TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed another 11 bills into law that cover a variety of issues, including building regulations, student safety and criminal penalties.
All of these were among the 20 bills received by DeSantis earlier this month.
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The new laws signed on Thursday include:
HB 267 — Building Regulations
House Bill 267 amends the state’s building code.
More specifically, the bill implements set time limits for local governments to either approve or deny permit applications.
In addition, the bill makes the following changes:
- Local governments must create auditing standards before auditing a private provider.
- Completing an internship program for residential building inspectors is a pathway for licensure as a residential building inspector.
- Sealed drawings will not be required for replacements of windows, doors or garage doors in certain homes so long as they meet state standards.
The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
HB 793 — Coral Springs Improvement District
House Bill 793 addresses the Coral Springs Improvement District, which develops and operates water and sewer systems in Broward County.
This law revises certain purchasing and contract requirements for the special district, such as requiring the district to public bid notices, increasing the threshold for competitive bidding, and clarifying that the district must accept the bid of the lowest responsible bidder (unless it’s in the district’s best interest to reject all bids).
The law went into effect upon being signed.
HB 819 — Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District
House Bill 819 addresses the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District, which is responsible for public infrastructure in parts of Lee and Hendry counties.
This bill expands the boundaries of the special district, which is expected to increase revenues for the district.
The law goes into effect on Oct. 1
HB 867 — North River Ranch Improvement Stewardship District
House Bill 867 addresses the North River Ranch Improvement Stewardship District in Manatee County, which is responsible for overseeing community development.
This law revises the boundaries of the special district, ultimately adding over 100 acres to it. The changes are estimated to raise an extra $500,000 for the district.
The law went into effect upon being signed.
HB 1023 — St. Lucie County
House Bill 1023 amends health care policies for inmates at the St. Lucie County detention center.
Under this law, healthcare providers who provide medical services to these inmates may only be compensated for up to 110% of the Medicare reimbursement rate if the provider doesn’t have a contract with the county.
In addition, such compensation would be limited to 125% of the Medicare reimbursement rate if the hospital reported a negative operating margin in the prior year.
The law went into effect upon being signed.
HB 1133 — Vulnerable Road Users
House Bill 1133 amends state statutes regarding traffic infractions involving “vulnerable road users.”
Under state law, “vulnerable road users” are defined as one of the following:
Pedestrian, including a person actually engaged in work upon a highway, or in work upon utility facilities along a highway, or engaged in the provision of emergency services within the right-of-way
Person operating a bicycle, an electric bicycle, a motorcycle, a scooter, or a moped lawfully on the roadway;
Person riding an animal; or
Person lawfully operating on a public right-of-way, crosswalk, or shoulder of the roadway any: farm tractor or similar vehicle designed primarily for farm use; skateboard, roller skates, or in-line skates; horse-drawn carriage; electric personal assistive mobility device; or wheelchair.
S. 316.027 (1)
HB 1133 sets up specific penalties for anyone who commits a non-criminal traffic infraction that seriously injures or kills a vulnerable road user.
Those penalties include fines, suspension of driver’s licenses, and the requirement to complete a driver improvement course.
These are in addition to any other criminal charges that could arise from such incidents.
The goes into effect on July 1.
HB 1567 — Emergency Management Directors
House Bill 1567 creates requirements to qualify for Emergency Management Directors in the state.
Under the State Emergency Management Act, each county is required to have a director for its respective emergency management agency.
These directors are appointed by local leaders, though there are no specific minimum qualifications to serve as one.
As such, this bill establishes minimum education, experience and training requirements to qualify for a director position. These standards include holding a bachelor’s degree, having at least four years of similar experience in another role, and completing 150 hours of emergency management training.
Existing county emergency management directors will have until June 30, 2026, to meet the new criteria.
The law goes into effect on July 1.
HB 5401 — New Judgeships
House Bill 5401 establishes a few new judge positions in Florida.
According to Legislative analysts, the state’s Supreme Court issued an order in November detailing the need for the new positions.
As a result, this bill sets up the following:
- A circuit court judgeship in the First Judicial Circuit (Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties)
- A circuit court judgeship in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit (Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties)
- A county court judgeship in Columbia County
- A county court judgeship in Santa Rosa County
- Two county court judgeships in Hillsborough County
- Three new county court judgeships in Orange County
The law goes into effect on July 1.
SB 328 — Affordable Housing
Senate Bill 328 amends parts of the Live Local Act.
Some of those changes are as follows:
- Preempting local governments’ “floor area ratio” for certain developments
- Prohibiting qualifying developments within 1/4-mile of a military installation from using the Act’s administrative approval process
- Exempting certain airport-impacted areas from the Act’s provisions
- Modifying parking reduction requirements for qualifying developments located near certain transportation facilities
- Requiring local governments to publish policies on their websites about the procedures and expectations for approval of qualifying developments
- Clarifying that only the affordable units in a qualifying development must be rental units
For ad valorem tax exemptions on newly constructed multifamily developments, the bill requires 10 units — rather than 70 — be set aside for income-limited households in the Florida Keys to qualify for the exemption.
The law went into effect upon being signed.
SB 382 — Continuing Education Requirements
Senate Bill 382 revises requirements for licensure by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Under this law, someone trying to renew their license with the DBPR and who has held their license for at least 10 years is exempted from being required to complete continuing education — so long as there is no disciplinary action imposed on the license.
However, this rule does not apply to engineers, CPAs, brokers, broker associates, sales associates, real estate appraisers, architects or interior designers.
The law goes into effect on July 1.
SB 994 — Student Transportation Safety
Senate Bill 994 revises state statutes related to camera enforcement of traffic infractions where a driver passes a stopped school bus.
More specifically, the law makes the following changes:
- Manufacturers of school bus infraction detectors may receive a fixed amount of collected proceeds for services rendered regarding those detectors.
- Required signage on school buses with these detectors must be revised.
- Funds collected from related civil penalties are allocated to the respective school district to pay for the detector program and other student transportation safety enhancements.
- The collection of evidence from such a detector doesn’t constitute remote surveillance.
- The use of video and images on these detection systems is limited to their specific purpose.
- Certain traffic fines are remitted to the respective school district.
The law went into effect upon being signed.
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