00:00 Heat is Bad for Your Heart The Weather Channel meteorologist Julie Martin reports that hot weather puts a greater demand on your heart.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has passed a bill making it legal to break into locked vehicles to rescue pets or vulnerable people believed to be in imminent danger of suffocation or other harm.

The bill went into effect Tuesday, and is among 16 bills Gov. Scott signed into law. It is in direct response to an increasing amount of incidents where pets, children and others are left in overheated cars, the Miami Herald reports. This can lead to suffocation or other harms, especially when sitting under Florida’s hot summer sun.

"Florida has seen much warmer than average temperatures in the last 12 months. In fact, the period from March 2015 through February 2016 ranked as the hottest on record for that stretch," said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/smash.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/smash.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/smash.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > A new Florida law makes it legal to break into locked vehicles to rescue pets or vulnerable people believed to be in imminent danger of suffocation or other harm. (Thinkstock/Katarzyna Bialasiewicz) (Thinkstock/Katarzyna Bialasiewicz)

According to the bill text, it provides immunity from civil liability for damage to a motor vehicle related to the rescue of a person or domestic animal under circumstances. “Domestic animal” is used to describe a dog, cat, or other animal that is domesticated and may be kept as a household pet. This term does not include livestock or other farm animals.

(WATCH: Officer Saves Child From Oncoming Car)

Individuals may be absolved from being sued for breaking into locked vehicles as long as they have done the following:

Checked to make sure the vehicle is actually locked

Have a reasonable belief, based upon the known circumstance, that entering into the vehicle is necessary because the vulnerable person or domestic animal is in imminent danger of suffering harm

Called 911 or law enforcement either before or immediately after breaking into the vehicle

Use only the necessary amount of force to break in.

Remain with the person, child or animal until first-responders arrive on the scene

In 2014, there were 32 reports of children dying in hot car deaths, according to the organization Kids and Cars. According to PETA, animals can sustain brain damage or die of heatstroke in just 15 minutes of being trapped in a car.

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