ORLANDO, Fla. – Over 200 new Florida laws have been approved this year, with the majority of them taking effect back in July.
However, there are still over a dozen laws that are still waiting to kick off on Oct. 1.
These pieces of legislation cover topics like specialty license plates, criminal statutes, and even a handful of issues that are local to certain parts of the state.
The full list of these upcoming laws is as follows:
SB 246 — Specialty Plates
Senate Bill 246 grants permission for five new specialty license plates, which are as follows:
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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
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Miami Northwestern Alumni Association
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St. Petersburg College
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First Responders Resiliency
The bill also revises certain requirements for the existing “Florida Wildflower” and “Fraternal Order of Police” plates.
HB 397 — Pretrial Release
House Bill 397 creates a new criminal offense for purposefully violating an order of no contact imposed by a court as a condition of pretrial release after the suspect was arrested over violent offenses.
Under this law, the new offense is treated as a first-degree misdemeanor, with subsequent violations being bumped up to third-degree felonies.
HB 429 — Gang Members
House Bill 429 revises what constitutes a “criminal gang member” under state law.
Current law defines this as someone who meets at least two points from a list of criteria, such as admitting to criminal gang membership or having a criminal gang’s tattoo.
But under this law, even more criteria will be added, such as admitting online to being a gang member or being identified as such by a live-in spouse.
SB 432 — Xylazine Trafficking
Senate Bill 432 provides that selling or manufacturing certain forms of xylazine is a first-degree felony, with a mandatory 3-year prison term.
The law also creates a first-degree felony for trafficking in xylazine, with mandatory minimum sentencing depending on how much xylazine was involved in the offense.
SB 488 — Transportation
Senate Bill 488 amends various provisions related to topics like motor vehicle registration, licensing and tax-related requirements. These new rules include the following:
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Creates penalties for counterfeiting or illegally altering fuel tax licenses and the related permits
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Revises penalties and interest calculations for delinquent tax payments
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Provides penalties for specific offenses related to the misuse of motor fuel-tax related documents and establishes detailed requirements for recordkeeping by motor carriers
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Increases the amount of estimated damage resulting from a crash that is required to be reported to law enforcement from $500 to $2,000
SB 490 — Public Records (FLHSMV)
Senate Bill 490 expands a public records exemption for email addresses collected by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
This expansion includes email addresses that are used to provide customers with general notifications.
HB 559 — Animal Welfare
House Bill 559 establishes a new third-degree felony offense if an adult:
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causes or entices a minor to commit aggravated animal cruelty; fighting or baiting animals; or sexual activities involving animals
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commits in the presence of a minor aggravated animal cruelty; fighting or baiting animals; or sexual activities involving animals
The law also requires a juvenile court to order a minor who commits animal cruelty to undergo a psychological evaluation and potentially receive certain treatments.
HB 1293 — Fraudulent Entry of Homes
House Bill 1293 creates a new crime of fraudulent entry of a residential dwelling unit.
This statute prohibits someone from entering into or taking possession of a residential dwelling unit by purposefully:
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Making a materially false statement in writing, relating to the person’s identity in any rental application for a residential tenancy
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Presenting forged or counterfeit documents to the landlord of a residential dwelling unit
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Impersonating another person in whose name a rental application is submitted to a landlord for the purpose of executing a rental agreement or taking possession of a residential dwelling unit
Violations of this law are punishable as third-degree felonies.
SB 1332 — Career Offenders
Senate Bill 1332 makes several changes to registration requirements for career offenders in the state.
For example, the law requires initial registration in person at the sheriff’s office within 48 hours of establishing a residence or release, and it expands the list of required information to include addresses, vehicles, professional licenses, and immigration status.
Furthermore, the law requires career offenders to have their driver’s license and ID cards marked with “775.261″ — the statute number of the Florida Career Offender Registration Act.
HB 1525 — Indecent Exposure
House Bill 1525 creates a third-degree felony for indecent exposure of sexual organs while observing a child under 16 years of age for the purpose of sexual arousal.
This crime applies if either of the following is true:
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The person is intentionally exposing his/her sexual organs in a lewd or lascivious manner
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The person intentionally performs any sexual act that doesn’t involve actual physical or sexual contact with the child, such as sadomasochistic abuse, bestiality, masturbation or simulation of sexual activity
HB 4039 — Monarch Hill Landfill
House Bill 4039 requires Broward County to commission a feasibility study and conduct a public hearing before issuing any application, zoning change or permit that would allow for a physical expansion of the Monarch Hill Landfill.
HB 4043 — Citrus County
House Bill 4043 dissolves the Citrus County Hospital Board, with all assets instead going to the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners to distribute according to the dissolution plan.
While the law itself took effect earlier this year, the dissolution is set to be active as of Oct. 1.
HB 4065 — West Palm Beach Firefighters
House Bill 4065 revises provisions of the West Palm Beach Firefighters Pension Fund to reflect an agreement between the West Palm Beach Association of Fire Fighters and the city of West Palm Beach.
While the law itself took effect earlier this year, one provision increases the normal retirement benefit calculation by 0.2%, effective starting Oct. 1.
HB 4093 — Indian River County (I)
House Bill 4093 reduces the size of the Fellsmere Water Control District from 34,441 acres to just over 14,000 acres.
The law also makes the remaining district a dependent district of the county.
HB 4095 — Indian River County (II)
House Bill 4095 creates the Headwaters Water Control District, an independent special district in Indian River County tasked with providing water control services.