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A reviser's bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Florida Statutes; amending ss. 2
16.56, 20.435, 20.60, 39.101, 39.4085, 112.215, 3
112.313, 121.091, 125.0104, 163.11, 163.3202, 4
163.32051, 173.04, 196.101, 212.08, 215.681, 220.199, 5
288.012, 288.095, 288.107, 296.44, 298.301, 322.27, 6
330.41, 365.172, 373.228, 373.583, 376.323, 380.0553, 7
380.0933, 381.986, 397.335, 403.865, 409.1678, 8
409.996, 413.801, 415.1103, 420.5096, 445.003, 456.42, 9
480.041, 497.260, 501.2042, 553.865, 560.103, 565.04, 10
571.265, 585.01, 626.321, 626.602, 627.06292, 62 7.351, 11
627.410, 628.8015, 692.201, 720.305, 744.21031, 12
766.315, 768.38, 768.381, 790.013, 810.098, 849.38, 13
933.40, 961.06, 1000.21, 1001.42, 1002.01, 1002.20, 14
1002.351, 1002.394, 1002.395, 1002.44, 1002.82, 15
1003.02, 1003.4201, 1003.46, 1004.615, 1004.648, 16
1006.07, 1006.28, 1008.25, 1009.21, 1009.286, 1009.30, 17
1009.895, 1012.71, 1012.993, and 1013.64, F.S.; 18
reenacting and amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; and 19
reenacting ss. 348.0304, 394.9086, and 893.055, F.S.; 20
deleting provisions that have expired, have become 21
obsolete, have had their effect, have served their 22
purpose, or have been impliedly repealed or 23
superseded; replacing incorrect cross -references and 24
citations; correcting grammatical, typographical, and 25
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like errors; removing inconsistencies, redundancies, 26
and unnecessary repetition in the statutes; and 27
improving the clarity of the statutes and facilitating 28
their correct interpretation; providing an effective 29
date. 30
31
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 32
33
Section 1. Paragraphs (c) a nd (d) of subsection (1) of 34
section 16.56, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 35
16.56 Office of Statewide Prosecution. — 36
(1) There is created in the Department of Legal Affairs an 37
Office of Statewide Prosecution. The office shall be a separate 38
"budget entity" as that term is defined in chapter 216. The 39
office may: 40
(c) Investigate and prosecute any crime involving: 41
1. Voting in an election in which a candidate for a 42
federal or state office is on the ballot; 43
2. Voting in an election in which a refe rendum, an 44
initiative, or an issue is on the ballot; 45
3. The petition activities of a candidate for a federal or 46
state office; 47
4. The petition activities for a referendum, an 48
initiative, or an issue; or 49
5. Voter registration; 50
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51
or any attempt, solicita tion, or conspiracy to commit any of the 52
crimes specifically enumerated above. The office shall have such 53
power only when any such offense is occurring, or has occurred, 54
in two or more judicial circuits as part of a related 55
transaction, or when any such of fense is affecting, or has 56
affected, two or more judicial circuits. Informations or 57
indictments charging such offenses must contain general 58
allegations stating the judicial circuits and counties in which 59
crimes are alleged to have occurred or the judicial circuits and 60
counties alleged to have been affected by such crimes in which 61
crimes are alleged to have affected . 62
(d) Upon request, cooperate with and assist state 63
attorneys and state and local law enforcement officials in their 64
efforts against organized crime crimes. 65
Reviser's note.—Amended to improve clarity. 66
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 67
20.435, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 68
20.435 Department of Health; trust funds. —The following 69
trust funds shall be administered by the Department of Health: 70
(7) BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH TRUST FUND. — 71
(a) Funds to be credited to the trust fund shall consist 72
of funds appropriated by the Legislature. Funds shall be used 73
for the purposes of the James and Esther King Biomedical 74
Research Program;, the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program ; 75
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and, the William G. "Bill" Bankhead, Jr., and David Coley Cancer 76
Research Program as specified in ss. 215.5602, 381.915, and 77
381.922, respectively; and other cancer research initiatives as 78
appropriated by the Legislature. The trust fund is exempt from 79
the service charges imposed by s. 215.20. 80
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial reinsertion and 81
an editorial insertion to facilitate correct 82
interpretation. 83
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section 84
20.60, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 85
20.60 Department of Commerce; creation; powers and 86
duties.— 87
(9) The secretary shall: 88
(b) Serve as the manager for the state with respect to 89
contracts with Space Florida and all applicable direct-support 90
organizations. To accomplish the provisions of this section and 91
applicable provisions of chapters 288 and 331, and 92
notwithstanding the provisions of part I of chapter 287, the 93
secretary shall enter into specific contracts with Space Florida 94
and appropriate direct-support organizations. Such contracts may 95
be for multiyear terms and must include specific performance 96
measures for each year. For purposes of this section, the 97
Institute for Commercialization of Florida Technology is not an 98
appropriate direct-support organization. 99
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm editorial insertions to 100
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facilitate correct interpretation. 101
Section 4. Paragraph (f) of subsection (3) of section 102
39.101, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 103
39.101 Central abuse hot line.—The central abuse hotline is 104
the first step in the safety assessment and investigation 105
process. 106
(3) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION AND DATA. —The department 107
shall: 108
(f)1. Collect and analyze child -on-child sexual abuse 109
reports and include such informati on in the aggregate 110
statistical reports. 111
2. Collect and analyze, in separate statistical reports, 112
those reports of child abuse, sexual abuse, and juvenile sexual 113
abuse which are reported from or which occurred on or at: 114
a. School premises; 115
b. School transportation; 116
c. School-sponsored off-campus events; 117
d. A school readiness program provider determined to be 118
eligible under s. 1002.88; 119
e. A private prekindergarten provider or a public school 120
prekindergarten provider, as those terms are defined in s. 121
1002.51(7) and (8), respectively; 122
f. A public K-12 school as described in s. 1000.04; 123
g. A private school as defined in s. 1002.01; 124
h. A Florida College System institution or a state 125
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university, as those terms are defined in s. 1000.21(5) and (9) 126
1000.21(5) and (8), respectively; or 127
i. A school, as defined in s. 1005.02. 128
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the reordering of 129
definitions in s. 1000.21 by this act. 130
Section 5. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 131
39.4085, Florida Statute s, is amended to read: 132
39.4085 Goals for dependent children; responsibilities; 133
education; Office of the Children's Ombudsman. — 134
(4) The Office of the Children's Ombudsman is established 135
within the department. To the extent permitted by available 136
resources, the office shall, at a minimum: 137
(b) Be a resource to identify and explain relevant 138
policies polices or procedures to children, young adults, and 139
their caregivers. 140
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial substitution to 141
conform to context and facilitate correct interpretation. 142
Section 6. Subsection (2) of section 112.215, Florida 143
Statutes, is amended to read: 144
112.215 Government employees; deferred compensation 145
program.— 146
(2) For the purposes of this section, the term "government 147
employee" means any person employed, whether appointed, elected, 148
or under contract, by the state or any governmental unit of the 149
state, including, but not limited to, any state agency; any 150
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county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the 151
state; any special district or water management district, as the 152
terms are defined in s. 189.012; any state university or Florida 153
College System institution, as the terms are defined in s. 154
1000.21(9) and (5) 1000.21(6) and (3), respectively; or any 155
constitutional county officer under s. 1(d), Art. VIII of the 156
State Constitution for which compensation or statutory fees are 157
paid. 158
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial substitution to 159
conform to the reordering of definitions in s. 1000.21 by 160
s. 136, ch. 2023-8, Laws of Florida, and to conform to the 161
further reordering of definitions in s. 1000.21 by this 162
act. 163
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 164
112.313, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 165
112.313 Standards of conduct for public office rs, 166
employees of agencies, and local government attorneys. — 167
(7) CONFLICTING EMPLOYMENT OR CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP. — 168
(a) No public officer or employee of an agency shall have 169
or hold any employment or contractual relationship with any 170
business entity or any agency which is subject to the regulation 171
of, or is doing business with, an agency of which he or she is 172
an officer or employee, excluding those organizations and their 173
officers who, when acting in their official capacity, enter into 174
or negotiate a collective bargaining contract with the state or 175
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any municipality, county, or other political subdivision of the 176
state; nor shall an officer or employee of an agency have or 177
hold any employment or contractual relationship that will create 178
a continuing or frequently recurring conflict between his or her 179
private interests and the performance of his or her public 180
duties or that would impede the full and faithful discharge of 181
his or her public duties. 182
1. When the agency referred to is that certain kind of 183
special tax district created by general or special law and is 184
limited specifically to constructing, maintaining, managing, and 185
financing improvements in the land area over which the agency 186
has jurisdiction, or when the agency has been organized pursuant 187
to chapter 298, then employment with, or entering into a 188
contractual relationship with, such business entity by a public 189
officer or employee of such agency is not prohibited by this 190
subsection or be deemed a conflict per se. However, conduct by 191
such officer or employee that is prohibited by, or otherwise 192
frustrates the intent of, this section, including conduct that 193
violates subsections (6) and (8), is deemed a conflict of 194
interest in violation of the standards of conduct set forth by 195
this section. 196
2. When the agency referred to is a legislative body and 197
the regulatory power over the business entity resides in another 198
agency, or when the regulatory power which the legislative body 199
exercises over the business entity or agency is strictly through 200
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the enactment of laws or ordinances, then employment or a 201
contractual relationship with such business entity by a public 202
officer or employee of a legislative body shall not be 203
prohibited by this subsection or be deemed a conflict. 204
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an edit orial deletion to 205
improve clarity. 206
Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 207
121.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 208
121.091 Benefits payable under the system. —Benefits may 209
not be paid under this section unless the member has termi nated 210
employment as provided in s. 121.021(39)(a) or begun 211
participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Program as 212
provided in subsection (13), and a proper application has been 213
filed in the manner prescribed by the department. The department 214
may cancel an application for retirement benefits when the 215
member or beneficiary fails to timely provide the information 216
and documents required by this chapter and the department's 217
rules. The department shall adopt rules establishing procedures 218
for application for r etirement benefits and for the cancellation 219
of such application when the required information or documents 220
are not received. 221
(3) EARLY RETIREMENT BENEFIT. —Upon retirement on his or 222
her early retirement date, the member shall receive an immediate 223
monthly benefit that shall begin to accrue on the first day of 224
the month of the retirement date and be payable on the last day 225
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of that month and each month thereafter during his or her 226
lifetime. Such benefit shall be calculated as follows: 227
(a) For a member initi ally enrolled: 228
1. Before July 1, 2011, the amount of each monthly payment 229
shall be computed in the same manner as for a normal retirement 230
benefit, in accordance with subsection (1), but shall be based 231
on the member's average monthly compensation and cred itable 232
service as of the member's early retirement date. The benefit so 233
computed shall be reduced by five -twelfths of 1 percent for each 234
complete month by which the early retirement date precedes the 235
normal retirement date of age 62 for a member of the Reg ular 236
Class, Senior Management Service Class, or the Elected Officers' 237
Class, and age 55 for a member of the Special Risk Class, or age 238
52 if a special risk member has completed 25 years of creditable 239
service in accordance with s. 121.021(29)(b)3. 240
2. On or after July 1, 2011, the amount of each monthly 241
payment shall be computed in the same manner as for a normal 242
retirement benefit, in accordance with subsection (1), but shall 243
be based on the member's average monthly compensation and 244
creditable service as o f the member's early retirement date. The 245
benefit so computed shall be reduced by five -twelfths of 1 246
percent for each complete month by which the early retirement 247
date precedes the normal retirement date of age 65 for a member 248
of the Regular Class, Senior Management Service Class, or the 249
Elected Officers' Class, and age 55 for a member of the Special 250
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Risk Class, or age 52 if a special risk member has completed 25 251
years of creditable service in accordance with s. 252
121.021(29)(b)3. 121.091(29)(b)3. 253
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct a cross -reference. Section 254
121.091(29)(b)3. does not exist; s. 121.021(29)(b)3. 255
references the age and years of creditable service for a 256
special risk member in the Special Risk Class. 257
Section 9. Paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) of s ubsection (4) 258
of section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 259
125.0104 Tourist development tax; procedure for levying; 260
authorized uses; referendum; enforcement. — 261
(4) ORDINANCE LEVY TAX; PROCEDURE. — 262
(c) Before a referendum to enact or rene w of the ordinance 263
levying and imposing the tax, the county tourist development 264
council shall prepare and submit to the governing board of the 265
county for its approval a plan for tourist development. The plan 266
shall set forth the anticipated net tourist deve lopment tax 267
revenue to be derived by the county for the 24 months following 268
the levy of the tax; the tax district in which the enactment or 269
renewal of the ordinance levying and imposing the tourist 270
development tax is proposed; and a list, in the order of 271
priority, of the proposed uses of the tax revenue by specific 272
project or special use as the same are authorized under 273
subsection (5). The plan shall include the approximate cost or 274
expense allocation for each specific project or special use. 275
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(d) The governing board of the county shall adopt the 276
county plan for tourist development as part of the ordinance 277
levying the tax. After enactment or renewal of the ordinance 278
levying and imposing the tax, the plan for of tourist 279
development may not be substantially am ended except by ordinance 280
enacted by an affirmative vote of a majority plus one additional 281
member of the governing board. 282
(e) The governing board of each county which levies and 283
imposes a tourist development tax under this section shall 284
appoint an advisory council to be known as the "...(name of 285
county)... Tourist Development Council." The council shall be 286
established by ordinance and composed of nine members who shall 287
be appointed by the governing board. The chair of the governing 288
board of the county or any other member of the governing board 289
as designated by the chair shall serve on the council. Two 290
members of the council s hall be elected municipal officials, at 291
least one of whom shall be from the most populous municipality 292
in the county or subcounty special taxing district in which the 293
tax is levied. Six members of the council shall be persons who 294
are involved in the touris t industry and who have demonstrated 295
an interest in tourist development, of which members, not less 296
than three nor more than four shall be owners or operators of 297
motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks, or other tourist 298
accommodations in the county and subject to the tax. All members 299
of the council shall be electors of the county. The governing 300
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board of the county shall have the option of designating the 301
chair of the council or allowing the council to elect a chair. 302
The chair shall be appointed or electe d annually and may be 303
reelected or reappointed. The members of the council shall serve 304
for staggered terms of 4 years. The terms of office of the 305
original members shall be prescribed in the resolution required 306
under paragraph (b). The council shall meet at least once each 307
quarter and, from time to time, shall make recommendations to 308
the county governing board for the effective operation of the 309
special projects or for uses of the tourist development tax 310
revenue and perform such other duties as may be prescri bed by 311
county ordinance or resolution. The council shall continuously 312
review expenditures of revenues from the tourist development 313
trust fund and shall receive, at least quarterly, expenditure 314
reports from the county governing board or its designee. 315
Expenditures which the council believes to be unauthorized shall 316
be reported to the county governing board and the Department of 317
Revenue. The governing board and the department shall review the 318
findings of the council and take appropriate administrative or 319
judicial action to ensure compliance with this section. The 320
changes in the composition of the membership of the tourist 321
development council mandated by chapter 86 -4, Laws of Florida, 322
and this act shall not cause the interruption of the current 323
term of any person who is a member of a council on October 1, 324
1996. 325
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Reviser's note.—Paragraph (4)(c) is amended to confirm an 326
editorial deletion to improve clarity. Paragraph (4)(d) is 327
amended to confirm an editorial substitution to conform to 328
context. Paragraph (4)(e) is amended to delete obsolete 329
language. 330
Section 10. Subsection (7) of section 163.11, Florida 331
Statutes, is amended to read: 332
163.11 Biscayne Bay Commission. — 333
(7) The commission shall submit a semiannual report 334
describing the accomplishments of the comm ission and each member 335
agency, as well as the status of each pending task, to the Miami 336
City Commission, the Miami -Dade County Board of County 337
Commissioners, the Mayor of Miami, the Mayor of Miami -Dade 338
County, the Governor, and the chair of the Miami -Dade County 339
Legislative Delegation. The first report shall be submitted by 340
January 15, 2022. The report shall also be made available on the 341
Department of Environmental Protection's website and Miami -Dade 342
County's website. 343
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsol ete language. 344
Section 11. Subsection (6) of section 163.3202, Florida 345
Statutes, is amended to read: 346
163.3202 Land development regulations. — 347
(6) Land development regulations relating to any 348
characteristic of development other than use, or intensity or 349
density of use, do not apply to Florida College System 350
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institutions as defined in s. 1000.21(5) 1000.21(3). 351
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial substitution to 352
conform to the reordering of definitions in s. 1000.21 by 353
s. 136, ch. 2023-8, Laws of Florida. 354
Section 12. Subsection (6) of section 163.32051, Florida 355
Statutes, is amended to read: 356
163.32051 Floating solar facilities. — 357
(6) The Office of Energy within the Department of 358
Agriculture and Consumer Services shall develop and submit 359
recommendations to the Legislature by December 31, 2022, to 360
provide a regulatory framework to private and public sector 361
entities that implement floating solar facilities. 362
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete an obsolete provision. 363
Section 13. Subsection ( 3) of section 173.04, Florida 364
Statutes, is amended to read: 365
173.04 Procedure for bringing foreclosure suit; 366
certificate of attorney as to notice of suit; jurisdiction 367
obtained by publication of notice of suit; form of notice. — 368
(3) Jurisdiction of any o f said lands and of all parties 369
interested therein or having any lien thereon shall be obtained 370
by publication of a notice to be issued as of course by the 371
clerk of the circuit court in which such bill is filed on the 372
request of complainant, once each week for not less than 2 373
consecutive weeks, directed to all persons and corporations 374
interested in or having any lien or claim upon any of the lands 375
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described in said notice and said bill. Such notice shall 376
describe the lands involved and the respective princi pal amounts 377
sought to be recovered in such suit for taxes, tax certificates 378
and special assessments on such respective parcels of land, and 379
requiring all such parties to appear and defend said suit on or 380
before the day specified in said notice, which shall be not less 381
than 4 weeks after the date of the first publication of such 382
notice. Said notice may be in substantially the following form, 383
with blanks appropriately filled in: 384
385
...(Name City or Town)... 386
Complainant, 387
IN THE CIRCUIT 388
vs. COURT FOR ........ 389
COUNTY, FLORIDA. 390
Certain lands upon 391
which ...(here insert... IN CHANCERY. 392
...the word "taxes,"... 393
...or the words "special... 394
...assessments" or both,... 395
...as the case may be)... 396
are delinquent, 397
Defendant. 398
399
NOTICE 400
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401
To all persons and corporations interested in or having any lien 402
or claim upon any of the lands described herein: 403
You are hereby notified that ...(name city or town)... has 404
filed its bill of complaint in the above named court to 405
foreclose delinquent .... ...(here insert the words "tax liens, " 406
"tax certificates," or "special assessments," as the case may 407
be)... with interest and penalties, upon the parcels of land set 408
forth in the following schedule, the aggregate amount of such 409
.... ...(here insert the words "tax liens," "tax certificates," 410
or "special assessments," as the case may be) ... interest and 411
penalties, against said respective parcels of land, as set forth 412
in said bill of complaint, being set opposite such parcels in 413
the following schedule, to wit: 414
415
DESCRIPTION OF LANDS 416
417
Amount of .... ...(here insert the word "taxes ," or the 418
words "special assessments" or both, as the case may be) .... 419
In addition to the amounts set opposite each parcel of land 420
in the foregoing schedule, interest and penalties, as provid ed 421
by law, on such delinquent taxes and special assessments, 422
together with a proportionate part of the costs and expenses of 423
this suit, are sought to be enforced and foreclosed in this 424
suit. 425
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You are hereby notified to appear and make your defenses to 426
said bill of complaint on or before the .... day of ...., and if 427
you fail to do so on or before said date the bill will be taken 428
as confessed by you and you will be barred from thereafter 429
contesting said suit, and said respective parcels of land will 430
be sold by decree of said court for nonpayment of said taxes and 431
assessment liens and interest and penalties thereon and the 432
costs of this suit. 433
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed 434
the official seal of said court, this .... day of ..... 435
...(Clerk of said court)... 436
By ...(Deputy clerk)... 437
438
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to general style in forms and 439
to improve punctuation. 440
Section 14. Subsection (5) of section 196.101, Florida 441
Statutes, is amended to read: 442
196.101 Exemption for totally and permanently disabled 443
persons.— 444
(5) The physician's certification shall read as follows: 445
446
PHYSICIAN'S CERTIFICATION OF 447
TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY 448
449
I, ...(name of physician)..., a physician licensed pursuant to 450
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chapter 458 or chapter 459, F lorida Statutes, hereby certify Mr. 451
.... Mrs. .... Miss .... Ms. .... ...(name of totally and 452
permanently disabled person)..., social security number ...., is 453
totally and permanently disabled as of January 1, ...(year)..., 454
due to the following mental or p hysical condition(s): 455
456
.... Quadriplegia 457
.... Paraplegia 458
.... Hemiplegia 459
.... Other total and permanent disability requiring use of 460
a wheelchair for mobility 461
.... Legal Blindness 462
463
It is my professional belief that the above -named condition(s) 464
render Mr. .... Mrs. .... Miss .... Ms. .... ...(name of 465
totally and permanently disabled person)... totally and 466
permanently disabled, and that the foregoing statements are 467
true, correct, and complete to the best of my knowledge and 468
professional belief. 469
470
Signature ................................ ............... 471
Address (print) ................................ .......... 472
Date ................................ .................... 473
Florida Board of Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine license number 474
................................ ......................... 475
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Issued on ................................ ............... 476
477
NOTICE TO TAXPAYER: Each Florida resident applying for a total 478
and permanent disability exemption must present to the county 479
property appraiser, on or before March 1 of each year, a copy of 480
this form or a letter from the United States Department of 481
Veterans Affairs or its predecessor. Each form is to be 482
completed by a licensed Florida physician. 483
484
NOTICE TO TAXPAYER AND PHYSICIAN: Section 196.131(2), Florida 485
Statutes, provides that any person who shall knowingly and 486
willfully give false information for the purpose of claiming 487
homestead exemption shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the 488
first degree, punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 489
1 year or a fine not exceeding $5,000, or both. 490
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to context. 491
Section 15. Paragraph (m) of subsection (5) of section 492
212.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 493
212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and 494
storage tax; specified exemptions. —The sale at retail, the 495
rental, the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the 496
storage to be used or consumed in this state of the following 497
are hereby specifically exempt from the tax imposed by this 498
chapter. 499
(5) EXEMPTIONS; ACCOUNT OF USE. — 500
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(m) Educational materials purchased by certain child care 501
facilities.—Educational materials, such as glue, paper, paints, 502
crayons, unique craft items, scissors, books, and educational 503
toys, purchased by a child care facility that meets the 504
standards delineated in s. 402.305, is licensed under s. 505
402.308, holds a current Gold Seal Quality Care designation 506
pursuant to s. 1002.945, and provides basic health insurance to 507
all employees are exempt from the taxes imposed by this cha pter. 508
For purposes of this paragraph, the term "basic health 509
insurance" shall be defined and promulgated in rules developed 510
jointly by the Department of Education, the Agency for Health 511
Care Administration, and the Financial Services Commission. 512
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial insertion to 513
improve clarity. 514
Section 16. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 515
215.681, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 516
215.681 ESG bonds; prohibitions. — 517
(1) As used in this section, the term: 518
(d) "Issuer" means the division, acting on behalf of any 519
entity; any local government, educational entity, or entity of 520
higher education as defined in s. 215.89(2)(c), (d), and (e), 521
respectively, or other political subdivision granted the power 522
to issue bonds; or any public body corporate and politic 523
authorized or created by general or special law and granted the 524
power to issue bonds, including, but not limited to, a water and 525
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
sewer district created under chapter 153, a health facilities 526
authority as defined i n s. 154.205, an industrial development 527
authority created under chapter 159, a housing financing 528
authority as defined in s. 159.603(3), a research and 529
development authority as defined in s. 159.702(1)(c), a legal or 530
administrative entity created by interlo cal agreement pursuant 531
to s. 163.01(7), a community redevelopment agency as defined in 532
s. 163.340(1), a regional transportation authority created under 533
chapter 163, a community development district as defined in s. 534
190.003, an educational facilities author ity as defined in s. 535
243.52(1), the Higher Educational Facilities Financing Authority 536
created under s. 243.53, the Florida Development Finance 537
Corporation created under s. 288.9604, a port district or port 538
authority as defined in s. 315.02(1) and (2), resp ectively, the 539
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority created under s. 540
343.53, the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority 541
created under s. 343.63, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit 542
Authority created under s. 343.92, the Greater Miami Expressway 543
Agency created under s. 348.0304, the Tampa -Hillsborough County 544
Expressway Authority created under s. 348.52, the Central 545
Florida Expressway Authority created under s. 348.753, the 546
Jacksonville Transportation Authority created under s. 349.03, 547
and the Florida Housing Finance Corporation created under s. 548
420.504. 549
Reviser's note.—Amended to insert a word to improve clarity, and 550
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
to conform to the fact that part III, chapter 343, the 551
Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority Act, was repealed 552
by s. 1, ch. 2023-143, Laws of Florida, and the authority 553
was dissolved effective June 30, 2024, by s. 2, ch. 2023 -554
143. 555
Section 17. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 556
220.199, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 557
220.199 Residential graywater system tax credit.— 558
(1) For purposes of this section, the term: 559
(b) "Graywater" has the same meaning as in s. 560
381.0065(2)(g) 381.0065(2)(f). 561
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the redesignation of s. 562
381.0065(2)(f) as s. 381.0065(2)(g) by s. 11, ch. 2023 -169, 563
Laws of Florida. 564
Section 18. Paragraph (d) of subsection (6) of section 565
288.012, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 566
288.012 State of Florida international offices; direct -567
