Following the latest Legislative session in Florida, nearly 30 new state laws are set to take effect on Wednesday, News4JAX sister station WKMG in Orlando reports.
Many of these upcoming laws either establish new crimes or impose harsher penalties for existing crimes, though a couple also deal with flood disclosures and land regulations.
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RELATED: Here are 25 new Florida laws that went into effect on July 1
The full list of 28 Florida laws set to take effect on Oct. 1 is as follows:
HB 113 — Fleeing Police
House Bill 113 creates harsher penalties for those who flee from law enforcement.
More specifically, the new law increases the ranking for the following offenses on the offense severity ranking chart:
| Offense | Change |
|---|---|
| Fleeing/eluding law enforcement in a patrol vehicle with siren and lights activated while driving at high speed | Level 4 ---> Level 5 |
| Aggravated fleeing/attempting to elude when leaving the scene of a crash and causing injury to person or property | Level 5 ---> Level 6 |
Higher scores on the chart can raise the minimum possible sentence that a person can receive upon conviction.
HB 253 — Motor Crimes
House Bill 253 makes several changes to state statutes regarding motor vehicle offenses.
These changes include the following:
| Offense | New Rule |
|---|---|
| Driver uses prohibited lights or tries to pull another car over | Becomes a third-degree felony |
| Noncriminal traffic infraction where a driver purposefully alters or covers up a license plate or vehicle registration certificate | Becomes a second-degree misdemeanor |
| Person buys or owns a device to obscure his/her license plate | Now prohibited, second-degree misdemeanor |
| Person makes or sells a device to obscure license plates | Now prohibited, first-degree misdemeanor |
| Person uses a device to obscure a license plate while committing a crime or avoiding law enforcement | Now prohibited, third-degree felony |
HB 437 — EMD Tampering
House Bill 437 potentially enhances punishments for those who tamper with an electronic monitoring device (EMD) that a court orders someone to wear.
Instead of a simple third-degree felony, this offense is now based on the charge for which the person wearing the EMD was convicted.
For example: if the person was convicted of a first-degree felony, then the tampering charge would also be tried as a first-degree felony, which can be punished with up to a life sentence.
HB 479 — Leaving the Scene of a Crash
House Bill 479 allows a court to order drivers who fled the scene of a crash after striking property to make restitution to the property’s owner.
HB 687 — Driving and Boating Crimes
House Bill 687 — dubbed “Trenton’s Law” — creates harsher penalties for certain driving- and boating-related crimes.
If a person has a prior conviction for one of the following crimes, the penalty for any subsequent violation of the same crime will instead become a second-degree felony:
- DUI manslaughter
- BUI manslaughter
- Vehicular homicide
- Vessel homicide
In addition, the law makes a first refusal to submit to a breath/urine test subsequent to a DUI arrest a second-degree misdemeanor.
This legislation is named after Trenton Stewart, an 18-year-old who was struck and ultimately killed in a DUI crash back in 2023.
HB 693 — Aggravating Factors
House Bill 693 lets juries consider additional factors when determining whether someone convicted of a capital felony is eligible for the death penalty or a life sentence.
More specifically, the law lets juries take into account whether the victim was gathered with others for a school activity, religious activity, or public government meeting as an aggravating factor.
HB 703 — Utility Relocation
House Bill 703 requires communications providers to begin working on relocating a communications facility upon proper notice from a local government that the facility is in a public right-of-way.
While these service providers are expected to bear the brunt of the relocation expenses, the law also sets up a state grant program to reimburse these costs.
HB 757 — Sexual Images
House Bill 757 prohibits the possession of a “lewd or lascivious image” with the intent to promote it, making it a second-degree felony.
In addition, the law prohibits anyone from knowingly soliciting child pornography, which will become a third-degree felony.
Furthermore, the law criminalizes the generation, solicitation and possession of deepfake pornography, which is set as a third-degree felony.
As a result, the law also allows a victim of deepfake pornography to sue the offender.
