CLAY COUNTY – Not only did residents turn the calendar to 2024 on Jan. 1, but law enforcement has new laws to enforce.

The most prominent law in the wide-ranging transportation bill was the expansion of the “move over” law that requires drivers to move out of lanes next to stopped emergency vehicles.

The new law (HB 425) now mandates drivers either slow or move over a full lane for disabled cars, sanitation and tow trucks, and utility vehicles displaying emergency flashers, flares or signs. If it’s not possible to move over one lane, you must drive 20 mph slower than the posted speed limit; if the speed limit is 20 mph, you must travel 5 mph.

The ticket for not moving over is $158.

Also, mayors and other elected council officials must disclose detailed financial information of each income, asset and liability of $1,000 or more. They must also provide their most recent federal income tax returns when they qualify for an election.

The governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet and legislative members, state attorneys, public defenders, clerks of circuit courts, tax collectors, property appraisers, supervisors of elections, county commissioners, school superintendents, school board members, judges and expressway authority members were already required to list any asset of $1,000 or more. The new bill now compels local government officials.

Last year, local officials were required to report their incomes and all assets worth $10,000 or more before the Dec. 31 deadline. Many council members have called the bill an “overreach.”

Jacksonville Beach City Councilman For Nichols resigned last Saturday instead of meeting the Dec. 31 deadline. The Naples Vice Mayor, four city St. Pete Beach, McIntosh and Belleair Beach council members, three North Palm Beach Village council members, the mayor and a council member in Dunnellon and two Daytona Beach Shores city council members are among the growing group of officials who have resigned.

Here in Clay County, the Town of Orange Park received two letters of resignation. Vice Mayor Susana Thompson stepped down for personal reasons. Councilmember Daniel Cobreiro opted to step down instead of revealing financial assets.

Thompson’s letter of resignation, signed on Dec. 26, cited “continued intimidation, harassment, and false and defamatory misrepresentation intended to damage (her name and her family’s quality of life” as her reasoning. She did not mention the new law in her letter and was unavailable for comment.

Cobreiro’s letter of resignation, signed on Dec. 27, cited the new law specifically. “This level of personal financial information required to be publicly disclosed under this law poses significant concerns for me, particularly regarding privacy and personal security,” he wrote in his letter. He was not available for comment.

The state will also expand its list of “scrutinized companies” that can’t invest in Iran-related projects. The federal government employed sanctions against Iran after 66 hostages were taken from the U.S. Embassy in 1979. Florida started a list of “scrutinized companies” in 2007 for businesses with links to Iran’s petroleum commerce. The Florida State Board of Administration will divest from any business on the “scrutinized companies” list.

Other laws now in effect are:

• Floridians can reserve campsites and cabins at state parks like Mike Roess Gold Head in Keystone Heights 11 months in advance, while out-of-state visitors can reserve a space 10 months in advance.

• Florida businesses will get an overall 15.1% decrease in workman’s compensation insurance rates.

• County courthouses are required to provide lactation spaces. Tara Green, the Clerk and Comptroller of Court, already created a lactation space last year in Clay County.

• A back-to-school tax holiday will last until Jan. 14. Shoppers are exempt from sales tax for clothing less than $100, school supplies of $50 or less, computers of $1,500 or less and learning aids of $30 or less.

• Credits paid by the state for motorists who use toll roads like the First Coast Expressway will end.