support organization. —The Legislature finds that the expansion 568
of international trade and tourism is vital to the overall 569
health and growth of the economy of this state. This expansion 570
is hampered by the lack of technical and business assistance, 571
financial assistance, and information services for businesses in 572
this state. The Legislature finds that these businesses could be 573
assisted by providing these services at State of Florida 574
international offices. The Legislature further finds that the 575
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
accessibility and provision of services at these offices can be 576
enhanced through cooper ative agreements or strategic alliances 577
between private businesses and state, local, and international 578
governmental entities. 579
(6) 580
(d) The senior managers and members of the board of 581
directors of the organization of the organization are subject to 582
ss. 112.313(1)-(8), (10), (12), and (15); 112.3135; and 583
112.3143(2). For purposes of applying ss. 112.313(1) -(8), (10), 584
(12), and (15); 112.3135; and 112.3143(2) to activities of the 585
president and staff, those persons shall be considered public 586
officers or employees and the corporation shall be considered 587
their agency. The exemption set forth in s. 112.313(12) for 588
advisory boards applies to the members of board of directors. 589
Further, each member of the board of directors who is not 590
otherwise required to file fina ncial disclosures pursuant to s. 591
8, Art. II of the State Constitution or s. 112.3144, shall file 592
disclosure of financial interests pursuant to s. 112.3145. 593
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial deletion to 594
eliminate repetition. 595
Section 19. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section 596
288.095, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 597
288.095 Economic Development Trust Fund. — 598
(3) 599
(c) Moneys in the Economic Development Incentives Account 600
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
may be used only to pay tax refunds and make other payments 601
authorized under s. 288.107 or in agreements authorized under 602
former s. 288.106. The department shall report within 10 days 603
after the end of each quarter to the Office of Policy and Budget 604
in the Executive Officer of the Governor, the chair of the 605
Senate Appropriations Committee or its successor, and the chair 606
of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee or its 607
successor regarding the status of payments made for all economic 608
development programs administered by the department under this 609
chapter, including ss. s. 288.107 and 288.108 and former s. ss. 610
288.106 and 288.108. 611
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct cross -references. The 612
reference to former ss. 288.106 and 288.108 was added by s. 613
44, ch. 2023-173, Laws of Florida. Section 288.106 was 614
repealed by s. 47, ch. 2023 -173; s. 288.108 was amended by 615
s. 49, ch. 2023-173, and was not repealed. 616
Section 20. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 617
288.107, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 618
288.107 Brownfield redevelopment bonus refunds. — 619
(5) ADMINISTRATION. — 620
(b) To facilitate the process of monitoring and auditing 621
applications made under this program, the department may provide 622
a list of businesses to the Department of Revenue, to the 623
Department of Environmental Protection, or to any lo cal 624
government authority. The department may request the assistance 625
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of those entities with respect to monitoring the payment of the 626
taxes listed in paragraph (4)(c) (3)(c). 627
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct a cross -reference. Paragraph 628
(3)(c) does not exist; paragraph (4)(c) contains a list of 629
taxes. 630
Section 21. Subsection (4) of section 296.44, Florida 631
Statutes, is amended to read: 632
296.44 Definitions. —As used in this part, the term: 633
(4) "Operator" means the person designated to have and who 634
has the general administrative charge of an adult day health 635
care facility or adult day care center. The administrator of a 636
veterans' nursing home under s. 296.34 or the administrator of 637
the Veterans' Domiciliary Home of Florida under s. 296.04 may 638
serve as the operator if the adult day health care facility or 639
adult day care center is collocated at an existing veterans' 640
nursing home or the Veterans' Domiciliary Home of Florida or is 641
a freestanding facility. 642
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial insertio n to 643
improve clarity. 644
Section 22. Subsections (2) and (6) of section 298.301, 645
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 646
298.301 District water control plan adoption; district 647
boundary modification; plan amendment; notice forms; objections; 648
hearings; assessments.— 649
(2) Before adopting a water control plan or plan 650
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
amendment, the board of supervisors must adopt a resolution to 651
consider adoption of the proposed plan or plan amendment. As 652
soon as the resolution proposing the adoption or amendment of 653
the district's water control plan has been filed with the 654
district secretary, the board of supervisors shall give notice 655
of a public hearing on the proposed plan or plan amendment by 656
causing publication to be made once a week for 3 consecutive 657
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in each 658
county in which lands and other property described in the 659
resolution are situated. The notice must be in substantially the 660
following form: 661
662
Notice of Hearing 663
664
To the owners and all persons interested in the lands 665
corporate, and other property in and adjacent to the ...(name of 666
district)... District. 667
You are notified that the ...(name of district)... District 668
has filed in the office of the secretary of the district a 669
resolution to consider approval of a water contr ol plan or an 670
amendment to the current water control plan to provide ...( here 671
insert a summary of the proposed water control plan or plan 672
amendment).... On or before its scheduled meeting of ...(date 673
and time)... at the district's offices located at ...(li st 674
address of offices)... written objections to the proposed plan 675
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
or plan amendment may be filed at the district's offices. A 676
public hearing on the proposed plan or plan amendment will be 677
conducted at the scheduled meeting, and written objections will 678
be considered at that time. At the conclusion of the hearing, 679
the board of supervisors may determine to proceed with the 680
process for approval of the proposed plan or plan amendment and 681
direct the district engineer to prepare an engineer's report 682
identifying any property to be taken, determining benefits and 683
damages, and estimating the cost of implementing the 684
improvements associated with the proposed plan or plan 685
amendment. A final hearing on approval of the proposed plan or 686
plan amendment and engineer's report shall be duly noticed and 687
held at a regularly scheduled board of supervisors meeting at 688
least 25 days but no later than 60 days after the last scheduled 689
publication of the notice of filing of the engineer's report 690
with the secretary of the district. 691
692
Date of first publication: ........, ...(year)... 693
............................................ 694
(Chair or President, Board of Supervisors) 695
................ County, Florida 696
(6) Upon the filing of the engineer's report, the board of 697
supervisors shall give notic e thereof by arranging the 698
publication of the notice of filing of the engineer's report 699
together with a geographical depiction of the district once a 700
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general 701
circulation in each county in the district. A locat ion map or 702
legal description of the land shall constitute a geographical 703
depiction. The notice must be substantially as follows: 704
705
Notice of Filing Engineer's Report for 706
................ District 707
708
Notice is given to all persons interested in the following 709
described land and property in ........ County (or Counties), 710
Florida, viz.: ...(Here Describe land and property)... included 711
within the ............ district that the engineer hereto 712
appointed to determine benefits and damages to the property and 713
lands situated in the district and to determine the estimated 714
cost of construction required by the water control plan, within 715
or without the limits of the district, under the proposed water 716
control plan or plan amendment, filed her or his report in the 717
office of the secretary of the district, located at ...(list 718
address of district offices)..., on the ........ day of 719
............, ...(year)..., and you may examine the report and 720
file written objections with the secretary of the district to 721
all, or any part thereof, on or before ...(enter date 20 days 722
after the last scheduled publication of this notice, which date 723
must be before the date of the final hearing).... The report 724
recommends ...(describe benefits and damages).... A final 725
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
hearing to consider approval of the report and proposed water 726
control plan or plan amendment shall be held ...(time, place, 727
and date at least 25 days but no later than 60 days after the 728
last scheduled publication of this notice).... 729
730
Date of first publication: ........, ...(year)... 731
............................................ 732
(Chair or President, Board of Supervisors) 733
................ County, Florida 734
735
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to general style in forms. 736
Section 23. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section 737
322.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 738
322.27 Authority of department to suspend or revoke driver 739
license or identification card. — 740
(3) There is established a point system for evaluation of 741
convictions of violations of motor vehicle laws or ordinances, 742
and violations of applicable provisions of s. 403.413(6)(b) when 743
such violations involve the use of motor vehicles, for the 744
determination of the continuing qualification of any person to 745
operate a motor vehicle. The department is authorized to suspend 746
the license of any person upon showing of its records or other 747
good and sufficient evidence that the licensee has been 748
convicted of violation of motor vehicle laws or ordinances, or 749
applicable provisions of s. 403.413(6)(b), amounting to 12 or 750
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more points as determi ned by the point system. The suspension 751
shall be for a period of not more than 1 year. 752
(d) The point system shall have as its basic element a 753
graduated scale of points assigning relative values to 754
convictions of the following violations: 755
1. Reckless driving, willful and wanton —4 points. 756
2. Leaving the scene of a crash resulting in property 757
damage of more than $50 —6 points. 758
3. Unlawful speed, or unlawful use of a wireless 759
communications device, resulting in a crash —6 points. 760
4. Passing a stopped sc hool bus: 761
a. Not causing or resulting in serious bodily injury to or 762
death of another—4 points. 763
b. Causing or resulting in serious bodily injury to or 764
death of another—6 points. 765
c. Points may not be imposed for a violation of passing a 766
stopped school bus as provided in s. 316.172(1)(a) or (b) when 767
enforced by a school bus infraction detection system pursuant s. 768
316.173. In addition, a violation of s. 316.172(1)(a) or (b) 769
when enforced by a school bus infraction detection system 770
pursuant to s. 316.173 may not be used for purposes of setting 771
motor vehicle insurance rates. 772
5. Unlawful speed: 773
a. Not in excess of 15 miles per hour of lawful or posted 774
speed—3 points. 775
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
b. In excess of 15 miles per hour of lawful or posted 776
speed—4 points. 777
c. Points may not be imposed for a violation of unlawful 778
speed as provided in s. 316.1895 or s. 316.183 when enforced by 779
a traffic infraction enforcement officer pursuant to s. 780
316.1896. In addition, a violation of s. 316.1895 or s. 316.183 781
when enforced by a traffic in fraction enforcement officer 782
pursuant to s. 316.1896 may not be used for purposes of setting 783
motor vehicle insurance rates. 784
6. A violation of a traffic control signal device as 785
provided in s. 316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. —4 points. 786
However, points may not be imposed for a violation of s. 787
316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. when a driver has failed to 788
stop at a traffic signal and when enforced by a traffic 789
infraction enforcement officer. In addition, a violation of s. 790
316.074(1) or s. 316.075(1)(c)1. when a driver has failed to 791
stop at a traffic signal and when enforced by a traffic 792
infraction enforcement officer may not be used for purposes of 793
setting motor vehicle insurance rates. 794
7. All other moving violations (including parking on a 795
highway outside the limits of a municipality) —3 points. However, 796
points may not be imposed for a violation of s. 316.0741 or s. 797
316.2065(11); and points may be imposed for a violation of s. 798
316.1001 only when imposed by the court after a hearing pursuant 799
to s. 318.14(5). 800
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
8. Any moving violation covered in this paragraph, 801
excluding unlawful speed and unlawful use of a wireless 802
communications device, resulting in a crash —4 points. 803
9. Any conviction under s. 403.413(6)(b) —3 points. 804
10. Any conviction under s. 316.0775(2) —4 points. 805
11. A moving violation covered in this paragraph which is 806
committed in conjunction with the unlawful use of a wireless 807
communications device within a school safety zone —2 points, in 808
addition to the points assigned for the moving violation. 809
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial insertion to 810
improve clarity. 811
Section 24. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 812
330.41, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 813
330.41 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act. — 814
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this act, the term: 815
(a) "Critical infrastructure facility" means any of the 816
following, if completely enclosed by a fence or other physical 817
barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders, or if 818
clearly marked with a sign or signs which indicate tha t entry is 819
forbidden and which are posted on the property in a manner 820
reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders: 821
1. A power generation or transmission facility, 822
substation, switching station, or electrical control center. 823
2. A chemical or rubber manufacturing or storage facility. 824
3. A water intake structure, water treatment facility, 825
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wastewater treatment plant, or pump station. 826
4. A mining facility. 827
5. A natural gas or compressed gas compressor station, 828
storage facility, or natural g as or compressed gas pipeline. 829
6. A liquid natural gas or propane gas terminal or storage 830
facility. 831
7. Any portion of an aboveground oil or gas pipeline. 832
8. A refinery. 833
9. A gas processing plant, including a plant used in the 834
processing, treatment, or fractionation of natural gas. 835
10. A wireless communications facility, including the 836
tower, antennae, support structures, and all associated ground -837
based equipment. 838
11. A seaport as listed in s. 311.09(1), which need not be 839
completely enclosed by a fence or other physical barrier and 840
need not be marked with a sign or signs indicating that entry is 841
forbidden. 842
12. An inland port or other facility or group of 843
facilities serving as a point of intermodal transfer of freight 844
in a specific area physically separated from a seaport. 845
13. An airport as defined in s. 330.27. 846
14. A spaceport territory as defined in s. 331.303(19) 847
331.303(18). 848
15. A military installation as defined in 10 U.S.C. s. 849
2801(c)(4) and an armory as defined in s. 250.01. 850
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
16. A dam as defined in s. 373.403(1) or other structures, 851
such as locks, floodgates, or dikes, which are designed to 852
maintain or control the level of navigable waterways. 853
17. A state correctional institution as defined in s. 854
944.02 or a private correctional fac ility authorized under 855
chapter 957. 856
18. A secure detention center or facility as defined in s. 857
985.03, or a nonsecure residential facility, a high -risk 858
residential facility, or a maximum -risk residential facility as 859
those terms are described in s. 985.03 (44). 860
19. A county detention facility as defined in s. 951.23. 861
20. A critical infrastructure facility as defined in s. 862
692.201. 863
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the reordering of 864
definitions in s. 331.303 by s. 69, ch. 2023 -8, Laws of 865
Florida. 866
Section 25. Subsection (3) of section 348.0304, Florida 867
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 868
348.0304 Greater Miami Expressway Agency. — 869
(3)(a) The governing body of the agency shall consist of 870
nine voting members. Except for the district secretary of the 871
department, each member must be a permanent resident of a county 872
served by the agency and may not hold, or have held in the 873
previous 2 years, elected or appointed office in such county, 874
except that this paragraph does not apply to any initial 875
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appointment under paragraph (b) or to any member who previously 876
served on the governing body of the former Greater Miami 877
Expressway Agency. Each memb er may only serve two terms of 4 878
years each, except that there is no restriction on the term of 879
the department's district secretary. Four members, each of whom 880
must be a permanent resident of Miami -Dade County, shall be 881
appointed by the Governor, subject t o confirmation by the Senate 882
at the next regular session of the Legislature. Refusal or 883
failure of the Senate to confirm an appointment shall create a 884
vacancy. Appointments made by the Governor and board of county 885
commissioners of Miami -Dade County shall reflect the state's 886
interests in the transportation sector and represent the intent, 887
duties, and purpose of the Greater Miami Expressway Agency, and 888
have at least 3 years of professional experience in one or more 889
of the following areas: finance; land use pl anning; tolling 890
industry; or transportation engineering. Two members, who must 891
be residents of an unincorporated portion of the geographic area 892
described in subsection (1) and residing within 15 miles of an 893
area with the highest amount of agency toll roads , shall be 894
appointed by the board of county commissioners of Miami -Dade 895
County. Two members, who must be residents of incorporated 896
municipalities within a county served by the agency, shall be 897
appointed by the metropolitan planning organization for a count y 898
served by the agency. The district secretary of the department 899
serving in the district that contains Miami -Dade County shall 900
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serve as an ex officio voting member of the governing body. 901
(b) Initial appointments to the governing body of the 902
agency shall be made by July 31, 2019. For the initial 903
appointments: 904
1. The Governor shall appoint one member for a term of 1 905
year, one member for a term of 2 years, one member for a term of 906
3 years, and one member for a term of 4 years. 907
2. The board of county comm issioners of Miami-Dade County 908
shall appoint one member for a term of 1 year and one member for 909
a term of 3 years. 910
3. The metropolitan planning organization of Miami -Dade 911
County shall appoint one member for a term of 2 years and one 912
member for a term of 4 years. 913
(c) Persons who, on or after July 1, 2009, were members of 914
the governing body or employees of the former Miami -Dade County 915
Expressway Authority may not be appointed members of the 916
governing body of the agency. This paragraph does not apply to 917
appointments to the governing body of the agency made by the 918
Governor or to the district secretary of the department serving 919
in an ex officio role pursuant to paragraph (a). 920
Reviser's note.—Section 23, ch. 2023 -70, Laws of Florida, 921
purported to amend subsect ion (2), redesignated as 922
subsection (3), without publishing paragraph (c). Absent 923
affirmative evidence of legislative intent to repeal it, 924
subsection (3) is reenacted here to confirm that the 925
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omission was not intended. 926
Section 26. Paragraphs (aa) and ( cc) of subsection (3) of 927
section 365.172, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 928
365.172 Emergency communications. — 929
(3) DEFINITIONS.—Only as used in this section and ss. 930
365.171, 365.173, 365.174, and 365.177, the term: 931
(aa) "Public safety answering point," "PSAP," or 932
"answering point" means the public safety agency that receives 933
incoming 911 requests for assistance and dispatches appropriate 934
public safety agencies to respond to the requests in accordance 935
with the statewide emergency communications state E911 plan. 936
(cc) "Service identifier" means the service number, access 937
line, or other unique identifier assigned to a subscriber and 938
established by the Federal Communications Commission for 939
purposes of routing calls whereby the subscriber has access t o 940
the emergency communications E911 system. 941
Reviser's note.—Paragraph (3)(aa) is amended to conform to the 942
redesignation of the statewide emergency communications 943
number E911 system plan as the statewide emergency 944
communications plan by s. 5, ch. 2023 -55, Laws of Florida. 945
Paragraph (3)(cc) is amended to conform to the 946
redesignation of the E911 system to the emergency 947
communications system by s. 5, ch. 2023 -55. 948
Section 27. Subsection (4) of section 373.228, Florida 949
Statutes, is amended to read: 950
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373.228 Landscape irrigation design. — 951
(4) The water management districts shall work with the 952
Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association, the Florida 953
Native Plant Society, the Florida Chapter of the American 954
Society of Landscape Architects, the Florida I rrigation Society, 955
the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the 956
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the Department of 957
Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the 958
Florida League of Cities, the Florida Association of Counties, 959
and the Florida Association of Community Developers to develop 960
landscape irrigation and Florida -friendly landscaping design 961
standards for new construction which incorporate a landscape 962
irrigation system and develop scientifically based model 963
guidelines for urban, commercial, and residential landscape 964
irrigation, including drip irrigation, for plants, trees, sod, 965
and other landscaping. The standards shall be based on the 966
irrigation code defined in the Florida Building Code, Plumbing 967
Volume, Appendix F. Local governments shall use the standards 968
and guidelines when developing landscape irrigation and Florida -969
friendly landscaping ordinances. By January 1, 2011, the 970
agencies and entities specified in this subsection shall review 971
the standards and guidel ines to determine whether new research 972
findings require a change or modification of the standards and 973
guidelines. 974
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 975
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Section 28. Subsection (2) of section 373.583, Florida 976
Statutes, is amended to read: 977
373.583 Registration of bonds. — 978
(2) Such statement stamped, printed or written upon any 979
such bond may be in substantially the following form: 980
981
...(Date, giving month, year and day.)... 982
This bond is to be registered pursuant to the statutes in 983
such case made and provided in the name of ...(here insert name 984
of owner)..., and the interest and principal thereof are 985
hereafter payable to such owner. 986
...(Treasurer)... 987
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to general style in forms. 988
Section 29. Section 376.323, Florida Statutes, is amended 989
to read: 990
376.323 Registration. —All tanks shall be registered no 991
later than July 1, 1992 . Registrations shall be renewed 992
annually. Registration fees shall not exceed $2,500 per 993
facility. The department shall issue to the tank owner or 994
operator one registration placard per facility, covering all 995
tanks at that facility which have been properly registered, as 996
evidence of the completion of the registration requirement. The 997
department shall develop by rule a fee schedule su fficient to 998
cover the costs associated with registration, inspection, 999
surveillance, and other activities associated with ss. 376.320 -1000
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376.326. Revenues from such fees collected shall be deposited 1001
into the Water Quality Assurance Trust Fund, and shall be use d 1002
to implement the provisions of ss. 376.320 -376.326. 1003
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 1004
Section 30. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 1005
380.0553, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1006
380.0553 Brevard Barrier Island Area; pr otection and 1007
designation as area of critical state concern. — 1008
(2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. —The Legislature finds that the 1009
designation of the Brevard Barrier Island Area as an area of 1010
critical state concern is necessary for the following reasons: 1011
(b) The beaches of the region are among the most important 1012
nesting grounds for threatened and endangered sea turtles in the 1013
Western Hemisphere, and the beach running the length of the 1014
southern barrier island of Brevard County is home to the largest 1015
nesting aggregation of loggerhead sea turtles in the world, and 1016
the management decisions made in the region have global impacts 1017
for the species. 1018
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial deletion to 1019
improve clarity. 1020
Section 31. Subsection (5) of section 380.0933, Florida 1021
Statutes, is amended to read: 1022
380.0933 Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and 1023
Innovation.— 1024
(5) By July 1 of each year, 2022, and each July 1 1025
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thereafter, the hub shall provide an annual comprehensive report 1026
to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of 1027
the House of Representatives that outlines its clearly defined 1028
goals and its efforts and progress on reaching such goals. 1029
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 1030
Section 32. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) o f section 1031
381.986, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1032
381.986 Medical use of marijuana. — 1033
(3) QUALIFIED PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL DIRECTORS. — 1034
(a) Before being approved as a qualified physician and 1035
before each license renewal, a physician must successf ully 1036
complete a 2-hour course and subsequent examination offered by 1037
the Florida Medical Association or the Florida Osteopathic 1038
Medical Association which encompass the requirements of this 1039
section and any rules adopted hereunder. The course and 1040
examination must be administered at least annually and may be 1041
offered in a distance learning format, including an electronic, 1042
online format that is available upon request. The price of the 1043
course may not exceed $500. A physician who has met the 1044
physician education req uirements of former s. 381.986(4), 1045
Florida Statutes 2016, before June 23, 2017, shall be deemed to 1046
be in compliance with this paragraph from June 23, 2017, until 1047
90 days after the course and examination required by this 1048
paragraph become available. 1049
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 1050
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Section 33. Subsection (3) of section 394.9086, Florida 1051
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 1052
394.9086 Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use 1053
Disorder.— 1054
(3) MEMBERSHIP; TERM LIMITS; MEETINGS. — 1055
(a) The commission shall be composed of 20 members as 1056
follows: 1057
1. A member of the Senate, appointed by the President of 1058
the Senate. 1059
2. A member of the House of Representatives, appointed by 1060
the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 1061
3. The Secretary of Ch ildren and Families or his or her 1062
designee. 1063
4. The Secretary of the Agency for Health Care 1064
Administration or his or her designee. 1065
5. A person living with a mental health disorder, 1066
appointed by the President of the Senate. 1067
6. A family member of a cons umer of publicly funded mental 1068
health services, appointed by the President of the Senate. 1069
7. A representative of the Louis de la Parte Florida 1070
Mental Health Institute within the University of South Florida, 1071
appointed by the President of the Senate. 1072
8. A representative of a county school district, appointed 1073
by the President of the Senate. 1074
9. A representative of mental health courts, appointed by 1075
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the Governor. 1076
10. A representative of a treatment facility, as defined 1077
in s. 394.455, appointed by the Spe aker of the House of 1078
Representatives. 1079
11. A representative of a managing entity, as defined in 1080
s. 394.9082(2), appointed by the Speaker of the House of 1081
Representatives. 1082
12. A representative of a community substance use disorder 1083
provider, appointed by t he Speaker of the House of 1084
Representatives. 1085
13. A psychiatrist licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 1086
459 practicing within the mental health delivery system, 1087
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 1088
14. A psychologist licensed under ch apter 490 practicing 1089
within the mental health delivery system, appointed by the 1090
Governor. 1091
15. A mental health professional licensed under chapter 1092
491, appointed by the Governor. 1093
16. An emergency room physician, appointed by the 1094
Governor. 1095
17. A representative from the field of law enforcement, 1096
appointed by the Governor. 1097
18. A representative from the criminal justice system, 1098
appointed by the Governor. 1099
19. A representative of a child welfare agency involved in 1100
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the delivery of behavioral health servic es, appointed by the 1101
Governor. 1102
20. A representative of the statewide Florida 211 Network 1103
as described in s. 408.918, appointed by the Governor. 1104
(b) The Governor shall appoint the chair from the members 1105
of the commission. Appointments to the commission must be made 1106
by August 1, 2021. Members shall be appointed to serve at the 1107
pleasure of the officer who appointed the member. A vacancy on 1108
the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the 1109
original appointment. 1110
(c) The commission shall convene no l ater than September 1111
1, 2021. The commission shall meet quarterly or upon the call of 1112
the chair. The commission may hold its meetings in person at 1113
locations throughout the state or via teleconference or other 1114
electronic means. 1115
(d) Members of the commissio n are entitled to receive 1116
reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses pursuant to s. 1117
112.061. 1118
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may 1119
request and shall be provided with access to any information or 1120
records, including exempt and confident ial information or 1121
records, which are necessary for the commission to carry out its 1122
duties. Information or records obtained by the commission which 1123
are otherwise exempt or confidential and exempt shall retain 1124
such exempt or confidential and exempt status, and the 1125
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commission may not disclose such information or records. 1126
Reviser's note.—Section 3, ch. 2023-252, Laws of Florida, 1127
