Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The 2026 Florida Legislative Session commenced on Tuesday, January 13, with over 1,700 pieces of legislation filed. During the 60-day session, many of these bills will be considered, potentially impacting your business or industry in various ways. 

Each week, the Rotunda Report provides a high-level summary of what occurred in Session during the prior week. A practicing attorney in the related industry will also provide a deeper analysis of a single piece of legislation in our Legislation Spotlight. In Week 4’s Legislation Spotlight, Stearns Weaver Miller attorney Hannah Murphy provides an analysis of legislation that would create an Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights.

WEEK 4 RECAP

• Community Owners Associations: SB 1498 filed by Sen. Bradley and HB 657 filed by Rep. Porras, are not companion bills, but both create new regulations and requirements for owners associations. On Tuesday, February 3 in the Regulated Industries Committee, SB 1498 was substantially amended and caused consternation throughout the state as definitional changes to Ch. 720 and the addition of retroactive provisions could have detrimental impacts to developers, home builders, and the title insurance industry. HB 657 was voted favorably out of the Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee on the same day. 
• Qualified Contractors: SB 1138 filed by Sen. Massullo/HB 927 filed by Rep. Sapp – Requires local governments to create a registry of qualified contractors that applicants would be able to utilize when reviewing various aspects of development permits, including plats, sites, or environmental permits, in compliance with local land development regulations. SB 1138 will be heard in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, February 10. HB 927 was voted favorably out of the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee on Thursday, February 5 and is now in the Commerce Committee. 
• Impact Fees: SB 548 filed by Sen. McClain/HB 1139 filed by Rep. Gentry – Defines “plan-based methodology” that requires use of recent, localized data to project growth over 10 years, and introduces a definition of “extraordinary circumstances,” requiring demonstration of at least four specified local conditions to justify exceeding statutory phase-in limits for impact fee increases. SB 548 was voted favorably out of the Community Affairs Committee on Tuesday, January 20. HB 1139 was voted favorably out of the Housing, Agriculture and Tourism Subcommittee on Thursday, February 5 is now in the State Affairs Subcommittee. 
• Burdensome Regulations: SB 840 filed by Sen. DiCeglie – Seeks to narrow the scope of provisions in SB 180 (2025) that restricted local governments from enacting more burdensome or restrictive land use regulations in response to the 2024 Hurricane Season. SB 840 was voted favorably out of the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, January 20 and is now in the Rules Committee. A related proposal (SB 218 filed by Sen. Gaetz/HB 217 filed by Rep. Abbott) that seeks to narrow only the geographic scope of SB 180 (2025) will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, February 10. 
• Agricultural Enclaves: SB 686 filed by Sen McClain/HB 691 filed by Rep. Botana - Revises the criteria that is used to determine whether certain properties qualify as an agricultural enclave and amends the process for certifying such agricultural enclaves. After being favorably voted out of the Community Affairs Committee, SB 686 will be heard in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, February 10. HB 691 was voted favorably out of the Housing, Agriculture & Tourism Subcommittee on Thursday, February 5 and is now in the State Affairs Committee. 
• Infill Redevelopment: SB 1434 filed by Sen. Calatayud/HB 979 filed by Rep. Borrero - Creates the Infill Redevelopment Act, requiring local governments to allow the development of environmentally-impacted land located within the urban areas of certain large counties at similar densities and intensities as adjacent parcels under certain conditions. SB 1434 was voted favorably out of Community Affairs and will be heard in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, February 10. HB 979 was voted favorably out of the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee on Thursday, February 5 is now in the Housing, Agriculture and Tourism Subcommittee.

LEGISLATION SPOTLIGHT:

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BILL OF RIGHTS

As artificial intelligence technologies continue to expand across consumer, commercial, and governmental applications, the Florida Legislature has focused on establishing guardrails to protect users. SB 482 filed by Sen. Leek/HB 1395 filed by Rep. Rizo creates the “Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights” listing “rights” of Floridians interacting with artificial intelligence technologies. The staff analysis of the legislation can be found here. Key protections for consumers and the public and private sectors created by the legislation include: 

Rights Relating to the Use of Artificial Intelligence: While the “AI Bill of Rights” articulates a number of rights of Floridians relating to the use of artificial intelligence, it alone does not create a new cause of action, civil or criminal penalties. Rather, the legislation permits Floridians to exercise these rights “in accordance with existing law.” The legislation lists rights, including, transparency when an individual is interacting with AI, the right to know whether an individual’s data is being collected, and requirements that such data is protected. However, for Floridians to exercise these rights themselves, they will likely have to pursue existing civil causes of action such as fraudulent misrepresentation, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and privacy claims. 

Regulations for Companion Chatbot Use for Minors: The legislation would define and regulate minors’ use of “companion chatbots.” A companion chatbot is defined as an AI system that gives “human-like responses” and “is capable of meeting a user’s social needs.” The legislation would prohibit companion chatbot platforms from allowing minors to create user accounts without a parent or guardian’s consent. Violations of this provision may be punished with civil penalties by the Department of Legal Affairs and give rise to private causes of action. 

Consumer Protections Regarding Bots: The legislation would require an operator to display a pop-up message notifying users that they are not engaging with a human counterpart at the beginning of an interaction between a user and a bot, and at least once every hour during the interaction. This provision allows the Department of Legal Affairs to bring a FDUTPA action and impose civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation against operators who fail to comply, but it does not create a private cause of action for affected individuals.

Consumer Protections Regarding Deidentified Data: This provision would prohibit an artificial intelligence technology company from selling or disclosing personal information of users unless the information cannot reasonably be linked to an identified or identifiable individual or device linked to that individual (e.g. name, address, account numbers, IP address). Again, this provision permits the Department of Legal Affairs to bring a FDUTPA action and impose civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation against operators who fail to comply, but it does not create a private cause of action for affected individuals. 

Protections for Name, Image, and Likeness: The legislation would add images created through generative artificial intelligence to existing protections against the unauthorized publication of individuals’ likenesses. Effected individuals may bring civil actions to enjoin the unauthorized publication of their likeness and seek damages for loss or injury, including reasonable royalties and punitive damages. 

Protecting Government Against Foreign AI: The legislation places limitations on government contracting with entities for artificial intelligence technology, software, or products if such entities have certain ties to a government of a foreign country of concern.

SB 482 was voted favorably out of the Commerce and Tourism Committee and is now in the Appropriations Committee. HB 1395 has not been placed on a committee agenda as of the date of this report. 

Stearns Weaver Miller will continue to monitor developments related to artificial intelligence legislation and its potential impacts as the 2026 Session progresses.