Yesterday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 7014 into law, which extends last year’s legislation to protect health care providers from litigation arising due to COVID-19. This bill, sponsored by Senator Danny Burgess and Representative Colleen Burton, extends the COVID-19 liability protections for health care providers through June 1, 2023. These protections are necessary to discourage frivolous “gotcha” litigation and protect employers that were substantially following governmental health and safety guidelines. The Florida Chamber has led the effort to pass SB 7014 and to protect those health care heroes that have been on the front lines since the start of the pandemic. The liability protections for the broader business community that passed into law last year with the Chamber’s support continue to be in effect and did not require a legislative extension. Thank you to all our coalition partners who have helped us advocate for this important Chamber priority – your hard work has paid off!

HB 9, related to consumer data privacy, passed the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, and will be heard on the House Floor next Tuesday, despite significant opposition from the business community. The Florida Chamber remains concerned about the scope of the current bill, the cost of compliance, and the use of a private right of action as an enforcement mechanism. A strike-all and several amendments were filed in committee, with the Florida Chamber supporting two of the amendments. The first amendment would have narrowed the scope of who must comply, and the second amendment would have allowed companies the ability to cure an infraction before a lawsuit is filed and allowed for prevailing party attorney fees. Unfortunately, these two amendments failed to garner enough support of committee members to pass. The latest version of the bill changed the one-way attorney fee provision to exempt employers from paying attorney fees if they have between $50 million and $500 million in revenue, with attorney fees kicking in if a company has more than $500 million in revenue and the consumer prevails. The new version of the bill would also allow employers to collect attorney fees if the case was dismissed with prejudice, the consumer committed fraud, or the case was brought by a non-Florida consumer. The Senate bill has not received a hearing, however several bills this session have passed the House and been heard in either Senate Rules or Senate Appropriations to satisfy Senate Rules. If you have input on this latest draft, please contact Carolyn Johnson at cjohnson@flchamber.com. 

This week, HB 741 related to Net Metering by Representative McClure passed its final two committee stops. HB 741 modernizes Florida’s net metering policy to correct what has become a regressive policy due to the substantial growth in renewable energy resources. The bill maintains the importance of continued investment in advanced and diversified technologies but prevents general ratepayers from subsidizing the full cost of electrical service, upgrades, and maintenance of the grid. Amendments to the bill have added a glide path for net metering utility credits beginning in 2024 and a twenty-year grandfather clause. Its Senate companion, SB 1024 by Senator Bradley, will be heard in its final committee stop next Tuesday. These bills are important to Florida’s businesses community because they ensure all customers pay their fair and equitable share to maintain a secure and robust electric grid. Reliable, cost-effective power is a competitiveness issue that must be protected as our population continues to grow at approximately 1,000 new residents every day.

HB 1193 related to K-12 Student Assessments, by Representative Plascencia, cleared its final committee stop this week. Both HB 1193 and its Senate companion, SB 1048 by Senator Diaz, are now ready to be heard in their respective Chambers. These bills replace the end of the year “high-stakes” Florida Statewide Assessment with a state standards-aligned progress monitoring system. The new system will evaluate students three times during the year and does not increase testing time. The bills also enforce timely notification of all testing results to both teachers and parents to help set a course for student progression throughout the school year and leading up to the final summative assessment. In order to help ensure today’s learners are best positioned to become tomorrow’s earners, the Florida Chamber supports the enhancement of Florida’s education assessment and accountability system to make testing more responsive to the needs of a student while also ensuring parents are better informed of their student’s progression.

Disney's Contemporary Resort is SOLD OUT!

Rooms are available at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa HERE>

Conference Agenda:

5:30pm - 7:30pm

Welcome Reception w/ Food and Live Music featuring The Spazmatics

Keynote Address: Safety Third | Mike Rowe, Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe Foundation

Florida Chamber Members can still register at the Early Bird Rate of $475

(regular $599).