purported to amend subsection (3) but did not publish 1128
paragraphs (b)-(e). Absent affirmative evidence of 1129
legislative intent to repeal them, subsection (3) is 1130
reenacted to confirm that the omission was not intended. 1131
Section 34. Paragraph (i) of subsection (4) of section 1132
397.335, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1133
397.335 Statewide Council on Opioid Abatement. — 1134
(4) DUTIES.— 1135
(i) By each December 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the 1136
council shall provide and publish an annual report. The report 1137
shall contain information on how settlement moneys were spent 1138
the previous fiscal year by the state, each of the managing 1139
entities, and each of the counties and municipalities. The 1140
report shall also contain recommendations to the Governor, the 1141
Legislature, and local governments for how moneys should be 1142
prioritized and spent in the coming fiscal year to respond to 1143
the opioid epidemic. 1144
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language and improve 1145
clarity. 1146
Section 35. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1147
403.865, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1148
403.865 Water and wastewater facility personnel; 1149
legislative purpose. — 1150
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(1) The Legislature finds that: 1151
(b) Water and wastewater facility personnel are essential 1152
first responders. As used in this section, the term "water and 1153
wastewater facility personnel" means any employee of a 1154
governmental authority as defined in s. 367.021; a utility as 1155
defined in s. 367.021; a state, municipal, or county sewerage 1156
system as defined in s. 403.031(14) 403.031(9); or a public 1157
water system as defined in s. 403.852(2). 1158
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the redesignation of s. 1159
403.031(9) as s. 403.031(14) by s. 13, ch. 2023 -169, Laws 1160
of Florida. 1161
Section 36. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 1162
409.1678, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1163
409.1678 Specialized residential options for children who 1164
are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. — 1165
(3) SERVICES WITHIN A RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER OR 1166
HOSPITAL.—Residential treatment centers licensed under s. 1167
394.875, and hospitals licensed under chapter 395 that provide 1168
residential mental health treatment, shall provide specialized 1169
treatment for commercially sexuall y exploited children in the 1170
custody of the department who are placed in these facilities 1171
pursuant to s. 39.407(6), s. 394.4625, or s. 394.467. 1172
(a) The specialized treatment must meet the requirements 1173
of subparagraphs (2)(c)1., 3., 6., and 8. (2)(c)1., 3., 6., and 1174
7., paragraph (2)(d), and the department's treatment standards 1175
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adopted pursuant to this section. However, a residential 1176
treatment center or hospital may prioritize the delivery of 1177
certain services among those required under paragraph (2)(d) to 1178
meet the specific treatment needs of the child. 1179
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the redesignation of 1180
subparagraph (2)(c)7. as subparagraph (2)(c)8. by s. 3, ch. 1181
2023-85, Laws of Florida. 1182
Section 37. Subsections (25) and (26) of section 409.996, 1183
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1184
409.996 Duties of the Department of Children and 1185
Families.—The department shall contract for the delivery, 1186
administration, or management of care for children in the child 1187
protection and child welfare system. In doin g so, the department 1188
retains responsibility for the quality of contracted services 1189
and programs and shall ensure that, at a minimum, services are 1190
delivered in accordance with applicable federal and state 1191
statutes and regulations and the performance standar ds and 1192
metrics specified in the strategic plan created under s. 1193
20.19(1). 1194
(25) The department shall develop, in collaboration with 1195
the Florida Institute for Child Welfare, lead agencies, service 1196
providers, current and former foster children placed in 1197
residential group care, and other community stakeholders, a 1198
statewide accountability system for residential group care 1199
providers based on measurable quality standards. 1200
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(a) The accountability system must: 1201
1. Promote high quality in services and accommodati ons, 1202
differentiating between shift and family -style models and 1203
programs and services for children with specialized or 1204
extraordinary needs, such as pregnant teens and children with 1205
Department of Juvenile Justice involvement. 1206
2. Include a quality measureme nt system with domains and 1207
clearly defined levels of quality. The system must measure the 1208
level of quality for each domain, using criteria that 1209
residential group care providers must meet in order to achieve 1210
each level of quality. Domains may include, but a re not limited 1211
to, admissions, service planning, treatment planning, living 1212
environment, and program and service requirements. The system 1213
may also consider outcomes 6 months and 12 months after a child 1214
leaves the provider's care. However, the system may no t assign a 1215
single summary rating to residential group care providers. 1216
3. Consider the level of availability of trauma -informed 1217
care and mental health and physical health services, providers' 1218
engagement with the schools children in their care attend, and 1219
opportunities for children's involvement in extracurricular 1220
activities. 1221
(b) After development and implementation of the 1222
accountability system in accordance with paragraph (a), the 1223
department and each lead agency shall use the information from 1224
the accountability system to promote enhanced quality in 1225
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residential group care within their respective areas of 1226
responsibility. Such promotion may include, but is not limited 1227
to, the use of incentives and ongoing contract monitoring 1228
efforts. 1229
(c) The department sha ll submit a report to the Governor, 1230
the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 1231
Representatives by October 1 of each year. The report must, at a 1232
minimum, include an update on the development of a statewide 1233
accountability system for residen tial group care providers and a 1234
plan for department oversight and implementation of the 1235
statewide accountability system. After implementation of the 1236
statewide accountability system, the report must also include a 1237
description of the system, including measur es and any tools 1238
developed, a description of how the information is being used by 1239
the department and lead agencies, an assessment of placement of 1240
children in residential group care using data from the 1241
accountability system measures, and recommendations to further 1242
improve quality in residential group care. 1243
(d) The accountability system must be implemented by July 1244
1, 2022. 1245
(d)(e) Nothing in this subsection impairs the department's 1246
licensure authority under s. 409.175. 1247
(e)(f) The department may adopt rul es to administer this 1248
subsection. 1249
(26) In collaboration with lead agencies, service 1250
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providers, and other community stakeholders, the department 1251
shall develop a statewide accountability system based on 1252
measurable quality standards. The accountability syst em must be 1253
implemented by July 1, 2021. 1254
(a) The accountability system must: 1255
1. Assess the overall health of the child welfare system, 1256
by circuit, using grading criteria established by the 1257
department. 1258
2. Include a quality measurement system with domai ns and 1259
clearly defined levels of quality. The system must measure the 1260
performance standards for child protective investigators, lead 1261
agencies, and children's legal services throughout the system of 1262
care, using criteria established by the department, and, a t a 1263
minimum, address applicable federal - and state-mandated metrics. 1264
3. Align with the principles of the results -oriented 1265
accountability program established under s. 409.997. 1266
(b) After the development and implementation of the 1267
accountability system und er this subsection, the department and 1268
each lead agency shall use the information from the 1269
accountability system to promote enhanced quality service 1270
delivery within their respective areas of responsibility. 1271
(c) By December 1 of each year, the department shall 1272
submit a report on the overall health of the child welfare 1273
system to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the 1274
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 1275
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(d) The department may adopt rules to implement this 1276
subsection. 1277
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 1278
Section 38. Subsection (9) of section 413.801, Florida 1279
Statutes, is amended to read: 1280
413.801 Florida Unique Abilities Partner Program. — 1281
(9) REPORT.— 1282
(a) By January 1, 2017, the department shall provide a 1283
report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 1284
House of Representatives on the status of the implementation of 1285
this section, including the adoption of rules, development of 1286
the logo, and development of application procedures. 1287
(b) Beginning in 2017 and each year thereafter, The 1288
department's annual report required under s. 20.60 must describe 1289
in detail the progress and use of the program. At a minimum, the 1290
report must include, for the most recent year: the number of 1291
applications and nominatio ns received; the number of nominations 1292
accepted and declined; the number of designations awarded; 1293
annual certifications; the use of information provided under 1294
subsection (8); and any other information deemed necessary to 1295
evaluate the program. 1296
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 1297
Section 39. Paragraph (a) of subsection (10) of section 1298
415.1103, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1299
415.1103 Elder and vulnerable adult abuse fatality review 1300
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teams.— 1301
(10)(a)1. Any information that is exem pt or confidential 1302
and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 1303
Constitution and is obtained by an elder abuse or vulnerable 1304
adult abuse fatality review team while executing its duties 1305
under this section retains its exempt or confidential and exempt 1306
status when held by the review team. 1307
2. Any information contained in a record created by a 1308
review team pursuant to this section which reveals the identity 1309
of a victim of abuse, exploitation, or neglect or the identity 1310
of persons responsible f or the welfare of a victim is 1311
confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I 1312
of the State Constitution. 1313
3. Any information that is maintained as exempt or 1314
confidential and exempt within this chapter retains its exempt 1315
or confidential and exempt status when held by a review team. 1316
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial deletion to 1317
conform to the majority of references to the elder or 1318
vulnerable adult abuse fatality review teams in this 1319
section. 1320
Section 40. Subsection (3) of sect ion 420.5096, Florida 1321
Statutes, is amended to read: 1322
420.5096 Florida Hometown Hero Program. — 1323
(3) For loans made available pursuant to s. 1324
420.507(23)(a)1. or 2., the corporation may underwrite and make 1325
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those mortgage loans through the program to persons or families 1326
who have household incomes that do not exceed 150 percent of the 1327
state median income or local median income, whichever is 1328
greater. A borrower must be seeking to purchase a home as a 1329
primary residence; must be a first-time homebuyer and a Flori da 1330
resident; and must be employed full-time by a Florida-based 1331
employer. The borrower must provide documentation of full -time 1332
employment, or full-time status for self -employed individuals, 1333
of 35 hours or more per week. The requirement to be a first -time 1334
homebuyer does not apply to a borrower who is an active duty 1335
servicemember of a branch of the armed forces or the Florida 1336
National Guard, as defined in s. 250.01, or a veteran. 1337
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm editorial insertions to 1338
improve clarity. 1339
Section 41. Paragraph (b) of subsection (7) of section 1340
445.003, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1341
445.003 Implementation of the federal Workforce Innovation 1342
and Opportunity Act. — 1343
(7) DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT. —The department shall adopt 1344
rules to implement the requirements of this chapter, including: 1345
(b) Initial and subsequent eligibility criteria, based on 1346
input from the state board, local workforce development boards, 1347
the Department of Education, and other stakeholders, for the 1348
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act eligible training 1349
provider list. This list directs training resources to programs 1350
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leading to employment in high -demand and high-priority 1351
occupations that provide economic security, particularly those 1352
occupations facing a shortage of sk illed workers. A training 1353
provider who offers training to obtain a credential on the 1354
Master Credentials List under s. 445.004(4)(h) may not be 1355
included on a state or local eligible training provider list if 1356
the provider fails to submit the required informa tion or fails 1357
to meet initial or subsequent eligibility criteria. Subsequent 1358
eligibility criteria must use the performance and outcome 1359
measures defined and reported under s. 1008.40, to determine 1360
whether each program offered by a training provider is quali fied 1361
to remain on the list. The Department of Economic Opportunity 1362
and the Department of Education shall establish the minimum 1363
criteria a training provider must achieve for completion, 1364
earnings, and employment rates of eligible participants. A 1365
provider must meet at least two of the minimum criteria for 1366
subsequent eligibility. The minimum program criteria may not 1367
exceed the threshold below at which more than 20 percent of all 1368
eligible training providers in the state would fall below. 1369
Reviser's note.—Amended to improve clarity. 1370
Section 42. Subsection (3) of section 456.42, Florida 1371
Statutes, is amended to read: 1372
456.42 Written prescriptions for medicinal drugs. — 1373
(3) A health care practitioner licensed by law to 1374
prescribe a medicinal drug who maintains a system of electronic 1375
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health records as defined in s. 408.051(2)(c) 408.051(2)(a), or 1376
who prescribes medicinal drugs as an owner, an employee, or a 1377
contractor of a licensed health care facility or practice that 1378
maintains such a system and who is prescribing in his or her 1379
capacity as such an owner, an employee, or a contractor, may 1380
only electronically transmit prescriptions for such drugs. This 1381
requirement applies to such a health care practitioner upon 1382
renewal of the health care practitioner's license or by July 1, 1383
2021, whichever is earlier, but does not apply if: 1384
(a) The practitioner and the dispenser are the same 1385
entity; 1386
(b) The prescription cannot be transmitted electronically 1387
under the most recently implemented version of the National 1388
Council for Prescription Drug Programs SCRIPT Standard; 1389
(c) The practitioner has been issued a waiver by the 1390
department, not to exceed 1 year in duration, from the 1391
requirement to use electronic prescribing due to demonstrated 1392
economic hardship, technological limitations that are not 1393
reasonably within the control of the practitioner, or another 1394
exceptional circumstance demonstrated by the practitioner; 1395
(d) The practitioner reasonably determines that it would 1396
be impractical for the patient in question to obtai n a medicinal 1397
drug prescribed by electronic prescription in a timely manner 1398
and such delay would adversely impact the patient's medical 1399
condition; 1400
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(e) The practitioner is prescribing a drug under a 1401
research protocol; 1402
(f) The prescription is for a drug for which the federal 1403
Food and Drug Administration requires the prescription to 1404
contain elements that may not be included in electronic 1405
prescribing; 1406
(g) The prescription is issued to an individual receiving 1407
hospice care or who is a resident of a nursing home facility; or 1408
(h) The practitioner determines that it is in the best 1409
interest of the patient, or the patient determines that it is in 1410
his or her own best interest, to compare prescription drug 1411
prices among area pharmacies. The practitioner must docum ent 1412
such determination in the patient's medical record. 1413
1414
The department, in consultation with the Board of Medicine, the 1415
Board of Osteopathic Medicine, the Board of Podiatric Medicine, 1416
the Board of Dentistry, the Board of Nursing, and the Board of 1417
Optometry, may adopt rules to implement this subsection. 1418
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct a cross -reference to conform 1419
to the redesignation of s. 408.051(2)(a) as s. 1420
408.051(2)(c) by s. 9, ch. 2023 -33, Laws of Florida. 1421
Section 43. Subsection (6) of section 4 80.041, Florida 1422
Statutes, is amended to read: 1423
480.041 Massage therapists; qualifications; licensure; 1424
endorsement.— 1425
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(6) Massage therapists who were issued a license before 1426
July 1, 2014, must submit to the background screening 1427
requirements of s. 456.0135 by January 31, 2015. 1428
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete an obsolete provision. 1429
Section 44. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section 1430
497.260, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1431
497.260 Cemeteries; exemption; investigation and 1432
mediation.— 1433
(1) The provisions of this chapter relating to cemeteries 1434
and all rules adopted pursuant thereto shall apply to all 1435
cemeteries except for: 1436
(i) A columbarium consisting of 5 acres or less which is 1437
located on the main campus of a state university as defined in 1438
s. 1000.21(9) 1000.21(8). The university or university direct -1439
support organization, as defined in s. 1004.28(1), which 1440
establishes the columbarium shall ensure that the columbarium is 1441
constructed and perpetually kept and maintained in a manner 1442
consistent with subsection (2) and the intent of this chapter. 1443
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the reordering of 1444
definitions in s. 1000.21 by this act. 1445
Section 45. Section 501.2042, Florida Statutes, is amended 1446
to read: 1447
501.2042 Unlawful acts and practices by online crowd-1448
funding campaigns.— 1449
(1) As used in this section, the term: 1450
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(a) "Crowd-funding campaign" means an online fundraising 1451
initiative that is intended to receive monetary donations from 1452
donors and is created by an organizer in the interest of a 1453
beneficiary. 1454
(b) "Crowd-funding platform" means an entity doing 1455
business in this state which provides an online medium for the 1456
creation and facilitation of a crowd -funding campaign. 1457
(c) "Disaster" has the same meaning as in s. 252.34(2). 1458
(d) "Organizer" means a person who: 1459
1. Resides or is domiciled in this state; and 1460
2. Has an account on a crowd -funding platform and has 1461
created a crowd-funding campaign either as a beneficiary or on 1462
behalf of a beneficiary, regardless of whether the beneficiary 1463
or the crowd-funding campaign has received donations. 1464
(2)a. For crowd-funding campaigns related to and arising 1465
out of a declared disaster, a crowd -funding platform must: 1466
(a)(I) Collect and retain, for 1 year after the date of 1467
the declared disaster, the name, e -mail address, phone number, 1468
and state of residence of the organizer. 1469
(b)(II) Require the organizer to indicate, on the crowd -1470
funding campaign, the state in which they a re located. 1471
(c)(III) Cooperate with any investigation by or in 1472
partnership with law enforcement. 1473
(d)(IV) Clearly display and direct donors to fundraisers 1474
that comply with the crowd -funding platform's terms of service. 1475
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(3)b. When an organizer arranges a crowd-funding campaign 1476
related to and arising out of a declared disaster, the organizer 1477
must attest that: 1478
(a)(I) All information provided in connection with a 1479
crowd-funding campaign is accurate, complete, and not likely to 1480
deceive users. 1481
(b)(II) All donations contributed to the crowd -funding 1482
campaign will be used solely as described in the materials the 1483
organizer posts or provides on the crowd -funding platform. 1484
Reviser's note.—Amended to redesignate subunits to improve the 1485
structure of the section. S ection 501.2042, as added by s. 1486
3, ch. 2023-130, Laws of Florida, contained a subsection 1487
(1) but no subsection (2). Paragraph (1)(c) is amended to 1488
confirm an editorial insertion to improve clarity. 1489
Section 46. Paragraphs (g) and (i) of subsection (3) a nd 1490
paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (12) of section 553.865, 1491
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1492
553.865 Private spaces. — 1493
(3) As used in this section, the term: 1494
(g) "K-12 educational institution or facility" means: 1495
1. A school as defined in s. 1003.01(17) 1003.01(2) 1496
operated under the control of a district school board as defined 1497
in s. 1003.01(7) 1003.01(1); 1498
2. The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind as 1499
described in ss. 1000.04(4) and 1002.36; 1500
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3. A developmental research (laboratory) school 1501
established pursuant to s. 1002.32(2); 1502
4. A charter school authorized under s. 1002.33; or 1503
5. A private school as defined in s. 1002.01(3) 1504
1002.01(2). 1505
(i) "Postsecondary educational institution or facility" 1506
means: 1507
1. A state university as defined in s. 1000.21(9) 1508
1000.21(6); 1509
2. A Florida College System institution as defined in s. 1510
1000.21(5) 1000.21(3); 1511
3. A school district career center as described in s. 1512
1001.44(3); 1513
4. A college or university licensed by the Commission fo r 1514
Independent Education pursuant to s. 1005.31(1)(a); or 1515
5. An institution not under the jurisdiction or purview of 1516
the commission as identified in s. 1005.06(1)(b) -(f). 1517
(12) A covered entity that is: 1518
(c) A K-12 educational institution or facility, F lorida 1519
College System institution as defined in s. 1000.21(5) 1520
1000.21(3), or a school district career center as described in 1521
s. 1001.44(3) shall submit documentation to the State Board of 1522
Education regarding compliance with subsections (4) and (5), as 1523
applicable, within 1 year after being established or, if such 1524
institution, facility, or center was established before July 1, 1525
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2023, no later than April 1, 2024. 1526
(d) A state university as defined in s. 1000.21(9) 1527
1000.21(6) shall submit documentation to the B oard of Governors 1528
regarding compliance with subsections (4) and (5), as 1529
applicable, within 1 year after being established or, if such 1530
institution was established before July 1, 2023, no later than 1531
April 1, 2024. 1532
Reviser's note.—Subparagraph (3)(g)1. is amended to conform to 1533
the reordering of definitions in s. 1003.01 by s. 148, ch. 1534
2023-8, Laws of Florida. Subparagraph (3)(g)5. is amended 1535
to conform to the redesignation of s. 1002.01(2) as s. 1536
1002.01(3) by s. 4, ch. 2023 -16, Laws of Florida. 1537
Subparagraph (3)(i)2. and paragraph (12)(c) are amended to 1538
conform to the reordering of definitions in s. 1000.21 by 1539
s. 148, ch. 2023-8. Subparagraph (3)(i)1. and paragraph 1540
(12)(d) are amended to conform to the reordering of 1541
definitions in s. 1000.21 by s. 136, ch. 20 23-8, and the 1542
further reordering of definitions in s. 1000.21 by this 1543
act. 1544
Section 47. Paragraph (d) of subsection (10) of section 1545
560.103, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1546
560.103 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term: 1547
(10) "Control person" means, with respect to a money 1548
services business, any of the following: 1549
(d) A shareholder in whose name shares are registered in 1550
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the records of a corporation for profit, whether incorporated 1551
under the laws of this state or organized under the law s of any 1552
other jurisdiction and existing in that legal form, who owns 25 1553
percent or more of a class of the company's equity securities. 1554
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial insertion to 1555
improve clarity. 1556
Section 48. Subsection (1) of section 565.04, Florida 1557
Statutes, is amended to read: 1558
565.04 Package store restrictions. — 1559
(1) Vendors licensed under s. 565.02(1)(a) shall not in 1560
said place of business sell, offer, or expose for sale any 1561
merchandise other than such beverages, and such places of 1562
business shall be devoted exclusively to such sales; provided, 1563
however, that such vendors shall be permitted to sell bitters ;, 1564
grenadine;, nonalcoholic mixer-type beverages, (not to include 1565
fruit juices produced outside this state ;), fruit juices 1566
produced in this state;, home bar and party supplies and 1567
equipment, (including but not limited to glassware and party -1568
type foods;), miniatures of no alcoholic content ;, nicotine 1569
products;, and tobacco products. Such places of business shall 1570
have no openings perm itting direct access to any other building 1571
or room, except to a private office or storage room of the place 1572
of business from which patrons are excluded. 1573
Reviser's note.—Amended to improve clarity. 1574
Section 49. Subsection (2) of section 571.265, Florida 1575
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Statutes, is amended to read: 1576
571.265 Promotion of Florida thoroughbred breeding and of 1577
thoroughbred racing at Florida thoroughbred tracks; distribution 1578
of funds.— 1579
(2) Funds deposited into the Florida Agricultural 1580
Promotional Campaign Trust Fund pursua nt to s. 212.20(6)(d)6.f. 1581
212.20(6)(d)6.h. shall be used by the department to encourage 1582
the agricultural activity of breeding thoroughbred racehorses in 1583
this state and to enhance thoroughbred racing conducted at 1584
thoroughbred tracks in this state as provide d in this section. 1585
If the funds made available under this section are not fully 1586
used in any one fiscal year, any unused amounts shall be carried 1587
forward in the trust fund into future fiscal years and made 1588
available for distribution as provided in this sect ion. 1589
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the redesignation of s. 1590
212.20(6)(d)6.h., added by s. 25, ch. 2023 -157, Laws of 1591
Florida, as s. 212.20(6)(d)6.f. to conform to the 1592
redesignation of existing sub -subparagraphs by s. 17, ch. 1593
2023-173, Laws of Florida . 1594
Section 50. Subsections (17), (18), and (19) of section 1595
585.01, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1596
585.01 Definitions. —In construing this part, where the 1597
context permits, the word, phrase, or term: 1598
(17) "Technical council" means the Animal In dustry 1599
Technical Council. 1600
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(17)(18) "Transmissible," "communicable," "contagious," 1601
and "infectious" all refer to diseases which are readily 1602
transferred between or among animals in a group or to 1603
susceptible animals in proximity to diseased animals. Such 1604
transference may be directly from one animal to another, by 1605
contact with objects contaminated by disease -causing agents, or 1606
by insect (vector) transmission of disease -causing agents from 1607
diseased animals into susceptible animals or humans. 1608
(18)(19) "Violative levels" means levels above the 1609
tolerances established by the United States Food and Drug 1610
Administration or the United States Environmental Protection 1611
Agency, as adopted by department rule. 1612
Reviser's note.—Subsection (17) is deleted to conform to the 1613
repeal of s. 585.008, which created the Animal Industry 1614
Technical Council, by s. 27, ch. 2023 -154, Laws of Florida. 1615
Subsections (18) and (19) are amended to conform to the 1616
deletion of subsection (17). 1617
Section 51. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of sectio n 1618
626.321, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1619
626.321 Limited licenses and registration. — 1620
(1) The department shall issue to a qualified applicant a 1621
license as agent authorized to transact a limited class of 1622
business in any of the following categorie s of limited lines 1623
insurance: 1624
(i) Preneed funeral agreement insurance. —Limited license 1625
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for insurance covering only prearranged funeral, cremation, or 1626
cemetery agreements, or any combination thereof, funded by 1627
insurance and offered in connection with an e stablishment that 1628
holds a preneed license pursuant to s. 497.452. Such license may 1629
be issued without examination only to an individual who has 1630
filed with the department an application for a license in a form 1631
and manner prescribed by the department, who cur rently holds a 1632
valid preneed sales agent license pursuant to s. 497.466, who 1633
has paid the applicable fees for a license as prescribed in s. 1634
624.501, who has been appointed under s. 626.112, and who has 1635
paid the prescribed appointment fee under s. 624.501. 1636
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm editorial insertions to 1637
improve clarity. 1638
Section 52. Subsection (4) of section 626.602, Florida 1639
Statutes, is amended to read: 1640
626.602 Insurance agency and adjusting firm names; 1641
disapproval.—The department may disapp rove the use of any true 1642
or fictitious name, other than the bona fide natural name of an 1643
individual, by any insurance agency or adjusting firm on any of 1644
the following grounds: 1645
(4) The name contains the word "Medicare" or "Medicaid." 1646
Licenses for agencies with names containing either of these 1647
words automatically expire on July 1, 2023, unless these words 1648
are removed from the name. 1649
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 1650
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Section 53. Subsection (3) of section 627.06292, Florida 1651
Statutes, is amended to read: 1652
627.06292 Reports of hurricane loss data and associated 1653
exposure data; public records exemption. — 1654
(3) Each year, on October 1, 2011, and on each October 1 1655
thereafter, the Florida International University center that 1656
develops, maintains, and updates the public model for hurricane 1657
loss projections shall publish a report summarizing loss data 1658
and associated exposure data collected from residential property 1659
insurers and licensed rating and advisory organizations. The 1660
Florida International University center shall submit the report 1661
annually, on or before October 1, to the Governor, the President 1662
of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 1663
(a) Such report must include a summary of the data 1664
supplied by residential property insurers and licensed rating 1665
and advisory organizations from September 1 of the prior year to 1666
August 31 of the current year, and must include the following 1667
information: 1668
1. The total amount of insurance written by county. 1669
2. The number of property insurance policies by county. 1670
3. The number of property insurance policies by county and 1671
by construction type. 1672
4. The number of property insurance policies by county and 1673
by decade of construction. 1674
5. The number of property insurance policies by county and 1675
