Now that we're officially at the halfway point of the 60-day session, we expect the pace to quicken as adjournment, or sine die, approaches. We also expect to see more about the only item Constitutionally required of the 60 days--Florida’s budget. Here's what's new this week.

Senator Keith Perry has sponsored 26 bills this Session and co-sponsored an additional 24. Senator Jennifer Bradley has also sponsored 26 bills and has co-sponsored an additional 5.

As the Legislature's Pro-Tempore, Representative Chuck Clemons was asked by leadership to limit the bills he sponsors. Though Representative Yvonne Hayes Hinson is a Democrat in a super-majority Republican House, she has sponsored 6 bills this Session, and co-sponsored an additional 13. Representative Chuck Brannon has sponsored 6 bills and co-sponsored an additional 3.  

Reminder, State Representatives are limited in the number of bills they can sponsor in a session, while Senators are not. Here are a few bills of particular interest.

SB 258 -- Interstate Safety -- After several years of dying in committee, things look better for Senator Keith Perry’s efforts to prohibit drivers from camping out in the left-hand lane on roads, streets or highways of two or more lanes in the same direction and a speed limit of at least 66 mph. Drivers who violate could get fined and ticketed. Now in the Rules Committee. The House companion bill (HB 317) is awaiting final passage there.

CS/SB 484 -- Flood Disclosure in the Sale of Real Property -- is sponsored by Senator Jennifer Bradley and requires a seller of residential real property to provide specified information to a prospective purchaser at or before the sales contract is executed. Now in the Fiscal Policy Committee.

SB 486 -- Florida School for Competitive Academics -- This is a project championed by Senator Perry over multiple sessions that will establish a “Competitive Academy” for high school students (often referred to as the “IMG Academy”). This bill would allow the school’s board of trustees to change the name of the Academy. 

It has passed the Education Committee and is awaiting action in the Education Appropriations Committee.

SB 842 -- Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act -- is sponsored by Senator Perry. It would put restrictions on Kratom powder, raising the age to purchase from 18 to 21, establishing guidelines for product processors and enacting new penalties for violators. It has passed the Commerce and Tourism Committee and is now in the Agriculture Appropriations Committee.

SB 888 -- Property Rights -- from Senator Perry, this bill would allow property owners to request assistance from law enforcement to remove unauthorized occupants-- immediately from a residential dwelling--setting the process for property owners to work with law enforcement to directly assist. It was amended in the Criminal Justice Committee and awaits further action. At this time, there is no House companion bill. 

SB 1006 -- Nicotine Products and Dispensing Devices -- This bill, sponsored by Senator Perry, would further regulate the sale and distribution of nicotine dispensing devices in Florida. It would require manufacturers to submit information about devices to government regulators, and subject those not following the requirements to fines of $1,000 per day. It has passed the Regulated Industries Committee with a substitute bill, and is now in the Agriculture Appropriations Committee. The House companion bill (HB 1007) has passed the Regulatory Reform and Economic Development Subcommittee and now sits in Appropriations. 

CS/SB 1104 -- Policy Cancellations and Non-renewals by Property Insurers -- Introduced by Senator Bradley, this bill would prohibit insurers from canceling and nonrenewing, within certain timeframes, policies covering personal residential or commercial residential properties damaged by hurricanes or wind losses and providing that such prohibition applies to flood damages caused by hurricanes under certain circumstances. Now in Rules.

HB 61 -- Transportation Facility Designations -- a bill sponsored by Representative Yvonne Hinson that would require the Department of Transportation to erect suitable markers for the crosswalk honoring Dylan Roberts, a 4-year-old boy killed in Alachua County on his way home from Fred Cone Park. The bill is in the Infrastructure Strategies Committee. 

HB 91 -- Transportation Facility Designations -- (or the "Jimmy Buffet Memorial Highway Bill”) A bill sponsored by Representative Chuck Clemons would designate all of those portions of S.R. A1A located in Monroe County; 13 of those in Miami-Dade County; all in Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties; 14 in Indian River; all in Brevard, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Duval; and 15 in Nassau as "Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway." This bill is sailing through committees and appears to be on a come Monday path to the Governor's office for action.

HB 781 -- Unsolicited Proposals for Public-Private Partnerships -- This bill is sponsored by Representative Clemons and sets to refine how Florida tackles infrastructure projects. It would ease or eliminate requirements for a competitive bidding process and gives public/private partnerships wider discretion in unsolicited proposals. This bill has undergone substantial amendments and is awaiting action in the State Affairs Committee.

