Scott Signs 27 Bills Into Law

May 15, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott signed 27 bills into law Thursday, including measures that target speed traps, take aim at “revenge porn, and allow “growlers”.

Scott signed what has become known as the beer “growler” bill (SB 186), which will allow half-gallon containers to be filled at breweries, as can be done with other sized bottles.

But don’t rush out to fill-er-up just yet, as the law doesn’t go into effect until July 1. Scott said in signing the measure that he was “eliminating another burdensome regulation.”

The sudsy topic had been a heavily lobbied issue in the Capitol the past few years because of objections from large beer distributors.
Among the other bills signed Thursday is an effort to prevent local police from using traffic-ticket quotas.

The law (SB 264), which also goes into effect July 1, stems from a longstanding speed trap in the small Alachua County town of Waldo, which is along U.S. 301. The town’s police department disbanded last year, at least in part because officers disclosed they had been placed under a ticket quota. State law-enforcement agencies are already barred from using ticket quotas, but restrictions on cities and counties have not been so clear.

Another new law (SB 538), going into place Oct. 1, is known as the “revenge porn” bill. It provides penalties for uploading to the Internet sexually explicit images without the consent of the person in the picture.

Scott also signed a measure (SB 766), which starting July 1 will prohibit the use of aerial drones to capture images that could infringe on the privacy of property owners or occupants.

Also, he signed a bill (HB 593) that allows residents in the Wakulla County fishing village of Panacea — population 816 — to decide if they want to incorporate as a city. The name of the community, located 28 miles south of Tallahassee, comes from small sulfurous mineral springs in the area that were purported to have healing properties.

Scott also signed two bills Thursday that will provide public-records exemptions for email addresses held by county tax collectors and the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. One of the bills (SB 200), sponsored by Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, will provide an exemption for taxpayers’ email addresses obtained by tax collectors in the process of sending tax notices. Similarly, the other bill (SB 7040) will apply to email addresses that the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles collects related to driver’s licenses and motor-vehicle records.

Pictured: Gov. Rick Scott signed 27 bills into law Thursday. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

2 Responses to “Scott Signs 27 Bills Into Law”

  1. Gloria Horning on May 17th, 2015 8:35 am

    Check out SB912. Bottom line of the bill is landfill owners will not be held respinsible for accepting toxic materials. So, who is the gatekeeper?

  2. dman on May 15th, 2015 11:54 am

    I think it’s great that our state is doing away with speeding ticket quotas. It’s an absurd notion that our big brother government demands that we must wear seat belts, drive the slowest in the western world, and nowadays (in NY city at least) don’t drink any big chugs of soda. Also be sure you don’t sell any untaxed cigs in NY city or they might choke you to death on the street corner. I digress…

    I understand there’s safety issues and that we have some REALLY bad drivers around here (the worst I’ve seen and I’ve done a good amount of global traveling). But the solution is in training future drivers better, not ticketing people’s wallets to death.

    Be smart, be safe, use common sense, and let the police handle the real crimes.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News