Fraser Cobbe and Joe Daraskevich bring on special guest Toni Large to give fresh insight from Tallahassee as the 2026 legislative session moves past the 40-day mark. Toni is the president of Large Strategies and lives in Tallahassee, working as a lobbyist focused on healthcare policy. Toni shares an interesting thought on the different generations in leadership in the House, Senate and the governor's office. Joe adds that we often consider the career backgrounds of the elected officials but we don't often think of the age gaps in place and how that can be a key factor when it comes to specific priorities.

Toni looks ahead to the back half of session and what needs to happen for certain bills to become law. Fraser wraps up the episode with some rapid fire questions about bills we've been following in 2026, with Toni giving an educated guess on which ones will be passed in both chambers and which ones don't stand much of a chance moving forward. Toni offers a reminder that this is an election year, which means physicians in Florida will have a busy summer making connections with candidates as they visit citizens on the campaign trail.

The following update is provided by Toni Large, Large Strategies, INC.

HITTING THE 40th DAY MARK:

The Legislature’s focus has shifted from moving bills through committees to taking them up on the chamber floor, with several committees already ending their meetings for the session and others nearing the end of their work.

By the end of the coming week, any bills not heard in assigned committees will have little hope of passage.

Some committees will be trying to push through large numbers of bills to clear the backlog – for example, the Senate Rules Committee, typically the last stop before the floor for many bills, is scheduled to consider 44 bills during its meeting this Tuesday.

Most Senate committees won’t meet after the 50th day of the session, with the exception of the Rules Committee.

Looking Ahead

As committees conclude their work, the focus shifts to floor passage and reconciling a $1.4 billion budget gap. To avoid an extended session, leadership must reach an agreement by March 10 to meet the 72-hour constitutional cooling-off period.

BUDGET WORK:

• With both chambers having passed their respective budget bills, attention also shifts to getting an agreed-on spending plan passed, with hopes of avoiding the kind of budget stalemate that kept lawmakers in session on overtime last year for about six weeks past the scheduled end of the session.
• Next is budget conferencing, but negotiations over the details can't begin until top-line figures are agreed on by legislative leaders and the two spending plans are about $1.4 billion apart.
• This year, the House will “host” budget conferencing, and a final budget agreement must be reached by March 10 to adhere to the constitutionally mandated 72-hour "cooling off" period if the Legislature is to end its session on time on March 13.
• The annual state budget is the only legislation lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass every year. The upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year starts July 1.

SB 1404 - Memory Care

Requires new memory care services licenses for assisted living facilities providing specialized Alzheimer’s care and establishes the Florida Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence to support individuals with related dementias and their caregivers.

• Defines “memory care resident” and “memory care services” to distinguish specialized care from optional supportive services.
• Adds a memory care services license category for assisted living facilities that serve memory care residents or market such services.
• Mandates that facilities meet additional requirements established by the Agency for Health Care Administration, including staff training, safety measures, and physical plant standards.
• Allows existing facilities to continue serving current memory care residents under specific conditions if they cannot obtain a memory care license immediately.
• Creates the Florida Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence to provide caregiver assessments, personalized plans, and state-level coordination of resources for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias.

SB 902 - Department of Health

Revises medical marijuana regulations, updates pediatric service transitions, establishes a new neurofibromatosis research grant program, and modifies licensure and training requirements for health care practitioners.

• Redefines “low-THC cannabis” with updated THC and CBD thresholds and excludes edibles.
• Requires qualified physicians and medical directors to renew their certification biennially, removing outdated reference to active orders.
• Prohibits new cultivation, processing, or dispensing facilities within specified distances of parks, child care, and early learning facilities, while exempting previously approved facilities and allowing local government waivers.
• Creates the Neurofibromatosis Disease Grant Program to fund scientific and clinical research.
• Revises Early Steps Program to standardize transition protocols for infants and toddlers with disabilities and expands dispute resolution procedures.
• Mandates emergency license suspension for health care practitioners arrested for murder or related offenses.
• Allows registered nurses to delegate the administration of certain controlled substances to home health aides for medically fragile children.
• Extends the completion deadline for marriage and family therapist licensure requirements from 2027 to 2032.
• Broadens eligibility for the autism micro-credential to include Early Steps credentialed providers.

