DeSantis Approves 12 New Florida Laws: A Breakdown of the Changes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on 12 more state laws, adding to the growing list of new legislation this year.

These laws encompass a range of topics, including agricultural products, serious criminal offenses, DNA analysis, and the renaming of several roads within the state — one being in honor of President Donald Trump.

The majority of these laws are set to become effective on July 1, along with more than 80 other legislative measures. For a comprehensive list of these laws, click here.

In the meantime, the full list of these latest laws is as follows:

HB 211 — Farm Products

House Bill 211 revises the definition of “farm product” to incorporate plants and plant-based products, irrespective of their edibility.

In addition, the law prohibits local governments from regulating a farm from collecting, storing, processing and distributing farm products on agricultural land.

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 633 — Managing Entities

House Bill 633 requires the Department of Children and Families to perform audits of behavioral health managing entities that help provide certain mental health services for uninsured people.

Because these managing entities are contracted by the DCF to plan, subcontract for, and coordinate these services, the law aims to ensure they’re operating appropriately.

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 653 — Capital Felonies

House Bill 653 lets juries consider new aggravating factors when determining whether someone convicted of a capital felony should receive the death penalty.

More specifically, this law lets juries examine whether the crime was committed against a head of state — such as the U.S. president or state governor — as an aggravating factor.

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 681 — Apprenticeships

House Bill 681 requires state officials to develop new standards regarding apprenticeship programs in the state.

Under this law, these policies must address negotiations between schools and their registered apprenticeship partners to ensure that all parties know the responsibilities and total amount of funding for these apprenticeship programs.

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 683 — Construction Regulations

House Bill 683 establishes a variety of new rules regarding construction standards in the state.

Some of these rules are as follows:

• Requires the state to adopt standards for installing synthetic turf in residential areas

• Mandates that only one support rail in an elevator must be continuous and at least 42 inches long, as opposed to all interior support rails

• Exempts equipment from the Florida Building Code if it’s located at a spaceport that is used for space launch vehicles, payloads or spacecraft

• Prohibits local building departments from requiring copies of contracts and related documents in order to receive a building permit

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 847 — DNA Testing

House Bill 847 creates the Expedited DNA Testing Grant Program, which gives funding to law enforcement to help test evidence for DNA.

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 897 — Community Associations

House Bill 897 exempts community association managers (CAM) from certain requirements regarding conflicts of interest.

This applies if the CAM manages a timeshare plan governed by the Timeshare Act and provides conflict-of-interest disclosures covered under that act.

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 987 — Highway Designations

House Bill 987 designates 20 new stretches of road across the state for memorial and honorary purposes.

These new designations are as follows:

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 1091 — Mental Health Services

House Bill 1091 requires the DCF to provide oversight of the 988 Lifeline call centers.

In addition, the law requires clinical psychologists to have at least three years of clinical experience to transfer a patient from voluntary to involuntary status.

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 1145 — Workforce Education

House Bill 1145 allows charter schools to receive funding under the Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive Grant Program.

This program provides grants to school districts and colleges to fund career and technical education for students.

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 1549 — Financial Services

House Bill 1549 implements several new rules regarding financial services in the state.

Some of these rules are as follows:

• Allows the Office of Financial Regulation to issue a certificate of acquisition to an acquiring financial institution after certain criteria are met

• Repeals the requirement for credit unions to maintain a regular reserve and modifies the definition of the term “equity” to remove reference to “regular reserve”

• Removes a timeframe for certain requirements by directors of a proposed new bank or trust company

• Modifies the period in which a proposed bank must open and conduct a general commercial bank

The law is set to take effect on July 1.

HB 6521 — Car Crash Victim

House Bill 6521 seeks to provide relief to Jacob Rodgers, a man who was injured in a car crash back in 2015.

According to the bill, Rodgers had been a passenger in a car when it was struck by another vehicle owned by the city of Gainesville. The bill states that the city employee had run a stop sign, leading to the crash.

As a result, Rodgers suffered spinal fractures that left him paraplegic, the bill notes.

This bill would authorize the city of Gainesville to pay $10.8 million to Rodgers as compensation.

The law took effect upon being signed.

Meanwhile, other batches of bills recently signed into law by DeSantis include the following: