New Florida laws taking effect July 1: Here’s what you need to know

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TAMPA, Fla. - Governor Ron DeSantis signed more than 70 pieces of legislation that will take effect on July 1, 2025.

The new laws include everything from death penalty executions to be carried out any way not deemed unconstitutional, such as by firing squads or lethal gas, to requiring all educational materials in public schools to reflect the federal government’s designation of ‘Gulf of America’ to revising state regulations on ‘dangerous dogs’.
What new Florida laws take effect July 1, 2025? HB 85:
Hazardous Walking Conditions- The bill expands the criteria for identifying hazardous walking conditions for public elementary school students to include walkways along a limited access facility, as defined in the Florida transportation code.
HB 209:
State Parks - The State Park Preservation Act mandates the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to manage state parks for public benefit and natural resource conservation, defining and regulating conservation-based recreational uses, prohibiting certain sporting facilities' construction, allowing campsites and cabins with restrictions, renaming a state park, establishing requirements for land management plans, and requiring a report on the state park system by December 1, 2025.
HB 255:
Animal Cruelty Database ‘Dexter’s Law' - The bill amends the Florida Criminal Code Worksheet, to create a sentencing point multiplier for the crime of aggravated animal cruelty. If the primary offense the defendant is convicted of is aggravated animal cruelty, which includes the knowing and intentional torture or torment of an animal that injured, mutilated, or killed the animal, the defendant’s subtotal sentence points are multiplied by 1.25. Beginning January 1, 2026, the bill also requires the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to post on its website the names of those persons who have been convicted of, or who have entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a violation of s. 828.12, F.S., relating to animal cruelty. The information posted on the FDLE’s website must be in a searchable format.
RELATED: Gov. DeSantis signs Dexter's Law, Trooper's Law targeting animal abuse
HB 259:
Fentanyl Awareness Day - The bill establishes August 21 as "Fentanyl Awareness and Education Day" to raise awareness about the risks of fentanyl and potential overdoses, encouraging various agencies to organize events promoting awareness of fentanyl dangers, drug prevention resources, and substance use and abuse in communities.
HB 279:
Swatting Calls - The bill enhances criminal penalties for violations related to the misuse of emergency communications services resulting in severe harm or death. It also revises requirements for continued misuse, mandates payment of prosecution costs, investigation costs, and restitution for damages, and ranks offenses on the Criminal Punishment Code's offense severity ranking chart.
RELATED: Florida getting tougher on people who make bogus 911 calls
HB 307:
Property Appraisers - The bill allows county property appraisers to pay hiring or retention bonuses to employees, provided the expenditure is approved by the Department of Revenue in the county property appraiser’s budget.
HB 351:
Dangerous Speeding - The bill establishes a criminal offense for "dangerous excessive speeding" when a driver exceeds the speed limit by 50 mph or more or operates a vehicle at 100 mph or more in a manner that endangers others or property, with penalties including jail time, fines, and potential license revocation for repeat offenses, and mandates a mandatory hearing for drivers committing infractions for exceeding the speed limit by over 50 mph, while authorizing officers to indicate civil penalties on traffic citations for significant speed violations.
RELATED: Florida ‘super speeders’ may face stiffer penalties
HB 429:
Florida Dealership Act - The bill amends the Florida Motor Vehicle Dealership Act to update regulations concerning the relationship between motor vehicle dealers and manufacturers, distributors, and importers, including criteria for measuring dealer performance, prohibiting retaliation against dealers, and revising rules for franchise agreement changes and terminations.
HB 443:
Education - The bill designates charter schools as public facilities for concurrency purposes, allows charter school governing boards to establish their own student conduct codes, permits students in full-time virtual instruction programs to join interscholastic athletic teams at public schools in their district or arrange participation at private schools, among other provisions.
HB 513:
Electronic Court Orders - The bill mandates that clerks of court electronically deliver court orders to the sheriff within six hours of being signed by a judge, specifically for orders related to detaining individuals for mental health or substance abuse evaluations, as well as orders to seize firearms and ammunition under a risk protection order, all aimed at ensuring public safety.
HB 515:
Cryptocurrencies - The bill adopts Article 12 of the Model Uniform Commercial Code into Florida's UCC, updating rules for commercial contracts and financial transactions involving emerging technologies like cryptocurrencies and electronic assets, providing a legal framework for attorneys, judges, and practitioners to guide the implementation and enforcement of contracts and transactions using these technologies.
HB 547:
Medical Debt - The bill modifies billing and collection practices for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers by expanding the definition of "extraordinary collection action" to include actions related to obtaining payment of any care bill, allowing the sale of patient debt without a 30-day notice if certain conditions are met, such as the debt not being subject to interest or fees and the debt buyer not taking additional collection actions.
HB 549:
Gulf of America (Schools) - The bill requires state agencies to update references from "Gulf of Mexico" to "Gulf of America" in geographic materials, and mandates that public and charter schools use the term "Gulf of America" instead of "Gulf of Mexico" in instructional and library materials starting July 1, 2025.
HB 551:
Fire Prevention - The bill clarifies the simplified permitting process for certain fire alarm and fire sprinkler system projects. The bill also enhances several key provisions relating to fire alarm or fire sprinkler system permitting, inspection processes, and enforcement of local ordinances.
HB 575:
Gulf of America (State Agencies) - The bill (Chapter 2025-8, L.O.F.) renames the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America throughout the Florida Statutes.
HB 593:
Dangerous Dogs - The "Pam Rock Act" revises state regulations on dangerous dogs, requiring confiscation and impoundment of dogs involved in dangerous dog investigations, mandating notification to owners of final dangerous dog classifications, necessitating liability insurance and microchipping for dangerous dog owners, authorizing euthanasia for dangerous dogs that have caused severe harm, increasing penalties for owners of dangerous dogs that cause severe injury or death, imposing penalties for resisting or obstructing animal control authorities, and elevating penalties for owners aware of their dog's dangerous propensities that result in severe injury or death.
RELATED: Florida House advances bill to create statewide 'dangerous dog' registry
HB 597:
Diabetes Management - The bill allows school districts or public schools to acquire and store undesignated glucagon for emergency use, permitting arrangements with manufacturers or suppliers for obtaining glucagon at no cost or reduced prices, accepting donated glucagon, and seeking donations or grants for purchasing glucagon. It also authorizes schools to request prescriptions and licensed health care practitioners to prescribe and pharmacists to dispense glucagon, with requirements for administration, emergency assistance, parental notification, and immunity from liability for those involved in administering glucagon.
HB 615:
Electronic Notice to Tenants - The bill permits landlords and tenants to electronically deliver required notices under the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act via email if both parties sign an addendum to the rental agreement agreeing to electronic delivery and provide valid email addresses, with a specified form for agreement. Notices sent electronically are considered delivered upon sending unless returned as undeliverable, and this method does not exclude other legally authorized means of notice delivery.
HB 647:
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Services - The bill allows an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) providing hospice care under a written protocol with a licensed physician to file a certificate of death or fetal death in the absence of a funeral director, permitting the APRN to certify the cause of death and make corrections on the certificate.
HB 711:
Spectrum Alert - This bill requires the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), in collaboration with certain agencies, to create and implement Spect