HB 837 -- Civil Remedies (One-Way Legal Fees) -- On March 24th, Governor DeSantis signed this bill into law, limiting insurance companies’ responsibility for claimants’ legal fees in the event of a lawsuit. In most lawsuits, each party pays for their own lawyers, but in the past, a policyholder who successfully sued an insurance company for denying a claim could also sue to recover attorneys’ fees. Supporters felt the previous system was a deterrent for insurance companies acting in bad faith; opponents felt it was an area rife with excessive litigation, which drove up costs. 

HB 1 – Education (Universal School Choice) -- On March 27th, Governor DeSantis signed HB 1 into law. This law is a significant expansion of school choice in Florida and gives every K-12 student access to a voucher to attend private school by eliminating eligibility restrictions and expanding scholarships.

In addition, the law removes the requirement that students complete at least 1 credit through a virtual course.   

SB 102 -- Housing (Live Local Act)-- a top priority of Senate President Passidomo, this bill was signed by the governor yesterday. The new law budgets $711 million for affordable housing for state employees, creates property tax exemptions for housing developers and prohibits rent control. The bill takes effect July 1.

Our local delegation hosted a hearing in Tallahassee Friday, March 17th, to discuss GRU governance. In a 4-1 vote (Rep. Hinson in dissent), the delegation moved forward a preliminary proposal (sponsored by Rep. Clemons) to create a governance board appointed by the governor for GRU (as opposed to the 2018 referendum, where the governance board would have been appointed by the City Commission). Specifics on the bill remain murky, but it appears the appointed board would have the authority to set utility rates, set the General Fund Transfer and sell all or parts of the utility. Rep. Clemons stressed during the hearing that this is not a referendum, so the bill would become law after committee hearings, passage on the floor and the governor's signature.

A bill must be filed by April 10th to be considered this session.

CS/HB 1331 -- Municipal Utilities / SB 1380 -- Municipal Electric Utilities –- The bill that originally would have allowed the Public Service Commission to more closely regulate municipally owned utilities has been amended. It now specifically lays out limits to any transfer from a utility to a general revenue fund, and as the number of customers outside the municipality grows, so do the limits:

There is a specific carve out in the bill “The reductions specified … shall not apply to a municipal utility service if the utility service is governed by a utility authority board that, through the election of voting members from outside the municipal boundaries, provides for representation of retail customers located outside the municipal boundaries approximately proportionate to the percentage of such customers, as measured by total meters served, that receive service from the utility.

Estimates are that approximately 40% of GRU customers are outside the formal city limits of Gainesville.

In addition, the bill prohibits municipalities that use utility revenues for non-utility related purposes from benefiting from taxpayer-funded grant and loan programs.

The state has 33 municipal electric utilities, and the Florida Municipal Power Association has come out against the bill.

Currently, the House version goes further than the Senate proposal.

Budget requests by the City of Newberry to match funding from Alachua County for a new project will greatly benefit our local agriculture industry.

CS/SB 404 -- Public Records/Recordings Which Depict or Record the Killing of a Minor/Autopsy Reports of Minors -- sponsored by Sen. Perry and Rep. Clemons (CS/HB 273) c-ontinues it quick path to likely passage.

SB 464 -- Driving in the Furthermost Left-hand Lane of a Roadway -- This bill, sponsored by Sen. Perry, has made through the Senate Transportation Committee. The bill would make it illegal for drivers to operate their vehicles in the left lane when the speed limit is at least 65 mph and at least two lanes of traffic are moving in the same direction. Drivers who violate could get fined and ticketed. 

SB 1386 -- Florida School for Competitive Academics -- sponsored by Sen. Keith Perry would create the first statewide charter school, billed as the "IMG of academic academies," to be located in Alachua County.

SB 256 -- Employee Organizations Representing Public Employees – would amend how teachers' unions are collecting membership dues. The bill would block union dues from being automatically deducted from members' paychecks and increase the paying membership rate from 50% to 60% to enable recertification of the union.

HB 891 --Year-round School Pilot Program -- a pilot program to test out year-round schooling is advancing.