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by deductible amount. 1676
6. The number of property insurance policies by county and 1677
by wind mitigation features when the information is supplied by 1678
the residential property insurer or lic ensed rating and advisory 1679
organization. 1680
7. The total amount of hurricane losses by county and by 1681
decade of construction. 1682
8. The total amount of hurricane losses by county and by 1683
deductible amount. 1684
9. The total amount of hurricane losses by county and by 1685
wind mitigation features when the information is supplied by the 1686
residential property insurer or licensed rating and advisory 1687
organization. 1688
(b) Separate compilations of the data obtained shall be 1689
presented in order to use the public model for calcula ting rate 1690
indications and to update, validate, or calibrate the public 1691
model. Additional detail and a description of the operation and 1692
maintenance of the public model may be included in the report. 1693
(c) The report may not contain any information that 1694
identifies a specific insurer or policyholder. 1695
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 1696
Section 54. Paragraphs (b) and (ii) of subsection (6) of 1697
section 627.351, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1698
627.351 Insurance risk apportionment plan s.— 1699
(6) CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION. — 1700
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(b)1. All insurers authorized to write one or more subject 1701
lines of business in this state are subject to assessment by the 1702
corporation and, for the purposes of this subsection, are 1703
referred to collecti vely as "assessable insurers." Insurers 1704
writing one or more subject lines of business in this state 1705
pursuant to part VIII of chapter 626 are not assessable 1706
insurers; however, insureds who procure one or more subject 1707
lines of business in this state pursuant to part VIII of chapter 1708
626 are subject to assessment by the corporation and are 1709
referred to collectively as "assessable insureds." An insurer's 1710
assessment liability begins on the first day of the calendar 1711
year following the year in which the insurer was issued a 1712
certificate of authority to transact insurance for subject lines 1713
of business in this state and terminates 1 year after the end of 1714
the first calendar year during which the insurer no longer holds 1715
a certificate of authority to transact insurance for subject 1716
lines of business in this state. 1717
2.a. All revenues, assets, liabilities, losses, and 1718
expenses of the corporation shall be divided into three separate 1719
accounts as follows: 1720
(I) A personal lines account for personal residential 1721
policies issued by the corporation which provides comprehensive, 1722
multiperil coverage on risks that are not located in areas 1723
eligible for coverage by the Florida Windstorm Underwriting 1724
Association as those areas were defined on January 1, 2002, and 1725
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for policies that do not p rovide coverage for the peril of wind 1726
on risks that are located in such areas; 1727
(II) A commercial lines account for commercial residential 1728
and commercial nonresidential policies issued by the corporation 1729
which provides coverage for basic property perils o n risks that 1730
are not located in areas eligible for coverage by the Florida 1731
Windstorm Underwriting Association as those areas were defined 1732
on January 1, 2002, and for policies that do not provide 1733
coverage for the peril of wind on risks that are located in s uch 1734
areas; and 1735
(III) A coastal account for personal residential policies 1736
and commercial residential and commercial nonresidential 1737
property policies issued by the corporation which provides 1738
coverage for the peril of wind on risks that are located in 1739
areas eligible for coverage by the Florida Windstorm 1740
Underwriting Association as those areas were defined on January 1741
1, 2002. The corporation may offer policies that provide 1742
multiperil coverage and shall offer policies that provide 1743
coverage only for the peril o f wind for risks located in areas 1744
eligible for coverage in the coastal account. Effective July 1, 1745
2014, the corporation shall cease offering new commercial 1746
residential policies providing multiperil coverage and shall 1747
instead continue to offer commercial re sidential wind-only 1748
policies, and may offer commercial residential policies 1749
excluding wind. The corporation may, however, continue to renew 1750
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a commercial residential multiperil policy on a building that is 1751
insured by the corporation on June 30, 2014, under a multiperil 1752
policy. In issuing multiperil coverage, the corporation may use 1753
its approved policy forms and rates for the personal lines 1754
account. An applicant or insured who is eligible to purchase a 1755
multiperil policy from the corporation may purchase a mul tiperil 1756
policy from an authorized insurer without prejudice to the 1757
applicant's or insured's eligibility to prospectively purchase a 1758
policy that provides coverage only for the peril of wind from 1759
the corporation. An applicant or insured who is eligible for a 1760
corporation policy that provides coverage only for the peril of 1761
wind may elect to purchase or retain such policy and also 1762
purchase or retain coverage excluding wind from an authorized 1763
insurer without prejudice to the applicant's or insured's 1764
eligibility to prospectively purchase a policy that provides 1765
multiperil coverage from the corporation. It is the goal of the 1766
Legislature that there be an overall average savings of 10 1767
percent or more for a policyholder who currently has a wind -only 1768
policy with the corp oration, and an ex-wind policy with a 1769
voluntary insurer or the corporation, and who obtains a 1770
multiperil policy from the corporation. It is the intent of the 1771
Legislature that the offer of multiperil coverage in the coastal 1772
account be made and implemented i n a manner that does not 1773
adversely affect the tax -exempt status of the corporation or 1774
creditworthiness of or security for currently outstanding 1775
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financing obligations or credit facilities of the coastal 1776
account, the personal lines account, or the commercial lines 1777
account. The coastal account must also include quota share 1778
primary insurance under subparagraph (c)2. The area eligible for 1779
coverage under the coastal account also includes the area within 1780
Port Canaveral, which is bordered on the south by the City o f 1781
Cape Canaveral, bordered on the west by the Banana River, and 1782
bordered on the north by Federal Government property. 1783
b. The three separate accounts must be maintained as long 1784
as financing obligations entered into by the Florida Windstorm 1785
Underwriting Association or Residential Property and Casualty 1786
Joint Underwriting Association are outstanding, in accordance 1787
with the terms of the corresponding financing documents. If no 1788
such financing obligations remain outstanding or if the 1789
financing documents allow fo r combining of accounts, the 1790
corporation may consolidate the three separate accounts into a 1791
new account, to be known as the Citizens account, for all 1792
revenues, assets, liabilities, losses, and expenses of the 1793
corporation. The Citizens account, if establish ed by the 1794
corporation, is authorized to provide coverage to the same 1795
extent as provided under each of the three separate accounts. 1796
The authority to provide coverage under the Citizens account is 1797
set forth in subparagraph 4. Consistent with this subparagrap h 1798
and prudent investment policies that minimize the cost of 1799
carrying debt, the board shall exercise its best efforts to 1800
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retire existing debt or obtain the approval of necessary parties 1801
to amend the terms of existing debt, so as to structure the most 1802
efficient plan for consolidating the three separate accounts 1803
into a single account. Once the accounts are combined into one 1804
account, this subparagraph and subparagraph 3. shall be replaced 1805
in their entirety by subparagraphs 4. and 5. 1806
c. Creditors of the Residential Property and Casualty 1807
Joint Underwriting Association and the accounts specified in 1808
sub-sub-subparagraphs a.(I) and (II) may have a claim against, 1809
and recourse to, those accounts and no claim against, or 1810
recourse to, the account referred to in s ub-sub-subparagraph 1811
a.(III). Creditors of the Florida Windstorm Underwriting 1812
Association have a claim against, and recourse to, the account 1813
referred to in sub-sub-subparagraph a.(III) and no claim 1814
against, or recourse to, the accounts referred to in sub -sub-1815
subparagraphs a.(I) and (II). 1816
d. Revenues, assets, liabilities, losses, and expenses not 1817
attributable to particular accounts shall be prorated among the 1818
accounts. 1819
e. The Legislature finds that the revenues of the 1820
corporation are revenues that are nec essary to meet the 1821
requirements set forth in documents authorizing the issuance of 1822
bonds under this subsection. 1823
f. The income of the corporation may not inure to the 1824
benefit of any private person. 1825
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3. With respect to a deficit in an account: 1826
a. After accounting for the Citizens policyholder 1827
surcharge imposed under sub-subparagraph j. sub-subparagraph i., 1828
if the remaining projected deficit incurred in the coastal 1829
account in a particular calendar year: 1830
(I) Is not greater than 2 percent of the aggregate 1831
statewide direct written premium for the subject lines of 1832
business for the prior calendar year, the entire deficit shall 1833
be recovered through regular assessments of assessable insurers 1834
under paragraph (q) and assessable insureds. 1835
(II) Exceeds 2 percent of the aggregate statewide direct 1836
written premium for the subject lines of business for the prior 1837
calendar year, the corporation shall levy regular assessments on 1838
assessable insurers under paragraph (q) and on assessable 1839
insureds in an amount equal to the greater of 2 percent of the 1840
projected deficit or 2 percent of the aggregate statewide direct 1841
written premium for the subject lines of business for the prior 1842
calendar year. Any remaining projected deficit shall be 1843
recovered through emergency assessments und er sub-subparagraph 1844
e. 1845
b. Each assessable insurer's share of the amount being 1846
assessed under sub-subparagraph a. must be in the proportion 1847
that the assessable insurer's direct written premium for the 1848
subject lines of business for the year preceding the a ssessment 1849
bears to the aggregate statewide direct written premium for the 1850
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subject lines of business for that year. The assessment 1851
percentage applicable to each assessable insured is the ratio of 1852
the amount being assessed under sub -subparagraph a. to the 1853
aggregate statewide direct written premium for the subject lines 1854
of business for the prior year. Assessments levied by the 1855
corporation on assessable insurers under sub -subparagraph a. 1856
must be paid as required by the corporation's plan of operation 1857
and paragraph (q). Assessments levied by the corporation on 1858
assessable insureds under sub -subparagraph a. shall be collected 1859
by the surplus lines agent at the time the surplus lines agent 1860
collects the surplus lines tax required by s. 626.932, and paid 1861
to the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office at the time the 1862
surplus lines agent pays the surplus lines tax to that office. 1863
Upon receipt of regular assessments from surplus lines agents, 1864
the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall transfer the 1865
assessments directly to the corporation as determined by the 1866
corporation. 1867
c. The corporation may not levy regular assessments under 1868
paragraph (q) pursuant to sub -subparagraph a. or sub -1869
subparagraph b. if the three separate accounts in sub -sub-1870
subparagraphs 2.a.(I) -(III) have been consolidated into the 1871
Citizens account pursuant to sub -subparagraph 2.b. However, the 1872
outstanding balance of any regular assessment levied by the 1873
corporation before establishment of the Citizens account remains 1874
payable to the corporation. 1875
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d. After accounting for the Citizens policyholder 1876
surcharge imposed under sub -subparagraph j., the remaining 1877
projected deficits in the personal lines account and in the 1878
commercial lines account in a particular calendar year shall be 1879
recovered through emergency assessm ents under sub-subparagraph 1880
e. 1881
e. Upon a determination by the board of governors that a 1882
projected deficit in an account exceeds the amount that is 1883
expected to be recovered through regular assessments under sub -1884
subparagraph a., plus the amount that is exp ected to be 1885
recovered through surcharges under sub -subparagraph j., the 1886
board, after verification by the office, shall levy emergency 1887
assessments for as many years as necessary to cover the 1888
deficits, to be collected by assessable insurers and the 1889
corporation and collected from assessable insureds upon issuance 1890
or renewal of policies for subject lines of business, excluding 1891
National Flood Insurance policies. The amount collected in a 1892
particular year must be a uniform percentage of that year's 1893
direct written premium for subject lines of business and all 1894
accounts of the corporation, excluding National Flood Insurance 1895
Program policy premiums, as annually determined by the board and 1896
verified by the office. The office shall verify the arithmetic 1897
calculations involved in the board's determination within 30 1898
days after receipt of the information on which the determination 1899
was based. The office shall notify assessable insurers and the 1900
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Florida Surplus Lines Service Office of the date on which 1901
assessable insurers shall b egin to collect and assessable 1902
insureds shall begin to pay such assessment. The date must be at 1903
least 90 days after the date the corporation levies emergency 1904
assessments pursuant to this sub -subparagraph. Notwithstanding 1905
any other provision of law, the cor poration and each assessable 1906
insurer that writes subject lines of business shall collect 1907
emergency assessments from its policyholders without such 1908
obligation being affected by any credit, limitation, exemption, 1909
or deferment. Emergency assessments levied by the corporation on 1910
assessable insureds shall be collected by the surplus lines 1911
agent at the time the surplus lines agent collects the surplus 1912
lines tax required by s. 626.932 and paid to the Florida Surplus 1913
Lines Service Office at the time the surplus lin es agent pays 1914
the surplus lines tax to that office. The emergency assessments 1915
collected shall be transferred directly to the corporation on a 1916
periodic basis as determined by the corporation and held by the 1917
corporation solely in the applicable account. The aggregate 1918
amount of emergency assessments levied for an account in any 1919
calendar year may be less than but may not exceed the greater of 1920
10 percent of the amount needed to cover the deficit, plus 1921
interest, fees, commissions, required reserves, and other cos ts 1922
associated with financing the original deficit, or 10 percent of 1923
the aggregate statewide direct written premium for subject lines 1924
of business and all accounts of the corporation for the prior 1925
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year, plus interest, fees, commissions, required reserves, an d 1926
other costs associated with financing the deficit. 1927
f. The corporation may pledge the proceeds of assessments, 1928
projected recoveries from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe 1929
Fund, other insurance and reinsurance recoverables, policyholder 1930
surcharges and other surcharges, and other funds available to 1931
the corporation as the source of revenue for and to secure bonds 1932
issued under paragraph (q), bonds or other indebtedness issued 1933
under subparagraph (c)3., or lines of credit or other financing 1934
mechanisms issued or created under this subsection, or to retire 1935
any other debt incurred as a result of deficits or events giving 1936
rise to deficits, or in any other way that the board determines 1937
will efficiently recover such deficits. The purpose of the lines 1938
of credit or other financing mechanisms is to provide additional 1939
resources to assist the corporation in covering claims and 1940
expenses attributable to a catastrophe. As used in this 1941
subsection, the term "assessments" includes regular assessments 1942
under sub-subparagraph a. or subparagraph (q)1. and emergency 1943
assessments under sub -subparagraph e. Emergency assessments 1944
collected under sub-subparagraph e. are not part of an insurer's 1945
rates, are not premium, and are not subject to premium tax, 1946
fees, or commissions; however, failur e to pay the emergency 1947
assessment shall be treated as failure to pay premium. The 1948
emergency assessments shall continue as long as any bonds issued 1949
or other indebtedness incurred with respect to a deficit for 1950
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which the assessment was imposed remain outstand ing, unless 1951
adequate provision has been made for the payment of such bonds 1952
or other indebtedness pursuant to the documents governing such 1953
bonds or indebtedness. 1954
g. As used in this subsection for purposes of any deficit 1955
incurred on or after January 25, 20 07, the term "subject lines 1956
of business" means insurance written by assessable insurers or 1957
procured by assessable insureds for all property and casualty 1958
lines of business in this state, but not including workers' 1959
compensation or medical malpractice. As use d in this sub-1960
subparagraph, the term "property and casualty lines of business" 1961
includes all lines of business identified on Form 2, Exhibit of 1962
Premiums and Losses, in the annual statement required of 1963
authorized insurers under s. 624.424 and any rule adopte d under 1964
this section, except for those lines identified as accident and 1965
health insurance and except for policies written under the 1966
National Flood Insurance Program or the Federal Crop Insurance 1967
Program. For purposes of this sub -subparagraph, the term 1968
"workers' compensation" includes both workers' compensation 1969
insurance and excess workers' compensation insurance. 1970
h. The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall 1971
determine annually the aggregate statewide written premium in 1972
subject lines of business procure d by assessable insureds and 1973
report that information to the corporation in a form and at a 1974
time the corporation specifies to ensure that the corporation 1975
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can meet the requirements of this subsection and the 1976
corporation's financing obligations. 1977
i. The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall verify 1978
the proper application by surplus lines agents of assessment 1979
percentages for regular assessments and emergency assessments 1980
levied under this subparagraph on assessable insureds and assist 1981
the corporation in ens uring the accurate, timely collection and 1982
payment of assessments by surplus lines agents as required by 1983
the corporation. 1984
j. Upon determination by the board of governors that an 1985
account has a projected deficit, the board shall levy a Citizens 1986
policyholder surcharge against all policyholders of the 1987
corporation. 1988
(I) The surcharge shall be levied as a uniform percentage 1989
of the premium for the policy of up to 15 percent of such 1990
premium, which funds shall be used to offset the deficit. 1991
(II) The surcharge is payable upon cancellation or 1992
termination of the policy, upon renewal of the policy, or upon 1993
issuance of a new policy by the corporation within the first 12 1994
months after the date of the levy or the period of time 1995
necessary to fully collect the surcharge am ount. 1996
(III) The corporation may not levy any regular assessments 1997
under paragraph (q) pursuant to sub -subparagraph a. or sub -1998
subparagraph b. with respect to a particular year's deficit 1999
until the corporation has first levied the full amount of the 2000
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surcharge authorized by this sub -subparagraph. 2001
(IV) The surcharge is not considered premium and is not 2002
subject to commissions, fees, or premium taxes. However, failure 2003
to pay the surcharge shall be treated as failure to pay premium. 2004
k. If the amount of any ass essments or surcharges 2005
collected from corporation policyholders, assessable insurers or 2006
their policyholders, or assessable insureds exceeds the amount 2007
of the deficits, such excess amounts shall be remitted to and 2008
retained by the corporation in a reserve to be used by the 2009
corporation, as determined by the board of governors and 2010
approved by the office, to pay claims or reduce any past, 2011
present, or future plan -year deficits or to reduce outstanding 2012
debt. 2013
4. The Citizens account, if established by the corpora tion 2014
pursuant to sub-subparagraph 2.b., is authorized to provide: 2015
a. Personal residential policies that provide 2016
comprehensive, multiperil coverage on risks that are not located 2017
in areas eligible for coverage by the Florida Windstorm 2018
Underwriting Associat ion, as those areas were defined on January 2019
1, 2002, and for policies that do not provide coverage for the 2020
peril of wind on risks that are located in such areas; 2021
b. Commercial residential and commercial nonresidential 2022
policies that provide coverage for b asic property perils on 2023
risks that are not located in areas eligible for coverage by the 2024
Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association, as those areas were 2025
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defined on January 1, 2002, and for policies that do not provide 2026
coverage for the peril of wind on risk s that are located in such 2027
areas; and 2028
c. Personal residential policies and commercial 2029
residential and commercial nonresidential property policies that 2030
provide coverage for the peril of wind on risks that are located 2031
in areas eligible for coverage by the Florida Windstorm 2032
Underwriting Association, as those areas were defined on January 2033
1, 2002. The corporation may offer policies that provide 2034
multiperil coverage and shall offer policies that provide 2035
coverage only for the peril of wind for risks located in a reas 2036
eligible for coverage by the Florida Windstorm Underwriting 2037
Association, as those areas were defined on January 1, 2002. The 2038
corporation may not offer new commercial residential policies 2039
providing multiperil coverage, but shall continue to offer 2040
commercial residential wind -only policies, and may offer 2041
commercial residential policies excluding wind. However, the 2042
corporation may continue to renew a commercial residential 2043
multiperil policy on a building that was insured by the 2044
corporation on June 30, 2014 , under a multiperil policy. In 2045
issuing multiperil coverage under this sub -subparagraph, the 2046
corporation may use its approved policy forms and rates for 2047
risks located in areas not eligible for coverage by the Florida 2048
Windstorm Underwriting Association as t hose areas were defined 2049
on January 1, 2002, and for policies that do not provide 2050
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coverage for the peril of wind on risks that are located in such 2051
areas. An applicant or insured who is eligible to purchase a 2052
multiperil policy from the corporation may purcha se a multiperil 2053
policy from an authorized insurer without prejudice to the 2054
applicant's or insured's eligibility to prospectively purchase a 2055
policy that provides coverage only for the peril of wind from 2056
the corporation. An applicant or insured who is eligib le for a 2057
corporation policy that provides coverage only for the peril of 2058
wind may elect to purchase or retain such policy and also 2059
purchase or retain coverage excluding wind from an authorized 2060
insurer without prejudice to the applicant's or insured's 2061
eligibility to prospectively purchase a policy that provides 2062
multiperil coverage from the corporation. The following 2063
policies, which provide coverage only for the peril of wind, 2064
must also include quota share primary insurance under 2065
subparagraph (c)2.: Personal residential policies and commercial 2066
residential and commercial nonresidential property policies that 2067
provide coverage for the peril of wind on risks that are located 2068
in areas eligible for coverage by the Florida Windstorm 2069
Underwriting Association, as those areas were defined on January 2070
1, 2002; policies that provide multiperil coverage, if offered 2071
by the corporation, and policies that provide coverage only for 2072
the peril of wind for risks located in areas eligible for 2073
coverage by the Florida Windstorm Underw riting Association, as 2074
those areas were defined on January 1, 2002; commercial 2075
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residential wind-only policies; commercial residential policies 2076
excluding wind, if offered by the corporation; and commercial 2077
residential multiperil policies on a building that was insured 2078
by the corporation on June 30, 2014. The area eligible for 2079
coverage with the corporation under this sub -subparagraph 2080
includes the area within Port Canaveral, which is bordered on 2081
the south by the City of Cape Canaveral, bordered on the west by 2082
the Banana River, and bordered on the north by Federal 2083
Government property. 2084
5. With respect to a deficit in the Citizens account: 2085
a. Upon a determination by the board of governors that the 2086
Citizens account has a projected deficit, the board shall levy a 2087
Citizens policyholder surcharge against all policyholders of the 2088
corporation. 2089
(I) The surcharge shall be levied as a uniform percentage 2090
of the premium for the policy of up to 15 percent of such 2091
premium, which funds shall be used to offset the deficit. 2092
(II) The surcharge is payable upon cancellation or 2093
termination of the policy, upon renewal of the policy, or upon 2094
issuance of a new policy by the corporation within the first 12 2095
months after the date of the levy or the period of time 2096
necessary to fully c ollect the surcharge amount. 2097
(III) The surcharge is not considered premium and is not 2098
subject to commissions, fees, or premium taxes. However, failure 2099
to pay the surcharge shall be treated as failure to pay premium. 2100
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b. After accounting for the Citizens policyholder 2101
surcharge imposed under sub -subparagraph a., the remaining 2102
projected deficit incurred in the Citizens account in a 2103
particular calendar year shall be recovered through emergency 2104
assessments under sub -subparagraph c. 2105
c. Upon a determination b y the board of governors that a 2106
projected deficit in the Citizens account exceeds the amount 2107
that is expected to be recovered through surcharges under sub -2108
subparagraph a., the board, after verification by the office, 2109
shall levy emergency assessments for as many years as necessary 2110
to cover the deficits, to be collected by assessable insurers 2111
and the corporation and collected from assessable insureds upon 2112
issuance or renewal of policies for subject lines of business, 2113
excluding National Flood Insurance Program policies. The amount 2114
collected in a particular year must be a uniform percentage of 2115
that year's direct written premium for subject lines of business 2116
and the Citizens account, National Flood Insurance Program 2117
policy premiums, as annually determined by the board and 2118
verified by the office. The office shall verify the arithmetic 2119
calculations involved in the board's determination within 30 2120
days after receipt of the information on which the determination 2121
was based. The office shall notify assessable insurers an d the 2122
Florida Surplus Lines Service Office of the date on which 2123
assessable insurers shall begin to collect and assessable 2124
insureds shall begin to pay such assessment. The date must be at 2125
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least 90 days after the date the corporation levies emergency 2126
assessments pursuant to this sub -subparagraph. Notwithstanding 2127
any other law, the corporation and each assessable insurer that 2128
writes subject lines of business shall collect emergency 2129
assessments from its policyholders without such obligation being 2130
affected by any credit, limitation, exemption, or deferment. 2131
Emergency assessments levied by the corporation on assessable 2132
insureds shall be collected by the surplus lines agent at the 2133
time the surplus lines agent collects the surplus lines tax 2134
required by s. 626.932 an d paid to the Florida Surplus Lines 2135
Service Office at the time the surplus lines agent pays the 2136
surplus lines tax to that office. The emergency assessments 2137
collected shall be transferred directly to the corporation on a 2138
periodic basis as determined by the corporation and held by the 2139
corporation solely in the Citizens account. The aggregate amount 2140
of emergency assessments levied for the Citizens account in any 2141
calendar year may be less than, but may not exceed the greater 2142
of, 10 percent of the amount needed to cover the deficit, plus 2143
interest, fees, commissions, required reserves, and other costs 2144
associated with financing the original deficit or 10 percent of 2145
the aggregate statewide direct written premium for subject lines 2146
of business and the Citizens account s for the prior year, plus 2147
interest, fees, commissions, required reserves, and other costs 2148
associated with financing the deficit. 2149
d. The corporation may pledge the proceeds of assessments, 2150
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projected recoveries from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe 2151
Fund, other insurance and reinsurance recoverables, policyholder 2152
surcharges and other surcharges, and other funds available to 2153
the corporation as the source of revenue for and to secure bonds 2154
issued under paragraph (q), bonds or other indebtedness issued 2155
under subparagraph (c)3., or lines of credit or other financing 2156
mechanisms issued or created under this subsection; or to retire 2157
any other debt incurred as a result of deficits or events giving 2158
rise to deficits, or in any other way that the board determines 2159
will efficiently recover such deficits. The purpose of the lines 2160
of credit or other financing mechanisms is to provide additional 2161
resources to assist the corporation in covering claims and 2162
expenses attributable to a catastrophe. As used in this 2163
subsection, the term "assessments" includes emergency 2164
assessments under sub -subparagraph c. Emergency assessments 2165
collected under sub-subparagraph c. are not part of an insurer's 2166
rates, are not premium, and are not subject to premium tax, 2167
fees, or commissions; however, f ailure to pay the emergency 2168
assessment shall be treated as failure to pay premium. The 2169
emergency assessments shall continue as long as any bonds issued 2170
or other indebtedness incurred with respect to a deficit for 2171
which the assessment was imposed remain out standing, unless 2172
adequate provision has been made for the payment of such bonds 2173
or other indebtedness pursuant to the documents governing such 2174
bonds or indebtedness. 2175
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e. As used in this subsection and for purposes of any 2176
deficit incurred on or after Janua ry 25, 2007, the term "subject 2177
lines of business" means insurance written by assessable 2178
insurers or procured by assessable insureds for all property and 2179
casualty lines of business in this state, but not including 2180
workers' compensation or medical malpractic e. As used in this 2181
sub-subparagraph, the term "property and casualty lines of 2182
