets people forced to leave their homes in an evacuation order during a declared state of emergency carry a concealed weapon or firearm without a concealed weapon or concealed firearm permit. Went into effect May 21, 2015. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0290.
Designated Areas for Skateboarding, Inline Skating, Paintball, or Freestyle or Mountain and Off-roading Bicycling: SB 408: Deletes a requirement that a government-run skateboarding, paintball, inline skating, or freestyle bicycling facilities get children’s parents’ written consent before letting the children participate, and instead requires facilities offering paintball, mountain biking and off-road biking to post a rule stating consent forms are required for children under 17 to participate in those activities. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0408.
Craft Distilleries SB 596: Lets craft distillers sell up to two bottles of each product to on-premises visitors and bars craft distillers from shipping distilled spirits to consumers. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0596.
Local Government Construction Preferences: SB 778: Bars local governments that are doing construction projects in which at least half of the funding comes from state-appropriated funds from using an ordinance to give preference to contractors and employees from their own area or jurisdiction for that project. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0778.
Involuntary Examinations of Minors: SB 954: Requires school health services plans to specify policies for notifying parents or guardians when a child is removed from school for involuntary examination, and requires a receiving facility to immediately tell the parent or guardian of a child who is being held for involuntary examination where that child is. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0954.
Florida Civil Rights Act, Pregnancy: SB 982: Amends the Florida Civil Rights Acts, which already prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status, to also prohibit discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. The Act applies to employment and professional certification and licensing; and to food establishments, lodging and public accommodations. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0982.
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation: SB 1312: States that lawsuits targeting protected speech in connection with public issues are illegal: “A person or governmental entity in this state may not file or cause to be filed, through its employees or agents, any lawsuit, cause of action, claim, cross-claim, or counterclaim against another person or entity without merit and primarily because such person or entity has exercised the constitutional right of free speech in connection with a public issue… It is the intent of the Legislature that such lawsuits be expeditiously disposed of by the courts.” See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/1312.
Rural Letter Carriers: SB 160: Exempts rural letter carriers for the United States Postal Service from safety belt usage requirements while they’re on their routes. (Went into effect May 22.) See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0160.
Interception of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communication: HB 7001: Allows, in certain cases, a minor who is recording someone committing, stating an intention to commit or confessing to committing an illegal act of physical or sexual abuse against the minor to be exempt from laws that would otherwise make the recording of a conversation without both parties’ consent illegal. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/7001.
Driver Licenses & Identification Cards: HB 27: Requires DMV offices to accept military identification cards to meet certain requirements for issuance of driver license or identification card, and authorizes the word “Veteran” to be exhibited on a veteran’s driver license or identification card. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0027.
Medication and Testing of Racing Animals: HB 239: Revises penalties for using performance enhancing medications on racing animals. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0239.
Unlawful Detention by a Transient Occupant: HB 305: Defines a “transient occupant” of a property — someone staying for a short time and without a lease — and states that a law enforcement officer can remove them if they refuse to leave at the property owners’ request. Specifies that someone wrongfully removed from a property under the law has a cause of action against the person who forced them out, but not against the law enforcement officer enforcing the request, unless bad faith was shown by the officer. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0305.
Amusement Games or Machines: HB 641: Caps the redemption value of points or coupons from amusement games or machines — at $5.25 beginning Sept. 30, 2017 — and requires the Department of Revenue to recalculate & publish cap annually. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0641.
Rental Agreements: Foreclosure sales: HB 779: Specifies rights and obligations when someone buys a tenant-occupied residential property following a foreclosure sale. The tenant may remain at the property for 30 days after receiving written notice. (Went into effect June 2.) See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0779.
Public Records/Florida RICO Act Investigations HB 7061: Creates a public records requirement exemption for certain documents held by an investigative agency in connection with a RICO Act investigation. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/7061.
Hazardous Walking Conditions: HB 41: “Gabby’s Law for Student Safety” lets school districts make formal requests to fix hazardous walking conditions, and requires the government entities with jurisdiction over the road with the hazard to add the hazard to their next annual 5-year transportation work plan or specify why they won’t. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0041.
Experimental Treatments for Terminal Conditions: HB 269: Lets terminally ill patients access certain “Phase 1” clinical trial drugs not yet approved by the FDA, and protects the health professionals or manufacturers who provide them from liability. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0269.
HIV Testing: HB 321: Revises notification and consent procedures for HIV tests in health care and non-healthcare settings. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0321.
Informed Patient Consent, Termination of Pregnancy: HB 633: Requires a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion and states that an ultrasound must be performed to verify the fetus’ gestational age. There are exceptions for cases of rape, incest, domestic violence, human trafficking and certain medical conditions, if documentation like police reports or medical records is provided. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0633.
Public Health Emergencies: HB 697: Lets the Department of Health enforce or end the isolation of people, pets and locations to control communicable diseases, requires the DOH to establish rules on isolation orders. The law also makes it illegal during a declared public health emergency for a person to falsely tell a law enforcement officer or health care provider that the person has a communicable disease. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0697.
Adoption and Foster Care: HB 7013: Deletes a prohibition on gay people adopting children, provides for a $5,000 benefit for government employees who adopt foster children or a $10,000 benefit if those children have special needs, and states that a person cannot be banned from adopting because they want to home school the adopted child. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/7013.
Service Animals: HB 71: Creates a penalty for deliberately misrepresenting the use or training of a service animal. “The crime-deterrent effect of an animal’s presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for purposes of this definition. … To determine the difference between a service animal and a pet, a public accommodation may ask if an animal is a required because of a disability and what work animal has been trained to perform.” See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0071.
Sexual Offenses: HB 133: The “43 Days Initiative Act” revises the time limitation for the prosecution of specified sexual battery, extending it as far as 10 years, depending on the circumstances. It also bars courts from incarcerating minors for sexting in the case of first-time offenses. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0133.
All-American Flag Act: HB 225: The “All-American Flag Act” requires U.S. flags and states flags bought by the state, counties and municipalities for public use to be made in the U.S. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0225.
The Beirut Memorial: HB 801: Requires the Capitol Complex memorial garden to include a monument to the 241 U.S. service members who died in the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, on Oct. 23, 1983. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0801.
Recycled and Recovered Materials: HB 787: The law exempts people who sell and transfer recycled or recovered materials from liability for hazardous substances released at receiving facilities as long as “reasonable care” was employed in handling the materials. See flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0787.