HB 777 — Luring Children
House Bill 777 creates harsher penalties for the crime of luring a child into a building for illicit purposes.
Under this law, the charge can now be applied to cases where the victim is under the age of 14 (as opposed to the previous threshold of 12 years old).
In addition, the law expands the crime to situations where a child is lured out of a building, home or vehicle.
Beyond that, the law also eliminates legal defenses against this sort of charge, including ignorance or misrepresentation of the victim’s age.
HB 989 — Foster Homes
House Bill 989 takes aim at state statutes involving licensure for family foster homes.
Under prior law, the state issues such licenses to a specific person at a specific location, so if the foster parent relocates within the state, he/she must start over with a new license application.
This new law allows a family foster home in good standing with the state to have a priority review and expedited background checks if he/she relocates, giving foster parents more mobility.
HB 1049 — Court Officials
House Bill 1049 establishes several new rules and harsher penalties for those who tamper with, harass, or retaliate against court officials.
This refers to situations where:
- Tampering: Someone uses threats, intimidation, bribery or physical force against a court official to affect the outcome of a criminal case
- Harassment: Someone purposefully hinders, delays or dissuades a court official from attending an official proceeding or rendering a fair verdict
- Retaliation: Someone threatens another person or damages their property in retaliation against a court official for his/her role in an official investigation or court proceeding
HB 1121 — Unmanned Aircraft
House Bill 1121 makes several changes to state statutes regarding drones and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), including:
- Harsher penalties if someone operates a drone over a critical infrastructure facility
- Harsher penalties if someone owns or operates a UAS with an attached firearm
- Prohibition against owning or operating a UAS carrying a weapon of mass destruction, whether real or a hoax
- Criminal penalties for anyone who illegally uses a drone to spy on a person or private property, with harsher penalties if a violator distributes the surveillance video
HB 1351 — Sexual Predators
House Bill 1351 revises reporting requirements for sexual predators and offenders.
Under this law, such predators/offenders must report where they work and their work phone number.
Furthermore, the law requires local law enforcement to verify the home address of a sexual predator at least four times per year (only once per year for sexual offenders).
HB 1451 — Sexual Cyberharassment
House Bill 1451 enhances penalties for sexual cyberharassment, making it a third-degree felony instead of a misdemeanor if done for financial gain.
In addition, the law extends the statute of limitations for sexual cyberharassment, and it also allows victims to sue offenders for damages.
HB 1455 — Minimum Sentencing
House Bill 1455 establishes mandatory minimum sentences for sexual offenders and predators if they are convicted of yet another sex crime.
Under this law, the minimum sentences are as follows:
| Crime | Minimum Sentence |
|---|---|
| Lewd/lascivious molestation of a victim under 16 years old | 10 years |
| Lewd/lascivious molestation of an elderly or disabled person | 10 years |
| Possession of child pornography | 10 years |
| Soliciting a minor online, traveling to meet a minor, or prohibited computer use | 10 years |
| Transmitting child pornography | 10 years |
| Possesses child pornography with intent to promote | 15 years |
| Use of a child in a sexual performance | 20 years |
| Promoting a sexual performance by a child | 20 years |
| Buying or selling minors | 20 years |
The law also prevents a person sentenced under these rules from gaining discretionary early release (aside from pardons or conditional medical release) before serving the minimum sentence.
HB 7003 — Financial Technology Sandbox
House Bill 7003 removes the scheduled repeal date of a public records exemption under state law.
This exemption applies to sensitive business information held by the state for Financial Technology Sandbox applications.
The exemption was set to be automatically repealed per the Open Government Sunset Review Act on Oct. 2, though this law prevents that from happening.
SB 150 — Chaining Animals
Senate Bill 150 establishes a new crime under state law regarding animal cruelty.
More specifically, the law makes it a felony to abandon an animal while leaving it chained up during a natural disaster.
Dubbed “Trooper’s Law,” the legislation came about after an abandoned dog was found tied to a fence along I-75 ahead of a hurricane last year. The animal (later nicknamed “Trooper”) had been found in water up to his chest.
