Florida governor signs order moving the state into phase three of reopening
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he has signed an order moving the state into phase three of reopening at a news conference today.
DeSantis emphasized the impact the move will have on restaurants and bars, which can now operate at 100% capacity.
“There will not be limitations, from the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.
However, the order treats restaurants and bars differently in terms of what local municipalities can do to restrict operations.
“If a local restricts between 50 and 100, they’ve got to provide the justification and they’ve got to identify what the costs are involved with doing that are,” the governor added.
Conversely, bars, which were operating at 50% capacity, must be authorized to scale up to 100% by local governments.
“If you want to go beyond the 50, you can authorize it and do it,” DeSantis said.
“We’re not telling you [that] you have to, but we’re not going to stand in the way of that,” he added.
DeSantis, in “an act of executive grace,” also suspended “all outstanding fines and penalties that have been applied against individuals” associated with pandemic-related mandates, such as mask requirements.
“I think we need to get away from trying to penalize people for social distancing,” DeSantis said.
“All these fines we’re going to hold in abeyance and hope that we can move forward in a way that’s more collaborative,” he added.
