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DeSantis signs military veteran fraud protections, 9 other bills

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures during a news conference at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) (Chris O'Meara, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed 10 bills into law on Friday, including one to bolster fraud protections for military veterans.

The governor’s bill action Friday came hours after he received the final 26 measures approved by lawmakers during the 2020 legislative session, which ended in May.

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The Florida Veterans Protection Act (SB 294) adds a veterans to the existing “White Collar Crime Victim Protection Act.”

The law makes it a first-degree felony victimize 10 or more veterans out of at least $50,000.

RELATED: Clock running on DeSantis decisions for remaining 2020 bills

The law, which goes into effect on Oct. 1, already applies to victimization of 10 or more elderly individuals. Many of the bills DeSantis signed Friday focused on extending existing public records exemptions.

DeSantis has now signed 187 bills into law from the 2020 session, including the $92.2 billion budget (HB 5001), and vetoed three measures.

Most of the 2020 bills, including the budget, went into effect with the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

The governor has until Sept. 19 to act on the remaining 16 bills or allow them to become law without his signature.


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