Governor has only 15 days to act

DeSantis gets the final batch of 26 bills from Legislature

TALLAHASSEE — A final batch of 26 bills approved by the House and Senate during the 2020 legislative session was sent Friday to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The measures range from a revamp of the state’s specialty license-plate system (HB 1135) to putting additional teeth into the fight against shark finning (SB 680) and trying to curb electronic-cigarette use by teens (SB 810).

DeSantis will have 15 days to sign, veto or allow any of the measures to become law without his signature. DeSantis has signed 177 bills into law from the session, including a $92.2 billion budget (HB 5001), and vetoed three measures.

He also line-item vetoed about $1 billion in funding to help build up reserves to pay for the coronavirus pandemic.

Most of the bills, including the budget, went into effect with the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

The e-cigarette legislation would identify e-cigarettes and vaping products as “tobacco products.” It would raise the age to purchase any tobacco products, including tobacco cigarettes, dip and chew, as well as e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21.

The shark finning proposal would expand a 2017 law that increased penalties for people who remove fins from sharks and discard the rest of the sharks into the ocean.

The changes to the specialty licenseplate program allow new plates to get on the road if supporters can meet higher sales thresholds while bumping some low sellers from the road. It would allow plates for Auburn University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Georgia.