TAMPA, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis signed seven bills on Friday ranging from parking to skin cancer screenings.
All seven were bipartisan pieces of legislation, and he received them along with 11 other bills from Congress on March 27.
Here’s what you need to know about the new laws:
House Bill 241: Coverage for Skin Cancer Screenings
This bill will require the Department of Management Services to provide coverage and payment through state employee health insurance for annual skin cancer screenings without patients having a co-pay.
It was sponsored by Rep. Ralph Massulo, R-Inverness, and Rep. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka. Massulo, who is a dermatologist, proposed this bill during last year’s legislative session, but it died in the Senate. This year it passed unanimously.
Between 2017 and 2021, roughly 646 Floridians died each year from melanoma, according to the Florida Cancer Data System.
If detected early, there is a 99% five-year survival rate, according to the American Cancer Society.
It will go into effect July 1, but the department will have until Jan 1. to require health insurance plans for state workers to provide coverage.
House Bill 271: Motor Vehicle Parking on Private Property
The parking bill will enforce new regulations on parking lots. It will require signs with the rules and rates for the lots to be posted in clearly visible locations at the entrances.
It also sets guidelines about charging late fees and establishes a 15-minute grace period for charges if drivers enter lots but don’t park.
It passed unanimously in the legislature.
House Bill 591: Hot Car Death Prevention
April will now be designated “Hot Car Death Prevention Month” to raise awareness about the dangers of leaving children unattended in cars.
There were 7 hot car deaths in 2023 with the youngest child being 10 months old.
The Department of Children and Families, Department of Health, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will collaborate with local governments and other agencies to sponsor events promoting awareness and providing methods to prevent hot car deaths.
This bill was also passed unanimously in the legislature.
Current Florida law allows people to break car windows to rescue children or animals in distress. State law also requires childcare vehicles to have alarms in them that prompt the driver to search the vehicle for children before exiting.
House Bill 357: Special Observances
DeSantis signed a law designating November as “Veternace Appreciation Month.” Before, there was Veterans Week which started the Sunday before Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day.
This amended state law passed unanimously will encourage counties, cities, schools and residents to create programs and events to show appreciation for veterans during this month.
Other legislation recently passed:
The governor signed more than 40 bills so far. These seven came a day after he signed a law directing money to protect the state’s natural resources.
He also notably signed one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors in March that will ban accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 15- and 16-year-olds.
