Latest news with #DepartmentofHighwaySafetyandMotorVehicles
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Some FWC, police stops of boats, boarding to be halted by new Florida law. What to know
As of July 1, law enforcement in Florida will need probable cause to pull over boats under a new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The law also protects gas-powered boats by preventing local governments from restricting watercraft sales based on what fuel is used, and blocks any "alien power" from getting a fishing license in Florida. SB 1388, dubbed the Boater Freedom Act, prohibits any law enforcement officer, including Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, from stopping or boarding a vessel solely to conduct a safety or marine sanitation equipment inspection. The law makes safety or sanitation equipment violations secondary offenses and requires probable cause for any stops. 'This Boater Freedom Act is going to make sure that Florida remains the boater capital of the world,' DeSantis said May 19 at a press conference at a marina in Panama City. 'This is really significant legislation today. I know there's a lot of people throughout Florida that are going to be happy that this legislation finally got across the finish line.' The bill requires the creation of a "Florida Freedom Boater" safety registration decal, potentially good for multiple years, to be issued during registration or renewal to show that the vessel has met the safety requirements. SB 1388 makes the following changes to Florida law: Law enforcement officials may no longer stop, board and search boats, even with consent, solely to inspect the craft's safety or marine sanitation equipment. Probable cause to believe a violation has happened or will happen is required Violations of safety or marine sanitation equipment requirements bumped down to secondary offense The FWC and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles are ordered to create a 'Florida Freedom Boater' safety inspection decal to be issued at registration or renewal. The FWC may decode on the expiration date but it must be between one and five years. Local governments and entities may not pass laws or regulations restricting the use or sale of a watercraft based on the energy source it uses, such as a ban on gas or diesel-powered boats to encourage environmentally-friendly electric motors The FWC's ability to establish springs protection zones where the speed and operation of vessels can be restricted and some methods of anchoring or beaching vessels can be prohibited to protect the environment has been weakened. Now the agency may only act to prevent "significant" harm, rather than just harm, and only if "the operation, anchoring, mooring, beaching, or grounding of vessels is determined to be the predominant cause of negative impacts" The FWC may not license any vessel owned in whole or in part by any alien power. Previously, Florida law prohibited fishing licenses for "alien powers" who subscribed to the doctrine of international communism or who had signed a treaty or nonaggression pact with a communist power, but the new law changes that to block licenses for all alien powers. "Alien power" is left undefined. It is unclear how this would affect, for example, foreign-owned yachts. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2025. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida Boater Freedom Act: mew law to block random stops
Mint
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Trump administration's crackdown: Republican States target driver's licenses for undocumented illegal immigrants
Legislation across Republican-led states is targeting undocumented immigrants by invalidating certain types of out-of-state driver's licenses. The push aligns with former President Donald Trump's renewed hardline stance on illegal immigration and is part of broader efforts to discourage undocumented residents from settling or traveling through these states. In stark contrast, 19 states and Washington, D.C., continue to issue licenses regardless of legal immigration status — provided individuals meet basic requirements such as passing driving tests and vision exams. In Tennessee, where similar legislation has advanced, House Majority Leader William Lamberth delivered a blunt message: 'The sign says, 'Welcome to Tennessee, illegal immigrants are not welcome,'' he said during a floor debate. The state joins Florida and Wyoming in restricting the use of out-of-state licenses issued to individuals without proof of lawful US presence. Florida became the first state in 2023 to criminalise the use of certain marked licenses issued to undocumented immigrants in other states. Under the law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, it is a misdemeanor to drive with a license designated 'for undocumented immigrants' or one that lacks lawful presence verification. According to the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, only specific licenses from Connecticut and Delaware currently fall under this ban. Connecticut has issued nearly 60,700 "drive-only" licenses to undocumented immigrants. In an effort to protect these drivers from cross-state legal troubles, Governor Ned Lamont proposed ending the special designation on such licenses. His bill aimed to issue standard non-REAL ID licenses instead — a move that would obscure the holder's immigration status. However, the legislation stalled and was never voted on. In Alabama, Republican state Senator Chris Elliott introduced legislation to invalidate licenses from other states granted to undocumented immigrants. 