The 2024 Legislative Session is scheduled to end on March 8th, and we are now settling into its typical pace. Bills are being taken up, constantly being massaged and moving through Committees. Here's what's new this week.

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.

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.

HB 91 -- Transportation Facility Designations -- (or the "Jimmy Buffet Memorial Highway Bill”)

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. 

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. 

This week, the Florida House passed concurrent resolutions 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."

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.

SB 1738 -- Trust Funds/Defending Freedom Fighters Trust Fund/Department of Financial Services -- and -- SB 1740 -- Grants for Victims of Political Discrimination -- attempted to move $5 million to a Fund that could give public money to qualified state candidates who are “subject to political discrimination to pay for legal fees.”

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.