TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) - On Monday, several new laws are taking effect across the Sunshine State. Governor Ron DeSantis has been busy the last few months, crisscrossing the state and signing nearly 300 bills into law, most of which take effect July 1.

Live Healthy

One of those new laws is the Live Healthy Act, a comprehensive package that does several things to encourage growing the healthcare workforce. This includes expanding several programs to attract more professionals, including adding residency programs.

“We know that if we can have sufficient training programs in Florida, to train them in residency, we are likely to retain them in the state of Florida,” FSU College of Medicine Dean Dr. Alma B. Littles said when the bill was signed in March.

School Deregulation

Florida’s public school districts will have some flexibility on how they use some federal money.

It’s part of a school deregulation package aimed at streamlining processes for administrations. The new law allows districts to publish their proposed budgets online instead of requiring them to be printed in newspapers and removes some testing requirements.

Citizen Review Board

Starting July 1, local governments are no longer allowed to have a citizen committee investigating complaints against police officers. This doesn’t mean citizen review boards are going away. Governments can have a board appointed by the police chief or sheriff. Their main role is to review policies for police departments.

However, there’s concern this will lead to less transparency.

“We believe citizen input is critical to effective policing. It instills accountability and transparency. Most importantly it gives Floridians a voice in the process of policing,” Equal Ground Interim Executive Director Genesis Robinson said.

My Safe Florida Condo

There’s a new pilot program beginning Monday to harden condos across the state. The My Safe Florida Condo Pilot officially launches July 1 ... allowing condo associations to get a matching grant from the state to pay for things like new exterior doors, windows, and roofs.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.