FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Broward County said they will continue to enforce COVID-19 rules and penalties despite an executive order from the governor waiving existing fines.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Wednesday waiving fines implemented by local governments for COVID-19 related offenses.
“I just think that those fines are out of control, and we want to make sure that folks are protected,” he said.
Broward County leaders, however, said the threat of fines helps prevent the spread of the virus.
“I’m not happy with it. I don’t know that any of these South Florida governments are happy,” said Broward County Mayor Steven Geller.
Video footage over the last year shows police officers fining individuals who were spotted without a mask.
With spring breakers in town, the rules in place will keep both visitors and residents safe, according to local leaders.
The governor’s executive order states that those who received a ticket between March 1, 2020 and March 10, 2021 do not have to pay them.
“Most of those restrictions have not been effective. That’s just the reality,” said DeSantis. “The evidence is in on that, and so we wanna really go forth fresh, and we want people to make decisions, but we don’t want it under the heavy hand of government.”
Those in Broward who have already paid the fines, however, will not be offered a refund.
“We need a way to enforce compliance,” said Geller.
In the City of Miami, though, those who paid fines may receive a refund.
“We’re looking to see whether or not there are fines beyond that date that we may have to reimburse,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “It’s great that the federal government just gave us $140 million, because we could use some of the money, I presume, to reimburse.”
Caffé Europa on Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale was warned over the summer.
“We were cited a couple of times, but we were really good about exercising social distancing,” said Jim Facciolo, the restaurant’s owner.
Despite DeSantis’ executive order, they are still asking customers to be safe.
“Even though we can’t be fined, and you can’t fine the people for not having their masks, if you’re going to come in to Caffé Europa, we’d rather play it safe,” said Facciolo.
These are the kind of safety measures that Geller said he wants to see.
“I think that in all the urban areas, at least in the state of Florida, we’re concerned,” said Geller. “In Broward, we still have the 6-foot separation between tables, between parties at bars and restaurants. We need to have a way of enforcing that.”
If they’re unable to write tickets, he said, there is only one other option.
“Maybe they’ll get two warnings, but after that, they’ll have to be shut down,” he said.
Geller said the county will continue to enforce the rules that were initially put in place.
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