Twelve laws passed this year by the Florida Legislature take effect starting Oct. 1, covering topics that range from the paperwork required to register a car to new felony charges for lying on a rental application.
Most of the roughly 230 measures from the session already went into effect on July 1; this second batch is smaller, but several of its changes directly affect drivers, renters, landlords and pet owners in South Florida.
Laws going into effect in October
SB 246 — Specialty plates
- Authorizes eight new plates: UFC, Miami Northwestern Alumni Association, Christopher Columbus High School, United States Naval Academy, United States Military Academy, Miami Dade College, Florida Film Legacy and St. Petersburg College.
- Creates an Endless Summer plate option for motorcycles; its sales are added to those of the car design.
- Each design needs 3,000 presale vouchers within two years before it can be produced.
- The sponsoring organization must submit a five-year financial projection to DHSMV within 60 days of approval; if it doesn’t, the plate is no longer authorized.
- Eliminates the notarized letter previously required to buy the Fraternal Order of Police plate.
HB 397 — Pretrial release violation
- Titled the Victim Safety in Pretrial Release Act.
- Makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to intentionally violate a no-contact order imposed after an arrest for homicide, battery, stalking, kidnapping, sexual battery, robbery, written or electronic threats, lewd crimes against minors under 16, or any other felony involving the use or threat of force.
- A second violation or any subsequent one becomes a third-degree felony.
- Police may make a warrantless arrest when there is probable cause.
- The defendant remains in custody until the first appearance, where the judge must prioritize the safety of the victim and the public.
HB 429 — Gang membership criteria
- It still requires meeting two or more criteria, but the list is expanded.
- Counts admitting membership on a digital platform or social media.
- Counts being identified by a spouse who lives with the person.
- Counts using gang language online to promote criminal activity; the law defines that term.
- The criterion of having been seen in the company of known members drops from four times to two.
SB 432 — “Meg’s Law”: nitrous oxide and xylazine
- Prohibits businesses licensed to sell tobacco or nicotine from possessing, selling or delivering nitrous oxide on their premises, punishable as a third-degree felony.
- Does not apply to supermarkets licensed by the Department of Agriculture, but it does apply to convenience stores.
- Does not affect food products where the gas is used only as a propellant.
- Creates the crime of trafficking in xylazine: 28 grams or more is a first-degree felony.
- Mandatory minimums range from three years and a $100,000 fine to 25 years and $500,000 when the amount exceeds 200 grams.
SB 488 — Transportation
- A crash only requires notifying police when the apparent damage reaches $2,000; the previous threshold was $500.
- Vehicle registration requires proof of address and proof of lawful presence with a REAL ID, a valid U.S. passport, or a foreign passport with Form I-94.
- The rule applies equally to private cars and commercial trucks.
- Clarifies that decorative license plate frames and borders are legal as long as they don’t cover required information.
- Exempts certain active-duty military members from some registration requirements.
- Replaces carrier registration with a licensing system that includes fuel-tax decals and new penalties for counterfeiting them.
- Allows DHSMV to email notices and orders, including those to revoke, cancel or suspend licenses.
SB 490 — DHSMV public records
- Shields from public-records requests the email addresses DHSMV collects as a general method of notification, not only for renewal notices.
- Extends the protection to emails tied to vessel registration.
- The exemption applies retroactively.
- Expires Oct. 2, 2031, unless renewed by the Legislature.
HB 559 — Animal welfare
- Creates third-degree felonies for an adult who induces a minor to commit, or who commits in front of a minor, aggravated animal cruelty, animal fighting or baiting, and sexual acts with animals.
- Civil fines for violating local animal-control ordinances increase from a $500 cap to $2,500 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second and $7,500 for a third.
- Juvenile court must order a psychological evaluation of the offending minor and, if recommended, counseling or treatment, paid by the parent or guardian unless indigency is found.
- Expands the information FDLE must publish about each convicted person: name, alias, date of birth, race, county of conviction, charges, case number, identifying marks or tattoos, and booking photo.
- The data remains posted for three years for a first misdemeanor conviction, five years for a first felony, and 10 years for subsequent convictions.
- Clerks of court and detention facilities in each county must provide that information to FDLE.
HB 1293 — Fraudulent entry into rental homes
- Makes it a third-degree felony to enter and take possession of a rental dwelling through a materially false written statement about one’s identity.
- Also, a felony to submit forged or fictitious documents: a license, ID, bank statement or pay stub.
- And to impersonate the person whose name was used on the application.
- Fraudulent entry is classified as a noncurable breach, even if no criminal case has been opened.
- The landlord may issue a seven-day notice to vacate.
SB 1332 — Habitual felony offender registration
- The designation is printed on the driver’s license or ID card using a specific marking.
- Initial registration must now be done in person at the sheriff’s office, with more required information and documentation.
- Redefines permanent, temporary and transient residence, and adds a new category for in-state travel.
- The custodian of a jail must notify FDLE when a habitual offender is in custody, upon release, and if the person escapes or dies.
- Authorizes DHSMV to provide images to FDLE for public-notification purposes.
HB 1525 — Lewd acts
- Repeals the old offense of “unnatural and lascivious” acts.
- Creates a third-degree felony: lewdly exposing one’s sexual organs, or engaging in a sexual act without physical contact, while watching a minor under 16 for the offender’s own sexual gratification.
- Defines “watching” as intentionally viewing another person under circumstances in which the offender can reasonably be seen.
- It is not a defense that the minor was unaware or did not see the offender.
- Excluded are a mother who is breastfeeding and someone who is nude in a place designated for that purpose.
HB 4039 — Monarch Hill landfill, Broward
- Requires Broward County to commission an independent feasibility study before approving any physical expansion of the landfill.
- The study must measure environmental and public health impacts, analyze alternatives such as waste-to-energy technologies and evaluate odors, traffic, noise and groundwater contamination.
- Requires at least one public hearing within a 5-mile radius of the landfill, announced 30 days in advance.
- No approval may move forward until the study and the hearing have been completed and made public.
- The legislative analysis estimates a one-time cost of $700,000 for the county.
HB 4093 — Fellsmere Water Control District, Indian River County
- Changes the water control district from independent to dependent on Indian River County.
- The County Commission becomes its governing board.
- Revises the district’s boundaries and regulates the maintenance and use of certain canals.
- Sets conditions for access to public records.
This story was translated from Spanish with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool. An NBC6 digital editor reviewed the translation.
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