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Scott Signs ‘Nonviable Birth’ Certificate Bill

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Gage Skidmore
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday signed five bills, including a measure that would allow families to request certificates of “nonviable birth” after miscarriages.

The bill (HB 101), sponsored by Rep. Bob Cortes, R-Altamonte Springs, and Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, is called the “Grieving Families Act.” Under it, parents could seek certificates of nonviable birth for fetuses lost between the ninth and 20th weeks of gestation.

Scott also signed an accompanying bill (HB 103) that provides a public-records exemption for information in nonviable birth records.

Among the other bills signed Wednesday was a transportation measure (HB 865), sponsored by Rep. Jayer Williamson, R-Pace, that would make numerous changes. For example, it would increase the allowed weight of natural gas-fueled vehicles from 80,000 pounds to 82,000 pounds, the maximum set under a federal law; direct the state Department of Transportation to study the economic feasibility of acquiring the Garcon Point Bridge from the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority; and require a study of the boundaries of the Department of Transportation's seven districts and to determine the cost of creating an additional district around Fort Myers.