March 15, 2021

Florida Legislative Update

Two weeks down, seven weeks to go!

Friday ended the second week of Florida’s 60 day legislative session. While overall things are still moving slower than usual, priority bills from both chambers are moving quickly through the process. The appropriations process is also well underway. We expect budget subcommittees to start workshopping their preliminary budgets soon.

Bills to Watch

Consumer data privacy: HB 969 by Rep. McFarland has passed its first hearing, while SB 1734 by Sen. Bradley is still waiting for its first committee stop. Though aimed at “big tech,” if passed, these bills will have significant impacts on businesses of all types and sizes. For instance, a major concern of the financial services industry is the lack of exemption for entities regulated by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which already requires companies to safeguard consumer data. Learn more about this issue here.

Medical marijuana/THC caps: HB 1455 by Rep. Roach and SB 1958 by Sen. Rodrigues limit the amount of THC in medical marijuana products in addition to adding other new regulations to the industry. The House bill is ready for its second hearing. This issue has not received much traction in the Senate previously, but this year could be different.

E-Fairness/online retailers: SB 50 by Senator Gruters is ready for a final chamber vote, after being voted out of every committee unanimously. HB 15 by Rep. Clemons has only one committee reference to go. Read more on this issue here.

COVID-19 liability protection for businesses: HB 7 by Rep. McClure has passed the House and now heads to the Senate.  SB 72 by Sen. Brandes is ready for a full Senate vote.

COVID-19 liability protection for healthcare workers: HB 7005 by Rep. Burton is ready for the floor, while SB 74 is on its last committee stop.

School vouchers: A major expansion and consolidation of Florida’s private scholarship programs, SB 48 by Sen. Diaz, is ready to be taken up by the full Senate. This bill will solidify Florida’s status as the most school choice-friendly state, allowing hundreds of thousands of low-income and special needs students to receive education savings accounts paid for by the state.

Increased penalties for rioters: HB 1 by Rep. Fernandez-Barquin has passed all committees on a party line vote, and is ready for the House floor. SB 484 by Sen. Burgess has yet to get a hearing. This bill adds penalties to riots and lawless behavior.

Child welfare: Numerous bills are moving in both chambers, including SB 80 by Sen. Brodeur, SB 92 by Sen. Bean, SB 96 by Sen. Book and HB 1473 by Rep. Busatta Cabrera. Child welfare reform is a top priority for the Senate President.

Sports betting: SB 392 and 396 by Sen. Brandes and HB 1317 and 1321 by Rep. LaMarca have yet to be heard, but if passed, would be a dramatic departure from the ban on sports betting that currently exists in Florida. Negotiations are occurring behind the scenes to come to a broad agreement on gaming that would include some legalization of sports betting in Florida as part of a larger gaming package. 

To-go alcohol: SB 148 by Sen. Bradley and HB 329 by Rep. Tomkow are both on their their final committee stops. These bills would allow alcohol take out, as was temporarily legalized during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Authors

February 1, 2021

Florida Legislative Update

Governor’s Budget Released

Last week, Governor Ron DeSantis released his “Florida Leads” budget proposal for 2021-22. Despite the pandemic and an estimated deficit of more than $2.6 billion, the Governor is recommending a total budget of $96.6 billion—$4.3 billion higher than the current year’s budget. The Florida Legislature has begun hearings on these recommendations which will ultimately result in the passage of the July 1 fiscal year budget.

Highlights of the Florida Leads budget proposal include:

·    $2.6 billion for pandemic response and relief

·    $65 million in proposed tax cuts

·    $625 million for Everglades restoration and the protection of water resources

·    $50 million for Florida Forever land acquisition program

·    $12.9 billion for K-12 education (would be the highest ever)

·    $233 million for workforce and affordable housing programs

·    $50 million for VISIT Florida marketing efforts

·    $178 million to fight the opioid epidemic

·    $9.47 billion for the State Transportation Work Program

·    $6.6 billion in total reserves

Read more budget highlights here.

Bills to Watch

Legislative session is just one month away and yet more than 1,000 member bills have already been filed. Bills will continue to roll in until the March 2 bill filing deadline. Significant legislation filed to date includes:

Online retailers (“Wayfair”): SB 50 by Senator Gruters passed its first committee unanimously and has two more committee stops. HB 15 by Rep. Clemons has only two committee references. Although the bill seems to have much broader support than previously, it is by no means a slam dunk. Read more on this issue here.

COVID-19 liability protection: SB 72 by Senator Brandes and HB 7 by Rep. McClure both passed their first committees on party lines. This is the number one priority of most businesses in the state of Florida, as well as many in the medical community who fear a flood of lawsuits related to the pandemic. The House bill is up again this week. 

Increased penalties for rioters: Officially titled “Combating Public Disorder,” HB 1 by Rep. Fernandez-Barquin passed its first committee on a party line vote. This bill adds penalties to riots and lawless behavior. 

Sports betting: SB 392 and 396 by Senator Brandes have been filed which would be a dramatic departure from the ban on sports betting that currently exists in Florida. 

