October begins tomorrow, and 12 Florida laws will take effect. Here is a look at the new laws and how they could affect daily life.
Minimum wage
Effective Sept. 30, Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $15 an hour under a 2020 constitutional amendment that states the minimum wage will increase by $1 each year since 2021.
The minimum wage for tipped workers will increase from $10.98 to $11.98 an hour. Future increases will be adjusted for inflation.
Specialty plates
A variety of specialty license plates may be manufactured via a pre-order process authorized by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Specialty plates that will be available for purchase include:
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Miami Northwestern Alumni Association
- Christopher Columbus High School
- United States Naval Academy
- United States Military Academy
- First Responders Resiliency
- Miami Dade College
- Florida Film Legacy
- St. Petersburg College
Florida’s “Endless Summer” plates, an initiative to preserve Florida’s coastline, will be available for motorcycles.
Organizations sponsoring specialized plates must submit a five-year financial plan for DHSMV approval. The department has 60 days to approve the plan. If it is not approved, the plate will no longer be authorized.
Victim Safety Pretrial Release Act
Intentionally violating a no-contact order imposed as a condition of pretrial release for certain violent crimes will count as a first-degree misdemeanor and can include a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to one year in prison.
The law applies to certain offenses, including homicide, battery, stalking, kidnapping, robbery, written or electronic threats, certain lewd offenses involving minors under 16 and other felonies involving the use or threat of force.
Repeated violations are a third-degree felony, punishable by fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years in prison.
Criminal gang membership criteria
This Florida law broadens the criteria for who qualifies as a criminal gang member. The criteria include:
- Admitting to be a gang member
- Identified by a gang as one of its members
- Identified as a gang member by a spouse
- Identified as a gang member
- Using gang-related language, symbols and codes on online platforms
The law also lowers the number of gang members a person must be seen associating with from four to two.
“Meg’s Law” – Nitrous oxide and xylazine
This law prohibits businesses from selling, producing or bartering any tobacco or nicotine products that contain nitrous oxide, commonly known as the laughing gas. Violations are punishable as a third-degree felony.
The trafficking of 28 grams or more of xylazine is punishable as a first-degree felony. Penalties range from a $100,000 fine and three years’ imprisonment to a $500,000 fine and 25 years’ imprisonment when the amount exceeds 200 grams.
The law provides exceptions for U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved uses of xylazine in veterinary animal drug products.
Transportation
The law raises the property damage threshold at which a motor vehicle crash must be reported to law enforcement from $500 to more than $2,000.
Drivers must provide a REAL ID-compliant form of identification showing proof of legal residence and proof of a home or business address to apply for vehicle registration.
DHSMV may now use email for notifications regarding the status of driver’s licenses, motor vehicle registrations and identification cards.
The state’s motor fuel tax will now align with the International Fuel Tax Agreement.
The definition of a “tank vehicle” will change to any vehicle manufactured to transport liquids or gaseous materials in one or more tanks with a capacity of over 100 gallons.
DHSMV public records
The law exempts personal email addresses collected by DHSMV for general notification purposes from public records disclosure.
This expires in 2031 unless reenacted by the Florida Legislature.
Animal welfare
This law establishes third-degree felony offenses for adults who involve minors in certain acts of animal cruelty, including inducing a minor to engage in animal abuse or committing acts of animal abuse in front of a minor. A third-degree felony is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, five years in prison or both.
A new ranking system sets the threshold for sentencing adults who participate in animal cruelty. The criteria include:
- Abusing or fighting animals is a Level 1-5 offense
- Forcing a minor to commit such an offense is a Level 6 offense
- Committing such an offense in front of a minor is a Level 6 offense
- Committing sexual activities involving animals in the presence of a minor is a Level 6 offense
- Inducing a minor to do such actions is a Level 6 offense.
Minors who commit animal cruelty will be ordered by juvenile courts to undergo psychological evaluations and, if needed, counseling or other help at their parents’ expense, with an exception for financial hardship.
This law will also expand the information the Florida Department of Law Enforcement must publish about convicted animal abusers. The information includes all names and aliases, date of birth, race, county of conviction, case number, any identifying features and a photograph.
All details will remain public for three years for a first misdemeanor conviction, five years for a first felony conviction and 10 years for any subsequent convictions.
Fines for violating animal-control ordinances will increase from $500 to $2,500 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second violation and $7,500 for a third.
Fraudulent entry into rental residences
This law makes it a third-degree felony to obtain possession of a rental dwelling using false identification or fraudulent documents, such as a fake identification card, bank statement and/or driver’s license.
Violations are punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.
Habitual felony and career offender registration
Three-time violent felony offenders and career criminals will be required to register information with the sheriff’s office, including their name, race, sex, height, weight, hair and eye color, fingerprints, identifying marks such as tattoos, place of employment and home address.
Their identification cards or driver’s licenses will also include a designation identifying their offender status.
Lewd or lascivious acts
This law creates a third-degree felony for an adult who exposes their sexual organs and performs various sexual acts while watching a person younger than 16 when the offender is in a position where they can be easily seen. These acts include, but are not limited to, sadomasochistic abuse, sexual bestiality, masturbation or the simulation of any act involving sexual activity. The minor’s lack of awareness of the offender is not a valid defense.
This law excludes a mother who is breastfeeding and anyone nude “in a place provided or set apart for that purpose.”
A conviction is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, up to five years in prison or both.