Governor Rick Scott Signs 36 Bills into Law

Governor Rick Scott Signs 36 Bills into Law

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Governor Rick Scott signed the following bills into law today:

HB 21 — The bill requires the Department of Education to create a uniform, statewide photo identification badge signifying that a noninstructional contractor meets certain background screening and other requirements.

CS/SB 56 — The bill updates the protocols of the Department of Health and medical examiners when reporting and classifying the cause of death of an infant under one year of age who suddenly dies when in apparent good health.

CS/HB 93 — The bill allows individuals obtaining or renewing their motor vehicle registration or driver license to make a voluntary contribution of $1.00 to assist the homeless.

CS/CS/HB 113 — The bill creates a new offense making it a third-degree felony for an adult to knowingly distribute material harmful to a minor or post materials harmful to a minor on public and private school property.

 CS/HB 135 — The bill designates the following Brevard County properties as spaceport territory: the Space Coast Regional Airport, the Space Coast Industrial Park, and the Spaceport Commerce Park.

 CS/CS/HB 277  — The bill prevents an increase in the assessed value of residential properties as a result of installing a renewable energy source device.

 CS/SB 284 — The bill establishes a process for private schools to register to be notified at the same time public school districts are notified about an emergency occurrence in the local area that could threaten student safety. The bill also allows school districts, or private schools, to adopt a protocol developed by a licensed physician for the administration of epinephrine auto-injection by trained school personnel. 

 CS/CS/CS/HB 319 — The bill makes changes to local transportation concurrency options which are designed to ensure transportation facilities and services are available and kept concurrent with local development.

SB 342 — The bill allows the rental of homestead properties to be rented for up to 30 days a calendar year while maintaining the homestead classification.

CS/CS/CS/HB 375 — The bill provides that the owner of a residence may be approved and permitted by the Department of Health as a maintenance entity for their own engineer-designed Onsite Sewage Treatment & Disposal System or Aerobic Treatment Unit.

HB 407 — This bill protects Florida’s children by enhancing criminal penalties against convicted gang members who trespass in school safety zones and provides enhanced criminal penalties for any person who solicits or recruits children under age 13 into a gang.

 CS/CS/HB 411 — The bill codifies the two existing children’s initiatives in Orlando and Jacksonville in statute.

CS/HB 423 — The bill exempts dyed diesel fuel used for commercial fishing and aquaculture purposes from the sales and use tax

CS/CS/HB 437 — The bill clarifies Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s corporate roles and responsibilities.

SB 452 — The bill permanently reauthorizes the public records exemption for a donor’s personal identifying information, held in the Joshua Abbott Organ and Tissue Registry.

 CS/HB 46 — The bill requires the Department of Education, in coordination with the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind and with input from stakeholders including representatives of the auditory oral community, to develop a model communications plan for use during the individual educational plan development.

CS/CS/SB 468 — The bill codifies a pilot project by the Office of Insurance Regulation that provides an alternative mechanism to the insurance policy form filing and approval process for property and casualty insurance lines, excluding workers’ compensation and personal lines.

 CS/CS/CS/HB 487 — The bill creates the Freemasonry specialty license plate, establishes the annual use fee of $25, and provides that those funds will benefit the Masonic Home Endowment Fund, Inc.

 CS/CS/HB 609 — The bill amends the definition of bullying to include cyberbullying, and establishes new prohibitions for technology-related activities that adversely affects the ability of a student to receive an education or that disrupts the orderly operation of school.

 SB 628 — The bill provides a public record exemption for reproductions of photographic or digital images from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Driver and Vehicle Information Database for the certain people as part of their official work of the court.

CS/CS/SB 682 — The bill provides for the approval and standards of certain beneficial uses of fossil fuel combustion products, the waste byproducts of burning fossil fuels.  It also provides that the prohibition against hazardous waste landfills in Florida would not be applicable to these waste byproducts, should the United States Environmental Protection Agency deem them hazardous waste.

CS/CS/CS/HB 701 — The bill prohibits the use or acceptance of electronic benefits transfer cards at establishments licensed to sell distilled spirits, adult entertainment establishments, pari-mutuel facilities, slot machine facilities, commercial bingo facilities, casinos, gaming and gambling facilities.

CS/CS/HB 801 — The bill substitutes “certified school counselor” for the term “guidance counselor” to reflect the current requirement that persons employed as public school counselors be certified.

 CS/HB 841 The bill provides clarification and consistency in use of a power of attorney, which is a legal document that a person can use to authorize another person to act on his or her behalf.

CS/HB 969 — The bill provides statutory guidance to streamline the regulatory process for recreational vehicle parks and recreational camps when applying for a permit with the Department of Health and redefines the term “occupancy.”

CS/CS/CS/HB 999 — The bill addresses issues ranging from special event permitting at boat shows to permitting authority for water wells to expedited permitting for natural gas pipelines.

CS/HB 1071 —  The bill amends various sections of Florida law in order to provide a standard definition and a uniform interpretation and application of the term accrediting organization.

HB 1157 — The bill eliminates the sunset date of the health flex plan program. Health flex plans were established to provide affordable health care services to low-income uninsured Floridians.

CS/HB 1193 — The bill strikes three of the five conditions resulting in the loss of the agricultural classification of land and removes the authority of the Value Adjustment Board to review land classifications and property exemptions upon its own motion.

CS/SB 1768  — The bill permanently reauthorizes the public records exemption for individuals who apply for or receive paratransit services. Paratransit services are special transportation services to assist individuals who cannot otherwise access the public transportation system, such as persons with disabilities.

 SB 1806 — The bill provides that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s rules on Total Maximum Daily Loads are exempt from legislative ratification requirements.

CS/SB 1808 — The bill establishes the manner by which the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is to proceed with outstanding numeric nutrient criteria rulemaking and represents a key aspect to recovering state control over Florida’s waters from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

 SB 1830 — The bill streamlines the administration of the property tax, clarifies that counties are authorized to grant an additional homestead exemption of up to $50,000 to qualifying low income seniors, and broadens the ad valorem tax discount provided to disabled veterans to include veterans who were not Florida residents at the time of entering military service.

 SB 1850 — The bill exempts from public record the proprietary business information that is owned or controlled by an insurer participating in the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation clearinghouse program created in SB 1770 (Note: this bill was filed yesterday 5/29).

 HB 4013 — The bill eliminates the lifetime maximum amount of tax refunds a business could receive under the Qualified Target Industry ($7 million or $7.5 million if located in an enterprise zone) and Qualified Defense and Space Flight Business Programs ($7 million).

 HB 7143 — The bill reauthorizes the public records and public meeting exemptions for donors to direct-support organizations for the Department of Veterans Affairs.