Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
The stack bills on Gov. Rick Scott’s desk just keeps getting higher.
The Florida Legislature sent 20 bills — including ones to repeal the state’s ban on cohabitation, legislation to allow All Aboard Florida riders to drink beer on trains and a bill to create the Florida Holocaust Memorial — to Scott on Tuesday. The Naples Republican now has until April 6 to act on the legislation.
Among the proposal now on the governor’s desk is a bill (SB 498) that repeals a nearly 150-year old law that prohibits unmarried men and women from living together before marriage. The law currently isn’t enforced, and eight states have already repealed similar laws that made cohabitation illegal. Two states, according to a January staff analysis, still have cohabitation bans on the books.
The bill would go into effect immediately upon becoming law.
A second measure (SB 698) would allow the state’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to issue licenses to railroad transit stations and operators of restaurants or other facilities that are part of a transit station. The bill would allow All Aboard Florida to offer alcohol on its trains, and would go into effect on July 1.
The Legislature also sent Scott a bill (SB 716) that calls for the state to create the Florida Holocaust Memorial. If approved, it would go into effect on July 1.
The Legislature sent Scott 17 other bills on Tuesday:
- SB 88 – Relating to Gold Star License Plates
- SB 90 — Relating to Natural Gas Rebate Program
- SB 100 — Relating to Pollution Discharge Removal and Prevention
- SB 218 — Relating to Offenses Involving Electronic Benefits Transfer Cards
- SB 230 — Relating to Missing Persons with Special Needs
- SB 288 — Relating to State Designations
- SB 380 — Relating to Violation of an Injunction for Protection
- SB 540 — Relating to Estates
- SB 1106 — Relating to International Trust Entities
- SB 1110 — Relating to the Central Florida Expressway Authority
- SB 1170 — Relating to Health Plan Regulatory Administration
- SB 1176 — Relating to Dredge and Fill Activities
- SB 1202 — Relating to Discounts on Public Park Entrance Fees and Transportation Fares
- SB 1274 — Relating to Limited Sinkhole Coverage Insurance
- SB 1288 — Relating to Emergency Management
- SB 1294 — Relating to Victim and Witness Protection
- SB 1318 — Relating to Shellfish Harvesting
The governor now has 160 bills on his desk requiring action.
