THE POLICY-MAKING BRANCH
Tom Feeney
Each year, with the publication of its Review of Florida Legislation, the Florida State University Law Review provides Florida’s lawyers, law professors, and law students with a most useful reminder: that while they may devote the bulk of their time to the study of the judicial branch of our government, it is the legislative branch that is ordained by the Constitution and elected by the people to make public policy for the state.
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FLORIDA NO-FAULT INSURANCE REFORM: A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Mark K. Delegal And Allison P. Pittman
Florida is one of many states with legislation compelling its residents to carry some form of no-fault automobile insurance. Florida requires its drivers to carry a certain amount of personal injury protection insurance. This Note examines Florida’s original no-fault insurance statutes and the logic behind them, and also takes a brief look at the current requirements of Florida’s no-fault insurance laws.
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MOTOR VEHICLE DEALERS AND MOTOR VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS: FLORIDA REACTS TO PRESSURES IN THE MARKETPLACE
Walter E. Forehand & John W. Forehand
Florida has substantially regulated the relationship between motor vehicle manufacturers and motor vehicle dealers since 1970. Through the years, the legislature has made a number of substantive amendments to Florida’s core motor vehicles statutes contained in chapter 320, Florida Statutes, including changes in 1980, 1984, and a major overhaul in 1988. The 2001 legislature has again passed major amendments to the regulatory scheme. This Article is intended as an analytical review of these amendments.
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STATE REGULATION OF PORNOGRAPHIC INTERNET TRANSMISSIONS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS RAISED BY SENATE BILL 144
Richard H. Martin
Although the Internet is an important resource for America’s youth, the anonymity provided by the shield of technology has also made the Internet a fertile ground for child pornographers and sexual predators. All levels of government are hurrying to impose laws that will protect children as they venture out, often unsupervised, into cyberspace. Laws enacted by Congress and the states have come under constitutional attack by civil rights organizations. These attacks have invalidated much of the legislation, despite the strong governmental interest in protecting children. An emerging constitutional doctrine strongly protects information on the Internet and favors federal regulation over state regulation. Aware of these constitutional issues, the 2001 Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 144 (SB 144) to criminalize the transmission of child pornography to persons in Florida and the transmission of images “harmful to minors” to minors in Florida.
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