alonzo_mourning.jpgTALLAHASSEE (AP) _ An act expanding insurance coverage for kidney transplants that's named for retired Miami Heat basketball star Alonzo Mourning is among 28 new laws going into effect.

Some of the others starting Thursday will give state and local law enforcement officers the power to arrest human smugglers, crack down on the sale of stolen gold jewelry and require children under 16 years old to wear helmets while horseback riding.


Mourning, himself a kidney transplant recipient, met with lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Crist in April to seek their support for the legislation.

He then returned to the capital city in June to watch Crist sign the Alonzo Mourning Access to Care Act into law at a dialysis center.

Pictured above is Alonzo Mourning.