TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed another 10 bills into law amid a flurry of new legislation passing through his desk.
These new laws establish new annual observances, ethics rules, and public records changes.
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The latest laws signed by DeSantis are as follows:
HB 259 — Fentanyl Awareness Day
House Bill 259 designates Aug. 21 as “Fentanyl Awareness and Education Day.”
The new designation is aimed at increasing awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and potential overdoses.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
HB 515 — Cryptocurrencies
House Bill 515 establishes a baseline framework to let creditors secure liens against digital assets that are owned by debtors.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
HB 519 — Certified Paramedics
House Bill 519 lets certain healthcare practitioners allow a certified paramedic to administer a controlled substance with supervision while providing emergency services.
The law took effect upon being signed.
HB 1487 — Emergency Services
House Bill 1487 revises the criteria required for faith-based, nonprofit, volunteer ambulance services to get an exemption from the certificate of public convenience and necessity (COPCN) requirement.
More specifically, the law increases the minimum requirements for years of experience and the number of volunteer emergency service technicians and paramedics to receive this exemption.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
SB 348 — Ethics Laws
Senate Bill 348 adds these two changes to Florida’s ethics laws:
- Add a “stolen valor” provision that prohibits candidates, public officers, and public employees from knowingly making certain fraudulent representations relating to military service
- Expands the Attorney General’s authority to seek wage garnishment for unpaid fines imposed for failure to timely submit a required financial disclosure to also allow wage garnishment for other violations of ethics laws under certain conditions
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
SB 356 — Holocaust Remembrance Day
Senate Bill 356 designates Jan. 27 as “Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
Under the law, public schools can use the occasion to teach students about the harmful impacts of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, as well as “the positive impacts of the Jewish community on humanity.”
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
SB 582 — Historic Buildings
Senate Bill 582 allows a code enforcement board or special magistrate to impose higher fines for the demolition of a site listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
To do so, the demolition must have been willful, unpermitted, and not the result of a natural disaster.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
SB 1490 — Children’s Medical Services
Senate Bill 1490 transfers the operation of the Children’s Medical Services Managed Care Plan from the Department of Health to the Agency for Health Care Administration.
The law took effect upon being signed.
SB 1640 — Public Records (Lethality Forms)
Senate Bill 1640 creates a public records exemption for lethality assessment forms, which are used to determine a victim’s risk of serious injury or death in domestic violence cases.
Per the Open Government Sunset Review Act, the exemption is set to be repealed on Oct. 2, 2030, unless reenacted by lawmakers.
The law took effect upon being signed.
SB 7006 — Public Records (911)
Senate Bill 7006 keeps a public records exemption for building plans, blueprints and diagrams that show the structural elements of 911 infrastructure.
This applies to towers, antennas, equipment, and facilities used to provide 911, E911, or public safety radio communication services.
The law took effect upon being signed.
Other batches of bills recently signed into law by DeSantis include the following:
- May 22 — 17 new laws
- May 21 — 16 new laws
- May 20 — 8 new laws
- May 19 — 13 new laws
- May 15 — Massive farming bill
- May 2 — Citizen amendment petitions
- April 29 — 8 new laws
- April 18 — 4 new laws
- April 14 — Gulf of America