A rundown of what happened in Tallahassee  April 4, 2024 2024 Session Wrap-up And so, another Florida Legislative Session is in the books. As always, the success of a Legislative Session is in the eye of the beholder. This Session had some fireworks, but on the whole had more bipartisan cooperation than in Sessions' past. Of the 1,902 bills filed--a smaller number than is typical--291 bills passed both Chambers. A $117 billion budget was passed, which includes $1 billion in tax relief and provides for almost $10 billion in total reserve funds. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner conclude their terms in November, and both achieved victories with their priorities. Locally, Senator Keith Perry and Representative Chuck Clemons have concluded their terms and can also point to several victories to close out their service in these offices. Work continues for Floridians, of course, with insurance premiums, affordable housing and access to healthcare and quality education still top of mind heading into the fall elections. These bills have been signed into law by Governor DeSantis. Healthcare SB 330 -- Behavioral Health Teaching Hospitals -- establishes a new category of teaching hospitals focused on behavioral health. SB 7016 -- Healthcare -- addresses existing workforce shortages and increases access to healthcare services by increasing medical residency opportunities, encouraging out-of-state physicians to practice in Florida and expanding telehealth access.  SB 7018 -- Health Care Innovation -- incentivizes innovation in the healthcare industry through investments in technology. SB 1758 -- Individuals with Disabilities -- expands services to Floridians with disabilities. Social Media HB 3 -- Online Protection for Minors -- prohibits any minor aged 13 or younger from having social media accounts, with 14- and 15-year-olds permitted to do so only with parental consent. The bill does not specify how the platforms obtain that consent. The bill places the responsibility to enact and enforce the ban with the platforms--there is no penalty for a parent or child if they end up with an account. This bill is expected to face court challenges. Public Behavior HB 583 -- Individual Wine Containers -- revises the exception to the maximum allowable capacity for individual containers of wine sold in this state. HB 621 -- Property Rights -- authorizes property owners or authorized agents to request assistance from the sheriff to immediately remove unauthorized occupants from a residential dwelling. HB 1365 -- Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping -- prohibits homeless individuals from camping on city streets, sidewalks and parks and authorizes the creation of temporary shelters monitored by law enforcement agencies. Homeless shelters must require occupants not use drugs. It does allow local governments to create homeless camps if shelters are over capacity. These camps will be required to include mental health services. The bill also allows residents, business owners or the attorney general to sue a local government for not following the law. HB 1451 -- Identification -- prohibits counties and municipalities in Florida from accepting certain identification cards and documents. These documents would be from groups that knowingly issue credentials to individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States. The targeted identification cards are commonly known as "community ID cards". These cards typically cannot be used for purposes such as driving or voting. SB 322 -- Public Records and Meetings -- provides an exemption from public records requirements for certain information held by healthcare agencies and commissions. These are some of the bills we've been tracking that passed both Chambers but still await action by the Governor. On the Governor's Desk CS/HB 241 -- Coverage for Skin Cancer Screenings -- requires DMS to require contracted state group health insurance plans to provide coverage and payment for annual skin cancer screenings. HB 781 -- Unsolicited Proposals for Public-Private Partnerships -- refines how Florida tackles infrastructure projects. It eases or eliminates requirements for a competitive bidding process and gives public/private partnerships wider discretion in unsolicited proposals.  Awaiting Further Action SB 328 -- Affordable Housing -- places new preemptions on local development controls and adds some exemptions for short term rentals.  SB 758 -- Tracking Devices and Applications -- prohibits placing or using a tracking device or tracking application to determine the location or movement of another person or another person’s property without that person’s consent. SB 812 -- Expedited Approval of Residential Building Permits -- requires governing bodies to expedite the process for issuing residential building permits--by a date certain--before a final plat is recorded. It also prohibits a governing body from making substantive changes to a preliminary plat without written consent. SB 1084 -- Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services -- bans the manufacturing, sale or distribution of "cultivated meat," defined in the bill as any meat or food product produced from cultured animal cells. If signed by the Governor, Florida will be the first state in the nation with this ban. SB 1264 -- History of Communism -- requires instruction in public schools on the history of communism. SB 1600 -- Interstate Mobility -- requires 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.  HB 59 -- Provision Of Homeowners' Association Rules and Covenants -- rewrites laws governing condo associations. HB 91 -- Transportation Facility Designations -- designates 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."  HB 317 -- Interstate Safety -- prohibits drivers from sitting in the left-hand lane on the highway.   