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161 New Laws Take Effect July 1st

June 29th, 2009 by Mike Vasilinda

161 new laws go into effect Wednesday.  They include higher tuition, drivers license fees, and a dollar increase for a pack of cigarettes. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, In addition to digging into you pocket, state government might also save you some money.

You can save money buying energy efficient appliances, but you’ll pay more if your child loses a textbook.

Smokers will pay a dollar a pack more, but taking a plastic knife to school will no longer get you expelled.

And land line phone companies will no longer be told how much they can charge.

But the state will start keeping track of which doctors are prescribing dangerous drugs and to whom.

Local governments can no longer charge you for showing up at an accident. But Drivers license and fishing fees are going up.

“Many of these fees now place Florida in a position that is very comparable to many of the other states nationwide,” Dave Westberry with the Department of Highway Safety said. “We had had a pretty good deal for a long time.”

Tuition at state universities is also going up, by 15 percent. None of it is covered by Bright Futures.

And just getting arrested for a felony will send your DNA to a database, but police will have to use more care recruiting confidential informants.

You will also be able to pay your property taxes in installments, for a fee. If you don’t like the assessment, appeals are going to be a little easier to win.

For parents, enrolling your child in Healthy Kids will get easier and the wait won’t be as long.

And if you are a die-hard fan of a university, you can remain loyal even after you die. New legislation allows your ashes to be stored on campus.

All told, 271 bills passed this year. Some have no effect on you personally, but others could cost you a bundle.  There is a chance to save some money if you act soon. While the legislation to hike drivers license fees takes effect July first, the actual fees don’t increase until September.

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