CONTESTING LOCAL ORDINANCES The bill, if enacted, would require local governments to prepare a “business impact estimate” before adopting certain proposed ordinances. Cities and counties would be prohibited from enforcing any ordinance that is the subject of legal action challenging the ordinance’s validity on the grounds that it is preempted by the Florida Constitution or state law or is arbitrary or unreasonable. The bill also provides that a court may award attorney fees and damages to a plaintiff who successfully challenges a local ordinance on the grounds that the ordinance is arbitrary or unreasonable.
TRANSPORTATION A Florida Department of Transportation legislative package includes opportunities for autonomous vehicles to operate on state highways; expands the “move-over” law to require drivers to move over a lane when a disabled vehicle is stopped on the roadside with people present; and creates a lab at the University of Florida to work on transportation technology research. $20 million will be available annually for five years to enhance the movement and storage of construction aggregate and authorizes FDOT to expend $5 million for workforce development.
TRANSGENDER LEGISLATION Three bills are heading to the governor that relate to transgender people. One bill bans children from attending adult performances, specifically where performers dress in clothing designed for the opposite sex (drag shows). Another bill bans transgender medical care, including puberty blockers, for all minors. A third requires an individual to use a single sex restroom based on the person’s gender at birth regardless of how they present. The bill was amended to apply only to restrooms and changing or locker rooms in schools, colleges and universities, state and local government buildings, as well as prisons and juvenile justice facilities.
WASTEWATER PROTECTIONS Local governments could be preempted from the enforcement of ordinances restricting the sale of fertilizers during the summer months until a study can be completed by the University of Florida. Seventeen counties and 100 cities have implemented such bans in an effort to improve water quality.
CATALYTIC CONVERTERS Catalytic converters are a hot item to steal because of the value of the precious metals. A thief can pocket $500 while the victim may end up paying $3,000 in replacement costs. The bill would require paperwork indicating the converters’ origin and provide stiff penalties for theft and resale.
DEMENTIA CARE The Florida Department of Elderly Affairs must offer Alzheimer’s disease and dementia education to the general public. Employees of assisted living facilities, adult family care homes or adult day care centers who provide care to Alzheimer’s patients will receive dementia-specific training.
RENTAL DEPOSITS Landlords can offer a tenant the option to pay a monthly payment in lieu of a security deposit. Any such payments would be nonrefundable.
ALIMONY Permanent alimony would be eliminated and replaced by a formula for alimony payments based on the length of marriages. Additionally, those paying alimony can seek modifications if “a supportive relationship exists or has existed” involving their ex-spouses in the previous year. The new rules do not affect existing alimony settlements. The bill also addresses parenting plans and provides that custody arrangements can be adjusted if a parent moves within 50 miles of the child’s primary resident.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE This bill requires a court to consider whether a parent or child is in imminent danger or has been the victim of domestic violence, abuse, abandonment or neglect when determining custody arrangements. Called “Greyson’s Law,” to honor 4-year-old Greyson Kessler who was shot and killed by his father after his mother’s protective order was denied by a judge.
AVA’S LAW Judges may postpone the prison sentence of a pregnant women until 12 weeks after she gives birth. It requires prison officials to inform women that they have a right to take a pregnancy test if they have been in custody for at least three days. The legislation is named in memory of a baby who died after her mother prematurely gave birth while incarcerated.