New 2023 Florida Laws
As a practitioner in a small firm of just two lawyers in South County , I get all the publications , but they often get piled up in my to-read box and the time just does not seem to come that I find myself with nothing to do and can grab that publication and read it .
Many new laws were passed in the last legislative session and many of those laws went into effect on July 1 , 2022 . I hope you were aware of those that affected you .
There are new laws and Rules of Civil Procedure that went into effect as of January 1 , 2023 that might affect you . I found a few that seemed more important to our legal practice , and I am sharing them . Of course , this is not all the laws that became effective this year .
HB 7049
HB 7049 was signed into law and becomes effective January 1 , 2023 . It revises requirements for newspapers publishing legal notices . The law removes option for publication on newspaper ’ s website and provides for publication of legal notices on publicly accessible websites . The law also authorizes governmental agency to publish legal notices on publicly accessible website and authorizes governmental agency with certain percentage of its population located within county meeting population threshold to use publicly accessible website . The law does require governmental agency to provide specified notice to residents & property owners relating to alternative methods of receiving notices and provides requirement for public bid advertisements made by governmental agencies on publicly accessible websites .
SB 2-A
SB 2-A was signed into law and becomes effective January 1 , 2023 . It changes the insurance laws . There were many issues , in the law , such as the creation of the Florida Optional Reinsurance Assistance Program ( FORA ). A controversial part of the law is that it specifically specified conditions that must be met for a property insurance policy to require mandatory binding arbitration and the law prohibits policy holders from assigning post -loss insurance benefits under residential and commercial property insurance policies issue after a certain date .
The bill changes Florida Statute 626.9373 ( 3 ) the language was also changed to say that in a suit arising under a residential or commercial property insurance policy , there IS NO , right to attorney ’ s fees under this section . The bill also changes Florida Statute 626.9541 ( 1 ) ( i ) ( 4 ) to limit the property insurance company to pay undisputed amounts of partial or full benefits owed under first-party property insurance policies with sixty ( 60 ) days , rather than 90 days , after an insurer receives notice of a residential property insurance claim , determines the amount of the partial or full benefits , and agrees to coverage , unless payment of undisputed benefits is prevented by factors beyond the control of the insurer as defined in S 627.70131 ( 5 ).
The bill also changes FL Statute 627.70154 to say : Section 18 . Section 627.70154 , Florida Statutes , is created to read : 627.70154 Mandatory binding arbitration . A property insurance policy issued in this state may not require that a policyholder participate in mandatory binding arbitration unless all of the following apply : ( 1 ) The mandatory binding arbitration requirements are contained in a separate endorsement attached to the property insurance policy . ( 2 ) The premium that a policyholder is charged for the policy includes an actuarially sound credit or premium discount for the mandatory binding arbitration endorsement . ( 3 ) The policyholder signs a form electing to accept mandatory binding arbitration . The form must notify the policyholder of the rights given up in exchange for the credit or premium discount , including , but not limited to , the right to a trial by jury . ( 4 ) The endorsement establishes that an insurer will comply
20 | THE DOCKET - FEBRUARY 2023