business" includes all lines of business identified on Form 2, 2183
Exhibit of Premiums and Losses, in the annual statement required 2184
of authorized insurers under s. 624.424 and any ru le adopted 2185
under this section, except for those lines identified as 2186
accident and health insurance and except for policies written 2187
under the National Flood Insurance Program or the Federal Crop 2188
Insurance Program. For purposes of this sub -subparagraph, the 2189
term "workers' compensation" includes both workers' compensation 2190
insurance and excess workers' compensation insurance. 2191
f. The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall annually 2192
determine the aggregate statewide written premium in subject 2193
lines of business procured by assessable insureds and report 2194
that information to the corporation in a form and at a time the 2195
corporation specifies to ensure that the corporation can meet 2196
the requirements of this subsection and the corporation's 2197
financing obligations. 2198
g. The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office shall verify 2199
the proper application by surplus lines agents of assessment 2200
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percentages for emergency assessments levied under this 2201
subparagraph on assessable insureds and assist the corporation 2202
in ensuring the accur ate, timely collection and payment of 2203
assessments by surplus lines agents as required by the 2204
corporation. 2205
h. If the amount of any assessments or surcharges 2206
collected from corporation policyholders, assessable insurers or 2207
their policyholders, or assessabl e insureds exceeds the amount 2208
of the deficits, such excess amounts shall be remitted to and 2209
retained by the corporation in a reserve to be used by the 2210
corporation, as determined by the board of governors and 2211
approved by the office, to pay claims or reduce any past, 2212
present, or future plan -year deficits or to reduce outstanding 2213
debt. 2214
(ii) The corporation shall revise the programs adopted 2215
pursuant to sub-subparagraph (q)3.a. for personal lines 2216
residential policies to maximize policyholder options and 2217
encourage increased participation by insurers and agents. After 2218
January 1, 2017, a policy may not be taken out of the 2219
corporation unless the provisions of this paragraph are met. 2220
1. The corporation must publish a periodic schedule of 2221
cycles during which an ins urer may identify, and notify the 2222
corporation of, policies that the insurer is requesting to take 2223
out. A request must include a description of the coverage 2224
offered and an estimated premium and must be submitted to the 2225
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corporation in a form and manner presc ribed by the corporation. 2226
2. The corporation must maintain and make available to the 2227
agent of record a consolidated list of all insurers requesting 2228
to take out a policy. The list must include a description of the 2229
coverage offered and the estimated premiu m for each take-out 2230
request. 2231
3. If a policyholder receives a take -out offer from an 2232
authorized insurer, the risk is no longer eligible for coverage 2233
with the corporation unless the premium for coverage from the 2234
authorized insurer is more than 20 percent greater than the 2235
renewal premium for comparable coverage from the corporation 2236
pursuant to sub-subparagraph (c)5.c. This subparagraph applies 2237
to take-out offers that are part of an application to 2238
participate in depopulation submitted to the office on or afte r 2239
January 1, 2023. 2240
4. The corporation must provide written notice to the 2241
policyholder and the agent of record regarding all insurers 2242
requesting to take out the policy. The notice must be in a 2243
format prescribed by the corporation and include, for each tak e-2244
out offer: 2245
a. The amount of the estimated premium; 2246
b. A description of the coverage; and 2247
c. A comparison of the estimated premium and coverage 2248
offered by the insurer to the estimated premium and coverage 2249
provided by the corporation. 2250
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Reviser's note.—Sub-subparagraph (6)(b)3.a. is amended to 2251
confirm an editorial substitution to conform to the 2252
redesignation of sub -subparagraphs by s. 8, ch. 2022 -271, 2253
Laws of Florida. Subparagraph (6)(ii)3. is amended to 2254
confirm an editorial insertion to improve clarity . 2255
Section 55. Subsection (4) of section 627.410, Florida 2256
Statutes, is amended to read: 2257
627.410 Filing, approval of forms. — 2258
(4) The office may, by order, exempt from the requirements 2259
of this section for so long as it deems proper any insurance 2260
document or form or type thereof as specified in such order, to 2261
which, in its opinion, this section may not practicably be 2262
applied, or the filing and approval of which are, in its 2263
opinion, not desirable or necessary for the protection of the 2264
public. The office may not exempt from the requirements of this 2265
section the insurance documents or forms of any insurer, against 2266
whom the office enters a final order determining that such 2267
insurer violated any provision of this code, for a period of 36 2268
months after the date o f such order, and such insurance 2269
documents or forms may not be deemed approved under subsection 2270
(2). 2271
Reviser's note.—Amended to improve clarity. 2272
Section 56. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) and paragraph 2273
(b) of subsection (3) of section 628.8015, Florid a Statutes, are 2274
amended to read: 2275
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628.8015 Own-risk and solvency assessment; corporate 2276
governance annual disclosure. — 2277
(2) OWN-RISK AND SOLVENCY ASSESSMENT. — 2278
(c) ORSA summary report. — 2279
1.a. A domestic insurer or insurer member of an insurance 2280
group of which the office is the lead state, as determined by 2281
the procedures in the most recent National Association of 2282
Insurance Commissioners Financial Analysis Handbook, shall: 2283
(I) Submit an ORSA summary report to the office once every 2284
calendar year. 2285
(II) Notify the office of its proposed annual submission 2286
date by December 1, 2016. The initial ORSA summary report must 2287
be submitted by December 31, 2017. 2288
b. An insurer not required to submit an ORSA summary 2289
report pursuant to sub -subparagraph a. shall: 2290
(I) Submit an ORSA summary report at the request of the 2291
office, but not more than once per calendar year. 2292
(II) Notify the office of the proposed submission date 2293
within 30 days after the request of the office. 2294
2. An insurer may comply with sub -subparagraph 1.a. or 2295
sub-subparagraph 1.b. by providing the most recent and 2296
substantially similar ORSA summary report submitted by the 2297
insurer, or another member of an insurance group of which the 2298
insurer is a member, to the chief insurance regulatory official 2299
of another state or the supervisor or regulator of a foreign 2300
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jurisdiction. For purposes of this subparagraph, a 2301
"substantially similar" ORSA summary report is one that contains 2302
information comparable to the information described in the ORSA 2303
guidance manual as determined by the commissioner of the office. 2304
If the report is in a language other than English, it must be 2305
accompanied by an English translation. 2306
3. The chief risk officer or chief executive officer of 2307
the insurer or insurance group responsible for o verseeing the 2308
enterprise risk management process must sign the ORSA summary 2309
report attesting that, to the best of his or her knowledge and 2310
belief, the insurer or insurance group applied the enterprise 2311
risk management process described in the ORSA summary r eport and 2312
provided a copy of the report to the board of directors or the 2313
appropriate board committee. 2314
4. The ORSA summary report must be prepared in accordance 2315
with the ORSA guidance manual. Documentation and supporting 2316
information must be maintained by the insurer and made available 2317
upon examination pursuant to s. 624.316 or upon the request of 2318
the office. 2319
5. The ORSA summary report must include a brief 2320
description of material changes and updates since the prior year 2321
report. 2322
6. The office's review of the ORSA summary report must be 2323
conducted, and any additional requests for information must be 2324
made, using procedures similar to those used in the analysis and 2325
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examination of multistate or global insurers and insurance 2326
groups. 2327
(3) CORPORATE GOVERNANCE A NNUAL DISCLOSURE.— 2328
(b) Disclosure requirement. — 2329
1.a. An insurer, or insurer member of an insurance group, 2330
of which the office is the lead state regulator, as determined 2331
by the procedures in the most recent National Association of 2332
Insurance Commissioner s Financial Analysis Handbook, shall 2333
submit a corporate governance annual disclosure to the office by 2334
June 1 of each calendar year. The initial corporate governance 2335
annual disclosure must be submitted by December 31, 2018. 2336
b. An insurer or insurance grou p not required to submit a 2337
corporate governance annual disclosure under sub -subparagraph a. 2338
shall do so at the request of the office, but not more than once 2339
per calendar year. The insurer or insurance group shall notify 2340
the office of the proposed submissio n date within 30 days after 2341
the request of the office. 2342
c. Before December 31, 2018, the office may require an 2343
insurer or insurance group to provide a corporate governance 2344
annual disclosure: 2345
(I) Based on unique circumstances, including, but not 2346
limited to, the type and volume of business written, the 2347
ownership and organizational structure, federal agency requests, 2348
and international supervisor requests; 2349
(II) If the insurer has risk -based capital for a company 2350
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action level event pursuant to s. 624.4085(3 ), meets one or more 2351
of the standards of an insurer deemed to be in hazardous 2352
financial condition under s. 624.805, or exhibits qualities of 2353
an insurer in hazardous financial condition as determined by the 2354
office; 2355
(III) If the insurer is the member of an insurer group of 2356
which the office acts as the lead state regulator as determined 2357
by the procedures in the most recent National Association of 2358
Insurance Commissioners Financial Analysis Handbook; or 2359
(IV) If the office determines that it is in the best 2360
interest of the state. 2361
2. The chief executive officer or corporate secretary of 2362
the insurer or the insurance group must sign the corporate 2363
governance annual disclosure attesting that, to the best of his 2364
or her knowledge and belief, the insurer has implemen ted the 2365
corporate governance practices and provided a copy of the 2366
disclosure to the board of directors or the appropriate board 2367
committee. 2368
3.a. Depending on the structure of its system of corporate 2369
governance, the insurer or insurance group may provide c orporate 2370
governance information at one of the following levels: 2371
(I) The ultimate controlling parent level; 2372
(II) An intermediate holding company level; or 2373
(III) The individual legal entity level. 2374
b. The insurer or insurance group may make the corpor ate 2375
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governance annual disclosure at: 2376
(I) The level used to determine the risk appetite of the 2377
insurer or insurance group; 2378
(II) The level at which the earnings, capital, liquidity, 2379
operations, and reputation of the insurer are collectively 2380
overseen and the supervision of those factors is coordinated and 2381
exercised; or 2382
(III) The level at which legal liability for failure of 2383
general corporate governance duties would be placed. 2384
2385
An insurer or insurance group must indicate the level of 2386
reporting used and explain any subsequent changes in the 2387
reporting level. 2388
4. The review of the corporate governance annual 2389
disclosure and any additional requests for information shall be 2390
made through the lead state as determined by the procedures in 2391
the most recent Nationa l Association of Insurance Commissioners 2392
Financial Analysis Handbook. 2393
5. An insurer or insurance group may comply with this 2394
paragraph by cross-referencing other existing relevant and 2395
applicable documents, including, but not limited to, the ORSA 2396
summary report, Holding Company Form B or F filings, Securities 2397
and Exchange Commission proxy statements, or foreign regulatory 2398
reporting requirements, if the documents contain information 2399
substantially similar to the information described in paragraph 2400
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(c). The insurer or insurance group shall clearly identify and 2401
reference the specific location of the relevant and applicable 2402
information within the corporate governance annual disclosure 2403
and attach the referenced document if it has not already been 2404
filed with, or made available to, the office. 2405
6. Each year following the initial filing of the corporate 2406
governance annual disclosure, the insurer or insurance group 2407
shall file an amended version of the previously filed corporate 2408
governance annual disclosure indicating ch anges that have been 2409
made. If changes have not been made in the previously filed 2410
disclosure, the insurer or insurance group should so indicate. 2411
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 2412
Section 57. Paragraphs (c) and (i) of subsection (2) of 2413
section 692.201, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2414
692.201 Definitions. —As used in this part, the term: 2415
(2) "Critical infrastructure facility" means any of the 2416
following, if it employs measures such as fences, barriers, or 2417
guard posts that are de signed to exclude unauthorized persons: 2418
(c) An electrical power plant as defined in s. 403.031(4) 2419
403.031(20). 2420
(i) A spaceport territory as defined in s. 331.303(19) 2421
331.303(18). 2422
Reviser's note.—Paragraph (2)(c) is amended to conform to the 2423
redesignation of s. 403.031(20) as s. 403.031(4) by s. 13, 2424
ch. 2023-169, Laws of Florida. Paragraph (2)(i) is amended 2425
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to conform to the redesignation of s. 331.303(18) as s. 2426
331.303(19) by s. 69, ch. 2023 -8, Laws of Florida. 2427
Section 58. Subsection (1) of section 720.305, Florida 2428
Statutes, is amended to read: 2429
720.305 Obligations of members; remedies at law or in 2430
equity; levy of fines and suspension of use rights. — 2431
(1) Each member and the member's tenants, guests, and 2432
invitees, and each association, are governed by, and must comply 2433
with, this chapter, the governing documents of the community, 2434
and the rules of the association. Actions at law or in equity, 2435
or both, to redress alleged failure or refusal to comply with 2436
these provisions may be brought by the associati on or by any 2437
member against: 2438
(a) The association; 2439
(b) A member; 2440
(c) Any director or officer of an association who 2441
willfully and knowingly fails to comply with these provisions; 2442
and 2443
(d) Any tenants, guests, or invitees occupying a parcel or 2444
using the common areas. 2445
2446
The prevailing party in any such litigation is entitled to 2447
recover reasonable attorney fees and costs as provided in 2448
paragraph (2)(e). A member prevailing in an action between the 2449
association and the member under this section, in addition to 2450
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recovering his or her reasonable attorney fees, may recover 2451
additional amounts as determined by the court to be necessary to 2452
reimburse the member for his or her share of assessments levied 2453
by the association to fund its expenses of the litigation. This 2454
relief does not exclude other remedies provided by law. This 2455
section does not deprive any person of any other available right 2456
or remedy. 2457
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct a scrivener's error. Attorney 2458
fees and costs are not referenced in paragraph (2)(e). 2459
Section 59. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 2460
744.21031, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2461
744.21031 Public records exemption. — 2462
(1) For purposes of this section, the term: 2463
(c) "Telephone numbers" has the same meaning as provided 2464
in s. 119.071(4)(d)1.c. 119.071(4)(d)1.b. 2465
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct a cross -reference. Section 2466
119.071(4)(d)1.b. was redesignated as s. 119.071(4)(d)1.c. 2467
by s. 1, ch. 2023-131, Laws of Florida. 2468
Section 60. Subsections (7) and (8) of section 766.3 15, 2469
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 2470
766.315 Florida Birth -Related Neurological Injury 2471
Compensation Association; board of directors; notice of 2472
meetings; report.— 2473
(7) The association shall publish a report on its website 2474
by January 1 of each year, 2022, and every January 1 thereafter . 2475
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The report shall include: 2476
(a) The names and terms of each board member and executive 2477
staff member. 2478
(b) The amount of compensation paid to each association 2479
employee. 2480
(c) A summary of reimbursement disputes and re solutions. 2481
(d) A list of expenditures for attorney fees and lobbying 2482
fees. 2483
(e) Other expenses to oppose each plan claim. Any personal 2484
identifying information of the parent, legal guardian, or child 2485
involved in the claim must be removed from this list. 2486
(8) By On or before November 1 of, 2021, and by each year 2487
November 1 thereafter , the association shall submit a report to 2488
the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the 2489
House of Representatives, and the Chief Financial Officer. The 2490
report must include: 2491
(a) The number of petitions filed for compensation with 2492
the division, the number of claimants awarded compensation, the 2493
number of claimants denied compensation, and the reasons for the 2494
denial of compensation. 2495
(b) The number and dollar am ount of paid and denied 2496
compensation for expenses by category and the reasons for any 2497
denied compensation for expenses by category. 2498
(c) The average turnaround time for paying or denying 2499
compensation for expenses. 2500
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(d) Legislative recommendations to impr ove the program. 2501
(e) A summary of any pending or resolved litigation during 2502
the year which affects the plan. 2503
(f) The amount of compensation paid to each association 2504
employee or member of the board of directors. 2505
(g) For the initial report due on or be fore November 1, 2506
2021, an actuarial report conducted by an independent actuary 2507
which provides an analysis of the estimated costs of 2508
implementing the following changes to the plan: 2509
1. Reducing the minimum birth weight eligibility for a 2510
participant in the plan from 2,500 grams to 2,000 grams. 2511
2. Revising the eligibility for participation in the plan 2512
by providing that an infant must be permanently and 2513
substantially mentally or physically impaired, rather than 2514
permanently and substantially mentally and phys ically impaired. 2515
3. Increasing the annual special benefit or quality of 2516
life benefit from $500 to $2,500 per calendar year. 2517
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 2518
Section 61. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 2519
768.38, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2520
768.38 Liability protections for COVID -19-related claims.— 2521
(2) As used in this section, the term: 2522
(e) "Health care provider" means: 2523
1. A provider as defined in s. 408.803. 2524
2. A clinical laboratory providing services in this state 2525
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or services to health care providers in this state, if the 2526
clinical laboratory is certified by the Centers for Medicare and 2527
Medicaid Services under the federal Clinical Laboratory 2528
Improvement Amendments and the federal rules adopted thereunder. 2529
3. A federally qualified health center as defined in 42 2530
U.S.C. s. 1396d(l)(2)(B), as that definition exists on the 2531
effective date of this act. 2532
4. Any site providing health care services which was 2533
established for the purpose of responding to the COVID -19 2534
pandemic pursuant to any federal or state order, declaration, or 2535
waiver. 2536
5. A health care practitioner as defined in s. 456.001. 2537
6. A health care professional licensed under part IV of 2538
chapter 468. 2539
7. A home health aide as defined in s. 400.462(17) 2540
400.462(15). 2541
8. A provider licensed under chapter 394 or chapter 397 2542
and its clinical and nonclinical staff providing inpatient or 2543
outpatient services. 2544
9. A continuing care facility licensed under chapter 651. 2545
10. A pharmacy permitted und er chapter 465. 2546
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct a cross -reference to conform 2547
to the redesignation of s. 400.462(15) as s. 400.462(14) by 2548
s. 25, ch. 2021-51, Laws of Florida, and the further 2549
redesignation of s. 400.462(14) as s. 400.462(17) by s. 1, 2550
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ch. 2023-183, Laws of Florida. 2551
Section 62. Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 2552
768.381, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2553
768.381 COVID-19-related claims against health care 2554
providers.— 2555
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 2556
(f) "Health care provider" means any of the following: 2557
1. A provider as defined in s. 408.803. 2558
2. A clinical laboratory providing services in this state 2559
or services to health care providers in this state, if the 2560
clinical laboratory is certified by the Centers for Medicare and 2561
Medicaid Services under the federal Clinical Laboratory 2562
Improvement Amendments and the federal rules adopted thereunder. 2563
3. A federally qualified health center as defined in 42 2564
U.S.C. s. 1396d(l)(2)(B), as that definition existe d on the 2565
effective date of this act. 2566
4. Any site providing health care services which was 2567
established for the purpose of responding to the COVID -19 2568
pandemic pursuant to any federal or state order, declaration, or 2569
waiver. 2570
5. A health care practitioner a s defined in s. 456.001. 2571
6. A health care professional licensed under part IV of 2572
chapter 468. 2573
7. A home health aide as defined in s. 400.462(17) 2574
400.462(15). 2575
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8. A provider licensed under chapter 394 or chapter 397 2576
and its clinical and nonclinical sta ff providing inpatient or 2577
outpatient services. 2578
9. A continuing care facility licensed under chapter 651. 2579
10. A pharmacy permitted under chapter 465. 2580
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct a cross -reference to conform 2581
to the redesignation of s. 400.462(15) as s. 400.462(14) by 2582
s. 25, ch. 2021-51, Laws of Florida, and the further 2583
redesignation of s. 400.462(14) as s. 400.462(17) by s. 1, 2584
ch. 2023-183, Laws of Florida. 2585
Section 63. Subsection (1) of section 790.013, Florida 2586
Statutes, is amended to read: 2587
790.013 Carrying of concealed weapons or concealed 2588
firearms without a license. —A person who carries a concealed 2589
weapon or concealed firearm without a license as authorized 2590
under s. 790.01(1)(b): 2591
(1)(a) Must carry valid identification at all times when 2592
he or she is in actual possession of a concealed weapon or 2593
concealed firearm and must display such identification upon 2594
demand by a law enforcement officer. 2595
(b) A violation of this subsection is a noncriminal 2596
violation punishable by a $25 fine, payable to th e clerk of the 2597
court. 2598
Reviser's note.—Amended to improve the structure of the section 2599
and conform to context. 2600
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Section 64. Subsection (2) of section 810.098, Florida 2601
Statutes, is amended to read: 2602
810.098 Trespass for the purpose of threatening or 2603
intimidating another person. — 2604
(2) As used in this section, the terms "Florida College 2605
System institution" and "state university" have the same 2606
meanings as in s. 1000.21(5) and (9) 1000.21(3) and (6), 2607
respectively. 2608
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to th e reordering of 2609
definitions in s. 1000.21 by s. 136, ch. 2023 -8, Laws of 2610
Florida, and the further reordering of definitions in s. 2611
1000.21 by this act. 2612
Section 65. Subsection (3) of section 849.38, Florida 2613
Statutes, is amended to read: 2614
849.38 Proceedings for forfeiture; notice of seizure and 2615
order to show cause. — 2616
(3) The said citation may be in, or substantially in, the 2617
following form: 2618
2619
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE .... JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR 2620
.... COUNTY, FLORIDA. 2621
IN RE FORFEITURE OF THE FOLLOWI NG DESCRIBED PROPERTY: 2622
...(Here Describe property)... 2623
THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO: 2624
2625
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ALL PERSONS, FIRMS AND CORPORATIONS OWNING, HAVING OR 2626
CLAIMING AN INTEREST IN OR LIEN ON THE ABOVE DESCRIBED PROPERTY. 2627
2628
YOU AND EACH OF YOU are hereby notified that the above 2629
described property has been seized, under and by virtue of 2630
chapter ...., Laws of Florida, and is now in the possession of 2631
the sheriff of this county, and you, and each of you, are hereby 2632
further notified that a petition, under said chapter, has been 2633
filed in the Circuit Court of the .... Judicial Circuit, in and 2634
for .... County, Florida, seeking the forfeiture of the said 2635
property, and you are hereby directed and required to file your 2636
claim, if any you have, and show cause, on or before ...., 2637
...(year)..., if not personally served with process herein, and 2638
within 20 days from personal service if personally served with 2639
process herein, why the said property should not be forfeited 2640
pursuant to said chapter ...., Laws of Florida, 1955. Should you 2641
fail to file claim as herein directed judgment will be entered 2642
herein against you in due course. Persons not personally served 2643
with process may obtain a copy of the petition for forfeiture 2644
filed herein from the undersigned clerk of court. 2645
WITNESS my hand and the seal of the above mentioned court, 2646
at .... Florida, this ...., ...(year).... 2647
(COURT SEAL) 2648
...(Clerk of the above -mentioned Court.)... 2649
By ...(Deputy Clerk)... 2650
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2651
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to general style in forms. 2652
Section 66. Paragraph (f) of subsectio n (1) of section 2653
893.055, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 2654
893.055 Prescription drug monitoring program. — 2655
(1) As used in this section, the term: 2656
(f) "Electronic health recordkeeping system" means an 2657
electronic or computer -based information system used by health 2658
care practitioners or providers to create, collect, store, 2659
manipulate, exchange, or make available personal health 2660
information for the delivery of patient care. 2661
Reviser's note.—Paragraph (1)(f) was created by s. 1, ch. 2019 -2662
70, Laws of Florida, and s. 1, ch. 2019 -127, Laws of 2663
Florida. Section 3, ch. 2019 -127, as amended by s. 25, ch. 2664
2021-131, Laws of Florida, provided for the repeal of 2665
paragraph (1)(f) on June 30, 2023. The paragraph is 2666
relevant to the material added to s. 893.055 by s. 1, ch. 2667
2019-70, concerning reciprocal agreements or contracts with 2668
other jurisdictions, which continues in existence, as well 2669
as the text added by s. 1, ch. 2019 -127, which relates to a 2670
unique identifier for each patient in the system and 2671
requests for information from the prescription drug 2672
monitoring program in litigation. Paragraph (1)(f) is 2673
reenacted to confirm the intent to keep the language in s. 2674
893.055. 2675
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Section 67. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2676
933.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2677
933.40 Agriculture warrants. — 2678
(1) As used in this section: 2679
(b) "Animal pest" means any biological or chemical residue 2680
as defined in s. 585.01(4), pathogenic organism or virulent 2681
organism as defined in s. 585.01(15), or any transmissible, 2682
communicable, contagious, or infectious disease as described in 2683
s. 585.01(17) 585.01(18). 2684
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the deletion of s. 2685
585.01(17) by this act. 2686
Section 68. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2687
961.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2688
961.06 Compensation for wrongful incarceration. — 2689
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this act and subject 2690
to the limitations and procedures prescribed in this section, a 2691
person who is found to be entitled to compensation under the 2692
provisions of this act is entitled to: 2693
(b) A waiver of tuition and fees for up to 120 hours of 2694
instruction at any career center established under s. 1001.44, 2695
any Florida College System institution as defined in s. 2696
1000.21(5), or any state university as defin ed in s. 1000.21(9) 2697
1000.21(8), if the wrongfully incarcerated person meets and 2698
maintains the regular admission requirements of such career 2699
center, Florida College System institution, or state university; 2700
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remains registered at such educational institution; and makes 2701
satisfactory academic progress as defined by the educational 2702
institution in which the claimant is enrolled; 2703
2704
The total compensation awarded under paragraphs (a), (c), and 2705
(d) may not exceed $2 million. No further award for attorney's 2706
fees, lobbying fees, costs, or other similar expenses shall be 2707
made by the state. 2708
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the reordering of 2709
definitions in s. 1000.21 by this act. 2710
Section 69. Subsections (7), (8), and (9) of section 2711
1000.21, Florida Statutes, are re ordered and amended to read: 2712
1000.21 Systemwide definitions. —As used in the Florida 2713
Early Learning-20 Education Code: 2714
(8)(7) "State academic standards" means the state's public 2715
K-12 curricular standards adopted under s. 1003.41. 2716
(9)(8) "State university," except as otherwise 2717
specifically provided, includes the following institutions and 2718
any branch campuses, centers, or other affiliates of the 2719
institution: 2720
(a) The University of Florida. 2721
(b) The Florida State University. 2722
(c) The Florida Agricultur al and Mechanical University. 2723
(d) The University of South Florida. 2724
(e) The Florida Atlantic University. 2725
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(f) The University of West Florida. 2726
(g) The University of Central Florida. 2727
(h) The University of North Florida. 2728
(i) The Florida Internationa l University. 2729
(j) The Florida Gulf Coast University. 2730
(k) New College of Florida. 2731
(l) The Florida Polytechnic University. 2732
(7)(9) "Sex" means the classification of a person as 2733
either female or male based on the organization of the body of 2734
such person for a specific reproductive role, as indicated by 2735
the person's sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, 2736
and internal and external genitalia present at birth. 2737
Reviser's note.—Amended to place the definitions of the section 2738
in alphabetical order. 2739
Section 70. Paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section 2740
1001.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2741
1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board. —The 2742
district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all 2743
powers and perform all duties listed below: 2744
(8) STUDENT WELFARE. — 2745
(c)1. In accordance with the rights of parents enumerated 2746
in ss. 1002.20 and 1014.04, adopt pro cedures for notifying a 2747
student's parent if there is a change in the student's services 2748
or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or 2749
physical health or well -being and the school's ability to 2750
