TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With nearly 40 new laws already approved so far this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is now looking at another 20 that were sent to his desk.
In addition, DeSantis signed off on two other bills on Tuesday, meaning they will both go into effect on July 1. Those new laws are as follows:
SB 182 — Teacher Mentors
Senate Bill 182 establishes the School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program, aimed at improving teacher effectiveness in public schools.
Under this program, qualified teachers can be placed as mentors in schools that have a “D” or “F” grade, thereby improving the performance of these schools.
HB 1219 — Spoil Island
House Bill 1219 designates a mangrove island within Jupiter Sound as the “Andrew ‘Red’ Harris Spoil Island.”
The island will be named for Andrew “Red” Harris, a native of Jupiter who started his own insurance brokerage agency in 2011 and was killed in a boating accident roughly three years later.
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Meanwhile, the full list of bills that were sent to DeSantis’ desk on Tuesday are as follows:
HB 35 — Traffic Offenders
House Bill 35 revises the term “habitual traffic offender” to add the offense of driving without a valid license.
This crime will be added to the list of offenses for which a certain number of convictions in a five-year period requires the state to designate the person as a habitual traffic offender.
Once a person is designated as a habitual traffic offender, he/she can generally be prosecuted for a third-degree felony for driving a motor vehicle thereafter.
If signed, the bill is set to take effect on July 1.
SB 52 — Security Services
Senate Bill 52 refers to a state statute that regulates private investigative and security services.
More specifically, the bill expresses that this statute doesn’t apply to volunteers who provide armed security services at churches, mosques, synagogues or other places of worship.
If signed, the bill is set to take effect on July 1.
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SB 118 — R.V. Park Assessments
Senate Bill 118 revises how special assessments may be levied against R.V. parks.
The bill does this by prohibiting local governments from levying special assessments against areas over 400 square feet for each R.V. parking space or campsite.
If signed, the bill will take effect immediately.
SB 422 — Airport Broadcasts
Senate Bill 422 prohibits airports from using information derived from automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) systems emitted from certain aircraft as a means of collecting fees from owners.
This rule is limited to aircraft with a gross weight of 12,499 pounds or less operating under FAA rules and applies under the following two scenarios:
- The operation for which a fee would be assessed is a departure or a landing, including touch-and-go landings
- The fee would be assessed based on an aircraft entering into the airspace of the airport where the fee is assessed
If signed, the bill will take effect on July 1.
SB 428 — Drowning Prevention
Senate Bill 428 amends the Swimming Lesson Voucher Program, raising the age limit to include children between 1 and 7 years of age.
If signed, the bill will take effect on July 1.
HB 441 — Conservation Lands
House Bill 441 requires that when a water management district considers selling conservation lands, the governing board publish the following information at least 30 days before meeting:
- The district-owned parcels of land for sale or proposed for exchange
- The privately owned parcels proposed for exchange
- The portions of those parcels that will be preserved in a permanent conservation easement
- A statement from the district explaining why those lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes
Is signed, the bill will take effect on July 1.
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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:
- Creates penalties for counterfeiting or illegally altering fuel tax licenses and the related permits
- Revises penalties and interest calculations for delinquent tax payments
- Provides penalties for specific offenses related to the misuse of motor fuel-tax related documents and establishes detailed requirements for recordkeeping by motor carriers
- Increases the amount of estimated damage resulting from a crash that is required to be reported to law enforcement from $500 to $2,000
If signed, the bill will take effect on Oct. 1.
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.
If signed, the bill will take effect on Oct. 1.
SB 504 — Body Cameras
Senate Bill 504 requires governmental agencies that allow code inspectors to wear body cameras to set up policies addressing proper use and storage of these cameras, as well as the recorded data.
If signed, the bill will take effect on July 1.
SB 506 — Public Records (Body Cameras)
Senate Bill 506 creates a public records exemption for code inspectors’ body camera recordings if the footage is recorded:
- Inside a private residence
- Inside a facility that offers health care, mental health care, or social services
- In a place that a reasonable person would expect to be private
If signed, the bill will take effect on the same date as SB 504.
SB 598 — Funeral Services
Senate Bill 598 makes several revisions to a state statute that regulates funeral and cemetery services.
For example, the bill prohibits licensees from contracting to become the sole provider of funeral services for any firm that provides medical or end-of-life care to the public.
Furthermore, SB 598 allows licensees to dispose of human remains that have been in their lawful possession for at least 90 days if the legally authorized person of the decedent fails to direct the disposition.
If signed, the bill will take effect on July 1.
HB 895 — Trustee Settlement
House Bill 895 establishes a summary procedure for trustee liability and claims discharge under the Florida Trust Code.
This applies to non-adversarial irrevocable trust administrations where the trustee has substantially complied with certain trustee duties, negating the need for judicial process to achieve such discharge.
If signed, the bill will take effect immediately.
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HB 929 — Chickee Regulation
House Bill 929 prohibits local governments from enacting an ordinance that prevents a member of the Miccosukee or Seminole tribes from constructing a chickee under certain conditions.
If signed, HB 929 takes effect on July 1.
HB 961 — Electronic Signatures
House Bill 961 requires that insurance companies implement secure control processes and procedures for electronic signatures that are acceptable to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
If signed, HB 961 takes effect on July 1.
SB 1134 — DEI Policy Ban
Senate Bill 1134 prohibits local governments from funding, promoting, or enacting any DEI policies, initiatives, and programs.
If signed, SB 1134 takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
HB 1137 — Alcoholic Beverage Taxes
House Bill 1137 allows alcoholic beverage distributors to take a deduction from alcoholic beverage excise taxes for standard product losses, including breakage, spoilage, evaporation, and expiration.
If signed, HB 1137 takes effect immediately.
HB 1217 — Greenhouse Gases
House Bill 1217 provides a legislative finding that net zero policies, carbon taxes, and emission trading programs are detrimental to the state’s energy security and economic interests.
If signed, HB 1217 takes effect on July 1.
HB 1337 — Estate Authority
House Bill 1337 amends several provisions of Florida law to reduce the necessity for court involvement or formal proceedings in the distribution of a decedent.
More specifically, this bill does the following:
- Gives a personal representative more authority with respect to a decedent’s safe deposit box
- Expressly allows a personal representative to institute a proceeding to enforce his/her authority as personal representative
- Increases the amounts of what Florida law considers “small estates,” such that procedures other than formal probate proceedings may be instituted to dispose of the subject property under certain conditions
If signed, HB 1337 takes effect on July 1.
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HB 4037 — Pasco County
House Bill 4037 revises term limits for board members on the Pasco County Mosquito Control District from two terms to three terms, starting with the 2026 general election.
If signed, HB 4037 takes effect immediately.
SB 7000 — Public Records (Emergency Shelters)
Senate Bill 7000 continues a public records exemption for addresses and telephone numbers of those who provide public emergency shelter during a storm or catastrophic event.
If the bill isn’t passed, the exemption is set to be repealed on Oct. 2.
If signed, SB 7000 takes effect immediately.