SB 1320 -- Child Protection in Public Schools – billed as an expansion of Parental Rights in schools, this bill would prohibit an employee, contractor or student of a public school from being required to refer to a person using personal titles or pronouns that do not correspond with that person’s sex, and prohibit classroom instruction by school personnel on sexual orientation or gender identity until grade 9. This bill advanced out of committee.

HB 1557 was passed and signed into law last year, reading: "classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age- or developmentally-appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

In a rule-making move, not requiring action by the state legislature, the Florida Department of Education is moving to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-12.

Postsecondary Education

Sen. Perry's SB 958 -- Postsecondary Educational Institutions -- has passed a House committee. This bill creates an Office of Public Policy Events through the Board of Governors and the State University System that would put a satellite office on each campus. These offices would ensure that speakers representing “multiple, divergent and opposing” viewpoints be presented on each campus.

Several bills have been introduced to tighten control of the higher education system in Florida, including the similar HB 999 and SB 266:

HB 999 -- Public Postsecondary Educational Institutions -- would change the tenure system in Florida’s higher education, allowing the chair of the university board of trustees to review any faculty member’s tenure status, and would prohibit the college system from providing funds for any activities that “espouse the diversity, equity and inclusion of Critical Race Theory rhetoric.” It would also prohibit the teaching of “identity politics, such as Critical Race Theory, or defines American history as contrary to the creation of a new nation based on the universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence. “

SB 266 -- Higher Education -- revises the mission of each state university; requires each state university to annually report certain research expenditures of a specified amount; authorizes each state university board of trustees to review any faculty member’s tenure status; authorizes the Board of Trustees of the University of Florida to use funds to establish and fund the Hamilton College for Classical and Civic Education; revises how general education core courses are established; and removes a prohibition against a public postsecondary institution from being accredited by the same accrediting body for multiple consecutive accreditation cycles

Rep. Yvonne Hinson has introduced a bill to allow certain paraprofessionals to be issued temporary teaching certificates, valid for 5 years while being mentored.

In the week’s biggest news, both chambers released their draft budgets.

In February, Governor DeSantis laid out his budget framework, entitled Framework for Freedom Budget. The Framework for Freedom Budget totals $114.8 billion, with total reserves exceeding $15 billion.

On March 24th, the House released their preliminary drafts of the House Budget, totaling $113 billion.

On March 23, the Senate released their preliminary drafts of the Senate Budget, totaling $113.7 billion.

The two Chambers are moving quickly, releasing budgets that are fairly similar with some minor issues still to be negotiated. The budget also contains over 1,000 member projects that will need to escape reconciliation and the governor’s potential veto pen.

The budget proposals – each an increase - compare to current spending of $110.2 billion.

Several bills changing who may be responsible for paying attorneys' fees are in committee.

HB 85/SB 360 -- Causes of Action Based on Improvements to Real Property --

This bill revises the time in which action founded on design, planning or construction of improvement to real property must be commenced (changes the 4-year window commencement from the actual date of possession by the owner to the date of the temporary certificate of completion or the date of abandonment, whichever is earliest); revises date on which statute of limitations period begins (reducing from 10 years to 7 years); provides for calculation of statute of limitations period for multi-dwelling buildings; and defines "material violation."

HB 235/SB 350 --  Alternative Mobility Funding Systems -- This bill will affect local governments by specifying criteria that must or may be included in a mobility plan and mobility fee for transportation. A mobility plan identifies multimodal projects necessary to permit redevelopment, infill and development. A mobility fee is a one-time fee paid by the developer.

The bill would prohibit a transportation impact fee or fee that is not a mobility-based fee from being imposed within the area that is within a mobility plan. The bill would require mobility fees to be updated every five years. The bill also dictates the comprehensive requirements a local government must follow in implementing the mobility plan and fee.

The legislature also passed a limit to the increases of impact fees a local government may enact, with one exception / process. This bill would eliminates this exception.

The property insurance market remains in flux and several bills have been introduced around this issue.