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provide a safe and supportive learning environmen t for the 2751
student. The procedures must reinforce the fundamental right of 2752
parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control 2753
of their children by requiring school district personnel to 2754
encourage a student to discuss issues relating to his or he r 2755
well-being with his or her parent or to facilitate discussion of 2756
the issue with the parent. The procedures may not prohibit 2757
parents from accessing any of their student's education and 2758
health records created, maintained, or used by the school 2759
district, as required by s. 1002.22(2). 2760
2. A school district may not adopt procedures or student 2761
support forms that prohibit school district personnel from 2762
notifying a parent about his or her student's mental, emotional, 2763
or physical health or well -being, or a change in related 2764
services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of 2765
encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such 2766
information. School district personnel may not discourage or 2767
prohibit parental notification of and involvement in critical 2768
decisions affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical 2769
health or well-being. This subparagraph does not prohibit a 2770
school district from adopting procedures that permit school 2771
personnel to withhold such information from a parent if a 2772
reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would 2773
result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as those terms are 2774
defined in s. 39.01. 2775
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3. Classroom instruction by school personnel or third 2776
parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur 2777
in prekindergarten through grade 8, except when required by ss. 2778
1003.42(2)(o)3. 1003.42(2)(n)3. and 1003.46. If such instruction 2779
is provided in grades 9 through 12, the instruction must be age -2780
appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in 2781
accordance with state standards. This subparagraph applies to 2782
charter schools. 2783
4. Student support services training developed or provided 2784
by a school district to school district personnel must adhere to 2785
student services guidelines, standards, and frameworks 2786
established by the Department of Education. 2787
5. At the beginning of the school year, each school 2788
district shall notify parents of each health care service 2789
offered at their student's school and the option to withhold 2790
consent or decline any specific service in accordan ce with s. 2791
1014.06. Parental consent to a health care service does not 2792
waive the parent's right to access his or her student's 2793
educational or health records or to be notified about a change 2794
in his or her student's services or monitoring as provided by 2795
this paragraph. 2796
6. Before administering a student well -being questionnaire 2797
or health screening form to a student in kindergarten through 2798
grade 3, the school district must provide the questionnaire or 2799
health screening form to the parent and obtain the permiss ion of 2800
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the parent. 2801
7. Each school district shall adopt procedures for a 2802
parent to notify the principal, or his or her designee, 2803
regarding concerns under this paragraph at his or her student's 2804
school and the process for resolving those concerns within 7 2805
calendar days after notification by the parent. 2806
a. At a minimum, the procedures must require that within 2807
30 days after notification by the parent that the concern 2808
remains unresolved, the school district must either resolve the 2809
concern or provide a stateme nt of the reasons for not resolving 2810
the concern. 2811
b. If a concern is not resolved by the school district, a 2812
parent may: 2813
(I) Request the Commissioner of Education to appoint a 2814
special magistrate who is a member of The Florida Bar in good 2815
standing and who has at least 5 years' experience in 2816
administrative law. The special magistrate shall determine facts 2817
relating to the dispute over the school district procedure or 2818
practice, consider information provided by the school district, 2819
and render a recommended dec ision for resolution to the State 2820
Board of Education within 30 days after receipt of the request 2821
by the parent. The State Board of Education must approve or 2822
reject the recommended decision at its next regularly scheduled 2823
meeting that is more than 7 calenda r days and no more than 30 2824
days after the date the recommended decision is transmitted. The 2825
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costs of the special magistrate shall be borne by the school 2826
district. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, 2827
including forms, necessary to implement this subparagraph. 2828
(II) Bring an action against the school district to obtain 2829
a declaratory judgment that the school district procedure or 2830
practice violates this paragraph and seek injunctive relief. A 2831
court may award damages and shall award reasonable attorn ey fees 2832
and court costs to a parent who receives declaratory or 2833
injunctive relief. 2834
c. Each school district shall adopt and post on its 2835
website policies to notify parents of the procedures required 2836
under this subparagraph. 2837
d. Nothing contained in this s ubparagraph shall be 2838
construed to abridge or alter rights of action or remedies in 2839
equity already existing under the common law or general law. 2840
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the redesignation of 2841
paragraphs in s. 1003.42(2) by s. 6, ch. 2023 -39, Laws of 2842
Florida. 2843
Section 71. Subsection (2) of section 1002.01, Florida 2844
Statutes, is amended to read: 2845
1002.01 Definitions. — 2846
(2) A "personalized education program" means the 2847
sequentially progressive instruction of a student directed by 2848
his or her parent to satisfy the attendance requirements of ss. 2849
1003.01(16) 1003.01(13) and 1003.21(1) while registered with an 2850
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eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding organization pursuant to 2851
s. 1002.395. A personalized education student shall be provided 2852
the same flexibility and opportunities as provided in s. 2853
1002.41(3)-(12). 2854
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial substitution to 2855
conform to the redesignation of subsections in s. 1003.01 2856
by s. 148, ch. 2023-8, Laws of Florida. 2857
Section 72. Paragraph (a) of sub section (6) of section 2858
1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2859
1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights. —Parents of public 2860
school students must receive accurate and timely information 2861
regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed 2862
of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K -12 2863
students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 2864
rights including, but not limited to, the following: 2865
(6) EDUCATIONAL CHOICE. — 2866
(a) Public educational school choices. —Parents of public 2867
school students may seek any public educational school choice 2868
options that are applicable and available to students throughout 2869
the state. These options may include controlled open enrollment, 2870
single-gender programs, lab schools, virtual instruction 2871
programs, charter schools, charter technical career centers, 2872
magnet schools, alternative schools, special programs, auditory -2873
oral education programs, advanced placement, dual enrollment, 2874
International Baccalaureate, International General Certificate 2875
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of Secondary Education (pre-AICE), CAPE digital tools, CAPE 2876
industry certifications, early college programs, Advanced 2877
International Certificate of Education, early admissions, credit 2878
by examination or demonstration of competency, the New World 2879
School of the Arts, the Florida School for the Deaf and the 2880
Blind, and the Florida Virtual School. These options may also 2881
include the public educational choice option options of the 2882
Opportunity Scholarship Program and the McKay Scholarships for 2883
Students with Disabilities Program . 2884
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the repeal of s. 1002.39, 2885
which established the John M. McKay Scholarships for 2886
Students with Disabilities Program, by s. 9, ch. 2023 -9, 2887
Laws of Florida. 2888
Section 73. Paragraph (e) of subsection (3) and paragraph 2889
(b) of subsection (8) of section 1002.351, Florida Statutes, are 2890
amended to read: 2891
1002.351 The Florida School for Competitive Academics. — 2892
(3) BOARD OF TRUSTEES. — 2893
(e) The board of trustees has the full power and authority 2894
to: 2895
1. Adopt rules pursuant t o ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to 2896
implement provisions of law relating to operation of the Florida 2897
School for Competitive Academics. Such rules must be submitted 2898
to the State Board of Education for approval or disapproval. 2899
After a rule is approved by the Stat e Board of Education, the 2900
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rule must be filed immediately with the Department of State. The 2901
board of trustees shall act at all times in conjunction with the 2902
rules of the State Board of Education. 2903
2. Appoint a principal, administrators, teachers, and 2904
other employees. 2905
3. Remove principals, administrators, teachers, and other 2906
employees at the board's discretion. 2907
4. Determine eligibility of students and procedures for 2908
admission. 2909
5. Provide for the proper keeping of accounts and records 2910
and for budgeting of funds. 2911
6. Receive gifts, donations, and bequests of money or 2912
property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, from any 2913
person, firm, corporation, or other legal entity for the use and 2914
benefit of the school. 2915
7. Recommend to the Legislature that for the school to 2916
become a residential public school. 2917
8. Do and perform every other matter or thing requisite to 2918
the proper management, maintenance, support, and control of the 2919
school at the highest efficiency economically possible. 2920
(8) EXEMPTION FROM ST ATUTES.— 2921
(b) Additionally, the Florida School for Competitive 2922
Academics shall be in compliance with the following statutes: 2923
1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and 2924
records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties. 2925
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2. Chapter 119, relating to public records. 2926
3. Section 1006.12, relating to safe -school officers. 2927
4. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management 2928
assessment teams. 2929
5. Section 1006.07(9), relating to school environmental 2930
safety incident reporting. 2931
6. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of 2932
involuntary examinations. 2933
7. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe Schools 2934
Assessment Tool. 2935
8. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting active 2936
assailant response plans. 2937
9. Section 943.082(4)(b), r elating to the mobile 2938
suspicious activity reporting tool. 2939
10. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health 2940
awareness and assistance training. 2941
11. Section 1003.4282, relating to requirements for a 2942
standard high school diploma. 2943
12. Section 1003.03(1), relating to class size maximums. 2944
13.a. Section 1011.61, relating to instructional hours 2945
requirements. 2946
b. Notwithstanding sub -subparagraph a., the school may 2947
provide instruction that exceeds the minimum time requirements 2948
for the purposes of offering a summer program. 2949
Reviser's note.—Paragraph (3)(e) is amended to improve clarity. 2950
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Paragraph (8)(b) is amended to confirm an editorial 2951
substitution to conform to s. 23, ch. 2023 -18, Laws of 2952
Florida, which amended s. 1006.07(7) to change the term 2953
"threat assessment team" to the term "threat management 2954
team." 2955
Section 74. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) and paragraph 2956
(a) of subsection (12) of section 1002.394, Florida Statutes, 2957
are amended to read: 2958
1002.394 The Family Empowerment Scholarship Prog ram.— 2959
(4) AUTHORIZED USES OF PROGRAM FUNDS. — 2960
(a) Program funds awarded to a student determined eligible 2961
pursuant to paragraph (3)(a) may be used for: 2962
1. Tuition and fees at an eligible private school. 2963
2. Transportation to a Florida public school in which a 2964
student is enrolled and that is different from the school to 2965
which the student was assigned or to a lab school as defined in 2966
s. 1002.32. 2967
3. Instructional materials, including digital materials 2968
and Internet resources. 2969
4. Curriculum as defined i n subsection (2). 2970
5. Tuition and fees associated with full -time or part-time 2971
enrollment in an eligible postsecondary educational institution 2972
or a program offered by the postsecondary educational 2973
institution, unless the program is subject to s. 1009.25 or 2974
reimbursed pursuant to s. 1009.30; an approved preapprenticeship 2975
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program as defined in s. 446.021(5) which is not subject to s. 2976
1009.25 and complies with all applicable requirements of the 2977
department pursuant to chapter 1005; a private tutoring program 2978
authorized under s. 1002.43; a virtual program offered by a 2979
department-approved private online provider that meets the 2980
provider qualifications specified in s. 1002.45(2)(a); the 2981
Florida Virtual School as a private paying student; or an 2982
approved online course offered pursuant to s. 1003.499 or s. 2983
1004.0961. 2984
6. Fees for nationally standardized, norm -referenced 2985
achievement tests, Advanced Placement Examinations, industry 2986
certification examinations, assessments related to postsecondary 2987
education, or other asses sments. 2988
7. Contracted services provided by a public school or 2989
school district, including classes. A student who receives 2990
contracted services under this subparagraph is not considered 2991
enrolled in a public school for eligibility purposes as 2992
specified in subsection (6) but rather attending a public school 2993
on a part-time basis as authorized under s. 1002.44. 2994
8. Tuition and fees for part -time tutoring services or 2995
fees for services provided by a choice navigator. Such services 2996
must be provided by a person who holds a valid Florida 2997
educator's certificate pursuant to s. 1012.56, a person who 2998
holds an adjunct teaching certificate pursuant to s. 1012.57, a 2999
person who has a bachelor's degree or a graduate degree in the 3000
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subject area in which instruction is given, a person who has 3001
demonstrated a mastery of subject area knowledge pursuant to s. 3002
1012.56(5), or a person certified by a nationally or 3003
internationally recognized research -based training program as 3004
approved by the department. As used in this subparagraph, the 3005
term "part-time tutoring services" does not qualify as regular 3006
school attendance as defined in s. 1003.01(16)(e) 3007
1003.01(13)(e). 3008
(12) SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING AND PAYMENT. — 3009
(a)1. Scholarships for students determined eligible 3010
pursuant to paragraph (3)(a) may be funded once all scholarships 3011
have been funded in accordance with s. 1002.395(6)(l)2. The 3012
calculated scholarship amount for a participating student 3013
determined eligible pursuant to paragraph (3)(a) shall be based 3014
upon the grade level and school district in which the student 3015
was assigned as 100 percent of the funds per unweighted full -3016
time equivalent in the Florida Education Finance Program for a 3017
student in the basic program established pursuant to s. 3018
1011.62(1)(c)1., plus a per -full-time equivalent share of funds 3019
for the categorical programs established in s. 1011.62(5), 3020
(7)(a), and (16), as funded in the General Appropriations Act. 3021
2. A scholarship of $750 or an amount equal to the school 3022
district expenditure per student riding a school bus, as 3023
determined by the department, whichever is greater, may be 3024
awarded to an eligible student who is enrolled in a Florida 3025
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public school that is different from the school to which the 3026
student was assigned or in a lab school as defined in s. 1002.32 3027
if the school district does not provide the student with 3028
transportation to the school. 3029
3. The organization must provide the department with the 3030
documentation necessary to verify the student's participation. 3031
Upon receiving the documentation, the department shall transfer, 3032
beginning August 1, from state funds only, the amount calculated 3033
pursuant to subparagraph 1. subparagraph 2. to the organization 3034
for quarterly disbursement to parents of participating students 3035
each school year in which the scholarship is in force. For a 3036
student exiting a Department of Juvenile Justice commitment 3037
program who chooses to participate in the scholarship program, 3038
the amount of the Family Empowerment Scholarship calculated 3039
pursuant to subparagraph 1. subparagraph 2. must be transferred 3040
from the school district in which the student last attended a 3041
public school before commitment to the Department of Juvenile 3042
Justice. When a student enters the scholarship program, the 3043
organization must receive all documentation required for the 3044
student's participation , including the private school's and the 3045
student's fee schedules, at least 30 days before the first 3046
quarterly scholarship payment is made for the student. 3047
4. The initial payment shall be made after the 3048
organization's verification of admission acceptance, and 3049
subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of continued 3050
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enrollment and attendance at the private school. Payment must be 3051
by funds transfer or any other means of payment that the 3052
department deems to be commercially viable or cost -effective. An 3053
organization shall ensure that the parent has approved a funds 3054
transfer before any scholarship funds are deposited. 3055
5. An organization may not transfer any funds to an 3056
account of a student determined eligible pursuant to paragraph 3057
(3)(a) which has a bal ance in excess of $24,000. 3058
Reviser's note.—Paragraph (4)(a) is amended to confirm an 3059
editorial substitution to conform to the redesignation of 3060
subsections in s. 1003.01 by s. 148, ch. 2023 -8, Laws of 3061
Florida. Paragraph (12)(a) is amended to correct a cross -3062
reference. The amendment by s. 5, ch. 2023 -16, Laws of 3063
Florida, redesignated subparagraphs within paragraph (a) 3064
but did not revise references to subparagraph 2. The 3065
material found in subparagraph 2., as that reference 3066
existed prior to the amendment by s. 5, ch. 2023-16, is now 3067
contained in subparagraph 1. 3068
Section 75. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (6) of 3069
section 1002.395, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 3070
1002.395 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. — 3071
(6) OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT SCHOLARSHIP -FUNDING 3072
ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 3073
organization: 3074
(d)1. For the 2023-2024 school year, may fund no more than 3075
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20,000 scholarships for students who are enrolled pursuant to 3076
paragraph (7)(b). The number of scholarships funded for such 3077
students may increase by 40,000 in each subsequent school year. 3078
This subparagraph is repealed July 1, 2027. 3079
2. Must establish and maintain separate empowerment 3080
accounts from eligible contributions for each eligible student. 3081
For each account, the organization must maintain a record of 3082
accrued interest retained in the student's account. The 3083
organization must verify that scholarship funds are used for: 3084
a. Tuition and fees for full -time or part-time enrollment 3085
in an eligible private school. 3086
b. Transportation to a Florida public school in which a 3087
student is enrolled and that is different from the school to 3088
which the student was assigned or to a lab school as defined in 3089
s. 1002.32. 3090
c. Instructional materials, including digital materials 3091
and Internet resources. 3092
d. Curriculum as defined in s. 1002.394(2). 3093
e. Tuition and fees associated with full -time or part-time 3094
enrollment in a home education instructional program; an 3095
eligible postsecondary educational institution or a progra m 3096
offered by the postsecondary educational institution, unless the 3097
program is subject to s. 1009.25 or reimbursed pursuant to s. 3098
1009.30; an approved preapprenticeship program as defined in s. 3099
446.021(5) which is not subject to s. 1009.25 and complies with 3100
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all applicable requirements of the Department of Education 3101
pursuant to chapter 1005; a private tutoring program authorized 3102
under s. 1002.43; a virtual program offered by a department -3103
approved private online provider that meets the provider 3104
qualifications specified in s. 1002.45(2)(a); the Florida 3105
Virtual School as a private paying student; or an approved 3106
online course offered pursuant to s. 1003.499 or s. 1004.0961. 3107
f. Fees for nationally standardized, norm -referenced 3108
achievement tests, Advanced Placemen t Examinations, industry 3109
certification examinations, assessments related to postsecondary 3110
education, or other assessments. 3111
g. Contracted services provided by a public school or 3112
school district, including classes. A student who receives 3113
contracted services under this sub-subparagraph is not 3114
considered enrolled in a public school for eligibility purposes 3115
as specified in subsection (11) but rather attending a public 3116
school on a part-time basis as authorized under s. 1002.44. 3117
h. Tuition and fees for part -time tutoring services or 3118
fees for services provided by a choice navigator. Such services 3119
must be provided by a person who holds a valid Florida 3120
educator's certificate pursuant to s. 1012.56, a person who 3121
holds an adjunct teaching certificate pursuant to s. 1012.57, a 3122
person who has a bachelor's degree or a graduate degree in the 3123
subject area in which instruction is given, a person who has 3124
demonstrated a mastery of subject area knowledge pursuant to s. 3125
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1012.56(5), or a person certified by a nationally or 3126
internationally recognized research -based training program as 3127
approved by the Department of Education. As used in this 3128
paragraph, the term "part -time tutoring services" does not 3129
qualify as regular school attendance as defined in s. 3130
1003.01(16)(e) 1003.01(13)(e). 3131
(e) For students determined eligible pursuant to paragraph 3132
(7)(b), must: 3133
1. Maintain a signed agreement from the parent which 3134
constitutes compliance with the attendance requirements under 3135
ss. 1003.01(16) 1003.01(13) and 1003.21(1). 3136
2. Receive eligible student test scores and, beginning 3137
with the 2027-2028 school year, by August 15, annually report 3138
test scores for students pursuant to paragraph (7)(b) to a state 3139
university pursuant to paragraph (9)(f). 3140
3. Provide parents with information, guidance, and support 3141
to create and annually update a student learning plan for their 3142
student. The organization must maintain the plan and allow 3143
parents to electronically submit, access, and revise the plan 3144
continuously. 3145
4. Upon submission by the parent of an ann ual student 3146
learning plan, fund a scholarship for a student determined 3147
eligible. 3148
3149
Information and documentation provided to the Department of 3150
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Education and the Auditor General relating to the identity of a 3151
taxpayer that provides an eligible contribution un der this 3152
section shall remain confidential at all times in accordance 3153
with s. 213.053. 3154
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm editorial substitutions to 3155
conform to the redesignation of subsections in s. 1003.01 3156
by s. 148, ch. 2023-8, Laws of Florida. 3157
Section 76. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 1002.44, 3158
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 3159
1002.44 Part-time public school enrollment. — 3160
(1) Any public school in this state, including a charter 3161
school, may enroll a student who meets the regular school 3162
attendance criteria in s. 1003.01(16)(b)-(f) 1003.01(13)(b)-(f) 3163
on a part-time basis, subject to space and availability 3164
according to the school's capacity determined pursuant to s. 3165
1002.31(2)(b). 3166
(3) A student attending a public school on a part -time 3167
basis pursuant to this section is not considered to be in 3168
regular attendance at a public school as defined in s. 3169
1003.01(16)(a) 1003.01(13)(a). 3170
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm editorial substitutions to 3171
conform to the redesignation of subsections in s. 1003. 01 3172
by s. 148, ch. 2023-8, Laws of Florida. 3173
Section 77. Paragraphs (o), (p), and (q) of subsection (2) 3174
of section 1002.82, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 3175
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1002.82 Department of Education; powers and duties. — 3176
(2) The department shall: 3177
(o) No later than July 1, 2019, Develop a differential 3178
payment program based on the quality measures adopted by the 3179
department under paragraph (n). The differential payment may not 3180
exceed a total of 15 percent for each care level and unit of 3181
child care for a chi ld care provider. No more than 5 percent of 3182
the 15 percent total differential may be provided to providers 3183
who submit valid and reliable data to the statewide information 3184
system in the domains of language and executive functioning 3185
using a child assessment identified pursuant to paragraph (k). 3186
Providers below the minimum program assessment score adopted for 3187
contracting purposes are ineligible for such payment. 3188
(p) No later than July 1, 2022, Develop and adopt 3189
requirements for the implementation of a progra m designed to 3190
make available contracted slots to serve children at the 3191
greatest risk of school failure as determined by such children 3192
being located in an area that has been designated as a poverty 3193
area tract according to the latest census data. The contrac ted 3194
slot program may also be used to increase the availability of 3195
child care capacity based on the assessment under s. 3196
1002.85(2)(i). 3197
(q) Establish a single statewide information system that 3198
each coalition must use for the purposes of managing the single 3199
point of entry, tracking children's progress, coordinating 3200
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services among stakeholders, determining eligibility of 3201
children, tracking child attendance, and streamlining 3202
administrative processes for providers and early learning 3203
coalitions. By July 1, 2019, The system, subject to ss. 1002.72 3204
and 1002.97, shall: 3205
1. Allow a parent to find early learning programs online, 3206
including the performance profile under s. 1002.92(3)(a) which 3207
must be integrated into the online portal under s. 1001.10(10). 3208
2. Allow a parent to monitor the development of his or her 3209
child as the child moves among programs within the state. 3210
3. Enable analysis at the state, regional, and local level 3211
to measure child growth over time, program impact, and quality 3212
improvement and investment decisions. 3213
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 3214
Section 78. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section 3215
1003.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 3216
1003.02 District school board operation and control of 3217
public K-12 education within the school district. —As provided in 3218
part II of chapter 1001, district school boards are 3219
constitutionally and statutorily charged with the operation and 3220
control of public K-12 education within their school districts. 3221
The district school boards must establi sh, organize, and operate 3222
their public K-12 schools and educational programs, employees, 3223
and facilities. Their responsibilities include staff 3224
development, public K -12 school student education including 3225
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education for exceptional students and students in juv enile 3226
justice programs, special programs, adult education programs, 3227
and career education programs. Additionally, district school 3228
boards must: 3229
(1) Provide for the proper accounting for all students of 3230
school age, for the attendance and control of students at 3231
school, and for proper attention to health, safety, and other 3232
matters relating to the welfare of students in the following 3233
areas: 3234
(i) Notification of acceleration, academic, and career 3235
planning options.—At the beginning of each school year, notify 3236
students in or entering high school and the students' parents, 3237
in a language that is understandable to students and parents, of 3238
the opportunity and benefits of advanced placement, 3239
International Baccalaureate, Advanced International Certificate 3240
of Education, and dual enrollment courses; career and 3241
professional academies; career -themed courses; the career and 3242
technical education pathway to earn a standard high school 3243
diploma under s. 1003.4282(10); work -based learning 3244
opportunities, including internships and ap prenticeship and 3245
preapprenticeship programs; foundational and soft -skill 3246
credentialing programs under s. 445.06; Florida Virtual School 3247
courses; and options for early graduation under s. 1003.4281, 3248
and provide those students and parents with guidance on 3249
accessing and using Florida's online career planning and work -3250
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based learning coordination system and the contact information 3251
of a certified school counselor who can advise students and 3252
parents on those options. 3253
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial reinsertion to 3254
improve clarity and facilitate correct interpretation. 3255
Section 79. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 3256
1003.4201, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 3257
1003.4201 Comprehensive system of reading instruction. —3258
Each school district must implement a system of comprehensive 3259
reading instruction for students enrolled in prekindergarten 3260
through grade 12 and certain students who exhibit a substantial 3261
deficiency in early literacy. 3262
(2)(a) Components of the reading instruction plan may 3263
include the following: 3264
1. Additional time per day of evidence -based intensive 3265
reading instruction for kindergarten through grade 12 students, 3266
which may be delivered during or outside of the regular school 3267
day. 3268
2. Highly qualified reading coaches, who must be endorsed 3269
in reading, to specifically support classroom teachers in making 3270
instructional decisions based on progress monitoring data 3271
collected pursuant to s. 1008.25(9) 1008.25(8) and improve 3272
classroom teacher delivery of effective reading instruction, 3273
reading intervention, and reading in the content areas based on 3274
student need. 3275
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3. Professional development to help instructional 3276
personnel and certified prekindergarten teachers funded in the 3277
Florida Education Finance Program earn a certification, a 3278
credential, an endorsement, or an advanced degree in 3279
scientifically researched and evidence -based reading 3280
instruction. 3281
4. Summer reading camps, using only classroom teachers or 3282
other district personnel who possess a micro -credential as 3283
specified in s. 1003.48 5 or are certified or endorsed in reading 3284
consistent with s. 1008.25(8)(b)3. 1008.25(7)(b)3., for all 3285
students in kindergarten through grade 5 exhibiting a reading 3286
deficiency as determined by district and state assessments. 3287
5. Incentives for instructiona l personnel and certified 3288
