These New FL Laws Go Into Effect On Jan. 1

FLORIDA — While many of the nearly 300 bills approved by the state legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis during the last legislative session went into effect July 1, some will become law at the start of the new year.

Here are a few of the new laws taking effect Jan. 1:

House Bill 3: Online Protections for Minors

This law deals with children under 16 opening social media accounts on certain platforms. While parents can consent to their children ages 14 and 15 having social media accounts, those under 14 won’t be allowed to open accounts.

The law doesn’t name specific platforms, but defined them as those that used algorithms and “addictive features” like “infinite scrolling” or “seamless content,” and let users see content or activities of other users.

House Bill 135: Voter Registration Applications

This law will require Florida residents who want to change their party affiliation to do so in writing. It was inspired by a state software glitch that unintentionally reset party affiliations to “No Party Affiliation” for some people renewing their driver’s license.

House Bill 267: Building Regulations

Florida’s building code is updated under this new law, which updates the timeframe for processing building permit applications, the rules about window and door replacements, among other things.

Senate Bill 184: Impeding, Threatening or Harassing First Responders

This new law makes it a second-degree misdemeanor for people to get within 25 feet of a first responder, including police officers, after being verbally warned not to approach them.

Senate Bill 556: Protection of Specific Adults

Targeting the financial abuse of vulnerable adults, this new law allows financial institutions to delay transactions from their accounts in certain circumstances if fraud is expected.

Senate Bill 362: Medical Treatment Under the Workers’ Compensation Law

This new law increases limits on witness fees charged by certain witnesses and increases maximum reimbursement allowances for physicians and surgical procedures.

More laws in effect Jan. 1 include:

SB 892: Dental Insurance Claims

Prohibits a contract between a health insurer and a dentist from containing certain restrictions on payment methods; prohibiting a health insurer from charging a fee to transmit a payment to a dentist through Automated Clearing House transfer unless the dentist has consented to such fee; prohibiting a health insurer from denying claims for procedure s included in a prior authorization; prohibiting a contract between a prepaid limited health service organization and a dentist from containing certain restrictions on payment methods, etc.

HB 1491: Pub. Rec./Investigations by the Department of Legal Affairs

Provides an exemption from public records requirements for information relating to investigations by the Department of Legal Affairs of certain social media violations and certain age verification violations.

HB 1093 – Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act

Codifies the Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act into law, which will replace the Florida Uniform Principal and Income Act, which governs the allocation of trust and estate receipts and disbursement between principal and interest when a Florida trust doesn’t provide its own terms for such allocation.

The changes will modernize the state’s trust law, allowing for total-return investing under the modern portfolio theory.

SB 7054 — Private Activity Bonds

Senate Bill 7054 revises state statutes regarding private activity bonds. These types of bonds are issued by state or local governments and used to give special benefits to firms that are undertaking certain kinds of projects — typically those in the public’s interest.

This story includes reporting from WPTV and News4Jax.