Gov. Scott signs 44 new bills into Law including sexual cyberharassment

May 26,2015

  The sexual cyberharassment bill (SB 538) also known as “online revenge porn” prohibits any person from willfully and maliciously sexually cyberharassing a person, meaning, distributing any explicit image that contains or conveys the personal identification information of the depicted person. This bill authorizes a law enforcement officer to arrest any person that he or she has probable cause to believe committed sexual cyberharrassment.

Consequences may lead to a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Repeat offences would be felonies, carrying penalties up to five years in prison.  This law also provides an exception to the prohibition on search warrants being issued to search private dwellings.

A student attending Florida State University recently spoke up and shared her story about how someone she had been intimate with at the time, leaked a nude picture of her that went viral across the internet. At one point the student was told by law enforcement, that there was nothing that she could do. She later began lobbying the Florida Legislature for criminal penalties for sexual cyberharrassment.

 Another bill signed by Scott- SB 290, would allow concealed weapons or firearms to be carried without a permit for the first 48 hours following a mandatory evacuation.

One of the most controversial legislation involved the use of body cameras. Initially the question posed was whether or not they would be used and necessary, and if so, determining when and at what appropriate time.

Scott signed bill 248 providing that a body camera recording is confidential and exempt from public records requirements under certain circumstances, meaning that all video recordings would not be made public in situations like police officers entering homes or hospitals, anywhere there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

New laws include juvenile sentencing reform, increasing education for veterans, Florida Civil Rights Act, and long-term care insurance. 

Other bills signed into law by Scott are:

SB 144: Public Records/impaired Practitioner Consultants- Provided an exemption from public records requirements for certain personal identifying information related to impaired practitioner consultants, and their families and employees

 

SB 158: Civil Liability of Farmers- Expands an exemption from certain civil liabilities for farmers

SB 172: Local Government Pension Reform-This bill makes reforms regarding local firefighter and police pension requirements.

 

SB 184: Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot- Expands the permitted uses of federal write-in absentee ballots to uniformed services voters and overseas voters .

 

SB 252: Insurance- This bill provides that the absence of a countersignature does not affect the validity of a policy or contract of insurance.

 

SB 278: Downtown Development Districts- This bill relates to the Miami Downtown Development District.

 

SB 296: Diabetes Advisory Council- Relates to the Diabetes Advisory Council membership and a report on the impact of diabetes-related activities.

 

HB 361: Relating to Military Housing Property Tax exemptions-Provides for a tax exemption for property used to house military personnel.

 

SB 378: Juvenile Justice- Increases the number of times a law enforcement officer may issue a civil citation.

 

SB 396: Florida Historic Capitol-Creates the Florida Historic Capitol Museum Council

 

SB 408: Designated Areas for Skateboarding, Inline skating, Paintball, or Freestyle or Mountain and Off-Roading Bicycling- Removes the requirement for government entities to obtain written consent from parents or legal guardians before a child under the age of 17 can engage in skateboarding, inline skating or freestyle bicycling in designated areas operated by that government entity.

 

SB 450: Pain Management Clinics-Requires the Department of Health to continue to regulate the registration and inspection of pain management clinics.

 

SB 466: Low-voltage Alarm Systems- States that no permit is needed to install, maintain, inspect, replace or service a wireless alarm system.

 

SB 570: Service of Process of Witness Subpoenas- Allows service of a subpoena on a witness in a civil traffic case to be made by U.S mail.

 

SB 596: Craft Distilleries- Allows craft distilleries to sell an increased number of branded bottles directly to consumers

 

SB 604: Consumer Protection- This bill creates the “True Origin of Digital Goods Act,” which requires website owners posting certain content to provide identifying information on their website.

 

SB 608: Real Estate Brokers and Appraisers- Provided greater flexibility to real estate brokers and agents and removes current requirement that there must be a written agreement between Florida and other states for the reciprocal licensing of out-of-state appraisers.

 

SB 620: Emergency Management- This bill allows Florida government employees providing assistance under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact to be reimbursed for expenses by the state requesting assistance at that state’s authorized rates.

 

SB 642: Individuals with Disabilities- This bill creates the Florida ABLE program for individuals with disabilities to save money in a tax-free savings account for future services without losing their eligibility for state and federal benefits.