SJR 94 -- Partisan Election of Members of District School Board -- has passed its second committee. This bill would place a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot allowing voters to decide whether or not school board races should be explicitly partisan. Identical legislation (HJR 31) has been proposed in the House.

SJR 1234 and HJR 1157 -- Hunting and Fishing -- would place a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot allowing voters to decide whether or not to enshrine a right to hunt and fish in the state constitution. The proposal is advancing in both chambers.

HB 7 -- Pregnancy and Parenting Support -- Republican Legislators proposed additional restrictions on abortion. The bill would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy including an exception for victims of rape and/or incest. This bill is a reduction from last session’s signed-into-law, 15-week ban that does not include any exceptions. The bill has advanced out of the House Sub-committee.

SB 1316 -- Information Dissemination -- also known as the “Blogger Registration” bill, would require bloggers to register with the Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics if they wrote articles about Legislators or executive branch officials. Since the filing of the bill, Governor DeSantis and Speaker Renner have both publicly stated their objection to the bill. As such, for now, the bill appears to be dead.

CS/SB 254 -- Treatments for Sex Reassignment -- This bill would allow the state to “enter, modify or stay a child custody determination” – take emergency action – to take over a child’s care if they are undergoing “sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures” in another state.

HB 543 – Public Safety -- this bill, in its original form, would allow “permit-less carry," removing the licensing and training state requirements currently in place.

 

A proposal was amended to allow for so-called “open carry," but the amendment was withdrawn within a day with the sponsor saying “this wasn’t the right vehicle or the right time.” So, in its current form, the proposal reverts to its original intent of allowing permit-less gun purchases and carry.  

HB 991 -- Defamation, False Light and Unauthorized Publication of Name and Likenesses -- The bill is continuing its march through committees. This bill makes it easier to sue media outlets for defamation and, if passed, is likely to be met with court challenges. 

This bill directly takes on the US Supreme Court NYT vs Sullivan and lowers the legal threshold for defamation, reducing it from “actual malice” to only proving negligence. 

The bill also changes the criteria of who would be exempt, expanding "public official" to include public employees, appointed office holders and influencers (those with a “broad audience” on social media) or those whose fame or notoriety derives from granting media interviews.

CS/SB 1110 --Term Limits -- This bill, limiting County Commissioners and School Board Members to terms of eight years, is advancing through the Senate.  

SB 1432 -- Communications Services Tax -- a bill that would cut taxes on Florida cellphone, cable and satellite plans is advancing.  

CS/CS/HB 3 -- Government and Corporate Activism -- The bill has moved past its final hearing in committees. In what is likely to become law, as a stated high priority of Governor DeSantis, this bill would revise state banking practices, eliminating the consideration of environmental and social governance (ESG) for Florida’s retirement and investments.

HJR 129 -- Requiring Broader Public Support for Constitutional Amendments or Revisions -- This proposed amendment to Florida’s constitution would raise the threshold for constitutional amendments to pass from 60% to 66.67%, except for a repeal of an amendment that would only need to meet the same threshold which was required at the passing. Ironically, it would only need 60% to pass.

HB 5  -- Economic Programs -- Speaker Renner, in his opening remarks of the session, called for eliminating Enterprise Florida, the public-private partnership founded in the mid 90s with the mission of promoting Florida as a premier business destination and expanding the state’s economy through private-sector job creation. The bill has been filed.

SB 1718 -- Immigration -- Don’t call it “e-verify”, but this bill has sweeping changes to businesses that knowingly hire “unauthorized aliens” on the payroll, including increasing the maximum fine that may be imposed for a first violation. Florida would also stop recognizing out-of-state driver’s licenses for people that can’t prove their lawful presence and require certain hospitals to collect patient immigration status data information on admission or registration forms.

HB 269 -- Public Nuisances -- This bill would prohibit projecting certain images onto buildings or other property without permission, enhance criminal penalties for persons who commit violations while evidencing religious or ethnic animus and require certain violations to be reported as hate crimes. In addition, the bill creates a first degree misdemeanor for any person who distributes pamphlets, flyers or other materials, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, including outside a private residence, and such materials discarded by recipients that lead to littering.