HB 1443 - Parkinson's Disease Registry

CS/CS/CS/HB 1443 requires the Florida Institute for Parkinson’s Disease (Institute) within the University of South Florida (USF) to establish a statewide Parkinson’s disease registry.

• The bill requires physicians and advanced practice registered nurses who diagnose or treat a patient with Parkinson’s disease or atypical parkinsonism to report nationally recognized performance measures to the registry beginning January 1, 2027, and grants them liability protection for doing so.
• The Parkinson’s Disease Research Board (Board) must submit annual reports on the registry data to the Governor, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives beginning October 15, 2028.  
• The bill requires the Institute to create and maintain a public website dedicated to the Parkinson’s disease registry beginning January 1, 2028, to be updated yearly.
• The website must include, at a minimum, downloadable annual reports on the incidence and prevalence of Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonism, information on the Consortium for Parkinson’s Disease Research, and other information as determined by the Board.  

HB 1425 - Consultant Pharmacists

CS/HB 1425 allows a consultant pharmacist to provide medication management services at health care clinics that are owned by a hospital or at least one physician that is employed by or contracted with a hospital. 

SB 1092 - Podiatric Medicine

Podiatric physicians: establish legal parameters for using cellular or tissue-based products under specified conditions.

• Authorizes the use of certain unapproved cellular or tissue-based products by qualifying podiatric physicians for specified treatment purposes such as connective tissue repair, wound care, and pain management.
• Requires that such cellular or tissue-based products come from facilities registered with the FDA and meet specific accreditation and viability standards.
• Mandates inclusion of a clear statutory notice in all forms of advertisement regarding non-FDA-approved cellular or tissue-based products.
• Establishes a signed consent requirement informing patients of procedure details, risks, benefits, and the unapproved status of the products.
• Sets criminal penalties and disciplinary actions for prohibited uses, including procedures involving fetal cells from abortions or distributing certain products created from human tissues.

SB 844 - Sickle Cell Disease Care Management and Treatment Continuing Education

CS/SB 844 amends s. 456.0301, F.S., to require that the standard continuing education (CE) course on prescribing controlled substances must include information regarding the treatment of pain for patients with sickle cell disease. 

SB 1506 - Civil Litigation

• Revises the criteria for courts to consider in determining whether a civil damages award is excessive or inadequate.
• Updates statutory language by clarifying and modernizing references to the court’s responsibilities in reviewing civil damages awards.
• Adds new factors for determining whether noneconomic damages have a rational, evidence-based connection to the injuries suffered.
• Applies these revised standards to pending and future causes of action.
• Incorporates these changes in existing statutes that reference the court’s role in reviewing punitive and compensatory damages awards.

HB 1201 - Student Health and Safety

Expands Department of Health responsibilities and revises school requirements for educating, training, and informing staff and students about epilepsy and seizure disorders.

• Requires the department to include the new epilepsy and seizure training requirements in its educational program.
• Mandates that a student’s individualized seizure action plan (ISAP) be developed and signed by a medical professional, in a form determined by that professional, in consultation with the student’s parent.
• Expands the list of school employees who must complete seizure care training to include those who transport students, and makes this training valid for five years.
• Requires schools to display a specified poster outlining steps to respond to a person having a seizure.

SB 42 - Specific Medical Diagnoses in Child Protective Investigations

Clarify how child protective investigations address certain preexisting medical diagnoses by adjusting reporting requirements, mandating additional medical consultation, and establishing rights for second opinions.

SB 878 - Clinical Laboratory Personnel

Streamline clinical laboratory personnel licensure by recognizing federal qualifications, requiring proof of eligibility, and mandating payment of specified fees.

• Requires proof of qualification, submission of background screening, and payment of required fees for applicants eligible under specified statutory provisions.
• Deems applicants who meet federal requirements for high-complexity testing to have satisfied minimum state qualifications for licensure as technologists or technicians.
• Deems applicants who meet federal requirements for moderate-complexity testing to have satisfied minimum state qualifications for licensure as technicians.

SB 914 - Dry Needling

Define dry needling terms under occupational therapy and require additional training and supervision for occupational therapists performing this procedure.