 

SB 644: Florida ABLE Trust Fund/State Board of Administration- Creates the Florida ABLE Trust Fund, which will hold appropriations and moneys for the Florida ABLE program.

 

SB 646: Public Records/Information Held by the Florida Prepaid College Board, Florida ABLE, Inc., and the Florida ABLE Program — Provides exemptions from public records requirements for certain personal financial and health information held by the Florida Prepaid College Board, Florida ABLE, Inc., the Florida ABLE program, or an agent or service provider.

 

SB 672: Service of Process —Allows service of a criminal witness subpoena requiring the witness to appear for a deposition to be posted to his or her residence if one attempt to personally serve the subpoena has failed.

 

SB 676: Voluntary Contributions to End Breast Cancer —Requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to include language on vehicle registration, driver license, and identification card applications for a voluntary contribution of one dollar or more to be distributed to the Florida Breast Cancer Coalition Research Foundation, Inc.

 

SB 694: Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign — Makes revisions to the Florida State Employee Charitable Campaign.

 

SB 716: Public Records/Animal Medical Records — Provides an exemption from public records requirements for certain animal medical records held by a state college of veterinary medicine.

 

SB 778: Local Government Construction Preferences — Prohibits local regulations from restricting competition for the award of a construction contract in which 50 percent or more of the cost will be paid from state funds.

 

SB 806: Regulation of Financial Institutions — Streamlines several Office of Financial Regulation regulatory processes.

 

SB 836: Florida Insurance Guaranty Association — This bill revises the levy of assessments on insurers by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.

 

SB 904: Home Health Services — Revises the requirements for main and satellite offices for home health agencies and nurse registries.

 

SB 954: Notification of Involuntary Examinations of Minors — Requires immediate notification to a student’s parent if the student is removed from school, school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity for an involuntary examination under the Baker Act.

 

SB 1094: Relating to Flood Insurance — Allows insurers flexible flood insurance coverage for the peril of flood that may include water intrusion coverage and differs from standard or preferred coverage.

 

SB 1312: Relating to Restricting Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation — Expands restrictions on lawsuits that are filed in retaliation against a party engaged in otherwise free speech to include suits filed by a person.

 

SB 7008: Open Government Sunshine Review Act/Licensure Examination Questions/Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services — Provides an exemption from public meeting requirements for portions of meetings of the Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services during which licensure examination questions or answers are discussed.

 

SB 7010: OGSR/Examination Techniques or Procedures/Office of Financial Regulation — This bill provides an exemption from public records requirements for information that would reveal examination techniques or procedures used by the Office of Financial Regulation under the Florida Securities and Investor Protection Act.

 

SB 7012: OGSR/Credit History Information and Credit Scores/Office of Financial Regulation- Provides public records exemption for credit history information and credit scores obtained for the purposes of licensing loan originators, mortgage brokers, and mortgage lenders.

 

SB 7016: OGSR/Minor Identifying Information — This bill reenacts an existing public record exemption that protects identifying information held by the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel or the Justice Administrative Commission pertaining to records identifying minors waiving parental notice requirements.

 

SB 7024: State Board of Administration — Repeals restrictions on investments in institutions conducting business with Northern Ireland and establishes conditions for the transfer of any balance in the Fund B Surplus Funds Trust Fund.

 

SB 7028: Educational Opportunities for Veterans — Provides out-of-state tuition fee waivers to eligible spouses and dependents of veterans who live in Florida.

 

SB 7032: Public Records/Reports of a Deceased Child — Amends an existing public records exemption of certain identifying information collected during the investigation of a deceased child held by the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee or a local committee from the public record and meeting disclosure requirements.

 

SB 7034: OGSR/Stalking Victims Identifying Information-This bill reenacts an existing public record exemption for personal identifying information of stalking victims held by the Attorney General or in election records

 

SB 7078: Child Welfare- Amends and clarifies the investigation of and response to allegations of abuse and neglect of children related to last year’s child welfare bill, SB 1666.

 

 

These bills are expected to go into effect in July. 

