Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have targeted slow-moving drivers in the left lane, but signed a bill allowing people to kill black bears on their own property.
The governor’s office announced Friday that the governor has signed 14 bills introduced during this year’s legislative session and vetoed three.
HB 87 provides a self-defense right for Florida residents to shoot and kill black bears on their own land to protect themselves and their property.
The bill would require anyone who shoots a bear to report the kill to the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife within 24 hours and would prohibit the animal’s carcass from being kept or sold. It would not provide legal immunity to people who lure bears onto their land.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill allowing people to kill black bears on their own property and vetoed a bill that would have targeted slow-moving drivers in the left lane. (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)
Supporters of the law say Floridians have the right to protect themselves and their property, but opponents say the law could lead to increased deaths of once-endangered animals. According to WFOR.
Opponents said they would consider legal action against the law.
“We’re going to sue to overturn that bill,” said Katrina Shaddix of the Bear Warriors. Fox 35“This will protect the future of Florida’s black bears, the survival of a species we love so much, and it will also save the lives of our children who are at risk of being hit by stray bear-targeting bullets.”
The law will come into effect on July 1st.
Governor DeSantis vetoed HB 317, a bill that would have prohibited drivers from traveling in the left lane of highways with at least two lanes and a speed limit of 65 miles per hour or more. The bill would have imposed fines of up to $158 on violators, but made exceptions for drivers who are passing another driver, preparing to exit a lane, turning out of the left lane, or being directed into the left lane by a traffic control device.
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The governor signed 14 bills this legislative session and vetoed three. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“The bill’s language is so broad that Florida drivers could be stopped, ticketed, and fined for traveling in the far left lane even when they are not impeding traffic flow and there are few or no other vehicles in the immediate vicinity,” Governor DeSantis wrote in his veto letter.
The governor also said the bill “could worsen congestion in Florida’s urban areas because drivers may decide not to use the far left lane at all for fear of getting a ticket.”
