• Though the Florida Legislature still has work that must be completed before the next fiscal year, Friday ended the 2026 regular Session.
• The Legislature will be back in April to complete a state budget, and the Governor has already called a Special Session on redistricting.
• It is also anticipated that a Special Session on Property Taxes will occur, placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.
• Stay tuned for other issues that might be added to any such Special Session call.

Issues that PASSED

• 237 bills passed both chambers and were enrolled.

• Senate and House presiding officers and budget chairmen will continue to try to work out topline numbers—the so-called “allocations” for how much lawmakers will allot to different parts of the budget, which has to be agreed to before the Legislature can hold conference committee meetings to try to bridge the gap between the two chambers' spending plans.
• In addition to the big picture spending decisions, budget writers will decide the fate of individual funding requests.
• As of the 60th day of the regular session, House and Senate spending plans remained roughly $1.4 billion apart.
• The upcoming fiscal year begins July 1.  

HB 355 - Health Care Patient Protection- Pediatric Emergency Readiness

Strengthen pediatric patient care and preparedness standards in hospital emergency departments.

• Require hospitals with emergency departments to develop and implement pediatric-specific policies, including weighing children in kilograms, performing accurate dose calculations, and conducting annual drills and training.
• Mandate designation of a pediatric emergency care coordinator to oversee compliance with pediatric care policies.
• Authorize and require regular National Pediatric Readiness Assessments and optional additional assessments, with results reported to the state.
• Add pediatric and neonatal patient needs to comprehensive emergency management plan requirements.
• Direct the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, in consultation with the Florida EMS for Children State Partnership Program, to establish minimum pediatric care standards for emergency departments and publish assessment scores.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

HB 1175 - Safety Design Standards for Office Surgery Suites

Establish alternative safety design standards for office surgery suites by January 1, 2027.

• Creates s. 553.884, F.S., requiring the Florida Building Commission and the State Fire Marshal to adopt specialized safety design standards for office surgery suites.
• Allows up to six patients to receive certain treatments or anesthesia on an outpatient basis under these new standards.
• Provides an alternative to existing ambulatory health care occupancy standards and defines “office surgery suite” as the portion of a physician’s office where surgery is performed.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

HB 697 - Drug Prices and Coverage

Revise pharmacy benefits plan definitions, impose new contract requirements and prohibitions on pharmacy benefit managers, and fund and direct oversight for the Ryan White Part B AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

• Excludes plans or programs that exclusively serve a PACE organization from the definition of a pharmacy benefits plan or program.
• Requires pharmacy benefit manager contracts to allow a consolidated administrative appeal for multiple claims of the same drug and day supply in the same month.
• Prohibits pharmacy benefit managers from preventing pharmacies or pharmacists from declining to dispense a medication if reimbursement is below acquisition cost.
• Bars pharmacy benefit managers from reimbursing affiliated pharmacies more than non-affiliated pharmacies for the same services.
• Appropriates nonrecurring funds to the Department of Health for the Ryan White Part B AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), sets expanded eligibility criteria, stipulates direct medication distribution, and requires monthly financial and operational reporting.
• Requires the Department of Health to adopt emergency rules implementing ADAP and to maintain a consistent formulary through the specified period.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

HB 809 - Temporary Certificates for Practice in Areas of Critical Need

Expand conditions for issuance and retention of temporary certificates in areas of critical need, allowing practitioners to continue primary care if those areas lose critical designation under certain circumstances.

• Authorizes continued practice in an area even after it loses its critical-need designation if the certificateholder maintains an active primary care relationship with at least one patient there.
• Requires the respective boards to annually review certificateholders to ensure compliance with minimum standards.
• Allows the boards to revoke or impose conditions on the certificate if a practitioner does not meet requirements.

Effective Date: upon becoming a law

SB 382 - Micromobility Device- E BIKE SAFETY

Establishes new operational requirements for electric bicycles and creates a statewide task force and reporting framework to enhance micromobility device safety.

