Legislative Update
VISIT FLORIDA & COVID-19 Liability Protections Bills Readied for Passage
Last week, both VISIT FLORIDA reauthorization bills, HB 489 and SB 434, received their final hearings and passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. The House bill would extend VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism marketing arm, through Oct. 1, 2028, while the Senate companion would extend the organization through 2031. Additionally, the House Judiciary Committee passed a necessary extension of COVID-19 liability protections for healthcare providers, HB 7021, readying it for the House floor as soon as this week. Without an extension, the healthcare COVID-19 liability protections passed during the 2021 legislative session will expire in March. The first substantive bill the Senate passed earlier this session was the COVID-19 liability protections bill for healthcare providers.
Local Business Protection Act and “Ultimate” Preemption Bill Pass Senate
On Thursday, the Senate passed SB 280 and SB 620 off the Senate Floor. In debate, Senator Travis Hutson referred to his bill, SB 280, as the “ultimate” preemption bill and a way to end groups from coming to Tallahassee on an annual basis requesting preemptions of local governments. SB 280 requires local governments to create a business impact statement when considering local ordinances, pauses enforcement of regulations while they are being challenged in court, and allows for attorney fees if the ordinance is successfully challenged. He argued that now these ordinances will be challenged at the local level. Senator Hutson also filed an amendment to SB 620 that titles the bill the “Local Business Protection Act.” SB 620 creates an avenue for businesses that lose more than 15 percent of their profit due to a local government ordinance to recover damages. These bills were sent to the House where the companion measures, HB 403 and HB 569, have two committee hearings remaining.