'They should turn around and go somewhere else,' Elliott said. Frustrated by the message the bill sends, Democratic Senator Linda Coleman-Madison offered an amendment requiring Alabama's highway welcome signs to inform visitors about the law. 'Some of our laws are mean-spirited,' she said. 'And sometimes I think we just have to call it like it is.' The Alabama bill has passed the Senate and awaits House consideration. Despite these state-level laws, the federal government is preparing to enforce the REAL ID Act starting May 7, 2025. This law, passed in 2005, requires driver's licenses to meet strict federal standards — including proof of legal residency — in order to be used for boarding domestic flights or entering certain federal buildings. However, states still retain the right to issue non-REAL ID licenses to residents who do not verify legal status, provided they fulfill other requirements. Meanwhile, states like California continue to offer undocumented immigrants access to driver's licenses without markings that might identify their immigration status. These policies reflect a dramatically different approach from the hardline stances now spreading through much of the South and Midwest. First Published: 23 Apr 2025, 08:28 PM IST
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Buh bye? House panel votes to eliminate no-fault auto insurance in Florida
Traffic on Interstate 95 (photo via the Florida Department of Transportation) Florida's no-fault automobile insurance laws would be junked and replaced with a fault-based system under a bill overwhelmingly approved by a House panel Thursday morning. Insurance industry and medical lobbyists oppose the bill, HB 1181 arguing the change in law would increase automobile insurance costs for so-called 'street legal' drivers, or those who carry the minimum coverage required by law. The increases could cause some to drop coverage, meaning more uninsured drivers and more strain on Florida's health care delivery system. But bill sponsor Rep. Daniel Alvarez says the existing system, which bans injured parties from bringing lawsuits against at-fault parties to recover noneconomic damages (although there are exceptions if a person suffers a permanent loss of an important bodily function; a permanent injury; a permanent scar or disfigurement; or death) is not fair to Florida residents who are injured in car accidents that are not their fault. Florida drivers are required to carry $10,000 in PIP coverage plus $10,000 in property damage liability insurance. Those are minimum requirements and drivers can purchase additional coverage. According to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, just under 6% of drivers on Florida roads were uninsured as of February. HB 1181 would drop the PIP mandate and increase the minimum bodily injury liability coverage limits from $10,000 per person and $20,000 per incident to $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident. 'This is an insurance that affects every single person. And if something goes up, it will be temporary in my mind's eye,' Alvarez said. 'The doctors are not the enemy. The medical providers are not the enemy. Their concerns are real. There will be a learning curve and some growing pains. But you can't ask me to forgo your growing pains to continue to allow Floridians to be subject to the pain. I won't do it and I'm asking you not to.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Tampa Bay attorney Joshua Lipton argued that PIP discriminates against motorcycle drivers, who are precluded from purchasing PIP policies because no-fault statutes apply to motor vehicles with 'four wheels or more.' 'Not a single motorcyclist in here can purchase a PIP policy on his motorcycle,' he said, referring to the many motorcyclists who trekked to Tallahassee to attend the committee meeting. The situation is exacerbated if a motorcyclist gets involved in a wreck with 'street legal drivers.' 'There's nothing there for their lost wages, there's nothing there for their pain and suffering, there 's nothing there for their medical expenses. They are thrown onto the public dole because they are hoping for emergency Medicaid. They are hoping for a charitable write-off of a hospital. None of those things are working for bikers,' Lipton said. A Forbes analysis of automobile insurance rates shows that Florida is the most expensive state for car insurance in the nation. But insurance lobbyists testified that rates are going down. State Farm lobbyist Mark Delegal said PIP has been a recurring debate in the Florida Legislature. 'For years, around this building there was a fix PIP or flush it. And there were efforts to flush it. But guess what, members? Under your leadership you have finally fixed PIP,' he said, referring to sweeping changes made by the Legislature in 2022 to how lawsuits are filed and litigated and the elimination of one-way attorney fees. Delegal said that State Farm has in the last six months lowered its automobile insurance rates by 8%. 'That's a fact. That's a fact,' he said. The Legislature agreed in 2021 to repeal the no-fault system and the minimum mandated coverages and return to a fault-based system, but Gov. DeSantis vetoed the bill (SB 54). In his veto letter, DeSantis that although the 'PIP system has flaws,' repeal could have unintended consequences for the market and the consumer. The 2021 bill would have required insurers to offer medical payments coverage, known as 'MedPay,' at limits of $5,000 and $10,000, but the 2025 legislation does not, so it's not clear how by how much auto rates could increase. Nevertheless, DeSantis earlier this month indicated he doesn't support repeal, in part because it is supported by the Florida Justice Association, which represents trial attorneys. 