Floridians who commit animal cruelty won’t have anywhere to hide if a new bill from Sen. Tom Leek becomes law.

SB 494 would compel the Department of Law Enforcement to post on its website in a searchable format the names of people convicted of animal cruelty and those who pleaded guilty or no contest to the same.

If passed and signed, the law would be effective July 1, with implementation required by Jan. 1,  2026.

Florida Statute defines a person who commits animal cruelty in a couple of different ways.

Someone found guilty of animal cruelty as a first degree misdemeanor is one who “unnecessarily overloads, overdrives, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance or shelter, or unnecessarily mutilates, or kills any animal, or causes the same to be done, or carries in or upon any vehicle, or otherwise, any animal in a cruel or inhumane manner.”

Meanwhile, a “person who intentionally commits an act to any animal, or a person who owns or has the custody or control of any animal and fails to act, which results in the cruel death, or excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering, or causes the same to be done, commits aggravated animal cruelty, a felony of the third degree.”

The statute as written specifically addresses equine abuse. A person who “intentionally trips, fells, ropes, or lassos the legs of a horse by any means for the purpose of entertainment or sport commits a felony of the third degree.”

Animal abuse continues to be in the crosshairs of the Florida Legislature this year after Floridians were shocked last year by the story of a dog that would come to be known as Trooper, who was tied to a pole as Hurricane Milton approached last year and rescued by a member of the state Highway Patrol.

SB 150, filed by Sen. Don Gaetz, holds that a “person who during a state of emergency … in an area included in the state of emergency” commits “animal cruelty … commits a felony of the third degree.”

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In a world where skipping theme park lines is no longer free (goodbye forever FastPass), Disney theme parks rolled out in October its latest pay-to-play invention: The Lightning Lane Premier Pass.

With the premier pass, Disney World visitors could pay up to $450 per person to use all the Lightning Lanes for an entire park to wait in shorter lines than everyone else that day. The fee was extra on top of the theme park ticket price.

The Walt Disney Co.’s chief financial officer Hugh Johnston gave an update on the all-access premier pass when asked about it Wednesday during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

“Remember it is a premium product. It is a product that we are learning how to use, so we are marketing it very gently,” Johnston told investors. “It’s going to build over time, but it’s certainly very much (in the) early days.”

He did not say how much the premier pass is generating in revenue for the company but acknowledged, “It is very much in line with our expectations.”

“We are moving slowly with that product in order to make it a great experience, both for the purchasers of Lightning Lane and for the rest of our guests in the park,” he said.

For the media giant, Disney Experiences continues to be a moneymaker. Quarterly revenue for the division jumped 3% to $9.42 billion, which includes theme parks and resorts, Disney Cruise Line and consumer products. For the company’s domestic theme parks, operating income fell 5% to $1.98 billion because Walt Disney World closed for one day and a cruise canceled because of Hurricane Milton in October.

Overall, the entire company’s revenue rose nearly 5% to about $24.7 billion.

Disney Treasure, the newest Disney Cruise Line ship with a Haunted Mansion themed bar and shows based on popular Disney characters, is “off to a spectacular start” since it went to sea in December, Johnston said.

“We’ve done terrifically well. The feedback and guest experience, the high percentage of people are rating it excellent, very much in line with the rest of our ships,” Johnston said. “As we’ve said before, our expectation is for the ship to be profitable in the first quarter … And frankly, that is very much our expectation from here going forward.”

When asked about how Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe theme park opening in May will impact Disney World, Johnston predicted a “small impact” but maintained he is confident in Disney parks business.

Summer bookings are up year-over-year, he said, which is similar to what Disney disclosed in November.

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