{"id":198918,"date":"2026-03-20T09:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T09:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/198918\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T09:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T09:16:19","slug":"florida-gov-ron-desantis-signs-first-new-laws-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/198918\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs first new laws of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 After the latest Legislative session ended last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flgov.com\/eog\/news\/press\/2026\/governor-ron-desantis-signs-legislation-protect-floridas-coasts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.flgov.com\/eog\/news\/press\/2026\/governor-ron-desantis-signs-legislation-protect-floridas-coasts\">the first new laws of the year<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">There are close to 200 bills that have been passed by lawmakers this year, though DeSantis only signed two into law so far.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Both laws deal with protecting Florida\u2019s coasts, tackling environmental concerns that lawmakers wanted to address.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">[BELOW: Check out some other laws signed by DeSantis last year]<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cMy administration has delivered historic investments to protect Florida\u2019s 1,300 miles of coastline,\u201d DeSantis said. \u201cToday, I signed legislation to preserve the Terra Ceia Bay and to build on our work to promote coastal resiliency and water quality statewide. We are committed to protecting Florida\u2019s environment for future generations to enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The bills that DeSantis signed are as follows:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flhouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=82811\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.flhouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=82811\">SB 302<\/a> \u2014 Coastal Resiliency<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Senate Bill 302 prohibits any dredging or filling of submerged lands at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridastateparks.org\/parks-and-trails\/terra-ceia-preserve-state-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.floridastateparks.org\/parks-and-trails\/terra-ceia-preserve-state-park\">Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve<\/a>, with some exceptions provided for public safety and environmental protection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">[BELOW: Storm off Brevard County coast raising concerns about beach erosion]<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">This law is also expected to streamline the permitting process for nature-based methods aimed at improving coastal resiliency, helping to accelerate restoration timelines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">SB 302 is set to take effect on July 1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flhouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=84158&amp;SessionId=113\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.flhouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=84158&amp;SessionId=113\">HB 1417<\/a> \u2014 Department of Environmental Protection<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">House Bill 1417 repeals the Environmental Regulation Commission, which is expected to streamline rulemaking for environmental protection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">This law also requires erosion and sediment control plans for the construction of solar facilities to include stormwater best management practices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">HB 1417 is set to take effect on July 1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">[BELOW: Are you a \u2018criminal gang member?\u2019 This new Florida bill changes what it means]<\/p>\n<p>Breaking News Alerts<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 kiwhtN\">Get breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 After the latest Legislative session ended last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed off on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1563,28,100,7088,139,141,140,99],"class_list":["post-198918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-environment","tag-florida","tag-florida-legislature","tag-manatee-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}