Several new laws get into effect this Thursday. The 24 laws is going to be implemented after being passed during the 2021 legislative session.
“Military vets and those attracted to specialty license plates is going to be most interested in the brand new laws kicking in Thursday,” says Ellsworth Buck, Vice President of Insurance, Florida's largest independent car insurance agency.
Among the notable new laws:
HB1135– Revises the state's specialty license plate program. It offers expanding the possibility number of designs in the current 123 to 150 and requiring a minimum of 1,000 sales before new specialty plates can move forward and existing plates can remain in circulation. The balance also creates plates for Auburn University, the University of Alabama and also the University of Georgia and establishes a “super tag” template for nine black fraternities and sororities dubbed the “Divine 9:” Alpha Phi Alpha, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho and Iota Phi Theta.
HB133-Makes a series of changes related to towing vessels and vehicles. Partly, the bill requires local governments to set maximum rates for towing and immobilizing vessels. It also prohibits counties and cities from imposing fees on wrecker operators or towing businesses.
“This bill will also ensure tow-away zone notices are simpler to see,” says Ellsworth Buck, Vice President of Insurance, Florida's top independent car insurance agency.
HB205-Expands a portion of state regulations designed to prevent people from misrepresenting service within the military. The balance makes it a third-degree felony to make use of such misrepresentations to land jobs or political offices.
SB294-Creates the “Florida Veterans Protection Act” to make it a first-degree felony to obtain or attempt to swindle $50,000 or even more from 10 or even more military veterans.
SB680– Expands a 2021 law that increased penalties for those who remove fins from sharks and discard all of those other sharks within the ocean. The new law bans the import, export and sale of shark fins but includes exceptions for those who already had federal shark fishing permits as of Jan. 1 and seafood dealers who had federal shark dealer permits. Shark fins are thought a delicacy in japan.
According to Jim Turner with News Service of Florida, “Many of the measures taking effect this week keep in place exemptions to state-public records laws. Such exemptions often are susceptible to repeal unless they are re-enacted by lawmakers.”
Those include exemptions related to law-enforcement body camera recordings within private residences, health care facilities or any other places where individuals would expect privacy (HB 7015); emails collected through the Department of Highway Safety and Cars for vehicle-registration renewal notices and driver-license renewal notices (HB 7001); and information concerning the identities of victims of kid abuse and sexual offenses and minors who are victims of human trafficking (HB 7019).
Source: News Service of Florida
