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Florida Budget, Bevy Of Laws Ready To Take Effect

More than 100 new laws passed during the 2021 legislative session will hit the books this week, ranging from a record $100 billion state budget to a ban on COVID-19 vaccine “passports” and an expansion of school vouchers.

Also taking effect are two measures from the 2020 session, including a law that will allow college athletes to make money off the field based on their names, images and likenesses.

Most of this year’s new laws take effect Thursday, which also is the start of the state’s 2021-2022 fiscal year. But about 40 bills passed this year have already gone into place, and another 20 will take effect later this year.

Nearly 100 Bills Passed In FL Legislature Remain In Limbo

Even though the this year's regular legislative session was not especially productive in terms of the number of bills passed, Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet acted on more than a third of them.

Two months after the regular session ended, the governor still must decide the fate of 97 of 275 bills that passed. Eleven are on his desk, and 86 more remain in control of the legislature, with the start of a new fiscal year just days away.

The bills in political purgatory include Senate Bill 54, ending no-fault car insurance and replacing it with mandatory bodily injury coverage. The state itself warns that the change could drive up premiums next year — not an appealing prospect for DeSantis when he’s running for re-election.

COVID-19 “State of Emergency” officially ends in Florida; 57 percent vaccinated

The executive order issued by Governor Ron DeSantis more than a year ago to declare a state of emergency due to COVID-19 finally expired over the weekend. The order had been extended several times in that span, enabling the state to qualify for federal aid and granting the governor extraordinary authority to spend money, countermand local ordinances and shift resources around the state without legislative approval.

Despite those vast powers, DeSantis wielded them lightly in comparison to most other state governors, and that restraint, coupled with Florida’s relative success in combating the virus while remaining open for business, has earned him national recognition as a possible challenger for the White House in 2024.

Florida condo managers take notice of renovations at Jacksonville Beach high-rise

Along Duval County’s beaches, there are five residential buildings that are more than 30 years old and stand more than 100 feet tall.

They are Pelican Point, Pablo Towers, The Waterford, Ocean 14 and Seascape.

News4Jax is working to find out when they were last inspected and if any issues were found. Three of the buildings’ condo associations couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday. Another did not return our message by publication. We’re also working to reach residents.

On Friday, News4Jax reported on the work going on at Ocean 14 Condominiums, a 17-story building in Jacksonville Beach that was built in 1976. What started as a little project to patch up the stucco revealed “spalling” underneath -- or a slow deterioration of the old concrete and rebar. It led to a multimillion-dollar renovation project to chip away and repair the aging material.