• Adds speed and yielding requirements for electric bicycles operating on sidewalks and shared pathways, with noncriminal traffic infraction penalties for violations.
• Creates the Micromobility Device Safety Task Force to recommend improvements to micromobility device regulations.
• Requires law enforcement agencies to track and report crashes involving micromobility devices, with compiled data submitted to state leadership.

Effective Date: Except as otherwise expressly provided in this act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law

HB 145 - Claims Against the Government

Increases liability limits under sovereign immunity, revises key time limits for filing tort claims, clarifies notice requirements, and updates cross-references.

• Raises the maximum liability from $200,000 to $350,000 per person and from $300,000 to $500,000 per incident.
• Shortens the time to present claims from 3 years to 18 months, with adjustments for certain cases.
• Revises the statute of limitations for tort actions against the government, including special provisions for sexual battery claims involving minors.
• Deletes obsolete language and aligns cross-references to conform with these revisions.

Effective Date: October 1, 2026

SB 844 - Sickle Cell Disease Care Management and Treatment Continuing Education

Broaden required continuing education for prescribers by mandating coverage of sickle cell disease pain management.

• Adds a requirement that continuing education on prescribing controlled substances include the treatment of pain for patients with sickle cell disease.
• Maintains existing requirements for content on standards for prescribing controlled substances, alternatives, nonpharmacological therapies, prescribing emergency opioid antagonists, and the risks of opioid addiction in acute pain management.

Effective Date: 7/1/2026

SB 1668 - Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association

Revises provisions relating to the financial oversight of NICA by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), the assessment process, and the administration of the PLAN by NICA. The amendment clarifies that NICA must submit a plan of operation and any amendments thereto to the OIR for review and approval.

Revises provisions relating to the assessment process in the following manner:

• Clarifies the due dates for hospitals and physicians to pay assessments
• Clarifies the process for determining whether NICA is actuarially sound
• Addresses instances when NICA cannot be returned to actuarial soundness after the imposition of assessments

HB 253 - Veterans Dental Care Grant Program

Expands eligibility for the Veterans Dental Care Grant Program to veterans with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

HB 47 - Specific Medical Diagnoses in Child Protective Investigations

Establishes new procedures for child protective investigations involving specific medical diagnoses by clarifying reporting obligations, requiring consultation with certain medical professionals, and providing parents or legal custodians additional opportunities for medical evaluations.

• Allows DCF to delay forwarding certain allegations of criminal conduct to law enforcement if a parent or custodian claims specific preexisting medical conditions or requests a new medical exam for the child.
• Requires immediate forwarding of criminal conduct allegations to law enforcement upon completion of the investigation if such conduct is still alleged.
• Mandates that a child protective investigator inform parents or custodians of the duty to disclose any preexisting medical diagnosis specified in law, with details of the health care provider who made or treated that diagnosis.
• Directs DCF to request medical records from licensed health care professionals who supplied or treated specified medical diagnoses.
• Requires Child Protection Teams to consult with a physician or advanced practice registered nurse experienced in certain medical conditions when evaluating a child with a specified preexisting diagnosis.
• Authorizes parents or custodians to request additional medical examinations within 10 days after a protective investigation exam and establishes payment responsibility for such exams.
• Obligates the health care practitioner performing an additional exam to submit a written report within 10 days and requires DCF to convene a case staffing if the second opinion differs from the first.
• Mandates that certain medical records sought by DCF be furnished within 14 days.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

HB 477 - Drug Paraphernalia

Exempts specific fentanyl- or xylazine-testing products from the definition of drug paraphernalia.

• Removes certain narcotic-drug-testing products from the scope of drug paraphernalia if used solely to identify fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, or xylazine.
• Clarifies that equipment capable of measuring quantity, weight, or potency remains classified as drug paraphernalia.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

SB 432 - Intoxicating Substances

Prohibit certain tobacco and nicotine dealers from handling nitrous oxide and add new restrictions and penalties for xylazine under Florida’s controlled substance laws.

