TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Jan. 1, 2025, nine new Florida laws are set to go into effect.
In 2024, Florida lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis passed over 200 new state laws, the majority of which took effect in July and October.
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However, nine more from that Legislative season will take effect at the start of the new year, covering subjects like social media bans, first responder safety and financial exploitation.
Below is a full list of the new laws:
HB 3 — Social Media Restrictions for Children
House Bill 3 bans children under 14 years old from having social media accounts, though the law allows 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts with parental consent.
Under the law, “social media” is defined as an online platform with all of the following properties:
- Allows users to upload content or view the content of others
- At least 10% of daily active users under 16 years old spend an average minimum of two hours per day over the prior year
- Uses algorithms that analyze user data
- Has addictive features like “infinite scrolling,” push notifications and personal interactive metrics
HB 135 - Voter Registration Applications
House Bill 135 amends parts of the state’s voter registration application statutes.
Primarily, voters can only switch their party affiliation if they designate and agree to the change in writing. The change is intended to prevent issues for residents renewing their driver’s licenses.
According to Florida Politics, some voters in Florida have had their party affiliation switched without their knowledge thanks to a “glitch” in the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ software.
As a result, the new law requires that the DHSMV ensures its “technology process and updates do not alter an applicant’s party affiliation without the written consent of the applicant.”
HB 267 — Building Regulations
House Bill 267 amends the state’s building code.
More specifically, the bill implements set time limits for local governments to either approve or deny permit applications.
In addition, the bill makes the following changes:
- Local governments must create auditing standards before auditing a private provider.
- Completing an internship program for residential building inspectors is a pathway for licensure as a residential building inspector.
- Sealed drawings will not be required for replacements of windows, doors or garage doors in certain homes so long as they meet state standards.
HB 1093 – Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act
House Bill 1093 codifies the Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (FUFIPA) into law.
The law will replace the Florida Uniform Principal and Income Act (FUPIA), 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.
In addition, FUFIPA will allow an existing trust to be converted into a unitrust and provide flexibility for more individualized estate planning.
SB 184 - Threatening First Responders
Senate Bill 184 establishes the following as first-degree misdemeanors:
- Interrupting, disrupting, hindering, impeding or interfering with a first responder’s ability to perform their duties
- Threatening a first responder with physical harm
- Harassing a first responder by interfering with his/her performance of his/her duties
SB 362 — Medical Treatment
Senate Bill 362 increases the maximum medical reimbursements for physicians and surgical procedures — as well as maximum fees for expert witnesses — under Florida’s “Workers Compensation Law.”
SB 556 — Protection from Financial Exploitation
Senate Bill 556 provides more protections for specified adults ages 65 years and older, as well as vulnerable adults who might be victims of financial exploitation.
Under this law, financial institutions can delay disbursements or transactions of funds from an account of a specified or vulnerable adult under the following conditions:
- There is a reasonable belief that financial exploitation of the specified adult is at play.
- The financial institution provides written notice to all parties authorized to transact business on the account (as well as trusted contacts) within three business days after the delay was first placed.
- A state-chartered financial institution notifies the Office of Financial Regulation of the delay within three business days after the delay was first placed.
- The financial institution must start an internal review of the facts that caused the employee to believe that financial exploitation was at play.
Any such delay in a disbursement/transaction expires in 15 business days, though it may be extended for an additional 30 business days.
SB 892 – Dental Insurance Claims
A substantial bill that makes the following changes related to dental insurance claims:
- Prohibits contracts between health insurers and dentists which contain certain restrictions on payment methods — for example, contracts specifying that credit card payment is your only option.
- Prohibits health insurers from charging a fee to transmit a payment to a dentist through Automated Clearing House transfer unless the dentist has consented to such a fee.
- Prohibits a health insurer from denying claims for procedures included in a prior authorization.
- Prohibits contracts between prepaid limited health service organizations and dentists from containing certain restrictions on payment methods, similar to the first point.
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.
Among minor changes, this law:
- Provides Legislative intent to maximize the annual use of private activity bonds to finance improvements, projects and programs serving public purposes
- Revises the regions, pools and timelines related to bond allocations to consolidate infrequently-used pools and expedite usage of bonds
- Allows for all volume cap allocated in a confirmation to be entitled to be carried forward, rather than limiting to specific types of projects or basing it on the amount of the confirmation
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