Bills

Local Licensing of Home Caregivers; Authorizes counties & municipalities to license home caregivers within their jurisdictions.

Areas of Critical State Concern; Provides exemption from specified payment & performance bond requirements for specified entities; extends specific Florida Forever appropriations to be used for purchase of lands in Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern.

Trust Fund Interest for Purposes Approved by Supreme Court; Authorizes financial institutions to hold funds in specified trust accounts used for specified purposes expressly authorized by Supreme Court rule; requires certain entities to use interest & dividends for specified purposes; requires certain financial institutions to pay specified interest or dividends.

Transportation Facility Designations; Provides honorary designations of certain transportation facilities in specified counties; directs DOT to erect suitable markers.

Smoking in Public Places; Revises legislative intent; defines "public place"; revises definition of terms "smoking" & "vape" or "vaping"; prohibits smoking in public places in this state, with exceptions; provides applicability; revises requirements for customs smoking rooms to prohibit smoking & vaping of marijuana products at any time.

Local Government Land Development Regulations and Orders; Requires certain counties & municipalities, respectively, to follow certain application procedures for applications for certain development permits & development orders; creates "Florida Starter Homes Act"; prohibits local governments from imposing certain regulations if residential lot is connected to public water system & sewerage system; prohibits local go…

Law Enforcement and Immigration Officer Identifying Information and Face Coverings; Creating the "VISIBLE Act"; requiring covered immigration officers to wear specified visible identification during public immigration enforcement functions; providing requirements for such visible identification; prohibiting covered immigration officers from wearing face coverings that impair the visibility of identifying information…

OGSR/Florida Gaming Control Commission; Amending a provision which provides an exemption from public records and public meeting requirements for exempt or confidential and exempt information obtained by the Florida Gaming Control Commission; deleting the scheduled repeal of the exemption, etc.

Specific Medical Diagnoses in Child Protective Investigations ; Providing an exception to the requirement that the Department of Children and Families immediately forward certain allegations to a law enforcement agency; requiring such allegations to be immediately forwarded to a law enforcement agency upon completion of the department's investigation; requiring a child protective investigator to inform the subject o…

Former Phosphate Mining Lands; Provides conditions for cause of action against certain former phosphate mine sites; authorizes landowners to record certain notice of former phosphate mines; specifies requirements for such notice; requires DOH to conduct gamma radiation surveys of former phosphate land parcels upon petition; requires that specified documentation of radiation levels be submitted in certain civil actio…

Public Records/Uterine Fibroid Research Database; Providing an exemption from public records requirements for certain records and personal identifying information submitted to the Department of Health for inclusion in the uterine fibroid research database; providing for future legislative review and repeal; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.

Uterine Fibroid Research Database; Deleting a prohibition on the inclusion of personal identifying information in the uterine fibroid research database, etc.

Gay and Transgender Panic Legal Defenses; Prohibits use of nonviolent sexual advance or specified perceptions or beliefs about another person as defense to criminal offense, to excuse or justify person's conduct, or to mitigate severity of offense.

Required Reports of the Office of Insurance Regulation; Requiring the office to create specified reports on insurers, licensees, registrants, and their related entities, including the compensation of their executive officers; requiring the office to use a reliable and up-to-date methodology and software to create specified reports and review such methodology and software for accuracy; specifying that certain data ar…

Electric Utility Ten-year Site Plans; Revises information required to be included in 10-year site plans; revises procedures for review & approval or rejection of such plans by PSC; requires electric utilities to submit revised plans to commission under certain conditions; prohibits electric utilities from filing applications for certification of certain electrical power plant sites; revises information commission is…

Veterans Affairs; Revises admissions process for veterans treatment court programs; authorizes court, in consultation with multidisciplinary team, to determine eligibility for veterans treatment court programs; requires court to consider recommendation of state attorney when making eligibility determination; authorizes sentencing courts to divert defendants to veterans treatment court programs under certain circumst…

Veterans Dental Care Grant Program; Revises purpose of Veterans Dental Care Grant Program.

