BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 364 (Avila) and HB 535 (Botana) allow a law enforcement agency to grant administrative leave, up to eight hours, to a law enforcement officer in order to attend a funeral of an officer killed in the line of duty. The bills specify that expenses incurred with bereavement travel are to be reimbursed by the agency. The bills also increase the amount to be paid toward funeral and burial expenses of an officer from $1,000 to $10,000. (Taggart)

HB 313 (Rudman) – Pub. Rec./Active Duty Servicemembers and Families

HB 157 (Holcomb) provides a public records exemption for the personal information of individuals who foster or adopt an animal from an animal shelter or animal control agency operated by a local government. (Taggart)

SB 216 (Burgess) and HB 525 (Arrington) create a public records exemption for the personal identifying and location information of current and former county and city attorneys and assistant/deputy county and city attorneys, as well as information regarding the spouses and children of those attorneys. (Taggart)

HB 495 (Antone) creates the Commission on Public Safety in Urban and Inner-City Communities within the Department of Law Enforcement. The purpose of the commission is to investigate system failures and the causes and reasons for high crime and gun violence incidents in urban and inner-city neighborhoods and communities and to develop recommendations for system improvements. Linked to HB 495, HB 497 (Antone) creates a public meeting exemption for the Commission on Public Safety in Urban and Inner-City Communities when exempt or confidential information is discussed. This provision is set to sunset in 2028. (Taggart)

HB 7001 (Yarkosky) saves from repeal the public record exemption for information related to the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network. (Taggart)

HB 279 (Jacques) and SB 310 (Collins) would require federal law enforcement agencies that are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act and have a physical office in Florida to comply with the state's public records requirements. (Taggart)

SB 284 (Brodeur) revises the vehicle procurement requirements for the state purchasing plan. Specifically, the bills require vehicles of a given use class to be selected for procurement based on the lowest lifetime ownership costs rather than the greatest fuel efficiency. Before July 1, 2024, the Department of Management Services (DMS) shall make recommendations regarding the procurement of electric vehicles and best practices for integrating such vehicles into existing fleets. The bill directs DMS to rank vehicles based on the lowest cost of ownership over five years. Any vehicle purchased under the state’s purchasing plan must be ranked in the top five of the Department’s rankings. Law enforcement vehicles are exempt from this requirement. (Branch)

HB 239 (Bussatta Cabrera) and SB 224 (Hooper) – Special Risk Class Retirement Date

HB 291 (Holcomb) and SB 436 (Rodriguez) – 911 Public Safety Telecommunicators

HB 95 (Duggan) will amend the “law enforcement officer bill of rights” to prohibit a law enforcement officer or correctional officer from being discharged, suspended, demoted or otherwise disciplined solely as a result of that officer being included on the Brady Giglio list. The Brady Giglio list is a database that contains information about police misconduct, public complaints, use-of-force reports, etc. (Cruz)

HB 181 (Lopez) specifies the minimum factor used to calculate the cost-of-living adjustment for certain retirees and beneficiaries of the Florida Retirement System. (Cruz)

HB 27 (Benjamin) – Judgement Liens

SB 46 (Wright) – Health Insurance Cost Sharing

HJR 129 (Roth) – Requiring Broader Public Support for Constitutional Amendments or Revisions

HJR 131 (Rudman) and HB 209 (Rudman) – Recall of County Commissioners

HB 137 (Nixon) – Department of Labor

HB 237 (Altman) and SB 286 (Powell) – Legal Instruments

HB 331 (Overdorf) – Liens and Bonds

SB 304 (Boyd) – United States-produced Iron and Steel in Public Works Projects

HB 49 (Driskell) and SB 430 (Driskell) – Abandoned and Historical Cemeteries

HB 119 (Benjamin) – Visiting County and Municipal Detention Facilities

HB 217 (Rayner-Goolsby) – Rights of Children

HB 275 (Daley) – Pari-mutual Wagering

HB 269 (Caruso) – Public Nuisances

HB 493 (Antone) – Applicants for Licensure as a medical Marijuana Treatment Center

HB 337 (McFarland) and SB 352 (Burgess) provide that 911 public safety telecommunicators and crime scene investigators are eligible for workers' compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder, which is currently provided to first responders. The bills specify that the time for notice of an injury or death in a compensable post-traumatic stress disorder claim must be properly noticed within 52 weeks after the qualifying event or the diagnosis of the disorder, whichever is later. (Cruz)

HB 415 (Porras) defines a temporary commercial kitchen as a food preparation and cooking

facility set up for the preparation of takeout or delivery-only meals housed in portable structures that are movable from place to place. The bill authorizes the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to adopt operational requirements for temporary commercial kitchens. (Taggart)

HB 107 (Edmonds) would create the summer youth learning program within the Department of Economic Opportunity. This program would match students from low-moderate income families who have outstanding academic records or trade skills with appropriate summer employment opportunities with state agencies, school districts, local governments and participating private businesses in order to prepare such students to enter the workforce as adults. Participation in the program would be optional for local governments and funded by the Department of Economic Opportunity. (Taggart)

HB 295 (Caruso) and SB 210 (Harrell) close a loophole in current law. The bills require day or night community housing addiction treatment centers to be certified by the Florida Association of Recovery Residences. The bills also prohibit the use of marijuana on the premises of the residences in order to obtain licensure. The bills also clarify that anyone discharged from a recovery residence who refuses to leave may be charged with trespassing in lieu of an eviction proceeding. (Taggart)

HB 317 (McFarland) and SB 388 (Bradley), of concern to municipalities, would preempt the regulation of sales or resale of tickets to the state. (Taggart)

HB 397 (Tuck) would allow local governments to meet in private with legal counsel, during the 90-day notice period, to discuss claims concerning the Bert Harris Act and private property rights. Transcripts of these private meetings will be made a part of the public record upon settlement of a claim or when the statute of limitation has expired if there is no litigation or settlement. (Cruz)

HB 519 (Edmonds) would repeal the preemption of the regulation of tobacco and nicotine products. (Taggart)

HB 169 (Lopez) and SB 314 (Rodriguez) require employers of first responders to pay for up to 12 hours of licensed counseling following a work-related traumatic event. This benefit would be in addition to any potential workers’ compensation claim or counseling services covered by health insurance. Covered first responders include firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and law enforcement officers, including those working on a volunteer basis. The bills also hold the employing agency responsible for paying for up to an additional 24 hours of treatment if a mental health specialist finds that the first responder requires more hours of counseling. (Cruz)