POLK CITY, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis announced lanes on Interstate 4 will be widened at a press conference Wednesday morning in Polk City.
DeSantis said 14.7 miles from US-27 in Polk County, through ChampionsGate to Osceola Parkway, will be under construction starting this year. It will widen lanes and shoulders.
"This is going to be a massive expansion of lanes," he said. "You're going to have express lanes that are going to be available. Widened shoulders for emergency evacuations and then there will be interchanges that will be reworked to reduce backup."
He said they are "20 years ahead of schedule" as the project was scheduled to start in two decades.
"We are very much committed to relieving congestion on our streets," he said.
Governor Ron DeSantis also signed a new law making numerous changes to the Department of Transportation.
He mentioned some of the changes House Bill 1301 will implement such as prohibiting window tinting on public transit buses from being darker than what is allowed for cars and requiring public notice and input before repurposing one or more traffic lanes.
Some other changes include:
- Requires lane repurposing for public transit purposes to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the transit authority’s board.
- Requires public transit providers to disclose employee compensation and benefits, ridership and performance metrics and any gifts accepted in exchange for a contract.
- Increases penalties to $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense and requires six points on a driver's license for violations associated with railroad-highway grade crossings.
- Prohibits public transit providers from spending state funds on certain marketing or advertising activities, including any wraps displayed on a transit bus.
- Increases the length of time from three to 10 years before an inactive prepaid toll account becomes unclaimed property.
You can read the full list of changes here.
DeSantis also signed 11 bills on Tuesday including one regarding food delivery platforms and another about Alzheimer’s training for law enforcement.
Senate Bill 676 was passed unanimously in the House and Senate to regulate food delivery platforms such as DoorDash and UberEats.
The new law will prohibit platforms from taking or arranging delivery or pickup orders from establishments without their consent. Platforms will have to remove restaurants within 10 days of a request.
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Flemming Island, to prevent platforms from intentionally inflating or deflating prices and providing itemized costs to customers. Businesses that use their own food delivery will not be affected.
The law will take effect July 1.
House Bill 801 will also take effect as a new law to provide new training for law enforcement and correctional officers.
The legislature passed it unanimously, and it will mandate Alzheimer’s and related dementia training for officers. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will collaborate with the Department of Elder Affairs to establish an online training that will teach officers techniques on how to interact with a person with the disease.
Officers will learn how to recognize behavioral symptoms and characteristics, effective communication and how to use alternatives to physical restraints. Officers can use the training as part of their requirements for continued employment.
The law will go into effect Oct. 1.
