Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the following bills:
CS/CS/CS/HB 267 – Building Regulations – Requires the Florida Building Commission to modify provisions in the Florida Building Code relating to replacement windows, doors, or garage doors; providing requirements for such modifications; revising the timeframes in which local building officials must issue permits or provide certain written notice if certain private providers affix their professional seal to an affidavit; providing requirements for such written notices; deeming a permit application approved under certain circumstances; prohibiting local building code enforcement agency’s from auditing the performance of private providers until the local building code enforcement agency creates a manual for standard operating audit procedures; providing requirements for such manual; requiring the manual to be publicly available online or printed; requiring certain audit results to be readily accessible; specifying when a permit application is deemed complete and approved; requiring the commission to review and consider certain provisions of law and technical amendments thereto and report its findings to the Legislature by a specified date, etc.
HB 5401 – Judges: The bill conforms current law to the proposed Fiscal Year 2024-2025 House of Representatives’ General Appropriations Act, which includes $2,574,402 in General Revenue funding, and authorizes fourteen full-time equivalent positions with associated salary rate of 1,527,297, for the newly established judgeships and associated judicial assistant staffing.
CS/CS/HB 1567 – Qualifications for County Emergency Management Directors: The bill establishes minimum training, experience, and education standards for all county emergency management directors
CS/CS/HB 1133: Violations Against Vulnerable Road Users: The bill provides that a person who commits a moving violation that causes serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user must pay a fine of not less than $1,500, and attend a DHSMV-approved driver improvement course relating to the rights of vulnerable road users relative to vehicles on the roadway. The bill also requires a court to revoke the person’s driver license for at least three months.
CS/HB 793: Coral Springs Improvement District, Broward County: Prohibits board of supervisors of district from receiving bids on certain contracts; provides exception; requires board to comply with certain statutory bidding procedures; authorizes board to reject all bids if such rejection is in best interests of district; provides that competitive bidding for certain contracts is subject to statutory provisions; authorizes district to apply to DMS to purchase certain commodities & contractual services.
CS/HB 867: North River Ranch Improvement Stewardship District, Manatee County: -Revises boundaries of the district.
HB 1023 – St. Lucie County: Provides an exception to general law; limits compensation to health care provider that provides medical services for inmate housed in St. Lucie County detention center if provider does not have contract with county to provide such services; limits compensation to entity that provides emergency medical transportation services for inmate housed in St. Lucie County detention center if entity does not have contract with county to provide such services.
HB 819 – Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District, Hendry and Lee Counties: Expands territorial boundaries of district.
CS/CS/CS/SB 382 – Continuing Education Requirements: Requires, rather than authorizes, a board, or the Department of Business and Professional Regulation when there is no board, to allow by rule that distance learning may be used to satisfy continuing education requirements; revising the requirements that such continuing education must satisfy; requiring a board, or the department when there is no board, to exempt certain individuals from completing their continuing education requirements, etc.
CS/CS/SB 328 – Affordable Housing – Prohibits counties and municipalities, respectively, from restricting the floor area ratio of certain proposed developments under certain circumstances; authorizing counties and municipalities, respectively, to restrict the height of proposed developments under certain circumstances; requiring counties and municipalities, respectively, to maintain a certain policy on their websites; revising conditions for when multifamily projects are considered property used for a charitable purpose and are eligible to receive an ad valorem property tax exemption, etc. APPROPRIATION: $100,000,000.
CS/CS/SB 994 – Student Transportation Safety: – Revises requirements for signage posted on the rear of a school bus indicating the use of a school bus infraction detection system; requiring a law enforcement agency to send a notice of violation to the registered owner involved in a violation within a specified timeframe after receiving certain information; prohibiting the use of school bus infraction detection systems for remote surveillance; requiring that certain civil penalties be remitted to a participating school district operating a school bus with a school bus infraction detection system to be used for certain purposes, etc.
