TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Governor Ron DeSantis signed close to 300 bills passed by Florida’s Legislature during the 2023 legislative session. While some laws took effect immediately, about two-thirds of Florida’s new laws will officially enter the Florida Statutes on Saturday, July 1.
The record $116.5 billion budget and “capstone” of the highly successful legislative session will fund school choice, pay increases for teachers, state law enforcement and public safety agencies and workforce education programs.
Sales tax exemptions on baby and toddler items and toll rebates will also begin on July 1. Plus, two back-to-school sales tax holidays will return this fiscal year, the first between July 24, 2023 – August 6, 2023 and a second exemption period between January 1, 2024 – January 14, 2024 to help restock school supplies mid-school year.
These are some of the new laws that will take effect Saturday:
- SB 2500 the $116.5 billion budget for the 2023–2024 fiscal year, which will run from Saturday through June 30, 2024. DeSantis vetoed $510.9 million from the budget passed in May.
- HB 1 expands taxpayer-funded vouchers to all Florida students regardless of income.
- HB 3 prohibits government investment strategies considering “environmental, social and governance,” or ESG standards.
- HB 5 eliminates Enterprise Florida, the state’s business recruitment agency. Programs will be shifted to the Department of Economic Opportunity, which will be renamed the Department of Commerce.
- SB 102 makes changes to expand affordable housing, including boosting funding for housing and rental programs, providing incentives for investment and encouraging mixed-use developments.
- SB 106 designates $200 million to help link hiking and biking trails, part of the Shared-Use Non Motorized Trail Network, to the statewide wildlife corridor.
- SB 214 prevents credit card companies from tracking firearm and ammunition sales through a separate “merchant category code” at gun businesses.
- HB 225 allows “opening remarks,” including prayers, of up to two minutes on public-address systems before high school championship events.
- SB 240 offers tax breaks for businesses that employ apprentices or pre-apprentices.
- SB 262 places restrictions on large online companies related to collecting and using consumers’ personal data.
- SB 264 prevents, with some exceptions, property purchases in Florida by people from China who are not U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents.
- SB 266 prohibits colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
- HB 379 prohibits the use of TikTok on devices owned by school districts and through internet access provided by districts.
- HB 389 allows school districts to provide free menstrual hygiene products in schools.
- HB 411 changes residency requirements for county school-board members. Board members must reside in the districts they represent by the date they take office, rather than at the time they qualify to run.
- HB 477 imposes eight-year term limits on school-board members (current is 12 years).
- SB 540 allows “prevailing” parties to recover legal fees in challenges to local government comprehensive plan changes.
- HB 543 allows Floridians to carry guns without concealed weapons licenses.
- HB 637 bars automakers from offering direct-to-consumer or online sales if their vehicles are currently sold through dealerships.
- SB 766 allows school districts to use cameras designed to capture images of drivers who pass school buses illegally.
- SB 846 bans state colleges and universities and employees from accepting gifts from “foreign countries of concern,” including China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela.
- SB 902 places additional safety requirements on amusement rides. The bill is named after 14-year-old Tyre Sampson, who was killed when he fell from a ride last year in Orlando.
- HB 931 prohibits colleges and universities from using “political loyalty” tests in hiring, promotions or admissions.
- HB 1035 gives teachers a bill of rights, including a right to “control and discipline” students and to challenge school districts if they believe state law or State Board of Education rules are being violated.
- HB 1069 expands to eighth grade a 2022 law that prohibits instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
- HB 1259 requires school districts to share portions of local property-tax revenues with charter schools.
- HB 1285 expands the Florida State Guard, which DeSantis revived last year. The state guard will expand from 400 members to 1,500 members.
- HB 1305 requires the Department of Transportation to conduct inspections of the Walt Disney World monorail system.
- SB 1318 extends liability protections for aerospace companies if crew members are injured or killed in spaceflights.
- HB 1379 directs $100 million a year from real-estate taxes to the Florida Forever land-acquisition program and requires a plan to be implemented on improving water quality in the Indian River Lagoon.
- HB 1521 imposes restrictions on which bathrooms “transgender” people can use at public buildings and schools. Those individuals are required to use bathrooms that line up with their sex assigned at birth.
- SB 1580 establishes a right for health care providers to opt out of providing services because of a “conscience-based objection” based on religious, moral or ethical beliefs.
- SB 1604 nullifies agreements Disney made with the former Reedy Creek Improvement District board.
- SB 1718 toughens penalties on people who bring undocumented immigrants into Florida. It also requires hospitals to submit data about whether patients are in the country legally.
- HB 7063 provides tax breaks, including a series of sales tax “holidays” and sales tax exemptions on diapers. It also will reduce a commercial lease tax starting in December.
- SB 7064 increases penalties for adult-entertainment businesses that do not verify the ages and identities of workers to help curb human trafficking.