'If they have a reform where we can show that it's going to lower rates, it's fine. But let's just be clear. I mean, you know, we know that's something that people from the legal and the trial bar have wanted to do,' DeSantis told reporters on the opening day of the 2025 session. 'And so, why would they want to do that? Obviously, they see that there's opportunities for them to make money off of it.' He added, 'I don't want to do anything that's going to raise the rates.' Sen. Erin Grall, sponsor of SB 1256, (the Senate companion bill) isn't dissuaded by the governor's comments. 'I think there are different things that have happened since the last time he vetoed it.' Grall told the Florida Phoenix. 'A responsibility-based system to me is just consistent with many of the principles that he stands for. And so, I'm hopeful that we can figure out how to have an open conversation about it this session.' HB 1181 heads to the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee next and then onto the House Judiciary Committee. Its Senate counterpart, SB 1256, has been referred to three Senate committees but heard by none. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida's elections supervisors want lawmakers to reconsider change to vote-by-mail law
Florida's elections supervisors want to change a state law requiring every voter to renew their requests to vote by mail after requests plummeted in last month's two special congressional primaries. In the primary for Congressional District 1 — to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz — requests for vote-by-mail ballots fell nearly 90 percent compared with the same race last year, supervisors told lawmakers Tuesday. In the race for Congressional District 6 — to replace former Rep. Mike Waltz — requests fell by about 75 percent in Lake County, supervisor Alan Hayes said. The drop-off was a result of a 2021 law passed by Republican lawmakers requiring every county elections supervisor to delete requests for vote-by-mail ballots every two years. It also required voters to provide their driver's license number, state ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when requesting a vote-by-mail ballot. Previously, voters could keep getting mail ballots through two general election cycles, or every four years, as long as they checked a box on their vote-by-mail envelope stating they wished to keep doing so. That checkbox no longer exists, and everyone's vote-by-mail ballot requests were deleted after the November election in accordance with the new law. The deletion has caused confusion among voters, including military members, who didn't know they had to submit a new request to vote by mail, officials said. David Ramba, the lobbyist for the Florida Supervisors of Elections, which represents the state's 67 elected elections officials, said officials have fielded complaints from people who don't understand why they were mailed a ballot in 2024 but not in January. The association is asking lawmakers to allow them to bring the checkbox back on vote-by-mail envelopes — but with the personal identifying information required under the new law. Making the change is 'an absolute priority,' Pinellas County Elections Supervisor Julie Marcus said. The county currently has 13,800 vote-by-mail requests on file — a 95 percent decline from the number of ballots mailed to residents for the November election. 'That box worked very well for us,' she said. Supervisors are also asking for changes to voting laws to combat a sharp increase in skepticism and threats by Floridians who believe the state's elections are vulnerable to fraud. Supervisors want to require non-citizens to update their driver's licenses within 30 days when they become naturalized. 'It appeared that we had people on the rolls that were non-citizens, and they were voting, and that's not a good look,' Lafayette County Elections Supervisor Travis Hart said, explaining it was because people's statuses hadn't been updated with the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Supervisors also want to exempt the personal information of their employees from public records because of the volume and type of threats against them last year. 'People have told election workers, our employees, as they were leaving the office, 'We're watching you, and we know where you live,'' Lake County supervisor Hayes said. 'If that's not intimidation, I don't know what is.' Supervisors on Tuesday also pushed back against a proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis to dramatically change the process for citizens to amend the state constitution. Instead of signing petitions in parking lots, for example, voters would have to request one through their supervisor's office. Hayes said that would be a 'gargantuan task' for supervisors. A better idea is to have petition organizers mail requests directly to voters, like Smart & Safe Florida has started doing in its quest to amend the constitution to allow recreational marijuana, Hayes said. 'We don't think our county taxpayers need to be subsidizing the services required to try to do a citizen initiative petition,' Ramba said.
