Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a controversial measure that will bolster self-defense arguments for people who kill bears on their property, while vetoing a bill that would have prevented motorists from cruising in the left lanes of highways.
DeSantis’ office announced Friday night that he had signed 14 bills from this year’s legislative session and vetoed three. Among the other bills he signed was a measure (SB 7014) that revamped ethics laws.
The bill about bears (HB 87) provides a sort of stand-your-ground defense for people who shoot bears to defend themselves or property. But with bear hunting long a controversial issue in Florida, opponents of the bill said it would lead to increased deaths of the once-threatened animals. Opponents said they will consider legal action to try to halt the law, which is scheduled to take effect July 1.
Under the bill, shooters will have to notify the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission within 24 hours of bears being killed. They also will be prohibited from possessing or selling bear carcasses.
Legal immunity will not be available to people who provoke or lure bears.
Similar bills were filed in past years but did not pass the Legislature. This year, however, the proposal sponsored by Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, and Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, gained traction in September after Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said his rural community was “being inundated and overrun by the bear population.”
Shoaf and Simon represent Franklin County as part of sprawling, largely rural districts.
But animal-rights activists argued the bill will create an “open season” on bears.
“Increasing the killing of Florida’s iconic black bears under the guise of self-defense –– without requiring proof of actual danger — poses serious public safety risks and undermines responsible wildlife management,” Kate MacFall, Florida state director at the Humane Society of the United States, said in a prepared statement.
MacFall said the bill conflicts with regulations of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which has the constitutional authority to manage wildlife. She added her organization “will continue to explore our options moving forward to ensure Florida’s bears are protected.”
Opponents of the bill said the state and communities should focus on securing garbage so bears will not be attracted to homes. The commission’s BearWise program outlines steps such as telling people not to feed bears, to clear grills, to make trash less accessible, to remove bird feeders when bears are active and to not leave pet food outside.
Sierra Club Florida, which has also argued the bill usurps the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s constitutional authority, said it is “a dangerous solution to an imaginary problem.”
Under current law, people are prohibited from possessing, injuring or shooting bears but can use non-lethal means to scare away bears that may be on the people’s property or rifling through trash.
As the state’s number of residents has grown, human-bear conflicts have increased. The commission euthanized an average of 38 bears annually between 2009 and 2018 because of public-safety risks, mostly as bears sought out unsecured garbage or other food.
The Senate voted 24-12 to approve the bill, while the House passed it in an 83-28 vote. Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, said bears threaten farmers’ livestock in her district, which includes rural Madison and Jefferson counties.
“We do have bear-proof garbage cans,” Tant said in March. “And you know what, oftentimes, after the garbage is picked up, the tops are not secured again. So, the bears come back and come back and come back.”
Meanwhile Friday, DeSantis vetoed a bill (HB 317) that would have prevented drivers from cruising in left lanes of highways with at least two lanes and speed limits of at least 65 mph. The bill included exemptions for drivers passing other motorists, preparing to exit, turning from left lanes or being directed to left lanes by officers or traffic-control devices.
In a veto letter, DeSantis said the bill was “too broad” and that it could result in motorists “being pulled over, ticketed, and fined for driving in the furthest left lane even if they are not impeding the flow of traffic of if there are few or no other cars in the immediate area.”
DeSantis added that the measure, which was unanimously approved by the Senate and drew only three dissenting votes in the House, could “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.”
–Jim Turner, News Service of Florida
HayRide says
That was dumb of DeSantis to veto a bill (HB 317) that would have prevented drivers from cruising in left lanes of highways with at least two lanes and speed limits of at least 65 mph. reason: you can drive for miles upon miles with two drivers on a two-lane road, driving neck and neck without ever allowing another car to pass. so much so it seems deliberate and sporting for them. and no it’s not too broad, police and troopers would look the other way on an open road and should only enforce it when they see actual misuse. there could be minor misuse of the law on their part. But if you’d get pulled over for this minor infraction, you must have done something to deserve it!
Eva says
“Potentially increase traffic” ??!!? Say what?? This governor is so out of touch, and has far surpassed his maximum level of competency! Left lane riders can be observed causing jam after jam at regular intervals on all of our interstates! Combine that with these over-aggressive enraged drivers in a crowded setting, and all of us are in more danger than ever of getting involved in wrecks. I can’t figure out who pulled his strings on that one though. Get a clue please!
Pogo says
@No crystal ball required to see “what’s next” for DeSantistan
…just look at the rest of the CSA — Ten Commandments in neon, contraception bans, cures for LGBTQ, sister city in Holy Land at Gaza, etc.
God bless ‘Murica! (aka — wait til your daddy Trump gets home) and Uncle Putin too…
Laurel says
Stand your ground against bears? Seriously? Undermining wildlife monitoring.
Left lane drivers are the most annoying, and dangerous of drivers. The far left lane is for passing, not cruising. These dingbats enter the left lane, put their cars on cruise control and stay there, disrupting the whole system. It is the most brain dead of actions. Other people, frustrated with the dingbat up front, will now weave in and out of traffic trying to get around the dingbat. Years back, if someone was hogging the passing lane, you could just flash your lights at them and they would pull back to the center lane and let you pass. Now, they have no clue why you are flashing lights at them, and they keep puttering along.
Gee, thanks again DeSantis.
Deirdre says
Black bears are not aggressive! If you see one just wave your arms above your head and speak loudly, so the bear knows you’re human. In Florida, we only have black bears.
They will immediately go away. Looking at the record, in the past decade there’s been 14 incidents where a bear has injured a person, and only two were serious, no deaths.
Compare that to dog bites for example, most people don’t shoot dogs on sight just to be on the safe side. In 2020 alone there was over 8,000 recorded dog bite cases in Florida.
As far as safety is concerned, killing dogs will keep you a lot safer, in fact killing almost anything will keep you safer than a bear attack. I won’t make a list of animals that are actually dangerous, or he’ll pass a law to shoot mosquitoes or something.
People are the most dangerous to other people, when will DeSantis create a law to shoot people on sight just to be on the safe side? Wait, maybe he already has.
In any incident it’s normally the bear defending itself or its cubs. I’m guessing now they’ll be shot if seen, as they are now deemed so hazardous by our governor people will assume the worst. If anyone was that nervous they have bear spray which would be far more effective than shooting them, because if you don’t kill them immediately with a bullet they may attack to defend themselves.
Apparently DeSantis doesn’t do his homework before he creates laws that hurt people and other living things. Not every problem is solved with guns, in fact, I can’t think of any problem that is solved by guns.
Would it be helpful to have a loaded gun to protect yourself against an ignorant politician? I wish.
Me says
More blood on DeathSantis hands, he is a menus to the state along with Rick Scott. Florida needs a change of politician’s, ones that are for humanity and the rule of law.
Bill C says
“Under the bill, shooters will have to notify the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission within 24 hours of bears being killed.” Why 24 hours and not immediately? Perhaps to give shooters time to come up with a good cover story about why they shot the bear “in self defense” and not just for fun, or to speculate, move the dead bear from where it was shot to closer to their doorstep to justify a self defense claim. Some people just get off by shooting animals.