BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 6075 (Eskamani) and SB 1848 (Albritton) delete certain provisions that limit the authority of way. The bills also repeal the Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act that relates primarily to the installation of small wireless facilities in public rights of way. (Hughes)

CS/HB 969 (Drake) and CS/CS/SB 1166 (Albritton) designate the Department of Economic Opportunity as lead state agency to facilitate expansion of broadband internet service. The bills require DEO to work collaboratively with certain entities including local governments. The bills create the Florida Office of Broadband within DEO for the purpose of developing, marketing and promoting broadband internet services in this state. The bills allocate $5 million of the funds transferred to Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise for the Multiuse Corridors of Regional Economic Significance (M-CORES) program to be used for projects that assist in the development of broadband infrastructure within or adjacent to a multiuse corridor. CS/CS/SB 1166 was substituted for CS/HB 969. CS/HB 969 passed both chambers and is awaiting action by the governor. (Hughes)

HB 9221 (LaMarca) provides a $500,000 appropriation for the Study of Broadband Service and Infrastructure Investment. (Hughes)

HB 1309 (Ausley) and SB 1776 (Montford) require the Department of Management Services to develop geographic information system maps in collaboration with internet service providers. These maps must identify geographic areas and locations in the state where broadband-capable networks exist, and broadband internet service is available to end users and the download and upload data transmission speeds available in each geographic area. The bills require DMS to annually update the maps and establish a mechanism to receive and verify public input related to broadband internet service. DMS must also monitor, participate in and provide input in proceedings of the Federal Communications Commission related to broadband service. (Hughes)

CS/SB 1128 (Diaz) and CS/CS/HB 1011 (Fischer) change current law relating to vacation rentals, also known as short-term rentals (STRs). The bills were amended to:

•clarify the definition of an advertising platform and narrow it by removing print

advertisements from its scope.

•allow a “grandfathered” city to amend its short-term rental regulations if the amendment makes the regulation less restrictive.

•require the department to maintain vacation rental property license information in

an accessible electronic format.

•require advertising platforms to verify a property’s license number prior to publishing its advertisement on its platform and every quarter thereafter.

•require advertising platforms to quarterly provide the department with the physical

address of the vacation rental properties that advertise on their platforms.

•impose a duty on advertising platforms to collect and remit taxes in relation to the

rental of a vacation rental property through its platform.

•establish requirements that advertising platforms adopt an anti-discrimination

policy and inform their users of the public lodging discrimination prohibition found in current law.

•clarify that the provision of the bill shall not supersede any current or future community association governing document.

Additionally, CS/CS/HB 1011 now requires sexual predators to notify the sheriff's office of a temporary residence within 24 hours of arrival. Language carving out the Florida Keys from certain elements of the preemption was also added to the bill. 

CS/SB 1128 was temporarily postponed in Senate Rules which is not scheduled to meet again. CS/CS/1011 is on the House Special Order Calendar and is awaiting action by that body. (Cook)

SB 23 (Gottlieb) and SB 70 (Book) – Panic Alarms in Public Schools

SB 94 (Book) – Transfer of Firearms

HB 451 (Good) – Weapons and Firearms

HB 37 (Zika) and SB 290 (Hooper) – School Bus Safety

HB 43 (Latvala) and SB 122 (Rouson) – Child Welfare

SB 210 (Thurston) – State Taxes and Fees

SB 266 (Farmer) – Safe Storage of Loaded Firearms

SB 270 (Farmer) – Sale and Delivery of Firearms

SB 304 (Cruz) and HB 1167 (Polsky) – School Safety Funding

SB 548 (Rodriguez) – Firearms 

HB 809 (Fernandez) – Licenses to Carry Concealed Weapons or Firearms

HB 839 (Daniels) – School District Police Chiefs

HB 6003 (Hill) – Firearms

SB 704 (Rouson) – Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

HB 149 (Overdorf) – Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers

HB 797 (Thompson) and SB 212 (Thurston) – Medical Marijuana Retail Facilities

SB 1508 (Taddeo) and HB 1281(McGhee) – Police Vehicles

SB 736 (Diaz) and HB 747 (Williamson) – Coverage for Air Ambulance Services

HB 507 (Smith, D.) and SB 842 (Wright) – Injured Police Canines 

SB 320 (Stewart) – Emergency Medical Air Transportation Services

HB 245 (Polo) and SB 398 (Berman) – Concealed Weapons and Firearms

SB 1860 (Brandes) and HB 1389 (Smith, C.) – Availability for Marijuana for Adult Use

