Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The 2024 Session concluded on Friday, March 8, 2024. As Director of Government Affairs for Stearns Weaver Miller, I have been monitoring bills being considered by the Legislature and reporting on developments regarding them in our weekly “Rotunda Report.”

Below is a high-level summary of important bills and key issues from the final week of session, March 4-8. The 2025 Legislative Session begins on March 4, 2025. For more information, please contact me.

Budget

The Legislature concluded their work last week by passing a new budget for the coming fiscal year. The $117.4 billion budget includes includes a 3% pay increase for state workers, a $450 million toll rebate program, a $1.8 billion increase for PreK-12 schools, $717 million to expand Florida's health care workforce, $100 million in recurring funding for prison infrastructure, and leaves nearly $10 billion in reserves. The budget will next be presented to the Governor who has line-item veto power. The budget would go into effect on July 1.

Taxes

HB 7073, the annual tax package, was passed by the Legislature on the final day of session. The bill provides $1.5 billion in tax savings over the next two years. It includes a credit for insurance companies lowering homeowner premiums and provides for four sales tax holidays that seek to save consumers around $97.3 million. A remedy for a voter-approved 1% sales tax in Hillsborough County from 2019 to 2021 was also included that was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court.

Health Care

HB 7089, part of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s Live Healthy initiative, was passed by the Legislature in the final hours of the session. The bill increases patient access to health care cost and coverage information from hospitals and insurers for nonemergency services and procedures. The bill also requires hospitals to post on their websites a consumer-friendly list of standard charges for at least 300 shoppable health care services, or an internet-based price estimator tool meeting federal standards, or the standard charge for each service it provides.

Vacation Rentals

SB 280, this year’s vacation rental bill, was passed by the Legislature. The bill gives the state more power to regulate short-term vacation rentals and requires the vacation rental owner or operator to state and comply with a maximum overnight occupancy that does not exceed either two persons per bedroom, plus an additional two persons in one common area; or more than two persons per bedroom if there is at least 50 square feet per person, plus an additional two persons in one common area. A responsible party who is capable of responding to complaints or emergencies related to a vacation rental must be available by telephone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Local governments are also able to charge a reasonable fee to register the property.

Labor Laws

HB 49 sought to expand the legal working hours for minors aged 15-17. The final version passed on the last day of Session and limited the bill’s initial large expansion. Senator Danny Burgess, the sponsor of the Senate’s version SB 1596, expressed the need for the changes based on a fundamental shift in how children are taught in Florida, such as the expansion of home schooling and virtual education. The final version of HB 49 created exemptions from hour limitations for such circumstances, and allowed minors to seek waivers on other restrictions to work longer hours.