 

 

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Gov. Scott signs 44 new bills into Law including sexual cyberharassment

 Gov. Scott signs 44 new bills into Law including sexual cyberharassment

Gov. Scott signs 44 new bills into Law including sexual cyberharassment

Gov. Scott signs 44 new bills into Law including sexual cyberharassment

  The sexual cyberharassment bill (SB 538) also known as “online revenge porn” prohibits any person from willfully and maliciously sexually cyberharassing a person, meaning, distributing any explicit image that contains or conveys the personal identification information of the depicted person. This bill authorizes a law enforcement officer to arrest any person that he or she has probable cause to believe committed sexual cyberharrassment.

Consequences may lead to a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Repeat offences would be felonies, carrying penalties up to five years in prison.  This law also provides an exception to the prohibition on search warrants being issued to search private dwellings.

A student attending Florida State University recently spoke up and shared her story about how someone she had been intimate with at the time, leaked a nude picture of her that went viral across the internet. At one point the student was told by law enforcement, that there was nothing that she could do. She later began lobbying the Florida Legislature for criminal penalties for sexual cyberharrassment.

 Another bill signed by Scott- SB 290, would allow concealed weapons or firearms to be carried without a permit for the first 48 hours following a mandatory evacuation.

One of the most controversial legislation involved the use of body cameras. Initially the question posed was whether or not they would be used and necessary, and if so, determining when and at what appropriate time.

Scott signed bill 248 providing that a body camera recording is confidential and exempt from public records requirements under certain circumstances, meaning that all video recordings would not be made public in situations like police officers entering homes or hospitals, anywhere there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

New laws include juvenile sentencing reform, increasing education for veterans, Florida Civil Rights Act, and long-term care insurance. 

Other bills signed into law by Scott are:

SB 144: Public Records/impaired Practitioner Consultants- Provided an exemption from public records requirements for certain personal identifying information related to impaired practitioner consultants, and their families and employees

 

SB 158: Civil Liability of Farmers- Expands an exemption from certain civil liabilities for farmers

SB 172: Local Government Pension Reform-This bill makes reforms regarding local firefighter and police pension requirements.

 

SB 184: Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot- Expands the permitted uses of federal write-in absentee ballots to uniformed services voters and overseas voters .

 

SB 252: Insurance- This bill provides that the absence of a countersignature does not affect the validity of a policy or contract of insurance.

 

SB 278: Downtown Development Districts- This bill relates to the Miami Downtown Development District.

 

SB 296: Diabetes Advisory Council- Relates to the Diabetes Advisory Council membership and a report on the impact of diabetes-related activities.

 

HB 361: Relating to Military Housing Property Tax exemptions-Provides for a tax exemption for property used to house military personnel.

 

SB 378: Juvenile Justice- Increases the number of times a law enforcement officer may issue a civil citation.

 

SB 396: Florida Historic Capitol-Creates the Florida Historic Capitol Museum Council

 

SB 408: Designated Areas for Skateboarding, Inline skating, Paintball, or Freestyle or Mountain and Off-Roading Bicycling- Removes the requirement for government entities to obtain written consent from parents or legal guardians before a child under the age of 17 can engage in skateboarding, inline skating or freestyle bicycling in designated areas operated by that government entity.

 

SB 450: Pain Management Clinics-Requires the Department of Health to continue to regulate the registration and inspection of pain management clinics.

 

SB 466: Low-voltage Alarm Systems- States that no permit is needed to install, maintain, inspect, replace or service a wireless alarm system.

 

SB 570: Service of Process of Witness Subpoenas- Allows service of a subpoena on a witness in a civil traffic case to be made by U.S mail.

 

SB 596: Craft Distilleries- Allows craft distilleries to sell an increased number of branded bottles directly to consumers

 

SB 604: Consumer Protection- This bill creates the “True Origin of Digital Goods Act,” which requires website owners posting certain content to provide identifying information on their website.

 

SB 608: Real Estate Brokers and Appraisers- Provided greater flexibility to real estate brokers and agents and removes current requirement that there must be a written agreement between Florida and other states for the reciprocal licensing of out-of-state appraisers.

 

SB 620: Emergency Management- This bill allows Florida government employees providing assistance under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact to be reimbursed for expenses by the state requesting assistance at that state’s authorized rates.