HB 433 -- Employment Regulations -- prohibits local living wage laws and local workplace heat regulations that would preempt state or federal laws. HB 919 -- Artificial Intelligence Use in Political Advertising -- requires that certain political advertisements, electioneering communications or other miscellaneous advertisements include a specific disclaimer: "created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence.” HB 1503 -- Citizens Property Insurance Corporation -- makes significant changes to Citizens by merging the corporation’s multiple accounts into one. The bill also allows more carriers to operate and removes second homes from its coverage to reduce the state’s financial risk. With the state Supreme Court signing off on ballot initiatives about abortion rights and recreational use of marijuana, voters in Florida will now weigh in on six proposed constitutional amendments. Passage of each proposal would require support from at least 60% of voters. Amendment 1: Partisan election of members of district school boards With supporters seeking to do away with a requirement that candidates run without party labels, voters will decide whether to hold partisan school board elections. Florida historically had partisan school board elections, but voters passed a constitutional amendment in 1998 to make the races non-partisan. Lawmakers, however, decided last year to place a measure on this year’s ballot that would return to partisan races starting in 2026.  Amendment 2: Right to fish and hunt Fishing and hunting have been traditions for generations of Floridians. Voters in November will decide whether to enshrine a right to fish and hunt in the state Constitution. Amendment 3: Adult personal use of marijuana Eight years after voters approved a constitutional amendment that broadly allowed medical marijuana, they will decide this year whether to give the go-ahead to recreational use of marijuana.  Amendment 4: Amendment to limit government interference with abortion In what could be 2024′s biggest political issue in Florida, voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. The vote will come after the Governor and lawmakers approved preventing abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.  Amendment 5: Annual adjustments to the value of certain homestead exemptions Homeowners could receive slightly larger property-tax breaks if voters approve a constitutional amendment that the Legislature put on the ballot. The proposal would lead to adjusting part of the homestead property-tax exemption for inflation. Amendment: Campaign money Lawmakers approved placing a measure on the ballot to again try to repeal a program that offers state matching funds to gubernatorial and state Cabinet candidates. Voters approved the matching funds program in 1998, and a repeal attempt failed in 2010.  Florida’s budget comes in right about $117 billion, a slight increase from the initial proposed House and Senate Budgets but a slight decrease (-1.4%) from the current budget. It is now in the hands of the Governor, who wields line-item veto authority, and has until July 1 to wield this power, so the budget is likely to change from what the Legislature sent over. If history is an indicator, it is likely to change substantially. Budget highlights include: paying off $500 million in state debt  a significant, recurring investment to prison infrastructure of $100 million a year a 3% pay raise for state employees (with higher raises for the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and for agents who protect the Governor and his family) a $1.8 billion increase in funding for public schools over the current fiscal year, which provides for a $240 bump in per-student spending a $40 million increase in school safety funding a $20 million boost to school mental-health funding almost $750 million in capital-outlay funding for colleges and universities to spend on construction $230 million for maintenance and repair projects at charter schools $702 million for Everglades restoration and operations at the South Florida Water Management District $125 million to fight the effects of climate change (flood and sea-level rise programs) $55 million for natural springs $528.6 million for land acquisition $17 million for continuing a program that offers $5,000 bonuses to new law-enforcement recruits, and the renewal of a toll relief program DeSantis launched last year that costs the state about $300 million. In addition, total spending will increase over the budget final number due to separate legislation that authorizes spending. SB 2500 -- Appropriations / The Senate Budget HB 5001 -- General Appropriations Act / The House Budget Also of note, budget negotiations are always made easier by the Supplemental Funding agreements, or the “sprinkle list.” These supplemental expenditures are funded independently by each Chamber, so they don't have to match. Senate Sprinkles House Sprinkles These sprinkles are also subject to the Governor’s line-item veto authority. The Tax Package is also in the Governor's hands. It provides $1.5 billion in tax relief to state residents and businesses. Highlights include: The 2-week Back-to-School sales tax exemption on school supplies and clothing Two 2-week sales tax exemptions for Disaster Preparedness The month-long tax holiday for recreational items A week-long Skilled Worker tax holiday for tools and supplies HB 7073 -- Taxation NEXT UP: THE ELECTIONS The election season is right around the corner. Stay tuned for our candidate interviews and meet-and-greet events. Vicki Gervickas Director, Public Policy + Grassroots Engagement [log in to unmask] ‌ VISIT OUR WEBSITE Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce | 300 E University Ave., Ste 100, Gainesville, FL 32601 Unsubscribe [log in to unmask] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [log in to unmask] powered by Try email marketing for free today!

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