• Provides a short title, “Meg’s Law,” for the new nitrous oxide prohibition.
• Creates section 569.216, F.S., making it unlawful for licensed tobacco or nicotine dealers, or their employees, to possess, sell, or give away nitrous oxide on their premises, with specified exceptions and criminal penalties.
• Specifically exempts grocery stores and allows use of nitrous oxide in finished food products.
• Directs the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to adopt rules to prevent nitrous oxide misuse.
• Amends schedule definitions for xylazine by adding an exception for FDA-approved animal products used for legitimate veterinary purposes.
• Adds criminal and mandatory minimum penalties for selling, manufacturing, delivering, or possessing xylazine with intent to sell or deliver.
• Establishes a new offense of trafficking in xylazine, including mandatory minimum sentences and fines based on the quantity involved.

Effective Date: Except as otherwise expressly provided in this act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect October 1, 2026

SB 816 - Diabetes Research

Establish the University of Florida Diabetes Institute within the University of Florida College of Medicine to advance diabetes research, prevention, treatment, and education.

• Creates a dedicated institute to conduct research on diabetes causes, mechanisms, and potential cures.
• Requires the institute to develop prevention, diagnostic, and treatment strategies and provide comprehensive clinical services.
• Mandates training health care professionals and collaborating with universities, medical centers, and community organizations.
• Authorizes the institute to administer statewide pilot programs and maintain a secure repository for deidentified data.
• Permits sharing of deidentified data with research collaborators under data-sharing agreements.
• Allows convening of a consortium to coordinate research and develop innovative care models.
• Requires annual reports to the Governor and Legislature on research findings, clinical services, outreach initiatives, and future recommendations.

Effective Date: 7/1/2026

HB 1201 - Student Health and Safety

Expand Department of Health epilepsy education requirements, broaden the definition of schools, revise individualized seizure action plan criteria, extend staff training on seizure care to more employees for five years, and require schools to display seizure first-aid posters.

• Require the Department of Health’s educational programs to include training on epilepsy mandated by s. 1006.0626(3) and (5).
• Broaden the definition of “school” to include charter schools under s. 1002.33.
• Revise individualized seizure action plans to ensure the plan aligns with the form determined by a medical professional.
• Require all employees in regular contact with a student with epilepsy or seizure disorders to complete training, with such training remaining valid for 5 years.
• Mandate schools to display a poster describing the steps for responding to a seizure.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

SB 428 - Drowning Prevention

Expand swimming lesson voucher eligibility and require dissemination of drowning prevention and safe bathing information to new parents and caregivers.

• Revises the purpose of the Swimming Lesson Voucher Program to focus on preventing drownings and expands the eligible child age range from 1 to 7 years instead of up to 4 years.
• Creates a requirement for the Department of Health to develop educational materials on drowning prevention safety measures and safe bathing practices.
• Mandates that hospitals, birth centers, and home birth providers include these materials in postpartum education for new parents.
• Requires childbirth educators to distribute the same drowning prevention and safe bathing materials to parents or caregivers receiving childbirth education.

Effective Date: 7/1/2026

HB 1443 - Parkinson's Disease Registry

Establishes a statewide Parkinson’s disease registry requiring certain providers to report information, modifies the Parkinson’s Disease Research Board membership and terms, and mandates a dedicated public website for reporting and tracking Parkinson’s disease data while offering limited provider liability.

