Florida News That Impacts You – June 14th, 2024
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Governor DeSantis signed 12 bills into law on Thursday including the Equitable Distribution of Marital Assets and Liabilities bill. Effective July 1st the new law tasks the court with ensuring a fair divorce decree occurs factoring in special circumstances such as marital debts, child-related expenses, the cost of the divorce proceedings, etc. The Economic Self-sufficiency bill will also be law July 1st. The law gives guidance for local workforce development boards to ensure that those on government assistance programs are obtaining the skills and resources to become self-sufficient. The new law also mandates that DCF expand mandatory SNAP Employment and Training participation to include all adults between the ages of 18-59 who do not have dependent children.
- The State of Florida has approved rules to lower the state sales tax on commercial leases from 4.5% to 2%. The Florida Department of Commerce announced in March a plan to implement the 56% tax cut and the state’s cabinet comprised of Governor DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, CFO Jimmy Patronis and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson approved the rule change which is effective retroactive to June 1st.
- Voters in Vero Beach will decide whether to approve a development plan for the city that would increase the population density near 14th Avenue from 850 to 2,500 units. The city’s initial vote on Thursday paves the way for the city council to approve specific language at a future meeting before sending the referendum to voters in November.
- Rain will continue on and off throughout the day again today with regular rainfall expected into the weekend. An additional 1-2 inches of rain are expected for many communities over the next day. A Flood Watch remains in place until 8 tonight for coastal communities and those prone to flooding. Today’s high is in the mid-80's – which is typical for today. In the tropics, the system that’s been responsible for the record rainfall this week is east of the Carolina’s with a 20% chance of development. A separate disturbance in the Southwestern Gulf has a 40% chance of development as it’s expected to drift northwest towards Mexico in the coming days.
- Gas prices remained at four-month lows on Thursday. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $3.27 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.49 per gallon, in Martin the average is $3.27 and in Indian River County the average is $3.23 per gallon.