HB 1303 -- Reentry Resource Centers -- sponsored by Representative Hinson, this bill provides inmate transition services through reentry resource centers and specifies the types of assistance that should be included. It also provides goals and requires the Department of Corrections to coordinate with other departments for certain purposes. Now in the Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

HB 1349 -- Required Instruction in History of Communism -- Sponsored by Representative Chuck Brannan, this bill would require, beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, that the History of Communism be included in required instruction to public school students in grades K-12. In addition, the bill requires each school district to annually certify and provide evidence to the Department of Education (DOE) that the required instruction has been met. It is in the PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, awaiting action. There is a similar bill, CS/SB 1264, that will likely be merged with 1349.  

HB 1605 and HB 1607 are companion bills, introduced by Representative Bannan, meant to address Marsy's Law and subsequent Supreme Court rulings on the law. They make explicit a series of victims' rights and provide a definition of "victims." They also create a public records exemption that would apply unless the victim chose to release identity information. They are in the Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

SB 7000 -- Deregulation of Public Schools/Instructional, Administrative and Support Personnel

SB 7002 -- Deregulation of Public Schools/School District Finance and Budgets, Facilities and Administration and Oversight 

SB 7004 -- Deregulation of Public Schools/Assessment and Accountability, Instruction and Education Choice

SB 7004 has run into significant headwinds in the House, however, specifically the provision to remove the requirement to pass both the Algebra 1 end-of-course and 10th grade English Language Arts (ELA) exams for high school graduates.

SB 1716 -- Citizens Property Insurance Corporation -- would make significant changes to Citizens by merging the corporation’s multiple accounts into one. The bill would also allow more carriers to operate and would remove second homes from its coverage to reduce the state’s financial risk.

SB 1084 -- Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services -- explicitly pre-empts regulation of EV charging stations and provides that “a local governmental entity may not enact or enforce an ordinance or regulation related to electric vehicle charging stations." 

SB 1624 / HB 1656 -- Energy Omnibus -- proposes multiple changes to the energy landscape in Florida. It contains several local pre-emptions on the use of natural gas and natural gas facilities. It includes a ban on the government's purchase of batteries made from “forced labor” (general thought: language targeting Chinese-made goods). It eliminates fuel efficiency considerations for statewide procurement of vehicles. The bill also will require purchasers of new electrical vehicles to pay a new “deposit” or fee of $500 to $1000 at the time of purchase.   

SB 1718 -- Wind Energy Facility Siting -- A bill prohibiting construction, operation or expansion of wind energy facilities and offshore wind energy facilities in this state. 

HB 1277 -- Municipal Utilities -- This bill would set limits on what a municipal-owned utility could transfer to general revenue from revenue generated by electricity, natural gas and waste water. The transfer would be: “equal to the amount derived by applying the average of the midpoints of the rates of return on equity approved by the Public Service Commission for each investor-owned electric utility in the state to the municipal electric utility's revenues.” It also further reduces the transfer amount depending upon how many customers of the utility are located outside the city limits.   

HB 1301 -- Department of Transportation -- This bill will ban the use of “ESG” planning criteria, like climate reductions and social justice, by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and would prohibit local governments from “any marketing or public awareness campaigns . . . in support of any social, political or ideological interest,” including “the promotion of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) interests, [and] any campaign related to environmental or social justice causes.” 

SB 460 -- Career and Technical Education -- allows minors to work in specific conditions. Now has been amended to exclude 16- and 17-year-olds from working on commercial jobs or any scaffolding, roof or ladder above 6 feet.

SB 1600 -- Interstate Mobility -- would require the Department of Health to provide a pathway to licensure by endorsement for any of the 59 healthcare professions. It regulates and ensures the process is swift, requiring the license or certificate to be issued within 15 days of receipt of all required documentation. 

CS/CS/HB 49 & SB 1596 -- Employment and Curfew of Minors -- This bill would revise age restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds in the workforce, allowing them to work additional hours while attending school. Favorable vote by the Commerce and Tourism Committee; now in Regulated Industries.  

HB 151 -- Cost-of-living Adjustment of Retirement Benefits -- State workers are on track to receive a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in their pensions. The COLA increases were eliminated during the recession; reinstating them is estimated to come with a cost of $2 billion dollars.   

HB 705 -- Public Works Projects -- revises and expands the definition of "public works project" to include an activity that is paid using any local or state-appropriated funds. Under current law, this is defined as any state funds. Of concern to cities, the bills prohibit municipalities that contract for a public works project from requiring a contractor to do the following: pay employees a predetermined amount of wages or prescribe any wage rate; provide employees a specified type, amount or rate of employee benefits; control, limit or expand staffing; and recruit, train or hire employees from a designated, restricted or single source.

CS/HB 1 -- Social Media Use for Minors -- restricts many platforms from allowing anyone younger than 16 to create an account and requires using a third party to verify a new users' age. It also requires the platforms to terminate accounts for anyone under the age of 16.