• Requires physicians and advanced practice registered nurses to report nationally recognized Parkinson’s disease and atypical parkinsonism performance measures to the statewide registry.
• Grants limited liability protection to physicians and advanced practice registered nurses for providing registry data.
• Adds one appointee each from the Senate President and House Speaker to the Parkinson’s Disease Research Board, revises qualifications to require movement disorder expertise and reduces board terms from four years to three years.
• Mandates annual reports to include incidence and prevalence data on Parkinson’s disease and atypical parkinsonism, collected statewide by county and patient demographics.
• Directs the Florida Institute for Parkinson’s Disease at the University of South Florida to create and maintain the registry, including a public-facing website with downloadable annual reports and updated consortium information.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

HB 1121 - Aging and Disability Services

Strengthen pre-enrollment processes for long-term care services, rename and expand responsibilities of resource centers, revise procurement and salary limits for area agencies on aging, update definitions and service delivery for elderly care, and enhance guardianship oversight and training requirements.

• Replace the long-term care 'wait-list' with a 'pre-enrollment list' and require aging and disability resource centers to place and remove individuals as needed.
• Rename aging resource centers to aging and disability resource centers, and clarify their role in eligibility screening, care coordination, and maintaining multiple pre-enrollment lists.
• Impose new procurement requirements on area agencies on aging for contracts exceeding $35,000 and limit compensation for chief executives paid from public funds.
• Permit area agencies on aging to provide core 'community care for the elderly' services under certain circumstances if a designated lead agency cannot perform its duties.
• Revise inservice training and priority considerations for high-risk elderly persons under community-care-for-the-elderly programs.
• Update assessment requirements and procedures for enrollees in the long-term care managed care program.
• Expand continuing education duties for professional guardians, adding an Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders component, and authorize additional disciplinary actions including fines.
• Enable the Office of Public and Professional Guardians to issue subpoenas and conduct investigations into guardianship matters more effectively.
• Require unredacted Office of Public and Professional Guardians complaint records to be submitted to the Legislature by a certain date for transparency.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

SB 578 - Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Initiative

Establishes a statewide initiative to increase Alzheimer's disease awareness, support, and validated information for Florida residents.

• Requires the Department of Elderly Affairs to contract with a statewide nonprofit organization to develop and implement the initiative, including a website, electronic resources, and a mobile in-person outreach program.
• Focuses on early detection and diagnosis, risk reduction, brain health, healthy aging, and the availability of clinical trials, while collaborating with relevant state agencies and private organizations.
• Promotes health care provider education in partnership with the Department of Health and incorporates the Department of Elderly Affairs’ existing Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Resource Guide.
• Requires the Alzheimer’s Disease Advisory Committee to annually evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative and recommend future funding needs.

Effective Date: 7/1/2026

SB 1404 - Memory Care

Require a new memory care services license for assisted living facilities providing or advertising specialized dementia care, clarify licensing requirements, and repeal certain existing provisions upon rule adoption.

• Adds new definitions for “memory care resident” and “memory care services” in s. 429.02, clarifying the scope of specialized dementia care subject to regulation.
• Amends s. 429.07 to include memory care services as a separate licensure category, alongside standard, extended congregate care, limited nursing services, and limited mental health licenses.
• Creates s. 429.076 to establish requirements for obtaining a memory care services license, including staff training, physical plant, safety, and contracts specific to memory care residents, with rules to be adopted by the Agency for Health Care Administration.
• Allows certain existing facilities that cannot obtain a memory care license to continue serving current residents with appropriate notifications, but prohibits accepting new memory care residents without the license.
• Specifies that the new license expires at the same time as the standard license per s. 429.17 and repeals ss. 429.177 and 429.178 once the new rules are in place.

Effective Date: Upon becoming a law

HB 915 - Medical Assistance Eligibility for Working Individuals with Disabilities

Establish a new Medicaid eligibility program for working individuals with disabilities to maintain benefits while earning additional income.

• Automatically enrolls eligible adults who are employed, have a developmental disability, and participate in specified Medicaid waiver programs.
• Sets an income threshold up to 550% of the Supplemental Security Income Federal Benefit Rate and raises asset limits, including retirement accounts excluded from asset calculations.