prekindergarten teachers funded in the Florida Education Finance 3289
Program who possess a reading certification or endorsement or 3290
micro-credential as specified in s. 1003.485 and provide 3291
educational support to improve student literac y. 3292
6. Tutoring in reading. 3293
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct cross -references to conform 3294
to the redesignation of subsections in s. 1008.25 by s. 15, 3295
ch. 2023-108, Laws of Florida. 3296
Section 80. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 3297
1003.46, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 3298
1003.46 Health education; instruction in acquired immune 3299
deficiency syndrome. — 3300
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(2) Throughout instruction in acquired immune deficiency 3301
syndrome, sexually transmitted diseases, or health education, 3302
when such instruction and course material contains instruction 3303
in human sexuality, a school shall: 3304
(a) Classify males and females as provided in s. 3305
1000.21(7) 1000.21(9) and teach that biological males impregnate 3306
biological females by fertilizing the female egg with male 3307
sperm; that the female then gestates the offspring; and that 3308
these reproductive roles are binary, stable, and unchangeable. 3309
3310
The Department of Education must approve any materials used for 3311
instruction under this subsection. 3312
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the reordering of 3313
definitions in s. 1000.21 by this act. 3314
Section 81. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (9) and 3315
subsection (10) of section 1004.615, Florida Statutes, are 3316
amended to read: 3317
1004.615 Florida Institute for Child Welfare. — 3318
(9) By October 1 of each year, the institute shall provide 3319
a written report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 3320
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives which outlines 3321
its activities in the preceding year, reports significant 3322
research findings, as well as results of other programs, and 3323
provides specific recommendations for improving child protection 3324
and child welfare services. 3325
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(a) The institute shall include an evaluation of the 3326
results of the educational and training requirements for child 3327
protection and child welfare personnel established under this 3328
act in its report due October 1, 2017. 3329
(b) The institute shall include an evaluation of the 3330
effects of the other provisions of this act and recommendations 3331
for improvements in child protection and child welfare services 3332
in its report due October 1, 2018. 3333
(10) The institute shall submit a report with 3334
recommendations for improving the state's child welfare system. 3335
The report shall address topics including, but not limited to, 3336
enhancing working relat ionships between the entities involved in 3337
the child protection and child welfare system, identification of 3338
and replication of best practices, reducing paperwork, 3339
increasing the retention of child protective investigators and 3340
case managers, and caring for m edically complex children within 3341
the child welfare system, with the goal of allowing the child to 3342
remain in the least restrictive and most nurturing environment. 3343
The institute shall submit an interim report by February 1, 3344
2015, and final report by October 1, 2015, to the Governor, the 3345
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 3346
Representatives. 3347
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 3348
Section 82. Subsection (3) of section 1004.648, Florida 3349
Statutes, is amended to read: 3350
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1004.648 Florida Energy Systems Consortium. — 3351
(3) The consortium shall consist of the state universities 3352
as identified under s. 1000.21(9) 1000.21(8). 3353
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the reordering of 3354
definitions in s. 1000.21 by this act. 3355
Section 83. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2), paragraphs 3356
(c) and (e) of subsection (4), and paragraph (b) of subsection 3357
(7) of section 1006.07, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 3358
1006.07 District school board duties relating to student 3359
discipline and school safet y.—The district school board shall 3360
provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the 3361
attendance and control of students at school, and for proper 3362
attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the 3363
welfare of students, including: 3364
(2) CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT. —Adopt a code of student 3365
conduct for elementary schools and a code of student conduct for 3366
middle and high schools and distribute the appropriate code to 3367
all teachers, school personnel, students, and parents, at the 3368
beginning of every school year. Each code shall be organized and 3369
written in language that is understandable to students and 3370
parents and shall be discussed at the beginning of every school 3371
year in student classes, school advisory council meetings, and 3372
parent and teacher as sociation or organization meetings. Each 3373
code shall be based on the rules governing student conduct and 3374
discipline adopted by the district school board and shall be 3375
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made available in the student handbook or similar publication. 3376
Each code shall include, but is not limited to: 3377
(d)1. An explanation of the responsibilities of each 3378
student with regard to appropriate dress, respect for self and 3379
others, and the role that appropriate dress and respect for self 3380
and others has on an orderly learning environment. Ea ch district 3381
school board shall adopt a dress code policy that prohibits a 3382
student, while on the grounds of a public school during the 3383
regular school day, from wearing clothing that exposes underwear 3384
or body parts in an indecent or vulgar manner or that dis rupts 3385
the orderly learning environment. 3386
2. Any student who violates the dress code policy 3387
described in subparagraph 1. is subject to the following 3388
disciplinary actions: 3389
a. For a first offense, a student shall be given a verbal 3390
warning and the school pr incipal shall call the student's parent 3391
or guardian. 3392
b. For a second offense, the student is ineligible to 3393
participate in any extracurricular activity for a period of time 3394
not to exceed 5 days and the school principal shall meet with 3395
the student's parent or guardian. 3396
c. For a third or subsequent offense, a student shall 3397
receive an in-school suspension pursuant to s. 1003.01(13) for a 3398
period not to exceed 3 days, the student is ineligible to 3399
participate in any extracurricular activity for a period not to 3400
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exceed 30 days, and the school principal shall call the 3401
student's parent or guardian and send the parent or guardian a 3402
written letter regarding the student's in -school suspension and 3403
ineligibility to participate in extracurricular activities. 3404
(4) EMERGENCY DRILLS; EMERGENCY PROCEDURES. — 3405
(c) Beginning with the 2021 -2022 school year, Each public 3406
school, including charter schools, shall implement a mobile 3407
panic alert system capable of connecting diverse emergency 3408
services technologies to ensure real -time coordination between 3409
multiple first responder agencies. Such system, known as 3410
"Alyssa's Alert," must integrate with local public safety 3411
answering point infrastructure to transmit 911 calls and mobile 3412
activations. 3413
(e) For the 2020-2021 fiscal year and sub ject to the 3414
appropriation of funds in the General Appropriations Act for 3415
this purpose, the department shall issue a competitive 3416
solicitation to contract for a mobile panic alert system that 3417
may be used by each school district. The department shall 3418
consult with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public 3419
Safety Commission, the Department of Law Enforcement, and the 3420
Division of Emergency Management in the development of the 3421
competitive solicitation for the mobile panic alert system. 3422
(7) THREAT MANAGEMEN T TEAMS.—Each district school board 3423
and charter school governing board shall establish a threat 3424
management team at each school whose duties include the 3425
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coordination of resources and assessment and intervention with 3426
students whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of the 3427
school, school staff, or students. 3428
(b) A threat management team shall include persons with 3429
expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration, and 3430
law enforcement. All members of the threat management team must 3431
be involved in the threat assessment and threat management 3432
process and final decisionmaking. At least one member of the 3433
threat management team must have personal familiarity with the 3434
individual who is the subject of the threat assessment. If no 3435
member of the threat ma nagement team has such familiarity, a 3436
member of the an instructional personnel or administrative 3437
personnel, as those terms are defined in s. 1012.01(2) and (3), 3438
who is personally familiar with the individual who is the 3439
subject of the threat assessment must consult with the threat 3440
management team for the purpo se of assessing the threat. The 3441
instructional or administrative personnel who provides such 3442
consultation shall not participate in the decisionmaking 3443
process. 3444
Reviser's note.—Subparagraph (2)(d)2. is amended to conform to 3445
language in subparagraph (2)(d)1. P aragraphs (4)(c) and (e) 3446
are amended to delete obsolete language. Paragraph (7)(b) 3447
is amended to confirm an editorial substitution to improve 3448
clarity. 3449
Section 84. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (2) of 3450
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section 1006.28, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 3451
1006.28 Duties of district school board, district school 3452
superintendent; and school principal regarding K -12 3453
instructional materials. — 3454
(2) DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD. —The district school board has 3455
the constitutional duty and responsibility to select and provide 3456
adequate instructional materials for all students in accordance 3457
with the requirements of this part. The district school board 3458
also has the following specific duties and responsibilities: 3459
(a) Courses of study; adoption. —Adopt courses of study, 3460
including instructional materials, for use in the schools of the 3461
district. 3462
1. Each district school board is responsible for the 3463
content of all instructional materials and any other materials 3464
used in a classroom, made available in a school or c lassroom 3465
library, or included on a reading list, whether adopted and 3466
purchased from the state -adopted instructional materials list, 3467
adopted and purchased through a district instructional materials 3468
program under s. 1006.283, or otherwise purchased or made 3469
available. 3470
2. Each district school board must adopt a policy 3471
regarding an objection by a parent or a resident of the county 3472
to the use of a specific material, which clearly describes a 3473
process to handle all objections and provides for resolution. 3474
The objection form, as prescribed by State Board of Education 3475
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rule, and the district school board's process must be easy to 3476
read and understand and be easily accessible on the homepage of 3477
the school district's website. The objection form must also 3478
identify the school district point of contact and contact 3479
information for the submission of an objection. The process must 3480
provide the parent or resident the opportunity to proffer 3481
evidence to the district school board that: 3482
a. An instructional material does not meet th e criteria of 3483
s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(c) 1006.40(3)(d) if it was 3484
selected for use in a course or otherwise made available to 3485
students in the school district but was not subject to the 3486
public notice, review, comment, and hearing procedures under s. 3487
1006.283(2)(b)8., 9., and 11. 3488
b. Any material used in a classroom, made available in a 3489
school or classroom library, or included on a reading list 3490
contains content which: 3491
(I) Is pornographic or prohibited under s. 847.012; 3492
(II) Depicts or describes sex ual conduct as defined in s. 3493
847.001(19), unless such material is for a course required by s. 3494
1003.46 or, s. 1003.42(2)(o)1.g. or 3. 1003.42(2)(n)1.g., or s. 3495
1003.42(2)(n)3., or identified by State Board of Education rule; 3496
(III) Is not suited to student needs and their ability to 3497
comprehend the material presented; or 3498
(IV) Is inappropriate for the grade level and age group 3499
for which the material is used. 3500
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3501
Any material that is subject to an objection on the basis of 3502
sub-sub-subparagraph b.(I) or sub -sub-subparagraph b.(II) must 3503
be removed within 5 school days of receipt of the objection and 3504
remain unavailable to students of that school until the 3505
objection is resolved. Parents shall have the right to read 3506
passages from any material that is subject to an obj ection. If 3507
the school board denies a parent the right to read passages due 3508
to content that meets the requirements under sub -sub-3509
subparagraph b.(I), the school district shall discontinue the 3510
use of the material. If the district school board finds that any 3511
material meets the requirements under sub -subparagraph a. or 3512
that any other material contains prohibited content under sub -3513
sub-subparagraph b.(I), the school district shall discontinue 3514
use of the material. If the district school board finds that any 3515
other material contains prohibited content under sub -sub-3516
subparagraphs b.(II) -(IV), the school district shall discontinue 3517
use of the material for any grade level or age group for which 3518
such use is inappropriate or unsuitable. 3519
3. Each district school board must establish a process by 3520
which the parent of a public school student or a resident of the 3521
county may contest the district school board's adoption of a 3522
specific instructional material. The parent or resident must 3523
file a petition, on a form provided by the sch ool board, within 3524
30 calendar days after the adoption of the instructional 3525
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material by the school board. The school board must make the 3526
form available to the public and publish the form on the school 3527
district's website. The form must be signed by the paren t or 3528
resident, include the required contact information, and state 3529
the objection to the instructional material based on the 3530
criteria of s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(c) 1006.40(3)(d). 3531
Within 30 days after the 30 -day period has expired, the school 3532
board must, for all petitions timely received, conduct at least 3533
one open public hearing before an unbiased and qualified hearing 3534
officer. The hearing officer may not be an employee or agent of 3535
the school district. The hearing is not subject to the 3536
provisions of chapter 120; however, the hearing must provide 3537
sufficient procedural protections to allow each petitioner an 3538
adequate and fair opportunity to be heard and present evidence 3539
to the hearing officer. The school board's decision after 3540
convening a hearing is final and not subject to further petition 3541
or review. 3542
4. Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of 3543
ranking, eliminating, or selecting instructional materials for 3544
recommendation to the district school board must be noticed and 3545
open to the public in acc ordance with s. 286.011. Any committees 3546
convened for such purposes must include parents of students who 3547
will have access to such materials. 3548
5. Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of 3549
resolving an objection by a parent or resident to specific 3550
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materials must be noticed and open to the public in accordance 3551
with s. 286.011. Any committees convened for such purposes must 3552
include parents of students who will have access to such 3553
materials. 3554
6. If a parent disagrees with the determination made by 3555
the district school board on the objection to the use of a 3556
specific material, a parent may request the Commissioner of 3557
Education to appoint a special magistrate who is a member of The 3558
Florida Bar in good standing and who has at least 5 years' 3559
experience in administrative law. The special magistrate shall 3560
determine facts relating to the school district's determination, 3561
consider information provided by the parent and the school 3562
district, and render a recommended decision for resolution to 3563
the State Board of Educa tion within 30 days after receipt of the 3564
request by the parent. The State Board of Education must approve 3565
or reject the recommended decision at its next regularly 3566
scheduled meeting that is more than 7 calendar days and no more 3567
than 30 days after the date t he recommended decision is 3568
transmitted. The costs of the special magistrate shall be borne 3569
by the school district. The State Board of Education shall adopt 3570
rules, including forms, necessary to implement this 3571
subparagraph. 3572
(d) School library media service s; establishment and 3573
maintenance.—Establish and maintain a program of school library 3574
media services for all public schools in the district, including 3575
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school library media centers, or school library media centers 3576
open to the public, and, in addition such tr aveling or 3577
circulating libraries as may be needed for the proper operation 3578
of the district school system. Beginning January 1, 2023, school 3579
librarians, media specialists, and other personnel involved in 3580
the selection of school district library materials mu st complete 3581
the training program developed pursuant to s. 1006.29(6) before 3582
reviewing and selecting age -appropriate materials and library 3583
resources. Upon written request, a school district shall provide 3584
access to any material or book specified in the reque st that is 3585
maintained in a district school system library and is available 3586
for review. 3587
1. Each book made available to students through a school 3588
district library media center or included in a recommended or 3589
assigned school or grade -level reading list must be selected by 3590
a school district employee who holds a valid educational media 3591
specialist certificate, regardless of whether the book is 3592
purchased, donated, or otherwise made available to students. 3593
2. Each district school board shall adopt procedures for 3594
developing library media center collections and post the 3595
procedures on the website for each school within the district. 3596
The procedures must: 3597
a. Require that book selections meet the criteria in s. 3598
1006.40(3)(c) 1006.40(3)(d). 3599
b. Require consultation o f reputable, professionally 3600
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recognized reviewing periodicals and school community 3601
stakeholders. 3602
c. Provide for library media center collections, including 3603
classroom libraries, based on reader interest, support of state 3604
academic standards and aligned curr iculum, and the academic 3605
needs of students and faculty. 3606
d. Provide for the regular removal or discontinuance of 3607
books based on, at a minimum, physical condition, rate of recent 3608
circulation, alignment to state academic standards and relevancy 3609
to curriculum, out-of-date content, and required removal 3610
pursuant to subparagraph (a)2. 3611
3. Each elementary school must publish on its website, in 3612
a searchable format prescribed by the department, a list of all 3613
materials maintained and accessible in the school librar y media 3614
center or a classroom library or required as part of a school or 3615
grade-level reading list. 3616
4. Each district school board shall adopt and publish on 3617
its website the process for a parent to limit his or her 3618
student's access to materials in the scho ol or classroom 3619
library. 3620
Reviser's note.—Amended to correct cross -references to conform 3621
to the redesignation of s. 1006.40(3)(d) as s. 3622
1006.40(3)(c) by s. 32, ch. 2023 -245, Laws of Florida. 3623
Paragraph (a) is further amended to correct cross -3624
references to conform to the redesignatio n of s. 3625
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1003.42(2)(n) as s. 1003.42(2)(o) by s. 6, ch. 2023 -39, 3626
Laws of Florida, and to conform to Florida Statutes 3627
citation style. 3628
Section 85. Paragraph (d) of subsection (5) and paragraph 3629
(c) of subsection (6) of section 1008.25, Florida Statutes, ar e 3630
amended to read: 3631
1008.25 Public school student progression; student 3632
support; coordinated screening and progress monitoring; 3633
reporting requirements. — 3634
(5) READING DEFICIENCY AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION. — 3635
(d) The parent of any student who exhibits a sub stantial 3636
deficiency in reading, as described in paragraph (a), must be 3637
notified in writing of the following: 3638
1. That his or her child has been identified as having a 3639
substantial deficiency in reading, including a description and 3640
explanation, in terms und erstandable to the parent, of the exact 3641
nature of the student's difficulty in learning and lack of 3642
achievement in reading. 3643
2. A description of the current services that are provided 3644
to the child. 3645
3. A description of the proposed intensive interventions 3646
and supports that will be provided to the child that are 3647
designed to remediate the identified area of reading deficiency. 3648
4. That if the child's reading deficiency is not 3649
remediated by the end of grade 3, the child must be retained 3650
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unless he or she is e xempt from mandatory retention for good 3651
cause. 3652
5. Strategies, including multisensory strategies and 3653
programming, through a read -at-home plan the parent can use in 3654
helping his or her child succeed in reading. The read -at-home 3655
plan must provide access to t he resources identified in 3656
paragraph (e) (f). 3657
6. That the statewide, standardized English Language Arts 3658
assessment is not the sole determiner of promotion and that 3659
additional evaluations, portfolio reviews, and assessments are 3660
available to the child to a ssist parents and the school district 3661
in knowing when a child is reading at or above grade level and 3662
ready for grade promotion. 3663
7. The district's specific criteria and policies for a 3664
portfolio as provided in subparagraph (7)(b)4. and the evidence 3665
required for a student to demonstrate mastery of Florida's 3666
academic standards for English Language Arts. A school must 3667
immediately begin collecting evidence for a portfolio when a 3668
student in grade 3 is identified as being at risk of retention 3669
or upon the request of the parent, whichever occurs first. 3670
8. The district's specific criteria and policies for 3671
midyear promotion. Midyear promotion means promotion of a 3672
retained student at any time during the year of retention once 3673
the student has demonstrated ability to r ead at grade level. 3674
9. Information about the student's eligibility for the New 3675
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Worlds Reading Initiative under s. 1003.485 and the New Worlds 3676
Scholarship Accounts under s. 1002.411 and information on parent 3677
training modules and other reading engagement r esources 3678
available through the initiative. 3679
3680
After initial notification, the school shall apprise the parent 3681
at least monthly of the student's progress in response to the 3682
intensive interventions and supports. Such communications must 3683
be in writing and must explain any additional interventions or 3684
supports that will be implemented to accelerate the student's 3685
progress if the interventions and supports already being 3686
implemented have not resulted in improvement. 3687
(6) MATHEMATICS DEFICIENCY AND PARENTAL NOTIFICAT ION.— 3688
(c) The parent of a student who exhibits a substantial 3689
deficiency in mathematics, as described in paragraph (a), must 3690
be notified in writing of the following: 3691
1. That his or her child has been identified as having a 3692
substantial deficiency in math ematics, including a description 3693
and explanation, in terms understandable to the parent, of the 3694
exact nature of the student's difficulty in learning and lack of 3695
achievement in mathematics. 3696
2. A description of the current services that are provided 3697
to the child. 3698
3. A description of the proposed intensive interventions 3699
and supports that will be provided to the child that are 3700
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designed to remediate the identified area of mathematics 3701
deficiency. 3702
4. Strategies, including multisensory strategies and 3703
programming, through a home-based plan the parent can use in 3704
helping his or her child succeed in mathematics. The home -based 3705
plan must provide access to the resources identified in 3706
paragraph (d) (e). 3707
3708
After the initial notification, the school shall apprise the 3709
parent at least monthly of the student's progress in response to 3710
the intensive interventions and supports. Such communications 3711
must be in writing and must explain any additional interventions 3712
or supports that will be implemented to accelerate the student's 3713
progress if the interventions and supports already being 3714
implemented have not resulted in improvement. 3715
Reviser's note.—Paragraph (5)(d) is amended to correct a cross -3716
reference to conform to the fact that paragraph (f) does 3717
not exist; paragraph (e) provides a list of resources to be 3718
incorporated into a home -based plan for use by the parent 3719
of a student identified as having a substantial reading 3720
deficiency. Paragraph (6)(c) is amended to correct a cross -3721
reference to conform to the fact that paragraph (e) does 3722
not exist; paragraph (d) provides a list of resources to be 3723
incorporated into a home -based plan for use by the parent 3724
of a student identified as having a substantial mathematics 3725
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deficiency. 3726
Section 86. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 3727
1009.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 3728
1009.21 Determination of resident status for tuition 3729
purposes.—Students shall be classified as residents or 3730
nonresidents for the purpose of assessing tuition in 3731
postsecondary educational programs offered by charter technical 3732
career centers or career centers operated by school districts, 3733
in Florida College System institutions, and in state 3734
universities. 3735
(1) As used in this section, the term: 3736
(c) "Institution of higher education" means any charter 3737
technical career center as defined in s. 1002.34, career center 3738
operated by a school district as defined in s. 1001.44, Florida 3739
College System institution as defined in s. 1000.21(5), or state 3740
university as defined in s. 1000.21(9) 1000.21(8). 3741
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the reordering of 3742
definitions in s. 1000.21 by this act. 3743
Section 87. Subsection (6) of section 1009.286, Florida 3744
Statutes, is amended to read: 3745
1009.286 Additional stud ent payment for hours exceeding 3746
baccalaureate degree program completion requirements at state 3747
universities.— 3748
(6) For purposes of this section, the term "state 3749
university" includes the institutions identified in s. 3750
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1000.21(9) 1000.21(8) and the term "Florida College System 3751
institution" includes the institutions identified in s. 3752
1000.21(5). 3753
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to the reordering of 3754
definitions in s. 1000.21 by this act. 3755
Section 88. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 3756
1009.30, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 3757
1009.30 Dual Enrollment Scholarship Program. — 3758
(3) 3759
(b) The program shall reimburse institutions for tuition 3760
and related instructional materials costs for dual enrollment 3761
courses taken by public school, private school, ho me education 3762
program secondary students, or personalized education program 3763
secondary students during the summer term. 3764
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm an editorial deletion to 3765
improve clarity. 3766
Section 89. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) and paragraph 3767
(b) of subsection (5) of section 1009.895, Florida Statutes, are 3768
amended to read: 3769
1009.895 Open Door Grant Program. — 3770
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible for the program, 3771
a student must: 3772
(c) Be enrolled at a school district postsecondary 3773
technical career center under s. 1001.44, a Florida College 3774
System institution under s. 1000.21(5) 1000.21(3), or a charter 3775
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technical career center under s. 1002.34. 3776
3777
An institution may not impose additional criteria to determine a 3778
student's eligibility to receiv e a grant under this section. 3779
(5) INSTITUTIONAL REPORTING. —Each institution shall report 3780
to the department by the established date: 3781
(b) Submit a report with Data from the previous fiscal 3782
year on program completion and credential attainment by students 3783
participating in the grant program that, at a minimum, includes: 3784
1. A list of the programs offered. 3785
2. The number of students who enrolled in the programs. 3786
3. The number of students who completed the programs. 3787
4. The number of students who attained workforce 3788
credentials, categorized by credential name and relevant 3789
occupation, after completing training programs. 3790
Reviser's note.—Paragraph (2)(c) is amended to conform to the 3791
reordering of definitions in s. 1000.21 by s. 136, ch. 3792
2023-8, Laws of Florida. Paragraph (5)(b) is amended to 3793
confirm an editorial deletion to improve clarity. 3794
Section 90. Subsection (13) of section 1011.62, Florida 3795
Statutes, is amended, and subsection (15) of that section is 3796
reenacted, to read: 3797
1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual 3798
allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 3799
district for operation of schools is not determined in the 3800
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annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 3801
the annual appropriations act, it shall be deter mined as 3802
follows: 3803
(13) MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE ALLOCATION. —The mental 3804
health assistance allocation is created to provide funding to 3805
assist school districts in implementing their implementation of 3806
their school-based mental health assistance program pursuant to 3807
s. 1006.041. These funds shall be allocated annually in the 3808
General Appropriations Act or other law to each eligible school 3809
district. Each school district shall receive a minimum of 3810
$100,000, with the remaining balance allocated based on each 3811
school district's proportionate share of the state's total 3812
unweighted full-time equivalent student enrollment. 3813
(15) TOTAL ALLOCATION OF STATE FUNDS TO EACH DISTRICT FOR 3814
CURRENT OPERATION.—The total annual state allocation to each 3815
district for current operation for the Florida Education Finance 3816
Program shall be distributed periodically in the manner 3817
prescribed in the General Appropriations Act. 3818
(a) If the funds appropriated for current operation of the 3819
Florida Education Finance Program, including funds appropriated 3820
pursuant to subsection (18), are not sufficient to pay the state 3821
requirement in full, the department shall prorate the available 3822
state funds to each district in the following manner: 3823
1. Determine the percentage of proration by dividing the 3824
sum of the total amount for current operation, as provided in 3825
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this paragraph for all districts collectively, and the total 3826
