Governor Rick Scott has announced he will veto a bill passed during this year's legislative session that would have allowed the Florida Department of Transportation to raise the speed limit on certain highways to 75 miles per hour. Any speed limit increase would have required a study of the highway in question. The Governor made the announcement after being lobbied by law enforcement agencies across the state and by Florida AAA.
Karen Morgan, the manager of Public Policy for AAA said that other states who have raised the speed limit have seen an increase in automobile injuries. She also said that while people are already driving 75, raising the speed limit would encourage people to drive 80 or faster.
There were bills passed during the session that have the support of the Auto Club. One has to do with changing the state's requirement for children in car seats. Currently children need to be in car seats until age three. The new regulations would raise that to age 5, meaning children would need to be in car seats or booster seats until their sixth birthday. Morgan said this means Florida went from having "the worst car seat law in the country" to being somewhere in the middle of the pack.
AAA also found some good news tucked into a larger economic development package that will give parents a little help when buying those booster seats. The measure creates a permanent sales tax exemptions on child car seats and youth bicycle helmets. He signed that measure into law on Monday.
The governor announced his veto of the speed limit bill on Tuesday afternoon. He has already signed the economic development measure into law. The car seat bill is still awaiting his signature or veto.
