Scott Signs Human Trafficking Law, Vetoes Three Bills

June 17, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott vetoed three bills Tuesday, while signing 17 others into law.

Among the new laws is part of a continuing effort to crack down on human trafficking (HB 369). Starting next year, human-trafficking awareness signs will have to be posted in hospital emergency rooms, strip clubs and other adult entertainment establishments and massage businesses not owned by health-care professionals. The Department of Transportation will also have to put up the signs at rest areas, turnpike service plazas, weigh stations, rail stations, airports and welcome centers.

Among the measures vetoed by Scott was a proposal (HB 105) that dealt with the taxing authority of municipal service taxing units to help fund pensions for firefighters. In his veto letter, Scott contended the proposal would create “a costly precedent where unincorporated areas of the county could be allowed to levy new taxes that the law does not currently authorize.” Rep. John Tobia, R-Melbourne Beach, was the only lawmaker who voted against the bill.

Another vetoed bill (HB 435) offered a number of changes to the state’s Administrative Procedures Act, including a new way to challenge state agency rules. Scott expressed concern in a veto letter that the changes could hinder an agency’s ability to make and enforce rules. Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, and Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, were the only lawmakers who opposed the measure during this spring’s regular session.

The third vetoed bill (HB 997) was unanimously approved by the House and Senate and would have created a public-records exemption. However, as Scott noted in his veto letter, the proposal was tied to a separate measure (HB 995) involving the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. That bill died in a Senate committee.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News