Becker’s State Lobbying Update: Week 7, April 14 – 18, 2025
Hot Topics
“Day 45”
A full slate of House and Senate committees met this week to consider dozens of bills as legislators reached the 45th day of the 60-day legislative session on Tuesday, April 17. With the session winding down, bills not scheduled to be heard by next week will most likely die in their respective committees.
“Budget”
The House and the Senate have released their proposed budgets for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. They are now postured to begin the budget conference. Before negotiations can begin, both sides must agree to initial allocations per budget area, which may take a while to agree upon since the chambers are nearly $4.5 billion apart. With two weeks left in the session, a final budget agreement must be reached by April 29 to adhere to the constitutionally mandated 72-hour “cooling off” period if the Legislature is to end the 60-day session on time on Friday, May 2, 2025.
“Governor’s Activity”
On Friday, April 18, 2025, Governor DeSantis signed the following four (4) bills into law:
HB 1313 – Trust Funds by Representative Mooney will re-create the Resilient Florida Trust Fund within the Department of Environmental Protection by eliminating its scheduled termination. This law goes into effect July 1, 2025.
HB 421- Peer Support for First Responders by Representative Maggard revises the definition of “first responder” to broaden eligibility for peer support services to include law enforcement agency support personnel. This law goes into effect on July 1, 2025.
HB 513 – Electronic Transmittal of Court Orders by Representative Gentry requires the clerk of the court to electronically transmit certain orders and summonses to law enforcement within 6 hours. This law goes into effect July 1, 2025.
HB 655 – Pet Insurance and Wellness Programs by Representative Tuck establishes comprehensive guidelines for offering pet insurance, setting standards for coverage, policyholder disclosures, and consumer protections. This law goes into effect January 1, 2026.
Education
Nursing Education Programs
SB 526 by Senator Harrell revises the approval and operational requirements for nursing education programs in Florida. The bill will authorize the Board of Nursing (BON) to deny certain program applications and terminate programs that do not meet reporting requirements or graduate passage rates. However, the bill clarifies the BON’s limited rulemaking authority to focus on administrative aspects like application and report formats. The bill will stipulate remediation obligations for programs failing to meet graduate passage rate benchmarks, including mandatory remediation plans. It will also eliminate the provision for programs to request extra time to meet accreditation requirements. In addition, the bill revises the Department of Health to conduct onsite inspections to determine compliance. The bill mandates that program applications include the director’s legal name and requires specific educational qualifications for program directors and faculty. Lastly, it establishes clear rules for clinical training and simulation caps, requiring at least 50% clinical training in the U.S. and no more than 50% of the training to be simulation. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services considered the bill with a favorable vote of 8 Yeas and 1 Nays. The bill advances to its final committee stop, the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee. Its House Companion, HB 919 by Representative Overdorf, favorably passed its last committed stop on April 15. The House Health & Human Services Committee considered the bill with a unanimous vote of 22 Yeas and 0 Nays. It has been placed on the Special-Order Calendar for Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
School Grading Systems
HB 1483 by Representative Valdes, known as the Schools Committed to Outstanding Results and Excellence (SCORE) Act, increases transparency surrounding the school grades earned by Florida schools. The current system of grading school performance stems from the adoption of the FCAT and has not been updated since 2012. Between the 2026-2027 school year and the 2033-34 school year, this bill allows the transition from the current State Board of Education defined school grading scale to a traditional A-F grading system for school grades. The bill expands supports for students with substantial deficiencies in reading and/or mathematics by capturing more students in need of supports in the definition of substantial deficiency and expanding the provision of interventions to voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) through grade 8. The bill also expands eligibility for the summer bridge program to assist students transitioning from VPK to kindergarten. On Monday, April 14, 2025, HB 1483 favorably passed its third committee of reference, where members had some concerns about whether the proposed language would pose drops in school ratings. In the end, members felt that the proposed multi-year glide path struck the right balance of accountability and fairness. The bill has one more committee stop, the House Education & Employment Committee, and has yet to be considered. This bill has no Senate companion.