SB 168 — Mental Illness
Senate Bill 168 — dubbed the “Tristin Murphy Act” — aims to add alternative means for prosecuting defendants with mental illnesses.
Under this law, a defendant who faces certain charges and suffers from mental illness, an intellectual disability, or autism may instead be placed in a diversion program (if this is a feasible alternative to incarceration).
In addition, the law provides legislative intent to give law enforcement officers crisis intervention team training.
The law is named for Tristin Murphy, who took his own life in a Florida prison in 2021 and became the subject of a CBS News documentary that explored the treatment of mentally ill prisoners in the state.
SB 948 — Flood Disclosures
Senate Bill 948 requires landlords and mobile home park owners to disclose certain details about flood risks and past flooding at the property to prospective tenants.
As such, the law also allows tenants who suffer major flood damage after not being given the disclosure to terminate their lease and receive refunds for advance rents paid.
Furthermore, the law requires that people trying to sell their homes must disclose any flood damage that occurred while they lived there.
SB 1080 — Land Regulations
Senate Bill 1080 amends state statutes involving developer land regulations by local governments.
Under this law, these governments must:
- Specify the minimum information needed for certain zoning applications
- Process applications for development permits within 30 days
- Give refunds to applicants if the government fails to meet certain timeframes when processing applications
- Not limit the number of public hearings held each month if doing so would delay the consideration of an application
SB 1168 — Tracking Devices
Senate Bill 1168 amends state statutes regarding tracking devices.
Under this law, anyone who — during the commission of a dangerous crime — places a tracking device on someone’s property without consent to track them is committing a second-degree felony.
SB 1386 — Utility Workers
Senate Bill 1386 is aimed at offenses where someone assaults or batters a utility worker while he/she is working on critical infrastructure.
Under this law, a “utility worker” refers to the following:
“...A person who bears at least one patch, emblem, organizational identification, or other clear marking that is intended to be plainly visible, that identifies the employing or contracting utility, and that clearly identifies the person as a utility worker under contract with or employed by an entity that owns, operates, leases, or controls a plant, property, or facility for the generation, transmission, distribution, or furnishing to or for the public, of electricity, natural or manufactured gas or propane, water, wastewater, telephone, or communications service, including two or more utilities rendering joint service.”
SB 1804 — Human Trafficking
Senate Bill 1804 creates a new crime under state law: Capital Human Trafficking of Vulnerable Persons for Sexual Exploitation.
The crime applies to adults who knowingly start, manage, plan or fund the human trafficking of children under 12 years old and people who are “mentally defective.”
This new crime is considered a capital felony, meaning convictions can result in a life sentence or death penalty.
SB 7000 — Public Records (Endangered Species)
Senate Bill 7000 keeps in place a public records exemption for site-specific location information about endangered and threatened species.
SB 7004 — Public Records (Housing Programs)
Senate Bill 7004 keeps in place a public records exemption for personal information and photographs of properties belonging to someone is a presidentially declared disaster-related federal, state or local housing assistance program.
The exemption applies to records held by the Department of Commerce, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, a local government, or a local housing finance agency.
SB 7010 — Public Records (Insurers)
Senate Bill 7010 keeps in place a public record exemption for insolvent insurers whose information is held by the Department of Financial Services.
Per state statutes, the exemption was slated to be automatically repealed on Oct. 2, though this law will allow it to remain.
SB 7018 — Public Records (Abortions)
Senate Bill 7018 keeps in place a public record exemption for personal information of a minor who is petitioning for a judicial waiver of parental consent under the Parental Notice of and Consent for Abortion Act.
SB 7020 — Public Records (Cybersecurity)
Senate Bill 7020 keeps in place a public record exemption involving a state agency’s cybersecurity program.
This exemption covers portions of reports like risk assessments and evaluations that would allow someone to get unauthorized access to data, information or IT resources of a state agency.