Miami Herald
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida's elections supervisors want lawmakers to reconsider change to vote-by-mail law
Florida's elections supervisors want to change a state law requiring every voter to renew their requests to vote by mail after requests plummeted in last month's two special congressional primaries. In the primary for Congressional District 1 — to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz — requests for vote-by-mail ballots fell nearly 90 percent compared with the same race last year, supervisors told lawmakers Tuesday. In the race for Congressional District 6 — to replace former Rep. Mike Waltz — requests fell by about 75 percent in Lake County, supervisor Alan Hayes said. The drop-off was a result of a 2021 law passed by Republican lawmakers requiring every county elections supervisor to delete requests for vote-by-mail ballots every two years. It also required voters to provide their driver's license number, state ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when requesting a vote-by-mail ballot. Previously, voters could keep getting mail ballots through two general election cycles, or every four years, as long as they checked a box on their vote-by-mail envelope stating they wished to keep doing so. That checkbox no longer exists, and everyone's vote-by-mail ballot requests were deleted after the November election in accordance with the new law. The deletion has caused confusion among voters, including military members, who didn't know they had to submit a new request to vote by mail, officials said. David Ramba, the lobbyist for the Florida Supervisors of Elections, which represents the state's 67 elected elections officials, said officials have fielded complaints from people who don't understand why they were mailed a ballot in 2024 but not in January. The association is asking lawmakers to allow them to bring the checkbox back on vote-by-mail envelopes — but with the personal identifying information required under the new law. Making the change is 'an absolute priority,' Pinellas County Elections Supervisor Julie Marcus said. The county currently has 13,800 vote-by-mail requests on file — a 95 percent decline from the number of ballots mailed to residents for the November election. 'That box worked very well for us,' she said. Supervisors are also asking for changes to voting laws to combat a sharp increase in skepticism and threats by Floridians who believe the state's elections are vulnerable to fraud. Supervisors want to require non-citizens to update their driver's licenses within 30 days when they become naturalized. 'It appeared that we had people on the rolls that were non-citizens, and they were voting, and that's not a good look,' Lafayette County Elections Supervisor Travis Hart said, explaining it was because people's statuses hadn't been updated with the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Supervisors also want to exempt the personal information of their employees from public records because of the volume and type of threats against them last year. 'People have told election workers, our employees, as they were leaving the office, 'We're watching you, and we know where you live,'' Lake County supervisor Hayes said. 'If that's not intimidation, I don't know what is.' Supervisors on Tuesday also pushed back against a proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis to dramatically change the process for citizens to amend the state constitution. Instead of signing petitions in parking lots, for example, voters would have to request one through their supervisor's office. Hayes said that would be a 'gargantuan task' for supervisors. A better idea is to have petition organizers mail requests directly to voters, like Smart & Safe Florida has started doing in its quest to amend the constitution to allow recreational marijuana, Hayes said. 'We don't think our county taxpayers need to be subsidizing the services required to try to do a citizen initiative petition,' Ramba said.
