Last Friday, the Florida 2023 legislative session adjourned sine die. This means the regular legislative session is completed for the year. Below are some highlights from this year’s session.
As we previously reported, House Joint Resolution 1157, the constitutional amendment to further protect and preserve the right to hunt and fish in perpetuity as a public right in Florida will be on the 2024 ballot.
Senate Bill 214, an important bill to protect the credit card privacy rights of sportsmen, has been sent to Governor Ron DeSantis. SB 214 will prohibit payment settlement entities, merchant acquiring entities, and third-party settlement organizations from assigning merchant category codes (MCC) or otherwise classifying merchants of firearms or ammunition separately from general merchandise or sporting goods retailers.
Good news for Florida’s sporting dog owners and breeders, three bills of serious concern failed to receive any hearing during the session and are officially defeated with sine die.
House Bill 989 would have allowed the court to appoint an attorney or a supervised law student to represent the health or safety of a cat or dog.
Senate Bill 1492 / House Bill 1581 would have classified any unsterilized adult female dog as a “breeding female” and required an owner of any “breeding female” to register as a “breeder” with the state. Once registered, such “breeders” will be subject to a massive set of new regulations, including unannounced inspections, excessive standards of care, potential fines even for paperwork errors, and any additional regulations instituted if the bill was passed.
Unfortunately, one pro-sportsmen bill was defeated. House Bill 221 would have righted the wrong passed in 2018 by returning the firearm purchase rights to Florida’s 18- to 20-year-olds.
Even though the 2023 legislative session is over, the Sportsmen’s Alliance will continue to monitor activities in the Sunshine State as you never know when issues that sportsmen need to be aware of may arise.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.