Cell Phone Ban
HB 949 by Representative Busatta prohibits student use of wireless communications devices throughout the school day rather than just during instructional time and eliminates the exception for the use of such devices when expressly directed by a teacher for educational purposes. The bill also removes the requirement for teachers to designate areas for use of a wireless communication device. On Wednesday, April 16, 2025, HB 949 favorably passed off the House floor with a unanimous vote of 117 Yeas. It is now in Senate messages and has been referred to Senate Rules, and has yet to be considered. Its similar bill, SB 1296 by Senator Burgess, mandates the Commissioner of Education to coordinate cell phone ban policies in selected school districts representing various county sizes. The bill favorably passed its first committee and now is in its second committee of reference, Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs. The bill has yet to be considered, with one more committee stop thereafter.
Local Administration
Industries and Professional Activities
HB 1461 by Representatives Yarkosy and Esposito revises requirements across multiple industries and specifies changes in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s oversight duties. The bill will eliminate certain boards, merge others, and reclassify oversight for several professional licensure and regulatory programs under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). HB 1461 also changes the practice and licensing of occupations, including barbers, cosmetologists, architects, engineers, geologists, surveyors, and auctioneers, shifting overall oversight and rules directly to the DBPR. In addition, the bill removes continuing education requirements and board approval processes for several licenses and updates requirements for examinations and intern training for certain professions.
Furthermore, the bill revises criteria and procedures for specialized inspections, managerial responsibilities within firms, direct supervision, transitioning of certifications between categories, and the processes for licensure by endorsement, especially for out-of-state and international applicants in some professional fields. HB 1461 and its amendments were considered on April 15 by the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee. The bill received a favorably passing vote of 12 Yeas and 3 Nays. The bill’s amendments were also adopted. The bill is now in the Commerce Committee. Its Senate companion, SB 1452 by Senator Truenow, has been referred to three committees and has yet to be considered.
Utility Services
HB 1523 by Representative Busatta modifies the following provisions related to utility services. The bill requires certain public meetings and reporting for municipal utilities offering service to customers outside the municipal boundaries. The bill will limit the portion of municipal utility revenues earned from providing service to areas outside of municipal boundaries that may be used to fund non-utility-related government functions. In addition, the bill will also limit the rates, fees, and charges that a municipal water or sewer utility may impose on customers outside its boundaries to no more than 25 percent above the amount the municipal utility charges customers within its own boundaries. Furthermore, HB 1523 prohibits any surcharge if the municipality owns/operates a water or sewer treatment facility located within the boundaries of a separate municipality and serves customers within the separate municipality. Lastly, the bill adds “board, agency, commission, or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision” to the list of entities that are expressly preempted from prohibiting certain types of fuel sources of energy production or the use of appliances that use these specified types or fuel sources of energy production. On April 15, the bill received a favorable vote of 21 Yeas and 2 Nays by its final committee stop, the Commerce Committee. It has now been placed on the Special-Order Calendar for Thursday, April 24, 2025. Its Senate companion, SB 1704 by Senator Calatayud, has been referred to three committees and has yet to be considered.
Housing
Condominium Associations
HB 913 by Representative V. Lopez is designed to modernize condominium governance with a focus on safety, transparency, and financial accountability. The bill requires local governments to confirm with each condominium association by October 1, 2025, that the structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) and milestone inspection have been completed and to report this information to the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes. The bill allows the board of directors of an association to levy special assessments and obtain loans to perform necessary maintenance, as required by the milestone inspection report and SIRS report, without the prior approval of the condominium association’s membership. It also revises thresholds and requirements for structural integrity reserve studies, including raising the minimum cost trigger for reserves to $25,000 and requiring a study every 10 years for buildings with three or more habitable stories. Lastly, the bill requires greater transparency on association websites, including publishing meeting minutes, assessments, and key inspection and reserve study documentation while ensuring privileged member data remains private. HB 913 favorably passed its committees of reference and has been placed on the House Special-Order calendar for Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Its Senate companion, SB 1742 by Senator Bradley, is scheduled to be heard in its final committee, Senate Rules, on Monday, April 21, 2025.
