Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed a bill that lets people kill black bears on their land, but he vetoed a bill that would have fined people for driving too slowly in the left lane.
His office said Friday that the governor signed 14 bills from this year’s congressional session and vetoed three.
Florida residents can shoot and kill black bears on their own land to protect themselves and their property under H.B. 87’s “stand your ground” defense.
The bill says that anyone who kills a bear with a gun must tell Florida Fish and Wildlife within 24 hours. They also can’t keep or sell the bear’s body. No one will be protected by the law if they bring bears onto their land.
People who support this rule say that Floridians have the right to protect themselves and their property. People who are against it, on the other hand, say that it could cause more animals that were once in danger to die.
Opponents said they might go to court and break the law.
“We will file a lawsuit to get that bill overturned.” She told Fox 35 that she was part of the group Bear Warriors. “This will protect the future of Florida black bears, which is important to us because we love this species so much.” Also, it will protect our kids from being killed by a stray bullet meant for a bear.
The law will start to work on July 1.
The bill, H.B. 317, would have stopped drivers from speeding in the left lanes of roads with at least two lanes and 65 mph speed limits. DeSantis turned it down. People who broke the law would have been fined up to $158, but drivers who were passing other cars, getting ready to leave, turning from the left lanes, or being told to stay in the left lanes by traffic control devices would not have been paid.
“The language of this bill is too broad and could lead to drivers in Florida being pulled over, ticketed, and fined for driving in the furthest left lane even if they are not impeding the flow of traffic or if there are few or no other cars in the immediate are,” he wrote in his veto letter.
The governor also said the bill might “potentially increase congestion in Florida’s urban areas as drivers may decide to not utilize the furthest left-hand lane at all for fear of being ticketed.”
