Over 150 New Laws Now In Effect In Florida

July 16, 2010

High school students will have to take some tougher classes. Exotic pythons can no longer be sold in Florida. And it will be harder to sue businesses for “slip and fall” incidents. Those are just some of the more than 150 laws that went into effect this month in the Sunshine State.

  • SB 4 heightens graduation standards and phases out part of the high school FCAT, the standardized exam given to Florida students. The new law will eventually require students to take geometry, two years of algebra, biology, chemistry or physics and an additional “rigorous” science course in order to graduate. DOE officials would also create and eventually implement end-of-course exams. Some school officials have questioned how it will affect graduation rates.
  • SB 2126 expands the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, a program that that sends low-income Florida students to private school. The new law would allow the program, currently capped at $118 million in aggregate, to keep expanding as more donations flow in. The program is funded by private companies that get a corporate tax credit in return for a donation. Currently, more than 27,000 students receive a $3,950 scholarship. Under the new law, the $118 million cap expands to $140 million this year, and then allows it to expand by 25 percent whenever the donations reach 90 percent of the cap. The measure also provides additional tax credits for the program, adding oil and gas severance taxes, beverage taxes on alcohol and other types of business taxes. The goal is to increase the amount of students who receive the scholarship and boost the individual award amount, so that it eventually reaches 80 percent of the state allocation for per pupil spending, which is currently at about $6,866 per student.
  • Another bill (HB 525) becoming law Thursday eliminates the statute of limitations on sex crimes related to minors. The measure was pushed by lawyer Michael Dolce and Lauren book, the daughter of Miami lobbyist Ron Book, who were both victimized as children.
  • SB 1708 makes it a felony to kill, maim or mutiliate a horse and then sell the meat that is not acquired from a “licensed slaughterhouse.” The measure was sponsored by Sen. Victor Crist,R-Tampa, and Rep. Luis Garcia, D-Miami, who proposed it in response to incidents of horses being stolen and butchered for human consumption in the state over the last few years.
  • Lawmakers upped the requirements for Florida students to qualify for the popular Bright Futures Scholarship, which pays for the education for about half of the students at Florida’s public universities. The changes include raising the SAT requirements from 1270 to 1290 for the top award and 970 to 1050 for the secondary award. (HB 5201)
  • Another new law makes it more difficult for an individual to sue a business for “slip and fall” incidents. The new law places the burden of proof on a person who is injured in a slip and fall case. They now will have to prove the business had knowledge of a dangerous condition and didn’t fix it. The law was a major priority of the Florida Chamber and other members of the business community.
  • Don’t try to put a snake on a plane. SB 318, which goes went into effect Thursday, bans the importation of dangerous giant reptiles into Florida and enhances the state’s ability to prevent internet sales of banned wildlife. It also increases penalties for those who break wildlife laws.

By Kathleen Hughney
The News Service Florida

Comments

6 Responses to “Over 150 New Laws Now In Effect In Florida”

  1. Teresa on July 19th, 2010 12:35 pm

    Unfortunately….I think these changes in our education system will increase the amount of high school drop outs..In todays society most of our young people
    ( not all…we do have some really bright kids out there who are amitious and want a better future for themselves) have no ambition or discipline or good work habits…The parents ( some of them but not all of the them spoil their children to no end….They don’t have to do a thing…..They get what they want and doesn’t have to earn their priviledges or know the value of a dollar…..So these students are not gonna be prepared to these harder tests……I know we want to prepare our children for a brighter and more productive future…I think better education is wonderful….My only question is it going to work….

  2. Lauren Lowe on July 19th, 2010 11:45 am

    I’m glad they’re upping education requirements again. Most of the kids up there don’t have much ambition or want to learn. With more end of the course exams they will have to learn the material and not “slide by”, well if they want to graduate. Haha.

  3. David Huie Green on July 17th, 2010 6:55 pm

    REGARDING:
    “Then we still have so many stupid laws on the books that should never be enforced.”

    True. That makes me like the idea of Sunset Laws, laws which have to be renewed by the Legislature every so often to remain on the books. That way, unless a majority agrees it is a good law, it just goes away.

    David for simplicity
    and correcting mistakes

  4. David Huie Green on July 17th, 2010 6:51 pm

    REGARDING:
    “I hope that each parent that has a child puts a law suit on the state of Flordia if the child does not pass these test.”

    What if the kid failed because he or she didn’t know the subject yet?

    I don’t know any details but Kansas is supposed to have changed to a system in which kids can show they have mastered a subject and move on, not wait until the end of the semester or year. (They did it out of a money shortfall, but if it helps, it is a good thing.) Instead of being discouraging, that may even be encouraging.

    David for perfect education
    and perfect testing
    for free

  5. Big B little ill on July 17th, 2010 6:48 am

    Some laws are good, some not so good. But what bothers me is they just make them and never enforce them. Then we still have so many stupid laws on the books that should never be enforced. Just like a closet or garage that never gets cleaned out.

  6. roll tide on July 17th, 2010 12:10 am

    Another person not in education making it so hard on the students. The average student that wants to get a higher education will have a hard time .These new test will cost the state of Flordia many thousands of dollars. I hope that each parent that has a child puts a law suit on the state of Flordia if the child does not pass these test.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News