TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed another five bills into law as the end of the month grows near.
So far, over 200 laws have been approved this year.
Of those, over half are set to take effect next week on July 1. You can find the full list of those laws here.
In the meantime, all of Thursday’s new laws are as follows:
HB 1143 — Drilling Permits
House Bill 1143 requires the DEP to perform a “balancing test” when determining whether to grant a permit for oil and gas drilling in the state.
This test must weigh the measures that are already in place to protect natural resources, as well as the potential harm to the environment in the event of a blowout from a drilling activity.
In addition, the law prohibits oil and gas production in several rural counties if the proposed site is within 10 miles of a national estuarine research reserve (NERR).
There are three of these reserves in the state: the Apalachicola NERR, the Guana Tolomato NERR, and the Rookery Bay NERR.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
SB 108 — Administrative Procedures
Senate Bill 108 amends the Administrative Procedure Act, which acts as a framework for how state agencies can make rules.
Many of these amendments are technical changes for how these agencies must process rulemaking measures going forward.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
SB 180 — State Emergencies
Senate Bill 180 makes a variety of changes involving preparation and responses to statewide emergencies.
Some of these new rules are as follows:
- Prohibits counties listed in the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Helene, or Hurricane Milton from adopting additional moratoriums or burdensome regulations in their reviews of development orders before Aug. 1, 2024
- Requires the FDEM to prioritize shelter retrofit funding for projects in places where shelters are in short supply
- Allows the Florida National Guard to provide medical care to military personnel and civilians during emergencies
- Mandates that local governments develop plans for post-storm permitting to expedite recovery after a hurricane
The law took effect upon being signed.
SB 492 — Mitigation Banks
Senate Bill 492 provides a standard schedule for releasing mitigation credits and gets rid of a rule that the credit release schedule be determined on a case-by-case basis.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
SB 1678 — Israel Boycotts
Senate Bill 1678 expands the definition of a “boycott of Israel” to include situations where a school has restrictive policies that inhibit academic relationships or research due to ties to Israel.
In addition, the law requires that the SBA — on behalf of the public fund — divest from companies and any other entities that are boycotting Israel.
The law is set to take effect on July 1.
Meanwhile, other batches of bills recently signed into law by DeSantis include the following:
- June 25 — Baker Act Changes
- June 23 — Condo Associations
- June 20 — Weather Modification
- June 17 — Aerospace Industry
- June 13 — New Highway Designations
- June 11 — South Florida
- June 10 — Sex Crime Crackdown
- June 9 — Auburndale Park
- June 6 — Oviedo Special Zone
- June 5 — Boating Crimes
- June 3 — Sewer Systems
- May 30 — New School Laws
- May 29 — Big Gun Law
- May 28 — Animal Cruelty Laws
- May 27 — Sexual Images
- May 23 — Cryptocurrency Debts
- May 22 — Execution Methods
- May 21 — Swatting Crackdown
- May 20 — Disability History
- May 19 — Motor Crimes
- May 15 — Massive Farming Bill
- May 2 — Citizen Amendment Petitions
- April 29 — Surrendered Infants
- April 18 — Pet Insurance
- April 14 — Gulf of America