WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Nearly 200 Florida laws are set to take effect Monday, and some of them could have big impacts on you.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills impacting parents, property owners, employment, and health care. Here's a look at a few of them:
HB 775: Surrendered Infants
- Increases the age at which a baby can be surrendered under the state’s “Safe Haven Law” from seven days to 30 days old.
HB 621: Property Rights
- Law enforcement will be able to immediately arrest “squatters” who are not permitted to be in homes, if the owner files a complaint.
HB 201: Emergency Refills of Insulin
- Patients will be able to receive three nonconsecutive emergency refills of insulin if their pharmacist can’t obtain authorization from a prescriber.
HB 433: Employment Regulation
- This will ban local government from requiring its contractors to pay higher wages or take extra steps to protect workers from heat exposure.
Focusing on HB 775, the Florida Infant Surrender Law changes Monday from the previous seven-day surrender period to now 30 days. A Safe Haven for Newborns is a state non-profit organization that helps save newborns from abandonment with alternative support options.
"This is going to give the mom more time to make an important decision that will effect her for the rest of her life, and we are supportive of it," said Nick Silverio, the founder of Safe Haven for Newborns.
Silverio connected WPTV with a family who adopted a baby girl that was dropped off at the Deerfield Beach Fire Department in 2003. Lori Lewis adopted baby Gloria Hope on Father's Day 21 years ago.
"We received a call from our agency, Kids in Distress, and they said we have a baby for you, and she's yours to keep," said Lewis. "The firefighters named her Hope, so we kept it."
Gloria is now 21 years old, living in Kentucky as a college student with big dreams of helping others.
"It's such a part of my life that I don't really think about it as being different or being strange," Gloria said.
Back in 2003, the surrender law was only three days. Lewis talked about the new law going into effect and how this will impact future families.
"It's not a decision made lightly. I support it," said Lewis. "If it wasn't for Gloria's biological mother, I wouldn't have her. So I am grateful."
