Revenge porn will be illegal, half-gallon beer growlers will be legal and cities like Waldo won't be able to set ticket quotas for police officers under three of the 27 bills Gov. Rick Scott signed on Thursday.
Among other new laws: it will be illegal to use drones to take photo or video of private property without consent of the owner and to impersonate a firefighter. Also, five new synthetic drugs were made illegal.
The city of Waldo was an infamous speed trap and eventually had its police department disbanded during an investigation over ticket quotas that showed nearly half the city's $1 million annual budget came from traffic ticket revenue.
One of the bills Scott signed addresses that problem by banning departments from setting quotes. The law takes effect July 1.
Florida was also the only state in the country to outlaw half-gallon refillable beer containers, known as growlers. A law that takes effect July 1 legalizes them as part of a measure that regulates craft breweries.
On Oct. 1 it will become illegal to post sexually explicit photos and videos of exes on websites without their consent. The practice is known as revenge porn and involves photos and videos couples took in better days that were meant to remain private, but are later posted when the relationship goes bad.
A first offense would be a first-degree misdemeanor. A second violation would be a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
It will also be illegal to use drones to take photographs or record images of people on their property or their property from the air. The restrictions would also apply to state and local governments. The law, which takes effect July 1, does not call for any criminal penalties. Instead it allows people to sue someone who photographs them with a drone. It includes several exceptions, including drone use by utility companies and property appraisers.
The Legislature passed 227 bills during the session that ended two weeks ago.