Effective Date: upon becoming a law

HB 565 - Agency for Persons with Disabilities

Expands the definition of “developmental disability” to include Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome, broadens employment screening requirements for residential facility and adult day training staff, and mandates a comprehensive review of waiver support coordination services.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

SB 1092 - Podiatric Medicine

Limit required controlled-substance prescribing education to podiatric physicians registered with the DEA and establish legal parameters for using cellular or tissue-based products under specified conditions.

• Restricts the safe prescribing continuing education requirement to podiatric physicians registered with the DEA who are authorized to prescribe controlled substances.
• Authorizes the use of certain unapproved cellular or tissue-based products by qualifying podiatric physicians for specified treatment purposes such as connective tissue repair, wound care, and pain management as long as the treatments or procedures are within the scop of practice for such podiatric physician.
• Requires that such cellular or tissue-based products come from facilities registered with the FDA and meet specific accreditation and viability standards.
• Mandates inclusion of a clear statutory notice in all forms of advertisement regarding non-FDA-approved cellular or tissue-based products.
• Establishes a signed consent requirement informing patients of procedure details, risks, benefits, and the unapproved status of the products.
• Sets criminal penalties and disciplinary actions for prohibited uses, including procedures involving fetal cells from abortions or distributing certain products created from human tissues.

Effective Date: Upon becoming a law

SB 1074 - One-cent Piece

Authorize rounding in-person cash transactions to the nearest nickel when the penny is no longer in production.

• Defines “cash” in reference to federal law to clarify its meaning in the context of transactions covered by this act.
• Allows dealers to round the final digit of an in-person cash transaction up or down to the nearest five cents under specified circumstances.
• Clarifies that rounding applies only to cash transactions, does not alter the underlying sales price or tax computations, and is separate from noncash payment processes.
• Exempts rounding to the nearest nickel from deceptive trade practice provisions if the penny is discontinued.
• Requires certain cash payments to be made in full or rounded up as necessary when the penny is no longer in production.

Effective Date: Upon becoming a law

SB 1246 - Linking Industry to Nursing Education Fund

Expand the LINE Fund by including nonmonetary contributions from health care partners, prioritizing monetary contributions, and clarifying eligible uses and the award process.

• Redefines “health care partner” to include licensed providers in the state and allows them to offer monetary or nonmonetary contributions.
• Includes nonmonetary contributions such as donated instructor or preceptor time, space, and equipment, requiring fair market value assessment and certification that they support LINE Fund goals.
• Provides priority for monetary contributions when awarding matching funds and prohibits proposals comprised solely of nonmonetary contributions.
• Broadens eligible uses of matched funds to cover faculty and preceptor recruitment, program enrollment increases, licensure exam pass rates, equipment and simulation centers, and internships while disallowing new building construction.
• Permits institutions to submit proposals through their leader or designee and allows multiyear funding awards if appropriation and required matching continue.

Effective Date: 7/1/2026

HB 1347 - Clinical Laboratory Personnel

Specifies updated requirements for clinical laboratory personnel licensure by accepting certain federal standards for high and moderate complexity testing as meeting state qualifications.

• Clarifies that an applicant who meets specified federal criteria for high or moderate complexity testing must provide proof of qualification, submit to background screening, and pay required fees to obtain a license.
• Deems applicants who satisfy federal regulations for high complexity tests to have met Florida’s licensure requirements to perform high complexity testing.
• Deems applicants who satisfy federal regulations for moderate complexity tests to have met Florida’s licensure requirements to perform moderate complexity testing.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

PASSED & OF CONCERN

ALSO of INTEREST & PASSED

SB 296 - Victims of Domestic Violence and Dating Violence

Creates a domestic and dating violence 911 alert system feasibility study and expands address confidentiality protections to include victims of dating violence.

Effective Date: 7/1/2026

HB 277 - Domestic Violence and Protective Injunctions

Strengthens protections for domestic violence survivors by reclassifying penalties for repeat offenses, creating electronic monitoring pilot programs, expanding injunction requirements, and increasing relocation assistance.

Effective Date: July 1, 2026