SB 7032 (Criminal Justice) and HB 7015 (Oversight, Transparency & Public Management) – Body Camera Recordings

HB 7065 (Education Committee/Massullo) – School Safety

HB 249 (Slosberg) prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle while holding or touching a wireless communication device. This bill does provide several exceptions such as first responders performing in their official capacity or drivers accessing safety-related information including emergency, traffic or weather alerts. (Branch)

SB 7028 (Infrastructure and Security) addresses a number of issues related to public safety. The proposed bill:

•requires select health care practitioners, emergency medical technicians and paramedics to

disclose confidential communications to a law enforcement agency to the extent necessary to

communicate a specific threat of serious bodily injury or death.

•specifies a documentation process to use for the sale of a firearm when the seller is not a

federal firearm licensee (FFL) and chooses not to use an FFL to complete the transaction.

•creates a new section of statute to provide that a person may not sell, offer for sale, transfer

or deliver any firearm to another person for consideration when any part of a transaction is

conducted on property to which the public has the right of access, unless a criminal history

records check of background information has been completed and a unique approval number

has been obtained from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

•provides an FFL may charge a fee to cover administrative costs for facilitating the sale or

transfer of a firearm.

•revises current requirements related to the safe storage of firearms to provide that loaded

firearms must be securely stored to prevent access by minors under the age of 18, instead of

the current threshold of 16, and expands the safe storage requirement to include preventing

access by a person of unsound mind of any age.

•provides that the FDLE will develop a statewide strategy for targeted violence prevention (STVP).

•provides for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, 37 full-time equivalent positions and the recurring

sum of $4,827,538 and the nonrecurring sum of $1,043,415 from the General Revenue Fund

to the FDLE to implement a statewide STVP. (Cook)

HB 995 (Davis) and SB 1014 (Rouson) require certain 911 public safety telecommunicators to receive telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and the Department of Health to establish a procedure to monitor adherence to this training. (Cook)

CS/SB 788 (Book) and HB 997 (Casello) require the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), in consultation with law enforcement agencies throughout the state, to establish a uniform statewide rule on preparing for and responding to an active assailant. The bills also require each law enforcement agency to adopt an active shooter policy or rule, as appropriate, by January 1, 2021. (Cook)

SB 562 (Bracy) revises the circumstances under which a law enforcement officer is authorized to use objectively reasonable force. The bill prohibits the use of deadly force against a person based on the danger that person poses to the law enforcement officer, if an objectively reasonable law enforcement officer would believe that the person does not pose an imminent threat of death or serious physical harm to the law enforcement officer or others. (Cook)

HB 273 (Sabatini) removes a requirement that a license is needed to carry a concealed weapon or firearm. (Cook)

SB 428 (Braynon) adds performing arts centers or legitimate theaters to the list of places where weapons or firearms are prohibited. (Cook)

CS/HB 183 (Ponder) and SB 1524 (Gainer) authorize city and county commissioners who are appropriately licensed to carry concealed weapons or firearms to a meeting of the governing body of which he or she is a member. (Cook)

SB 242 (Braynon) and HB 25 (Jones) reduce criminal penalties for possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis and products containing less than 600 milligrams of THC and specify that first-time juvenile violators are eligible for civil citation or other prearrest diversion programs. (Cook)

CS/CS/CS/SB 140 (Hutson) and CS/CS/CS/HB 65 (Rodriguez, A.M.) create an exemption allowing for the use of fireworks on three days: New Year’s Day (January 1), Independence Day (July 4) and New Year’s Eve (December 31). The bills were amended with language clarifying that any local government regulations relating to the use of fireworks are still in effect. CS/CS/CS/HB 65 was amended to add that a person must be at least 18 years of age to purchase fireworks. (Cook)

CS/SB 520 (Gruters) and HB 1433 (Yarborough) allow police and fire departments to use drones to manage crowd control and traffic as well as gather evidence at a crime or traffic crash scene. The bills also permit a state agency or political subdivision to operate drones for assessing damage after a natural disaster. (Branch)

SB 134 (Taddeo) and HB 6009 (Daley) repeal the current statutory preemption prohibiting cities from regulating firearms and ammunition. (Cook)

HB 6083 (Rodriguez, Anthony) preempts cities, counties and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from installing, maintaining, or utilizing red light cameras effective July 1, 2023. (Branch)

HB 1405 (Greico) requires public swimming pools to have a telephone available for all public swimming pool users in case of an emergency. (Cook)