Transportation Facility Designations/Warrior Sacrifice Way; Provides honorary designation of certain transportation facility in specified county; directs DOT to erect suitable markers.

Florida Public Service Commission; Requiring the commission to implement specified measures to improve transparency and accountability; requiring the commission to ensure that public utilities do not recover certain costs from ratepayers regardless of whether such costs take a specified form; requiring the commission to ensure that the allowable return on equity for public utilities does not exceed certain metrics; …

Education and Workforce Development for Inmates; Authorizes DOT to expend certain funds for all workforce development programs, rather than only construction workforce development programs; authorizes department to provide grants to private educational providers to use for certain certification & training opportunities; requires certification & training opportunities to include training for specified commercial driv…

Special District Funding; Revising agency agreements that provide state financial assistance to recipients or subrecipients to include specified special districts as an entity to which such agency may provide for the payment of invoices under specified circumstances; providing construction; requiring state agencies to expedite payment requests from certain counties, municipalities, and special districts for a specif…

Practice of the Profession of Pharmacy; Authorizing pharmacists who meet specified criteria to, at the direction of a licensed physician, administer medications at a Level I or Level II trauma center under certain circumstances; requiring trauma centers to retain certain documentation to employ pharmacists to perform such tasks, etc.

Electronic Payment of Public Records Fees; Requiring an agency subject to ch. 119, F.S., to provide an electronic option for payment of fees associated with a public records request, etc.

Health Care Patient Protection; Requires hospital emergency departments to develop & implement policies & procedures, conduct training, record weights in certain manner, designate pediatric emergency care coordinator, & conduct specified assessments; authorizes hospital with emergency department to conduct National Pediatric Readiness Project's Open Assessment under certain conditions; requires agency to adopt certa…

Public Records/Recordings of Protective Investigations; Providing an exemption from public records requirements for recordings of interviews conducted as part of a protective investigation by the Department of Children and Families; authorizing the release of such recordings to certain persons; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.

Criteria for Determining Criminal Gang Membership; Revises definition of term "criminal gang member"; defines "gang-related language."

Traffic Infraction Enforcement; Revising the periods during which a county or municipality may enforce school zone speed limits, and the violations for which such enforcement is authorized, through the use of a speed detection system; prohibiting the use of a traffic infraction detector for remote surveillance; requiring district school board authorization and a public hearing process before a school district may pl…

Fees/Government-Facilitated Purchases and Sales of Individual and Small Employer Health and Dental Plans; Authorizes Florida Health Insurance Exchange to charge assessments & user fees to health carriers & generate funding for specified purpose; requires exchange to publish certain financial information on Internet website.

Observance of Veterans' Day by K-12 Schools; Requires school districts to observe Veterans' Day as school holiday.

Volunteering at Polling Locations; Provides that specified high school students who volunteer to assist poll workers are not subject to provisions prohibiting certain agencies and state & local officials from soliciting, accepting, or otherwise using private funds or certain personal services for election-related expenses.

Sexual Offenders and Sexual Predators; Revises residency restrictions for persons convicted of certain sexual offenses occurring on or after specified date; provides applicability; revises distance required for specified offender to commit specified offense of loitering or prowling; prohibits such offender from knowingly contacting, communicating with, or approaching with intent to contact or communicate with certai…

Sexual Offenders and Sexual Predators; Revising residency restrictions for persons convicted of certain sexual offenses occurring on or after a specified date; revising the prohibition of specified offenders from coming within a specified distance of a place where children congregate; requiring a person who has been convicted of specified offenses to provide notice to a school or child care facility under certain ci…

Practice of Veterinary Medicine; Provides that specified exemptions apply to licensed & unlicensed veterinary technicians; revises membership of Board of Veterinary Medicine; provides requirements for licensure of veterinary technicians; provides continuing education requirements for renewal of licensed veterinary technicians' licenses; prohibits certain persons from taking specified actions relating to licensure of…

Virtual Currency Kiosks; Revising the requirements for certain rules adopted by the Financial Services Commission; revising the actions by money services businesses, authorized vendors, or affiliated parties which constitute grounds for disciplinary action; prohibiting persons from engaging in certain business unless they are registered or exempt from registration; prohibiting a virtual currency kiosk business from …

Faith-based Content in Batterers' Intervention Programs; Specifies that batterers' intervention programs may include faith-based activities, but may not require participation in such activities.

