5 Florida Laws Going Into Effect January 1, 2023

A new year brings on some new laws to Florida residents for 2023.  Here are the five biggest ones that could have an impact on you. There are discounts for some Florida drivers, changes to insurance procedures for homeowners, and a new safety measure in place for Florida apartment renters.

Toll Credits
If you record 35 or more toll-road trips in a given month, you can get a 50% credit. This applies to 2 axle vehicles. You don't need to do anything to sign up. If you qualify, you'll see the credit on your bill. [More]

Online Announcements
Instead of having to publish legal notices in the newspaper, the government can now just publish them on their website. [More]

Property Insurance
Contractors cannot pursue payments from insurers on behalf of a homeowner. They will need to do the work. [More]

Worker's Comp
About at 8-1/2% decrease in worker's compensation insurance costs is coming. [More]

Apartment Employee Checks
Landlords will need to do a background check on all workers. [More]

It's not exactly a secret. Tampa is the best city in Florida to call home. Even Forbes agrees. They measured things like home affordability, employment opportunities, crime, cost of living, diversity, public transit, healthcare and population growth. We certainly know firsthand about that last one.

Forbes says Tampa has everything you need for daily life. For anything Tampa might be missing, they mentioned that Miami and Orlando are within driving distance. Forbes liked our beaches, sports teams, and somehow we got some praise for our public transportation system. They did visit, right!?

Here was the full top 10.

Pensacola got props for their naval air station, home to the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

Maybe some of the analysts were Seminoles fans?

They loved how Sarasota is family friendly and close to the beach.

Forbes gave The Space Coast props for year-round rocket launches and beach vacations.

It's Florida's biggest city and Forbes loved Miami's beaches and colorful architecture.

For Disney fans, this one's the obvious choice.

Their low crime rate helped them beat out the big cities.

Surprised they ranked so high on the list? They loved the area's state parks and hiking trails, but they scored big points for a lower cost of living.

Jacksonville's employment opportunities helped them almost reach the top of the list. Lots of beaches didn't hurt too.

We're biased. It's home for us.  But we love our Florida life... and it's clear with how many keep moving here that others do too.

Some good news... most of the best places to retire are here in the southeast. Tampa and St. Pete did make the list, but there are better options in Florida, according to WalletHub. They measured things like affordability, but also took into consideration the quality of life each area offers. Things like healthcare, leisure activities and weather are important so they were factored in.

The best city in the country to spend your retirement, however, is NOT in Florida. They say life gets no better than in Charleston, South Carolina. They scored a 58.97, doing particularly well in affordability and activities. Orlando came in right behind Charleston with an overall score of 58.23. Just like Charleston, Orlando did well with activities and affordability. Miami came in at #4. No surprise to anyone who lives here in Florida, affordability was NOT Miami's strong point. Miami did rank 7th in the country though for activities and outscored Orlando on health care. Here is the Top 10 for Florida specifically.

Surprised as I was? The traffic alone in Orlando is a disqualifier for me personally. But I guess when you're retired, you're not in too much of a hurry to get to work. Orlando's got a bunch of activities and that certainly helped them rank 2nd nationally and 1st in Florida for retirement.

If you've got the money, Miami definitely has the sun and beaches.

Activities was where Fort Lauderdale scored highest. But like Miami, the affordability factor kept its score down overall.

Ranked 11th nationally for activities, Tampa just barely made the Top 10 in the country for retirement. Tampa's weak spot was said to be healthcare. Agree?

Personally I think retirement is a lot more fun on the Pinellas side, but St. Pete ranked lower than Tampa on this survey. St. Pete scored well in affordability (really?), activities and quality of life - but like Tampa, slipped in the rankings a bit due to the healthcare.

Quality of life is where Cape Coral did really well, landing 20th nationally.

Pembroke Pines ranked 19th in the country for quality of life, but scored poorly on affordability and activities.

Affordability was Port St. Lucie's strength - they ranked #30 nationally.

Scoring 35th overall in the nation, quality of life was Hialeah's strength.

Coming in 68th overall, Jacksonville scored really well in affordability, but poorly on healthcare and quality of life.

Some good news... most of the best places to retire are here in the southeast. Tampa and St. Pete did make the list, but there are better options in Florida, according to WalletHub. They measured things like affordability, but also took into consideration the quality of life each area offers. Things like healthcare, leisure activities and weather are important so they were factored in.

The best city in the country to spend your retirement, however, is NOT in Florida. They say life gets no better than in Charleston, South Carolina. They scored a 58.97, doing particularly well in affordability and activities. Orlando came in right behind Charleston with an overall score of 58.23. Just like Charleston, Orlando did well with activities and affordability. Miami came in at #4. No surprise to anyone who lives here in Florida, affordability was NOT Miami's strong point. Miami did rank 7th in the country though for activities and outscored Orlando on health care. Here is the Top 10 for Florida specifically.

Surprised as I was? The traffic alone in Orlando is a disqualifier for me personally. But I guess when you're retired, you're not in too much of a hurry to get to work. Orlando's got a bunch of activities and that certainly helped them rank 2nd nationally and 1st in Florida for retirement.

If you've got the money, Miami definitely has the sun and beaches.

Activities was where Fort Lauderdale scored highest. But like Miami, the affordability factor kept its score down overall.

Ranked 11th nationally for activities, Tampa just barely made the Top 10 in the country for retirement. Tampa's weak spot was said to be healthcare. Agree?

Personally I think retirement is a lot more fun on the Pinellas side, but St. Pete ranked lower than Tampa on this survey. St. Pete scored well in affordability (really?), activities and quality of life - but like Tampa, slipped in the rankings a bit due to the healthcare.

Quality of life is where Cape Coral did really well, landing 20th nationally.

Pembroke Pines ranked 19th in the country for quality of life, but scored poorly on affordability and activities.

Affordability was Port St. Lucie's strength - they ranked #30 nationally.

Scoring 35th overall in the nation, quality of life was Hialeah's strength.

Coming in 68th overall, Jacksonville scored really well in affordability, but poorly on healthcare and quality of life.