• Adds definitions for “dry needling” and “myofascial trigger point” to the Occupational Therapy Practice Act.
• Creates new standards requiring minimum licensed practice experience, face-to-face continuing education with psychomotor skill assessment, and 25 supervised patient sessions.
• Allows the Board of Occupational Therapy to set additional requirements for dry needling of the head, neck, or torso if safety warrants it.
• Mandates informed consent and prohibits delegation of dry needling to nonqualified individuals.
• Directs the Department of Health to report on licensed occupational therapists who perform dry needling, including any adverse incidents.

SB 1168 - Background Screenings

Expand level 2 background screening requirements, add new disqualifying offenses, and revise clearinghouse procedures for determining eligibility.

• Adds offenses such as DUI manslaughter, computer-related crimes, and threats or extortion to the list of disqualifying background screening offenses and renumbers the existing domestic violence subsection.
• Requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to conduct eligibility determinations for criminal history checks submitted to the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse and to share these determinations with specified agencies and qualified entities.
• Authorizes the clearinghouse to provide national criminal history record information to qualified entities and requires each qualified entity to appoint a user administrator for compliance and security purposes.
• Prevents individuals from denying or failing to acknowledge certain sealed or expunged records when screened through the clearinghouse by a specified agency or qualified entity.

SB 196 - Uterine Fibroid Research Database

Remove the prohibition on including personally identifying information in the uterine fibroid research database.

HB 743 - Prohibited Sex-reassignment Prescriptions and Procedures

Prohibits aiding or abetting restricted sex-reassignment interventions to a patient younger than 18 years of age and authorizes the Attorney General to pursue civil action and damages in such cases.

HB 693 - Health and Human Services

HB 693 addresses a host of federal requirements and policy priorities articulated in the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” by codifying the federal requirements for the Medicaid program, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.  

The bill also adopts a broad set of health care policies.

Specifically, the bill: 

• Repeals the remaining Certificate of Need programs, which are for nursing homes, hospice services, and intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled.
• Joins the interstate licensure compacts for physician assistants and emergency medical service providers.
• Authorizes autonomous practice for all advanced practice registered nurse specialties.
• Eliminates the cap on the number of physicians assistants a physician can supervise.
• Authorizes dentists to delegate additional tasks to dental hygienists.
• Requires practitioners to inform patients when a referral is to an out-of-network provider and requires insurers to credit out-of-network costs to cost-sharing requirements, in certain circumstances.
• Requires insurers to credit patient payments for out-of-network providers toward their deductibles if certain conditions are met.  

HB 223 - Naturopathic Medicine

Modernizes Florida’s regulation of naturopathic medicine by renaming Chapter 462, establishing a new Board, and revising license, education, and disciplinary provisions.

• Renames Chapter 462 from “Naturopathy” to “Naturopathic Medicine” and updates definitions to distinguish between traditional naturopathy and naturopathic medicine.
• Establishes the Board of Naturopathic Medicine with authority to adopt rules, oversee disciplinary matters, and implement a board member training program.

HB 913 - Inmate Services

• Introduces statutory definitions and clarifies legislative findings relating to inmate emergency and specialty medical services.
• Caps compensation to community health care providers at 110% of the Medicare allowable rate, absent an agreement to provide care in specified secure settings.
• Prohibits hospital reimbursement for emergency services from exceeding 110% of the Medicare allowable rate and sets emergency transportation compensation at the Medicaid allowable rate.

HB 173 - Parental Rights

• The bill expands the express rights of a parent relating to child’s health care and health records.
• The bill grants additional rights to parents relating to surveys and questionnaires intended for their child and requires a parent’s express consent prior to the use of a biofeedback device on their minor child. 
• The bill removes or limits several provisions of law which currently allow for minors to receive specified health care services or treatment without parental consent relating to: 
• Family planning services;
• Treatment for sexually transmissible diseases;
• Voluntary mental health services; and
• Voluntary substance abuse services. 

SB 2518 - Health

SB 2500 - Appropriations

SB 2502 - General Appropriations Act

HB 5301 - Health Care

HB 5001 - General Appropriations Act

HB 5003 - General Appropriations Act

Find Your Legislators

Florida House Members: 

flhouse.gov/FindYourRepresentative

Florida Senate Members: 

flsenate.gov/Senators/find