Animal Welfare; Creating the offense of causing or enticing a minor to commit, or in the presence of a minor committing, animal cruelty; requiring a court to order a minor who commits specified acts of animal cruelty to undergo a psychological evaluation and receive counseling and treatment for a specified time period; requiring the minor's parent or guardian or the state to pay the cost of such evaluation, counseli…

Forensic Client Services; Revising the definition of "forensic client" to include a defendant committed to involuntary residential services in a secure facility of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities; republishing s. 916.303, F.S., relating to determination of incompetency, etc.

Recording of Protective Investigations; Requiring that interviews conducted pursuant to protective investigations be audio or video recorded; providing exceptions; providing that persons charged with certain criminal offenses do not have standing to object to an investigator’s failure to record such an interview; providing that an investigator’s failure to record such an interview is not grounds for precluding certa…

Fines for Violations Detected by Traffic Infraction Detectors; Authorizes county or municipality to issue fine for certain violations detected through use of traffic infraction detector; requires fine to be accompanied by certain photograph or image.

Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal System Permits; Prohibits municipality or political subdivision of state from requiring owners & builders of certain residences to receive construction permits from DEP as condition of issuing building or plumbing permits; requires such owners & builders to provide certain proof to municipality or political subdivision.

Justice Administrative Commission; Revises membership of JAC.

Drug Prices and Coverage ; Revises definition of term "pharmacy benefits plan or program" to exclude plan or program that exclusively serves PACE organization; requires contracts between pharmacy benefit managers & participating pharmacies to allow specified option in administrative appeal procedure; provides pharmacy benefit manager prohibited practices relating to pharmacies & pharmacists. A…

School District Unimproved Real Property; Requires school districts to annually submit complete inventories of unimproved real property to DOE; & requires department to compile & publish such data in statewide report.

School Safety; Requires sheriffs to assist public postsecondary educational institutions in implementing guardian programs under certain provisions; authorizes public postsecondary educational institutions to participate in the school guardian program; requires a sheriff to establish a guardian training program or contract with certain other sheriff's offices to do so in certain circumstances; creates the offense of…

St. Lucie County Mosquito Control District, St. Lucie County; Revises district boundaries; requires referendum.

Community Associations; Provides requirements for terminating dissolved HOA governing documents; provides requirements relating to easements of dissolved HOA; provides retroactive applicability; requires condominium & homeowners' associations to include specified statement in their governing documents or to hold meeting by date certain to vote to amend governing documents to include such statement; revises provision…

Government-facilitated Purchases and Sales of Individual and Small Employer Health and Dental Plans; Establishes Florida Health Insurance Exchange within OIR to facilitate purchase & sale of qualified health plans; provides duties of exchange; authorizes exchange to contract with eligible entity to perform exchange's functions; authorizes exchange to enter into agreements with governmental agencies & entities to car…

Educational Scholarship Programs; Creating a categorical fund for implementing the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program; creating the educational enrollment stabilization program to provide supplemental state funds to address changes in full-time equivalent student enrollment; renaming the Hope Scholarship Program as the Hope Program; requiring an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization to provide a pa…

My Safe Florida Home Program; Requiring the Department of Financial Services to notify applicants in specified circumstances; authorizing applicants to submit subsequent applications in certain circumstances; prohibiting an application from being deemed withdrawn if an applicant responds to notice and makes certain demonstrations and corrections, etc.

Protected Cell Captive Insurance Companies; Specifying that a protected cell captive insurance company may only insure certain risks; revising the unimpaired paid-in capital requirements for captive insurance companies; authorizing one or more sponsors to form a protected cell captive insurance company; requiring applicant protected cell captive insurance companies to file certain information with the Office of Insu…