To-go alcohol: SB 134 by Senator Brandes and HB 329 by Rep. Tomkow have been filed. These bills would allow alcohol take out, as was temporarily legalized during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marijuana legalization: SB 710 By Senator Brandes and HB 343 by Rep. Smith have been filed. Every year, the legislature revisits key portions of the MMTC laws in Florida related to the number of licenses, acceptable THC levels, and court case remediations.

Medicaid expansion: Multiple bills in each chamber have been filed to expand Florida’s Medicaid program. However, there is little interest within the leadership circles of the legislature to address this in 2021.

Still to Come

Finally, we still expect bills to be filed reforming data privacy laws. A major re-write of consumer privacy laws stands to jeopardize not only technology companies, but financial services, healthcare entities, and thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that rely on digital marketing and advertising to conduct business. Read more on this issue here.

Authors

November 24, 2020

Florida Legislative Update

Last Tuesday, the Florida legislature held its constitutionally-required organizational session to officially elect each chamber’s leader and minority leader, as well as swear-in newly elected members. Presiding over the House for the next two years is Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor) and at the helm of the Senate is President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby), both from the Tampa Bay area. Sen. Gary Farmer and Rep. Bobby DuBose, both from Fort Lauderdale, were elected to lead the minority parties in their respective chambers. Organizational session was held only a few weeks after Republicans picked up seats in the House and Senate. 

In addition to making these leadership positions official, organizational session provides an opportunity for chamber leaders to telegraph their policy priorities and provide a glimpse into what the next two years may look like. Below are some of the issues we expect to make traction in 2021-22 legislative sessions:

• Public Safety/Anti-Protesting Policies: Gov. DeSantis rolled out a proposed concept in late September which would create new criminal offenses and increase penalties for individuals involved in violent or disorderly assemblies.  This was a response to the riots and looting occurring in other states around the country.  During that press availability in September, he was joined by House Speaker Chris Sprowls.  We expect this criminal justice issue to be red hot during the 2021 legislative session.  

• COVID-19 Liability Protection: Both chambers have expressed interest in protecting businesses from frivolous lawsuits when those businesses have sought to follow CDC guidelines in reopening. These law changes are not a given, as the trial lawyers in Florida are one of the most organized and effective lobbies in the state, and will heavily oppose broad levels of immunity. Trial lawyers in Florida often outspend the business community during campaign season, and have friends on both sides of the aisle. In order for legislation to pass, it will require a strong, coordinated and heavily funded lobbying effort.    

• “Wayfair”/Internet Sales Tax: Over the last few years, the internet sales tax issue has not made any headway.  However, in a move that some find surprising, Senate President Simpson appeared to publicly back the tax in his comments to the press after his first speech as Senate President, putting this bill in play for 2021. The state will need to plug a massive budget hole and any way of raising revenues without raising a new tax could be a possibility. 

• Governor’s Executive Powers – State of Emergency:  COVID-19 has presented each governor with unique challenges in governing by Executive Order and some legislative leaders have privately—or even publicly—expressed concern about unilateral powers used during the pandemic and willingness to engage the legislative process to enact a statutory framework for any future state of emergency orders.

• Local Government Powers: Equally troubling to state legislators was the tendencies of some local governments to enact broad restrictions on the economy by emergency ordinance. Expect this to be discussed.

• Workforce Reform: Continuing in the footsteps of Gov. DeSantis and other legislative leaders, Speaker Chris Sprowls has announced his forthcoming “Opportunity Agenda.” Among other things, he wants to create a unified hub for workforce programs, with a focus on outcomes instead inputs, expand opportunities for entrepreneurship, and address hurdles within occupational licensing and other business regulations.

• Child Welfare Reform: A personal interest of the new Senate President and First Lady, child welfare is certain to be a major issue again this session.

• Literacy/Early Learning: A handful of lawmakers have been working unsuccessfully for years to get significant legislation passed on early learning. With a renewed focus on literacy by Speaker Sprowls, including his goal of a massive statewide book initiative and parent bootcamps in partnership with local libraries, and (separately) his desire to address maternal health…is this the year that Florida finally makes progress on zero to three?

• Climate Change, Land Conservation, and Sea Level Rise: The willingness of the Speaker and President to address environmental issues like sea level rise may be higher than of GOP leaders in the past, but it remains to be seen how, and to what extent, these will be addressed.  New coastal building codes, setbacks, insurance requirements and coastal protection measures could all be a part of a comprehensive plan discussed in the 2021 legislative session.

• Revisiting Medicaid Expansion: Neither Gov. DeSantis nor leadership of either chamber has expressed interested in expanding Medicaid; however, with President-elect Biden coming into the White House, there may be federal pressure to rethink this issue, as states continue to look for new ways to reform Medicaid. 

Although Florida’s regular legislative session doesn’t begin until the first Tuesday in March, House and Senate Committees will begin to meet in January and February to hear presentations from state agencies, begin the budget writing process, workshop legislative ideas and even vote certain proprietary bills out of committee so they are available early in session for floor action.   

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