On Thursday, the Senate passed SB 280 and SB 620 off the Senate Floor. In debate, Senator Travis Hutson referred to his bill, SB 280, as the “ultimate” preemption bill and a way to end groups from coming to Tallahassee on an annual basis requesting preemptions of local governments. SB 280 requires local governments to create a business impact statement when considering local ordinances, pauses enforcement of regulations while they are being challenged in court, and allows for attorney fees if the ordinance is successfully challenged. He argued that now these ordinances will be challenged at the local level. Senator Hutson also filed an amendment to SB 620 that titles the bill the “Local Business Protection Act.” SB 620 creates an avenue for businesses that lose more than 15 percent of their profit due to a local government ordinance to recover damages. These bills were sent to the House where the companion measures, HB 403 and HB 569, have two committee hearings remaining.

The House Government Operations Subcommittee passed Thursday a Florida Chamber-backed bill, HB 1197 by Representative Scott Plakon, that protects the taxpayers of Florida and creates transparency and accountability for public labor unions. The bill ensures that public employees understand they cannot be compelled to join a labor union to be employed and requires unions receive a signed authorization form from an employee before they are added to the union rolls. Additionally, HB 1197 empowers the Public Employee Relations Commission to confirm the information they receive from unions to properly certify the union. Finally, the bill protects taxpayers by preventing taxpayer dollars from being used to aid in the collection of union dues and assessments through payroll deductions. HB 1197 passed by a vote of 10-7 and has two committee hearings remaining. The Senate bill, SB 1458 by Senator Dennis Baxley, has not yet been heard.  Neither of these bills impact labor organizations that represent police or firefighters.

Two of the Florida Chamber's top priorities were readied for Floor hearings this week. Both VISIT FLORIDA reauthorization bills, HB 489 and SB 434, received their final hearings and passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. The House bill would extend VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism marketing arm, through October 1, 2028 while the Senate companion would extend the organization through 2031. Additionally, the House Judiciary Committee passed a necessary extension of COVID-19 liability protections for healthcare providers, HB 7021, readying it for the House floor as soon as next week. Without an extension, the healthcare COVID-19 liability protections passed at the Chamber's urging during the 2021 legislative session will expire in March. The first substantive bill the Senate passed earlier this session was the COVID-19 liability protections bill for healthcare providers. 

On Wednesday, SB 1048 related to student assessments, unanimously passed its second committee stop. The bill, proposed by Senator Diaz, replaces the current standardized testing system with a digitalized progress monitoring system. The new system will reinforce student progression throughout the year and increase accountability by enforcing timely notification of performance results. The Florida Chamber has long advocated for accountability and transparency in our K-12 system so that parents are empowered to ensure their student receives a high-quality education. SB 1048 has one more stop in the Senate before heading to the floor. This bill and its House companion, HB 1193, are priority bills of Governor Ron DeSantis. 

The Florida Chamber Safety Council is presenting a full agenda of three nationally-recognized keynote speakers that include Mike Rowe of the hit TV show Dirty Jobs, Correct Craft CEO Bill Yeargin and bestselling author Dr. Henry Cloud. There will also be 24 breakout sessions with presentations from companies including Amazon, AdventHealth, Ryder, OSHA, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, the FBI, and many more.

In addition to breakouts and keynotes, the conference is also offering Safety Training Courses where EHS and HR professionals can earn CEUs, and an Exhibit Hall with dozens of safety companies that provide goods and services to all industries.