Beginning July 1, more than 100 new Florida laws will take effect, bringing changes that affect education, public safety, transportation, housing, agriculture, technology, government operations, and consumers.
The new laws were approved during the 2026 legislative session and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. In total, approximately 140 new laws from the regular and special legislative sessions are scheduled to become effective on July 1, the start of Florida’s new fiscal year.
Among the most significant changes:
- Data Centers: A new law establishes statewide guidelines for data center development. Local governments retain zoning authority while electric utilities are prohibited from shifting certain data center-related costs onto other customers.
- Education: New requirements include expanded civics instruction, cursive writing proficiency for elementary students, teacher mentorship programs, and the display of portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in public school classrooms. The legislation also allows certain small private schools to operate in commercial buildings without rezoning.
- Agriculture: Florida’s new agriculture law expands protections for farmland, limits local restrictions on gas-powered equipment, continues food bank programs supporting farmers, and creates incentives to address shortages of large-animal veterinarians.
- Public Safety: “Missy’s Law” restricts the release of defendants convicted of specified dangerous crimes while awaiting sentencing.
- Environmental and Coastal Resiliency: New legislation streamlines permitting for projects designed to improve coastal resilience and eliminates the Environmental Regulation Commission.
- Transportation: Several state roads, airports, and public facilities will receive new official names under legislation taking effect July 1.
The legislation also includes measures affecting local government operations, business regulations, healthcare, criminal justice, emergency management, and state agencies. While many of the laws become effective July 1, others approved during the 2026 session have different implementation dates.
Residents can review the full list of laws through the Florida Legislature’s bill tracking system and the governor’s bill-signing records as the changes begin taking effect next week.
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