SB 1276 -- Litigation Financing -- has advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill would regulate third party litigation financing (TPLF), a practice where investors fund litigation in exchange for a percentage of the settlement or judgement. The bill mandates disclosure of TPLFs involvement, and prohibits TPLF from influencing the outcome or seeking to increase the return of the litigation. The bill also prohibits TPLFs from receiving a larger percentage of the settlement or judgement than the plaintiff. Favorable vote by the Judiciary Committee; now in Fiscal Policy.

SB 238 -- Claims Against Assisted Living Facilities -- was introduced to limit liability for these facilities and is working its way through committees.

SB 248 -- Medical Negligence -- seeks to revise the limits on non-economic damages for personal injury or wrongful death arising from medical malpractice claims. The bill was amended significantly from its original form before being advanced from the Judicial Committee. The amended bill reinstates caps for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, that are paid above and beyond economic damages.

CS/SB 328 -- Affordable Housing -- As noted, this bill makes several significant changes to the law enacted last year. Some of the major changes: require counties and cities to post on their websites their procedures for administrative approval of Live Local projects; require fewer units in development that are located in the Florida Keys to be set aside for income-limited households, dropping that number from 70 units to 10; expand the FHFC’s ability to preclude developers from participating in its program for certain violations; and require local governments to weigh parking requirements for developments near transportation stops or hubs. 

The Florida House passed concurrent resolutions last week calling for four separate US Constitutional Amendments. These would: impose term limits on members of Congress; require Congress to pass a balanced budget each year; provide the President line-item veto power; and prohibit imposing any law on citizens that doesn't apply to members of Congress.

The proposals have a long and difficult path ahead, requiring a Constitutional Convention. This would only be held if called for by 2/3 of the states' legislatures--meaning 34 states would have to join in on this call. If that happened, the call would go to Congress to determine the ratification method--ratified by 3/4 of state legislators (38 0f 50) or ratified by Conventions of 3/4. A very high bar indeed.

HB 1519 -- Termination of Pregnancies -- would allow abortions only to save the mother's life. Leadership has said the people of Florida are "not ready to take that step." It remains in the Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee.

HB 1619 -- Carrying and Possession of Weapons and Firearms -- is a bill that would allow citizens to openly carry firearms anywhere in the state of Florida. Leadership has said there is "no appetite" in either Chamber to move this bill forward. It remains in the Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

HB 599 -- Gender Identity Employment Practices -- This bill bars government employees and contractors from using any pronouns that do match sex assigned at birth.

HB 1135 -- Lewd or Lascivious Grooming -- This bill creates a new felony of “lewd and lascivious grooming” as defined as “the process of preparing or encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity through overtly sexually themed communication with the child or in conduct with or observed by the child without permission from the child's parent or legal guardian.” 

Taxes 

Long a priority of the Florida Chamber, SB 1144 and HB 609, would repeal local governments' ability to levy a local business tax, targeting specifically the Business Rent Tax on commercial property. Florida is the only state that levies such a tax.

Two bills, HB 1071 and SB 1084, are agricultural bills in their respective Chambers. The bills now have language that would completely ban the manufacturing, sale or distribution of "cultivated meat," defined in the bill as any meat or food product produced from cultured animal cells. If passed, Florida would be the first state in the nation with this ban.

SB 270 -- Lethal Projectiles Over or Across Public Lands -- would classify firing a projectile or bullet into someone's home or property without permission as trespassing and a third-degree felony. It passed its first committee in a 5-3 vote.

SB 438 -- Term Limits/Term Limits for County Commissioners -- This bill sets a limit of 8 consecutive years for County Commissioners.  

HB 335 -- Requiring Broader Public Support for Constitutional Amendments or Revisions -- or "no more pregnant pigs' bills," proposes an amendment to the State Constitution to increase the percentage of elector votes required to approve an amendment to or revision of the State Constitution from 60 percent to 66.67 percent. Opponents believe this is a targeted move to raise the bar even higher on amendments already slated for the 2024 ballot. Now in the Judiciary Committee.

HB 401 -- Tracking Devices and Applications -- This bill would prohibit the use of tracking devices like AirTags to track a person without their consent, making it a felony. The bill does contain some exceptions.   

HB 601 -- Complaints Against Law Enforcement and Correctional Officers -- This bill will pre-empt local governments and prohibit local police review boards. 

HB 759 -- Solicitation of Contributions Act -- This bill will prohibit panhandling in most cases, from 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next day, and makes the violation of the proposed panhandling law a felony.   

HB 1223 -- Minimum Age for Firearm Purchase or Transfer -- is a bill to lower the age to purchase a firearm from 21 to 18. This bill has passed the House committee by a partisan vote of 11-5.

HB 1551 -- Florida State Guard -- has passed its first House committee. This bill would remove the current restriction stating that the Florida Guard can only be used in Florida, thus allowing the Guard to be deployed to other states during natural or man-made disasters. The bill also reduces training requirements.