Rep. Shane Abbott proud of social media restriction bill, spotlights his own session wins

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Rep. Shane Abbott, R-DeFuniak Springs, expressed his approval for the social media legislation passed in Florida during the 2024 Legislative Session.

He also touched on several bills and budget appropriations that he was able to secure for his district during the 60 days when the two chambers convened.

Abbott told Florida’s Voice that he “loved” how the legislature was “looking out for the future of our children” when it passed a bill barring most minors from creating social media accounts.

The bill, HB 3, prevents minors under the age of 14 from creating an account on platforms that use addictive features including infinite scroll, auto play and certain data collection software.

The original form of the legislation included 14 and 15-year-olds in the ban; however, it was vetoed by the governor due to parental rights concerns.

“I know we had to come back and add a little parental piece to it and I hope it still has the same affect, because, listen, adults have a hard time drawing the boundaries on social media at times,” Abbott said.

“How do you ask a pre-teen or a teenager to be able to do it if grown adults can’t get a real grasp on what’s a healthy amount of social media and not a healthy amount?” he added.

Abbott emphasized how mental health issues among the youth have brought concerns related to addictive social media platforms to the front of Floridians’ minds.

“So I’m excited about that and I’m excited to see if it works the way we would like it to work,” he said. “I’m excited to see how healthier our kids are, three to five years from now.”

Abbott expressed his support for other legislation he sponsored during the session, specifically targeting the needs of his constituents in the panhandle.

He explained how HB 141, which passed unanimously in both chambers, eliminated several requirements for the Regional Rural Development Grants Program.

“Really that’s going to help develop different economic pieces for my rural counties,” Abbott said.

He also emphasized how the bill helps the region through Triumph Gulf Coast, a nonprofit organization created by the legislature in 2013 to manage, distribute and oversee recovery of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The legislation allows the group to keep the interest they earn through their trust fund, which Abbott said “really helps the Panhandle” because it’s a “significant amount of money” that can be used for projects that were originally impacted by the spill.

The lawmaker also pointed out his bill, passed with the help of Rep. Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, that focuses on streamlining the process for children in the foster care system to get in a permanent living situation.

“When a child is in a permanent, stable environment, they do better,” Abbott said. “If we plan on breaking those cycles, we’ve got to do better and we did that with this bill.”

In regard to budget funding, he explained how some of the biggest issues with his district relate to roads and infrastructure.

“We got several appropriations for roads and water projects, so that’s always big for my rural district infrastructure pieces, because it’s hard to get those funded. When you don’t have a tax base, it’s almost impossible,” he said.

He also mentioned how he was able to secure funding for an autism center in Jackson County.

The budget, although approved by both legislative chambers, has not yet been signed by the governor. Florida law allows for the state’s executive to issue line item vetoes which may slash certain aspects of the funding without scrapping the entirety of the bill and forcing the legislature to reconvene.