Florida saw a busy legislative season this year, and many bills have been signed into law that are set to go into effect on July 1.
Below you will find a list of some of the more pertinent laws set to take effect.
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CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY (HB-543)
This law allows Florida residents who qualify for a concealed carry permit to concealed carry in eligible places, even if they don’t have a permit for it.
The legislation only extends to the state of Florida and any other states that maintain reciprocity with it, so be sure to check before concealed carrying out of state without a permit. You can find a full list of states here.
For more information on the law or to find out whether you qualify for concealed carry, click here.
FLORIDA EDUCATION (HB-1537)
This new education law brings several changes to Florida’s public schools, including requiring AAPI history lessons in classrooms.
The law also establishes a “9/11 Heroes’ Day” for public schools to recognize, dedicating at least 45 minutes of instruction on the significance of 9/11 in civics education classes.
Additionally, the act provides for a year-round pilot program that school districts can volunteer to take part in. Instead of one long summer break, the program would allow for shorter — but more frequent — breaks to help mitigate learning loss.
Aside from AAPI education, the law provides that the second week in November will be recognized as “Holocaust Education Week” to teach students how to prevent anti-Semitism. It also requires that African-American history in the U.S. be taught to students, including relevant political and social examples.
For more information on the law, click here.
FLORIDA STATE GUARD (HB-1285)
House Bill 1285 expands Florida’s State Guard and makes it permanent — a move meant to provide more support resources for Florida residents during emergencies like hurricanes or floods.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reinstated the guard last year, and without this law, it would have expired in July.
DeSantis signed the bill into law in May. While he requested $98 million to fund the guard, the Legislature ultimately included $107.6 million in its budget.
For more information on the law, click here.
TYRE SAMPSON ACT (SB-902)
The Tyre Sampson Act — named after the 14-year-old boy who fell to his death from the Orlando Freefall last year — sets up new requirements for theme park rides.
More specifically, the law requires rides that go above 100 feet to have seat belts and harnesses for riders. Additionally, rides must be regularly commissioned, certified and tested by a separate regulatory agency.
According to the law’s text, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may also conduct unannounced inspections for certain reasons.
For more information on the law, click here.
SEX-BASED FACILITIES (HB-1521)
This law requires that people in public buildings use bathrooms that align with their sex. This means that males would have to use bathrooms designated either for men or unisex.
“Public buildings” refer to airports, public and private schools, prisons, state and local government buildings, and jails.
DeSantis, who championed the legislation, explained that the new law is geared toward protecting women. Meanwhile, critics attacked the law as discriminating against transgender people.
For more information on the law, click here.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG REFORM (SB-1550)
DeSantis signed this bill into law at the start of June, and it’s aimed at “reining in” pharmacy benefit managers in the state.
The law orders drug manufacturers to notify state officials annually about significant drug price increases in an attempt to bring pharmaceutical costs down for customers.
For more information on the law, click here.
IMMIGRATION REFORM (SB-1718)
This law puts forward stricter requirements for businesses to ensure they’re not hiring illegal or undocumented immigrants instead of legal immigrants or citizens.
Businesses with 25 or more employees will be required to verify that their workers are eligible to work in the United States. Those businesses will be restricted from knowingly employing unauthorized aliens.
The law also issues penalties for violating businesses and cracks down on human smugglers.
Critics say the law could lead to higher costs for businesses preying upon cheaper labor by undocumented migrants, though economists say the crackdown could lead to higher wages for legal workers and lower consumer costs due to less overall demand.
For more information on the law, click here.
PRONOUNS IN SCHOOLS (HB-1069)
Under this law, school employees will be required to address students by pronouns that match the student’s sex. In addition, staff will not be allowed to ask students about their preferred pronouns.
In addition, the law extends the grade range initially set up in the Parental Rights in Education law that went into effect last year. While that range initially included students in grades K-3, that range was widened to include students in prekindergarten and grades 4-8.
Classes in those grade ranges will not be allowed to discuss controversial topics like gender identity or sexual orientation. Students in grades 9-12 can learn about those topics so long as they are “developmentally appropriate.”
The law comes as DeSantis and other Republicans push back against the belief that a person is able to choose his or her gender independent of his or her sex.
For more information on the law, click here.
BOOK OBJECTIONS (HB-1069)
Adding onto the rules described above, House Bill 1069 includes requirements for schools to remove books for review within five days of an objection if the complaint is based on pornographic material or sexual conduct.
While outright book bans have been scarce in Central Florida, parental groups have campaigned for stricter reviews of books kept in schools if those books contain sexually explicit content or perceived inappropriate themes.
For more information on the law, click here.
DEI COLLEGE PROGRAMS (SB-266)
Senate Bill 266 bans Florida colleges from using state or federal funding for DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — programs.
While proponents argue that such programs help groups who have historically been targets of discrimination, opponents retort that those programs are being used to discriminate against other groups.
A similar law in 2022 — dubbed “Stop WOKE” — set similar rules banning curriculum in Florida that teaches that people are “privileged,” “oppressed” or “inherently racist, sexist or oppressive” due to discriminatory factors like race or national origin.
For more information on the law, click here.
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