TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed eight bills that arrived on his desk last week.
The new laws deal with issues like hit-and-runs crashes, surrendered infants, drug testing and more.
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They come over a week after DeSantis officially signed four other bills into law, three of which take effect later this year.
Meanwhile, the eight bills signed into law on Tuesday are as follows:
HB 157 — Service of Process
House Bill 157 amends state statutes regarding registered agents of corporations.
The law expands the hours during which registered agents are required to keep a designated registered office open to receive potential legal documents. In all, these offices have to be open an additional two hours each weekday.
In addition, legal documents may now be left with an employee instead of the registered agent if the agent isn’t present.
The law took effect upon being signed.
HB 479 — Leaving the Scene of a Crash
House Bill 479 allows a court to order drivers who fled the scene of a crash after striking property to make restitution to the property’s owner.
The law will take effect on Oct. 1.
HB 597 — Diabetes Management
House Bill 597 allows schools to request prescriptions for glucagon from a county health department or healthcare practitioner to treat students with diabetes.
The law will take effect on July 1.
HB 615 — Electronic Notice to Tenants
House Bill 615 allows landlords to deliver notices to tenants electronically if both parties agree to the method.
Under this law, both tenants and landlords are allowed to revoke such an agreement simply by providing written notice to the other party.
The law will take effect on July 1.
HB 791 — Surrendered Infants
House Bill 791 allows certain hospitals and fire stations to use “infant safety devices” to accept surrendered infants.
Under this law, such a device must be equipped with a surveillance system to monitor the device 24 hours a day.
The law will take effect on July 1.
HB 1173 — Florida Trust Code
House Bill 1173 amends the Florida Trust Code, which governs the creation and operation of trusts in the state.
More specifically, the law limits the “special interest exception” for charitable trust enforcement by giving the Attorney General exclusive authority to assert the rights of a qualified beneficiary.
The law took effect upon being signed.
HB 1195 — Fentanyl Testing
House Bill 1195 — dubbed “Gage’s Law” — requires hospitals conducting urine tests for possible drug overdoses to test for fentanyl.
The bill is named for Gage Taylor, who died of an overdose in 2022 after taking a drug he didn’t realize was laced with fentanyl. At the time, the hospital didn’t test for the drug.
As a result, law enforcement agents were initially unable to charge Taylor’s suspected drug dealer.
The law will take effect on July 1.
HB 7003 — Financial Technology Sandbox
House Bill 7003 removes the scheduled repeal date of a public records exemption under state law.
This exemption applies to sensitive business information held by the state for Financial Technology Sandbox applications.
The exemption was set to be automatically repealed per the Open Government Sunset Review Act on Oct. 2, though this law prevents that from happening.
The law will take effect on Oct. 1.