The budget spreadsheets came out this week and will soon become the initial Senate and House budgets. Committee bills were also heard and passed this week.

Both chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees released their chair-recommended budget spreadsheets. FBHA expects the budget spreadsheets to turn into the first initial Senate and House budgets later today. Both of the budget proposed committee bills (PCB) will be heard in the full appropriations committees next Wednesday. The bills will pass their respective floors next Thursday. There are opportunities on both days for these bills to be amended and to add in special projects.  

Once the PCBs are adopted, the bills will turn into true legislative bills, SB 2500/HB 5001 re: the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 25-26. The Senate President and Speaker of the House will use these bills to agree on final budget allocations, which then set up the budget process to begin for final budget negotiations in weeks 7 and 8. Florida law requires a balanced budget must be passed each legislative session.



Chair Recommendations: 

No Mo' Loans or Posturing?

The House Health Care Budget Committee filed a proposed budget conforming bill, HCB1, this week. This bill removes a $500 million health innovation loan program and the council overseeing its implementation that was approved by the Legislature last year. Among the cuts is the repeal of a portion of the “Live Healthy” law spearheaded by Senator Harrell.

The program, established under SB 7018, was designed to provide $50 million annually in low-interest loans through the Department of Health to fund projects improving health care delivery, workforce efficiency, and patient outcomes.

The legislation also emphasized fostering innovation by encouraging collaboration between businesses, entrepreneurs, and health care stakeholders. The now-targeted Health Care Innovation Council, which was created to oversee the loan program, includes state officials such as the lieutenant governor, the state surgeon general, and other agency heads. The council has met twice since its formation, with its last meeting held on November 19.

House Speaker Daniel Perez said Wednesday that the House will move this year to permanently cut the state's sales tax from 6% to 5.25%, a $5 billion a year reduction that would be the largest tax cut in the history of Florida.

The Speaker said the tax cut would be possible because he has directed House budget writers to take a hard look at deeply embedded recurring funding in the annual state budget and find ways to reduce spending. He said the proposed budget that the House will put out this week will be smaller than last year's budget. If the House version of the budget is passed, it would be the first time since the 2008-2009 recession that the state's annual budget has shrunk from one year to the next.

"State government has a spending problem," Perez said. "More importantly, we have a recurring spending problem."

He said the problem is "we cannot resist spending every single dime of recurring revenue. We pile more money on programs that can't even manage to spend the money they already have."

Perez said the state would be able to find savings without serious pain.

"The special interests will say the sky is falling and the world is ending. But it won't and it isn't," Perez said.

If the state were to cut the sales tax, it would be the only state to permanently do so, the speaker said.

A record number of bills, 300, were heard in their first committee stops. If House bills were not heard this week, they now have a very small chance of getting across the finish line. Senate Rules Chair, Senator Passidomo, stated twice this week that if Senate bills are not heard by the end of week 5 (next week), they will be dead for the 2025 Legislative Session. Remember that the House allows each Representative to file seven bills; however, the Senate does not give Senators a maximum limit of bills.

The Commish

HB 1439 by Representative Hunschofsky and SB 1620 by Senator Rouson re: Mental Health and Substance Use Commission Recommendations were both heard for the first time this week in committee. Both bills had significant amendments, and the bills are in a better posture in return!

Commission Chairman Dr. Jay Reeve made it to both committee meetings for informational purposes. The bills, while not identical, are aligned and implement several recommendations made by the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder through its January 1, 2025, annual report.

The Legislature established the Commission after the 2018 tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, tasking it with making recommendations to improve Florida’s behavioral health system. The bills expand and update regulations and procedures regarding mental health and substance use disorder services.

• Amends multiple sections in Florida Statutes to require the Department of Children and Families to mandate the use of an updated Daily Living Activities-20 (DLA-20) functional assessment tool across various services, unless another tool is specified.
• Specifies new provisions for mobile crisis response services, including training and structural requirements to address the specialized needs of individuals age 65 and over.
• Requires facilities to produce and update individualized treatment plans for patients within specific timeframes.
• Updates discharge planning procedures to include detailed patient needs and post-discharge care, especially emphasizing the access to long-acting injectable medications.
• Mandates the biennial review of school-based behavioral health access using telehealth, particularly focusing on underserved and rural areas, with findings reported to government heads.
• Directs the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Technical Assistance Center to disseminate evidence-based and best practices, stressing the use of person-first language and trauma-informed care.
• Orders a biennial review to assess the need for short-term residential treatment facilities, and requires action based on the findings.
• Defines new managerial duties for behavioral health managing entities, including promoting person-first language and requiring updated assessment tools.
• Revises the functions of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, including a report on state mental health services and the improvement of the behavioral health workforce.

School Mental Health ... Following the Money

HB 969 by Representative Cassel/ SB1310 by Senator Bradley re: Reporting of School Mental Health Outcomes, has hit a snag this week, but is on track to move soon. 

The Senate bill was temporarily postponed this week in its first committee stop, but is back on the agenda for next Tuesday. The bill requires the Department of Education and the Department of Children and Families to work together to report on the usage of, the number of children served, the number of children referred to community services, and monitor outcomes of the usage of the $180 million mental health allocation to Florida schools.

The bill mandates comprehensive reforms to enhance the reporting and evaluation of student mental health outcomes across Florida schools.

• Requires the Department of Children and Families to annually publish an evaluation of student mental health services by December 1, assessing plan expenditures, program outcomes, treatment efficacy, and overall system performance, including deidentified survey results on patient experience.
• Mandates the creation of a survey tool for evaluating student and guardian experiences with mental health services, with provisions to protect privacy by deidentifying survey results before submitting them to the department.
• Directs school districts to provide detailed reports and approved mental health program plans to the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Education, focused on multitiered support systems and partnerships with community behavioral health services.
• Stipulates that each school must provide a survey to service recipients and report deidentified survey responses, outlining services received, including mental health screenings and interventions.
• Requires the mental health coordinator and threat management coordinator in each school district to collaborate with the Department of Children and Families in preparing detailed evaluations of mental health services, ensuring compliance and alignment with best practices annually.
• Updates procedures related to referrals to mental health services from threat assessments, ensuring these elements are also included in aggregate reporting.

Med Mal - A House Priority

On Wednesday, the House passed HB 6017 by Representative Trabulsy, a bill that will repeal a state statute prohibiting adult children and parents of adult children from collecting medical negligence and non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering.

Florida is the only state that differentiates medical malpractice from other types of wrongful deaths. Under current state law, if medical negligence leads to the death of an adult aged 25 or older with no spouse or minor children, no one has the right to sue. The provision only allows medical malpractice claims by surviving spouses or minor children.

Supporters, including attorneys and AARP, argue that the change is necessary to hold medical providers accountable. Opponents, including health care and business groups, warn it could drive up malpractice insurance costs and exacerbate physician shortages.

The Senate companion bill, SB 734, by Senator Yarborough, also passed its final committee this week. There was an amendment filed that changed the bill significantly from the House version, and although supported by Senators Burton and Passidomo, the amendment failed, and both bills now align.

Track it

FBHA creates and maintains a legislative bill tracking document each session. The 2025 FBHA Bill Track will be reported out and included in each weekly update. You can also receive the bill tracking document by emailing Shane@floridabha.org.