TALLAHASSSEE Florida Gov. Rick Scott has vetoed a bill that would have ended permanent alimony in Florida.
Scott vetoed the bill (SB 718) today just four hours before the midnight deadline to approve or veto the bill. The bill automatically would have become law if Scott had done nothing by then.
Florida also would have set limits on the amount of alimony and how long one would receive financial support from an ex-spouse.
The bill would have made it harder to get alimony in short-term marriages. And it would have prevented alimony payments from lasting longer than one-half of the length of the marriage.
The bill also would have required judges to give divorced parents equal custody of their children absent extraordinary circumstances.
In other action, Scott signed a wide-ranging ethics bill and a separate measure to raise campaign contribution limits.
The ethics bill (SB 2) was a priority for Senate President Don Gaetz and the first bill the Senate passed on the first day of session more than eight weeks ago.
It will give the Florida Ethics Commission more authority to collect fines, among other things.
The campaign finance bill (HB 569) was a top priority for House Speaker Will Weatherford and will increase campaign contribution limits from $500 per election to $1,000 for legislative and local races and $3,000 for statewide races