 

SB 642: Individuals with Disabilities- This bill creates the Florida ABLE program for individuals with disabilities to save money in a tax-free savings account for future services without losing their eligibility for state and federal benefits.

 

SB 644: Florida ABLE Trust Fund/State Board of Administration- Creates the Florida ABLE Trust Fund, which will hold appropriations and moneys for the Florida ABLE program.

 

SB 646: Public Records/Information Held by the Florida Prepaid College Board, Florida ABLE, Inc., and the Florida ABLE Program — Provides exemptions from public records requirements for certain personal financial and health information held by the Florida Prepaid College Board, Florida ABLE, Inc., the Florida ABLE program, or an agent or service provider.

 

SB 672: Service of Process —Allows service of a criminal witness subpoena requiring the witness to appear for a deposition to be posted to his or her residence if one attempt to personally serve the subpoena has failed.

 

SB 676: Voluntary Contributions to End Breast Cancer —Requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to include language on vehicle registration, driver license, and identification card applications for a voluntary contribution of one dollar or more to be distributed to the Florida Breast Cancer Coalition Research Foundation, Inc.

 

SB 694: Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign — Makes revisions to the Florida State Employee Charitable Campaign.

 

SB 716: Public Records/Animal Medical Records — Provides an exemption from public records requirements for certain animal medical records held by a state college of veterinary medicine.

 

SB 778: Local Government Construction Preferences — Prohibits local regulations from restricting competition for the award of a construction contract in which 50 percent or more of the cost will be paid from state funds.

 

SB 806: Regulation of Financial Institutions — Streamlines several Office of Financial Regulation regulatory processes.

 

SB 836: Florida Insurance Guaranty Association — This bill revises the levy of assessments on insurers by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association.

 

SB 904: Home Health Services — Revises the requirements for main and satellite offices for home health agencies and nurse registries.

 

SB 954: Notification of Involuntary Examinations of Minors — Requires immediate notification to a student’s parent if the student is removed from school, school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity for an involuntary examination under the Baker Act.

 

SB 1094: Relating to Flood Insurance — Allows insurers flexible flood insurance coverage for the peril of flood that may include water intrusion coverage and differs from standard or preferred coverage.

 

SB 1312: Relating to Restricting Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation — Expands restrictions on lawsuits that are filed in retaliation against a party engaged in otherwise free speech to include suits filed by a person.

 

SB 7008: Open Government Sunshine Review Act/Licensure Examination Questions/Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services — Provides an exemption from public meeting requirements for portions of meetings of the Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services during which licensure examination questions or answers are discussed.

 

SB 7010: OGSR/Examination Techniques or Procedures/Office of Financial Regulation — This bill provides an exemption from public records requirements for information that would reveal examination techniques or procedures used by the Office of Financial Regulation under the Florida Securities and Investor Protection Act.

 

SB 7012: OGSR/Credit History Information and Credit Scores/Office of Financial Regulation- Provides public records exemption for credit history information and credit scores obtained for the purposes of licensing loan originators, mortgage brokers, and mortgage lenders.

 

SB 7016: OGSR/Minor Identifying Information — This bill reenacts an existing public record exemption that protects identifying information held by the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel or the Justice Administrative Commission pertaining to records identifying minors waiving parental notice requirements.

 

SB 7024: State Board of Administration — Repeals restrictions on investments in institutions conducting business with Northern Ireland and establishes conditions for the transfer of any balance in the Fund B Surplus Funds Trust Fund.

 

SB 7028: Educational Opportunities for Veterans — Provides out-of-state tuition fee waivers to eligible spouses and dependents of veterans who live in Florida.

 

SB 7032: Public Records/Reports of a Deceased Child — Amends an existing public records exemption of certain identifying information collected during the investigation of a deceased child held by the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee or a local committee from the public record and meeting disclosure requirements.

 

SB 7034: OGSR/Stalking Victims Identifying Information-This bill reenacts an existing public record exemption for personal identifying information of stalking victims held by the Attorney General or in election records

 

SB 7078: Child Welfare- Amends and clarifies the investigation of and response to allegations of abuse and neglect of children related to last year’s child welfare bill, SB 1666.

 

 

These bills are expected to go into effect in July.