Finance
Local Option Taxes
Senate Bill 1664 by Senator Trumbull amends various statutes to regulate local option taxes, primarily concerning renewal, expiration, and specific usage of tax revenues related to tourism and infrastructure projects. The bill requires certain local taxes to be renewed via an ordinance supported by a referendum. The bill also specifies that taxes used for bond debt services for sports facilities or tourism promotion must be renewed by January 1, 2033, to remain effective. The bill also provides conditions under which existing taxes pledged for bond repayment are exempt from mandatory renewal until the bonds are retired. In addition, the bill establishes that local optional taxes expire eight years from their effective date but allows for renewal through voter-approved referendums for subsequent eight-year terms. Lastly, the bill allows for a new or reenacted tax, specifically for servicing bond indebtedness, to span a maximum of 30 years, contingent on voter approval detailing the tax’s purpose and duration. It was favorably passed with a unanimous vote of 5 Yeas and 0 Nays by the Senate Finance and Tax Committee. It is now scheduled to be heard in its final committee, Senate Appropriations, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 11:00 am. Its House companion, HB 1221 by Representative Miller, awaits consideration in its last committee stop, the House State Affairs Committee. This comes after passing the House Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee with 10 Yeas and 7 Nays on April 9, 2025.
Health Care
Health Care Billing and Collection Activities
SB 656 by Senator Rodriguez expands the circumstances under which licensed healthcare facilities may pursue extraordinary collection actions on patient debts. The bill removes the reference to the facility’s financial assistance policy in the definition of extraordinary collection action. The bill will allow facilities to engage in extraordinary collection action without providing 30 days’ notice if they sell an individual’s debt under specified conditions. Additionally, the bill prevents the incurrence of additional interest or fees on sold debt. It disallows any extraordinary collection actions by the debt purchaser beyond those permitted to the licensed facility. Finally, the bill requires the debt to be returned to the facility if it is later determined to qualify for charity care under its financial assistance policy. The bill has favorably passed all three of its committee stops and was placed on the Special-Order Calendar for April 15, 2025, for a second reading. However, it was temporarily postponed and retained on the calendar and has yet to be rescheduled. Its House companion, HB 547 by Representative Partington, has passed all its committee stops. On April 16, 2025, the bill was placed on the Special Order Calendar, read thrice, and favorably passed with a unanimous vote of 116 Yeas and 0 Nays. An engrossed text has been filed, and the bill has been received by the Senate and referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
Agriculture
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
SB 700 by Senator Truenow makes several changes to laws related to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill establishes definitions and prohibits local restrictions on farm worker housing or legally verified agricultural workers, including specific criteria and enforcement provisions. It grants the department rulemaking authority to enforce the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) standard of identity for meat, poultry, and poultry products to prohibit the sale of plant-based products mislabeled as meat, poultry, or poultry products in this state. The bill permits the department to temporarily suspend a concealed carry license or application if notified by a government entity that the licensee or applicant is arrested or formally charged with a crime that would disqualify such person from having a license until the final disposition of the case. It establishes definitions and prohibits local restrictions on farmworker housing for legally verified agricultural workers, including specific criteria and enforcement provisions. Lastly, the bill prohibits local governments from inhibiting the activities of public facilities used for agricultural education. On Wednesday, April 16, 2025, SB 700 was read a third time and favorably passed off the Senate floor with a vote of 27 Yeas and 9 Nays. The bill was immediately certified and is now in House messages. A similar bill, HB 651 by Representative Tuck, favorably passed its final committee of reference on April 15, 2025, and has now been placed on the calendar for 2nd reading.