district required local effort into the sum of the state funds 3827
available for curren t operation and the total district required 3828
local effort. 3829
2. Multiply the percentage so determined by the sum of the 3830
total amount for current operation as provided in this paragraph 3831
and the required local effort for each individual district. 3832
3. From the product of such multiplication, subtract the 3833
required local effort of each district; and the remainder shall 3834
be the amount of state funds allocated to the district for 3835
current operation. However, no calculation subsequent to the 3836
appropriation shall resul t in negative state funds for any 3837
district. 3838
(b) The amount thus obtained shall be the net annual 3839
allocation to each school district. However, if it is determined 3840
that any school district received an under allocation or over 3841
allocation for any prior year because of an arithmetical error, 3842
assessment roll change required by final judicial decision, 3843
full-time equivalent student membership error, or any allocation 3844
error revealed in an audit report, the allocation to that 3845
district shall be appropriately adjuste d. An under allocation in 3846
a prior year caused by a school district's error may not be the 3847
basis for a positive allocation adjustment for the current year. 3848
Beginning with the 2011 -2012 fiscal year, if a special program 3849
cost factor is less than the basic pro gram cost factor, an audit 3850
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
adjustment may not result in the reclassification of the special 3851
program FTE to the basic program FTE. If the Department of 3852
Education audit adjustment recommendation is based upon 3853
controverted findings of fact, the Commissioner o f Education is 3854
authorized to establish the amount of the adjustment based on 3855
the best interests of the state. 3856
(c) The amount thus obtained shall represent the net 3857
annual state allocation to each district; however, 3858
notwithstanding any of the provisions he rein, each district 3859
shall be guaranteed a minimum level of funding in the amount and 3860
manner prescribed in the General Appropriations Act. 3861
Reviser's note.—Subsection (13) is amended to confirm an 3862
editorial substitution to improve clarity. Section 41, ch. 3863
2023-245, Laws of Florida, purported to amend subsection 3864
(15), but did not publish paragraphs (b) and (c). Absent 3865
affirmative evidence of legislative intent to repeal them, 3866
subsection (15) is reenacted to confirm that the omission 3867
was not intended. 3868
Section 91. Subsection (2) of section 1012.71, Florida 3869
Statutes, is amended to read: 3870
1012.71 The Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance 3871
Program.— 3872
(2) The amount of funds per classroom teacher for the 3873
Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Progra m shall be 3874
specified in the General Appropriations Act. Classroom teachers 3875
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shall use the funds to purchase, on behalf of the school 3876
district or charter school, classroom materials and supplies for 3877
the public school students assigned to them , and the funds may 3878
not be used to purchase equipment. The funds shall be used to 3879
supplement the materials and supplies otherwise available to 3880
classroom teachers. 3881
Reviser's note.—Amended to confirm editorial insertions to 3882
improve clarity and sentence structure. 3883
Section 92. Section 1012.993, Florida Statutes, is amended 3884
to read: 3885
1012.993 Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. —The Governor 3886
is authorized and directed to execute the Interstate Teacher 3887
Mobility Compact on behalf of this state with any other state or 3888
states legally joining therein in the form substantially as 3889
follows: 3890
3891
ARTICLE I 3892
PURPOSE 3893
3894
The purpose of this compact is to facilitate the mobility 3895
of teachers across the member states with the goal of supporting 3896
teachers through a new pathway to licensure. Throu gh this 3897
compact, the member states seek to establish a collective 3898
regulatory framework which expedites and enhances the ability of 3899
teachers from a variety of backgrounds to move across state 3900
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lines. This compact is intended to achieve the following 3901
objectives and should be interpreted accordingly. The member 3902
states hereby ratify the same intentions by subscribing hereto: 3903
(1) Create a streamlined pathway to licensure mobility for 3904
teachers; 3905
(2) Support the relocation of eligible military spouses; 3906
(3) Facilitate and enhance the exchange of licensure, 3907
investigative, and disciplinary information between the member 3908
states; 3909
(4) Enhance the power of state and district level 3910
education officials to hire qualified, competent teachers by 3911
removing barriers to the employment of out-of-state teachers; 3912
(5) Support the retention of teachers in the profession by 3913
removing barriers to relicensure in a new state; and 3914
(6) Maintain state sovereignty in the regulation of the 3915
teaching profession. 3916
3917
ARTICLE II 3918
DEFINITIONS 3919
3920
As used in this compact, and except as otherwise provided, 3921
the following definitions shall govern the terms herein: 3922
(1) "Active military member" means any person with a full -3923
time duty status in the uniformed armed services of the United 3924
States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve. 3925
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(2) "Adverse action" means any limitation or restriction 3926
imposed by a member state's licensing authority, including the 3927
revocation, suspension, reprimand, probation, or limitation on 3928
the licensee's ability to w ork as a teacher. 3929
(3) "Bylaws" means the bylaws established by the 3930
commission. 3931
(4) "Career and technical education" means a current, 3932
valid authorization issued by a member state's licensing 3933
authority allowing an individual to serve as a teacher in K -12 3934
public educational settings in a specific career and technical 3935
education area. 3936
(5) "Commissioner" means the delegate of a member state. 3937
(6) "Eligible license" means a license to engage in the 3938
teaching profession which requires at least a bachelor's de gree 3939
and the completion of a state -approved program for teacher 3940
licensure. 3941
(7) "Eligible military spouse" means the spouse of any 3942
individual in full-time duty status in the active uniformed 3943
service of the United States, including members of the National 3944
Guard and Reserve on active duty moving as a result of military 3945
mission or military career progression requirements, or are on 3946
their terminal move as a result of separation or retirement, 3947
including surviving spouses of deceased military members. 3948
(8) "Executive committee" means a group of commissioners 3949
elected or appointed to act on behalf of, and within the powers 3950
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granted to them by, the commission as provided herein. 3951
(9) "Licensing authority" means an official, agency, 3952
board, or other entity of a state that is responsible for the 3953
licensing and regulation of teachers authorized to teach in K -12 3954
public educational settings. 3955
(10) "Member state" means any state that has adopted this 3956
compact, including all agencies and officials of such a state. 3957
(11) "Receiving state" means any state where a teacher has 3958
applied for licensure under this compact. 3959
(12) "Rule" means any regulation adopted by the commission 3960
under this compact which shall have the force of law in each 3961
member state. 3962
(13) "State" means a stat e, territory, or possession of 3963
the United States and the District of Columbia. 3964
(14) "State practice laws" means a member state's laws, 3965
rules, and regulations that govern the teaching profession, 3966
define the scope of such profession, and create the method and 3967
grounds for imposing discipline. 3968
(15) "Teacher" means an individual who currently holds an 3969
authorization from a member state which forms the basis for 3970
employment in the K-12 public schools of the state to provide 3971
instruction in a specific subject are a, grade level, or student 3972
population. 3973
(16) "Unencumbered license" means a current, valid 3974
authorization issued by a member state's licensing authority 3975
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
allowing an individual to serve as a teacher in K -12 public 3976
education settings. An unencumbered license is not a restricted, 3977
probationary, provisional, substitute, or temporary credential. 3978
3979
ARTICLE III 3980
LICENSURE UNDER THE COMPACT 3981
3982
(1) Licensure under this compact pertains only to the 3983
initial grant of a license by the receiving state. Nothing 3984
herein applies to any subsequent or ongoing compliance 3985
requirements that a receiving state might require for teachers. 3986
(2) Each member state shall, in accordance with rules of 3987
the commission, define, compile, and update, as necessary, a 3988
list of eligible licenses and career and technical education 3989
licenses that the member state is willing to consider for 3990
equivalency under this compact and provide the list to the 3991
commission. The list shall include those licenses that a 3992
receiving state is willing to grant teachers from o ther member 3993
states, pending a determination of equivalency by the receiving 3994
state's licensing authority. 3995
(3) Upon the receipt of an application for licensure by a 3996
teacher holding an unencumbered license, the receiving state 3997
shall determine which of the r eceiving state's eligible licenses 3998
the teacher is qualified to hold and shall grant such a license 3999
or licenses to the applicant. Such a determination shall be made 4000
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in the sole discretion of the receiving state's licensing 4001
authority and may include a determ ination that the applicant is 4002
not eligible for any of the receiving state's licenses. For all 4003
teachers who hold an unencumbered license, the receiving state 4004
shall grant one or more unencumbered licenses that, in the 4005
receiving state's sole discretion, are e quivalent to the license 4006
held by the teacher in any other member state. 4007
(4) For active duty military members and eligible military 4008
spouses who hold a license that is not unencumbered, the 4009
receiving state shall grant an equivalent license or licenses 4010
that, in the receiving state's sole discretion, is equivalent to 4011
the license or licenses held by the teacher in any other member 4012
state, except where the receiving state does not have an 4013
equivalent license. 4014
(5) For a teacher holding an unencumbered career and 4015
technical education license, the receiving state shall grant an 4016
unencumbered license equivalent to the career and technical 4017
education license held by the applying teacher and issued by 4018
another member state, as determined by the receiving state in 4019
its sole discretion, except where a career and technical 4020
education teacher does not hold a bachelor's degree and the 4021
receiving state requires a bachelor's degree for licenses to 4022
teach career and technical education. A receiving state may 4023
require career and tec hnical education teachers to meet state 4024
industry recognized requirements, if required by law in the 4025
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receiving state. 4026
4027
ARTICLE IV 4028
LICENSURE NOT UNDER THE COMPACT 4029
4030
(1) Except as provided in Article III, nothing in this 4031
compact shall be construed to limit o r inhibit the power of a 4032
member state to regulate licensure or endorsements overseen by 4033
the member state's licensing authority. 4034
(2) When a teacher is required to renew a license received 4035
pursuant to this compact, the state granting such a license may 4036
require the teacher to complete state -specific requirements as a 4037
condition of licensure renewal or advancement in that state. 4038
(3) For purposes of determining compensation, a receiving 4039
state may require additional information from teachers receiving 4040
a license under the provisions of this compact. 4041
(4) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to limit 4042
the power of a member state to control and maintain ownership of 4043
its information pertaining to teachers or limit the application 4044
of a member state's laws or r egulations governing the ownership, 4045
use, or dissemination of information pertaining pertain to 4046
teachers. 4047
(5) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to 4048
invalidate or alter any existing agreement or other cooperative 4049
arrangement which a member state ma y already be a party to or 4050
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limit the ability of a member state to participate in any future 4051
agreement or other cooperative arrangement to: 4052
(a) Award teaching licenses or other benefits based on 4053
additional professional credentials, including, but not limi ted 4054
to, the National Board Certification; 4055
(b) Participate in the exchange of names of teachers whose 4056
license has been subject to an adverse action by a member state; 4057
or 4058
(c) Participate in any agreement or cooperative 4059
arrangement with a nonmember state. 4060
4061
ARTICLE V 4062
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS 4063
FOR LICENSURE UNDER THE COMPACT 4064
4065
(1) Except as provided for active military members or 4066
eligible military spouses under subsection (4) of Article III, a 4067
teacher may only be eligible to receive a license under this 4068
compact where that teacher holds an unencumbered license in a 4069
member state. 4070
(2) A teacher eligible to receive a license under this 4071
compact shall, unless otherwise provided herein: 4072
(a) Upon their application to receive a license under this 4073
compact, undergo a criminal background check in the receiving 4074
state in accordance with the laws and regulations of the 4075
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receiving state; and 4076
(b) Provide the receiving state with information in 4077
addition to the information required for licensure for the 4078
purposes of determining compensation, if applicable. 4079
4080
ARTICLE VI 4081
DISCIPLINE AND ADVERSE ACTIONS 4082
4083
Nothing in this compact shall be deemed or construed to 4084
limit the authority of a member state to investigate or impose 4085
disciplinary measures on teachers according to the state 4086
practice laws thereof. 4087
4088
ARTICLE VII 4089
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTERSTATE 4090
TEACHER MOBILITY COMPACT COMMISSION 4091
4092
(1) The interstate compact member states hereby create and 4093
establish a joint public agency known as the Interstate Teacher 4094
Mobility Compact Commission: 4095
(a) The commission is a joint interstate governmental 4096
agency comprised of states that have enacted the Interstate 4097
Teacher Mobility Compact. 4098
(b) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to be a 4099
waiver of sovereign immunity. 4100
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(2)(a) Each member state shall have and be limited to one 4101
delegate to the commission, who shall be given the title of 4102
commissioner. 4103
(b) The commissioner shall be the primary administrative 4104
officer of the state licensing authority or their designee. 4105
(c) Any commissioner may be removed or suspended from 4106
office as provided by the law of the state from which the 4107
commissioner is appointed. 4108
(d) The member state shall fill any vacancy occurring in 4109
the commission within 90 days. 4110
(e) Each commissioner shall be entitled entitle to one 4111
vote about the adoption of rules and creation of bylaws and 4112
shall otherwise have an opportunity to participate in the 4113
business and affairs of the commission. A commissioner shall 4114
vote in person or by such other means as provided in th e bylaws. 4115
The bylaws may provide for commissioners' participation in 4116
meetings by telephone or other means of communication. 4117
(f) The commission shall meet at least once during each 4118
calendar year. Additional meetings shall be held as set forth in 4119
the bylaws. 4120
(g) The commission shall establish by rule a term of 4121
office for commissioners. 4122
(3) The commission shall have the following powers and 4123
duties: 4124
(a) Establish a code of ethics for the commission. 4125
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(b) Establish a fiscal year of the commission. 4126
(c) Establish bylaws for the commission. 4127
(d) Maintain its financial records in accordance with the 4128
bylaws of the commission. 4129
(e) Meet and take such actions as are consistent with the 4130
provisions of this compact, the bylaws, and rules of the 4131
commission. 4132
(f) Adopt uniform rules to implement and administer this 4133
compact. The rules shall have the force and effect of law and 4134
shall be binding in all member states. In the event the 4135
commission exercises its rulemaking authority in a manner that 4136
is beyond the scope of the purposes of this compact, or the 4137
powers granted hereunder, then such an action by the commission 4138
shall be invalid and have no force and effect of law. 4139
(g) Bring and prosecute legal proceedings or actions in 4140
the name of the commission, provided th at the standing of any 4141
member state licensing authority to sue or be sued under 4142
applicable law shall not be affected. 4143
(h) Purchase and maintain insurance and bonds. 4144
(i) Borrow, accept, or contract for services of personnel, 4145
including, but not limited t o, employees of a member state or an 4146
associated nongovernmental organization that is open to 4147
membership by all states. 4148
(j) Hire employees, elect or appoint officers, fix 4149
compensation, define duties, grant such individuals appropriate 4150
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authority to carry o ut the purposes of this compact, and 4151
establish the commission's personnel policies and programs 4152
relating to conflicts of interest, qualifications of personnel, 4153
and other related personnel matters. 4154
(k) Lease, purchase, accept appropriate gifts or donation s 4155
of, or otherwise own, hold, improve, or use, any property, real, 4156
personal or mixed, provided that at all times the commission 4157
shall avoid any appearance of impropriety. 4158
(l) Sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, 4159
abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property real, personal or 4160
mixed. 4161
(m) Establish a budget and make expenditures. 4162
(n) Borrow money. 4163
(o) Appoint committees, including standing committees 4164
composed of members and such other interested persons as may be 4165
designated in this interstate compact, rules, or bylaws. 4166
(p) Provide and receive information from, and cooperate 4167
with, law enforcement agencies. 4168
(q) Establish and elect an executive committee. 4169
(r) Establish and develop a charter for an executive 4170
information governance committee to advise on facilitating the 4171
exchange of information, the use of information, data privacy, 4172
and technical support needs, and provide reports as needed. 4173
(s) Perform such other functions as may be necessary or 4174
appropriate to achieve the purposes of this compact consistent 4175
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with the state regulation of teacher licensure. 4176
(t) Determine whether a state's adopted language is 4177
materially different from the model compact language such that 4178
the state would not qualify for participation in the compact. 4179
(4)(a) The executive committee shall have the power to act 4180
on behalf of the commission according to the terms of this 4181
compact. 4182
(b) The executive committee shall be composed of eight 4183
voting members as follows: 4184
1. The chair of the commission. 4185
2. The vice chair vicechair of the commission. 4186
3. The treasurer of the commission. 4187
4. Five members who are elected by the commission from the 4188
current membership as follows: 4189
a. Four voting members representing geographic regions in 4190
accordance with commission rules. 4191
b. One at-large voting member in accordance with 4192
commission rules. 4193
(c) The commission may add or remove members of the 4194
executive committee as provided in commission rules. 4195
(d) The executive committee shall meet at least once 4196
annually. 4197
(e) The executive committee shall have the following 4198
duties and responsibilities: 4199
1. Recommend to the entire commission changes to the rules 4200
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or bylaws, changes to the compact legislation, fees paid by 4201
interstate compact member states such as annual dues, and a ny 4202
compact fee charged by the member states on behalf of the 4203
commission. 4204
2. Ensure commission administration services are 4205
appropriately provided, contractual or otherwise. 4206
3. Prepare and recommend the budget. 4207
4. Maintain financial records on behalf o f the commission. 4208
5. Monitor compliance of member states and provide reports 4209
to the commission. 4210
6. Perform other duties as provided in the rules or 4211
bylaws. 4212
(5)(a) All meetings of the commission shall be open to the 4213
public, and public notice of meetin gs shall be given in 4214
accordance with commission bylaws. 4215
(b) The commission shall keep minutes of commission 4216
meetings and shall provide a full and accurate summary of 4217
actions taken take, and the reasons thereof, including a 4218
description of the views expres sed. All documents considered in 4219
connection with an action shall be identified in such minutes. 4220
(6)(a) The commission shall pay, or provide for the 4221
payment of, the reasonable expenses of its establishment, 4222
organization, and ongoing activities. 4223
(b) The commission may accept all appropriate donations 4224
and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and 4225
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services, and receive, utilize, and dispose of the same, 4226
provided that at all times the commission shall avoid any 4227
appearance of impropriety or conflic ts of interest. 4228
(c) The commission may levy on and collect an annual 4229
assessment from each member state or impose fees on other 4230
parties to cover the cost of the operations and activities of 4231
the commission, in accordance with the rules of the commission. 4232
(d) The commission shall not incur obligations of any kind 4233
prior to securing the funds adequate to meet the same; nor shall 4234
the commission pledge the credit of any of the member states, 4235
except by and with the authority of the member state. 4236
(e) The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all 4237
receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of 4238
the commission shall be subject to all accounting procedures 4239
established under the commission bylaws. All receipts and 4240
disbursements of funds of th e commission shall be reviewed 4241
annually in accordance with commission bylaws, and a report of 4242
the review shall be included in and become part of the annual 4243
report of the commission. 4244
(7)(a) The members, officers, executive director, 4245
employees, and represe ntatives of the commission shall be immune 4246
from suit and liability, either personally or in their official 4247
capacity, for any claim for damage to or loss of property or 4248
personal injury or other civil liability caused by or arising 4249
out of any actual or alleg ed act, error, or omission that 4250
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occurred or that the person against whom the claim is made had a 4251
reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of 4252
commission employment, duties, or responsibilities. Nothing in 4253
this paragraph shall be construed to protect any such person 4254
from suit or liability for any damage, loss, injury, or 4255
liability caused by the intentional, willful, or wanton 4256
misconduct of that person. 4257
(b) The commission shall defend any member, officer, 4258
executive director, employee, or repr esentative of the 4259
commission in any civil action seeking to impose liability 4260
arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission 4261
that occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, 4262
or responsibilities, or that the person against whom the claim 4263
is made had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the 4264
scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities. 4265
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit that 4266
person from retaining his or her own counsel and provided 4267
provide further that the actual or alleged act, error, or 4268
omission did not result from the person's intentional, willful, 4269
or wanton misconduct. 4270
(c) The commission shall indemnify and hold harmless any 4271
member, officer, executive director, employee, or rep resentative 4272
of the commission for the amount of any settlement or judgment 4273
obtained against that person arising out of any actual or 4274
alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope 4275
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of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or th at 4276
such person had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within 4277
the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, 4278
provided the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not 4279
result from the intentional, willful, or wanton misconduct o f 4280
that person. 4281
4282
ARTICLE VIII 4283
RULEMAKING 4284
4285
(1) The commission shall exercise its rulemaking powers 4286
pursuant to the criteria set forth in this compact and the rules 4287
adopted thereunder. Rules and amendments shall become binding as 4288
of the date specified in ea ch rule or amendment. 4289
(2) The commission shall adopt reasonable rules to achieve 4290
the intent and purpose of this compact. In the event the 4291
commission exercises its rulemaking authority in a manner that 4292
is beyond the purpose and intent of this compact, or the powers 4293
granted hereunder, then such action by the commission shall be 4294
invalid and have no force and effect of law in the member 4295
states. 4296
(3) If a majority of the legislatures of the member states 4297
rejects a rule, by enactment of a statute or resolution in the 4298
same manner used to adopt this compact within 4 years of the 4299
date of the adoption of the rule, then such rule shall have no 4300
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further force and effect in any member state. 4301
(4) Rules or amendments to the rules shall be adopted or 4302
ratified at a regular or special meeting of the commission in 4303
accordance with the commission's rules and bylaws. 4304
(5) Upon a determination that an emergency exists, the 4305
commission may consider and adopt an emergency rule with 48 4306
hours' notice, with opportunity for comment, provided the usual 4307
rulemaking procedures shall be retroactively applied to the rule 4308
as soon as reasonably possible, in no event even later than 90 4309
days after the effective date of the rule. For the purposes of 4310
this subsection, an emergency rule is one that must be adopted 4311
immediately to: 4312
(a) Meet an imminent threat to the public health, safety, 4313
or welfare; 4314
(b) Prevent a loss of commission or member state funds; 4315
(c) Meet a deadline for the adoption of an administrative 4316
rule that is established by feder al law or rule; or 4317
(d) Protect the public health or safety. 4318
4319
ARTICLE IX 4320
FACILITATING THE EXCHANGE 4321
OF INFORMATION 4322
4323
(1) The commission shall provide for facilitating the 4324
exchange of information to administer and implement the 4325
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provisions of this compact i n accordance with the rules of the 4326
commission, consistent with generally accepted data protection 4327
principles. 4328
(2) Nothing in this compact shall be deemed or construed 4329
to alter, limit, or inhibit the power of a member state to 4330
control and maintain ownersh ip of its licensee information or 4331
alter, limit, or inhibit the laws or regulations governing 4332
licensee information in member states. 4333
4334
ARTICLE X 4335
OVERSIGHT, DISPUTE RESOLUTION, 4336
AND ENFORCEMENT 4337
4338
(1)(a) The executive and judicial branches of state 4339
government in each member state shall enforce this compact and 4340
take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate this 4341
compact's purpose and intent. The provisions of this compact 4342
shall have standing as statutory law. 4343
(b) Venue is proper and judicial proceedings by or against 4344
the commission shall be brought solely and exclusively in a 4345
court of competent jurisdiction where the principal office of 4346
the commission is located. The commission may waive venue and 4347
jurisdictional defenses to the extent it adopts or consents to 4348
participate in alternative dispute resolution proceedings. 4349
Nothing herein shall affect or limit the selection or propriety 4350
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of venue in any action against a licensee for professional 4351
malpractice, misconduct , or any such similar matter. 4352
(c) All courts and all administrative agencies shall take 4353
judicial notice of this compact, the rules of the commission, 4354
and any information provided to a member state pursuant thereto 4355
in any judicial or quasi -judicial proceeding in a member state 4356
pertaining to the subject matter of this compact, or which may 4357
affect the powers, responsibilities, or actions of the 4358
commission. 4359
(d) The commission shall be entitled to receive service of 4360
process in any proceeding regarding the en forcement or 4361
interpretation of this compact and shall have standing to 4362
intervene in such a proceeding for all purposes. Failure to 4363
provide the commission service of process shall render a 4364
judgment or an order void as to the commission, this compact, or 4365
adopted rules. 4366
(2)(a) If the commission determines that a member state 4367
has defaulted in the performance of its obligations or 4368
responsibilities under this compact or the adopted rules, the 4369
commission shall: 4370
1. Provide written notice to the defaulting state and 4371
other member states of the nature of the default, the proposed 4372
means of curing the default, and any other action to be taken by 4373
the commission; and 4374
2. Provide remedial training and specific technical 4375
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assistance regarding the default. 4376
(b) If a state in default fails to cure the default, the 4377
defaulting state may be terminated from this compact upon an 4378
affirmative vote of a majority of the commissioners of the 4379
member states, and all rights, privileges, and benefits 4380
conferred on that state by this comp act may be terminated on the 4381
effective date of termination. A cure of the default does not 4382
relieve the offending state of obligations or liabilities 4383
incurred during the period of default. 4384
(c) Termination of membership in the compact shall be 4385
imposed only after all other means of securing compliance have 4386
been exhausted. Notice of intent to suspend or terminate shall 4387
be given by the commission to the Governor, the Majority and 4388
Minority Leaders of the State Legislature, and the state 4389
licensing authority of t he of the defaulting state and to each 4390
of the member states. 4391
(d) A state that has been terminated is responsible for 4392
all assessments, obligations, and liabilities incurred through 4393
the effective date of termination, including obligations that 4394
extend beyond the effective date of termination. 4395
(e) The commission shall not bear any costs related to a 4396
state that is found to be in default or that has been terminated 4397
from this compact unless agreed upon in writing between the 4398
commission and the defaulting state . 4399
(f) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to be a 4400
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waiver of sovereign immunity. 4401
(g) The defaulting state may appeal the action of the 4402
commission by petitioning the United States District Court for 4403
the District of Columbia or the federal district where the 4404
commission has its principal offices. The prevailing party shall 4405
be awarded all costs of such litigation, including reasonable 4406
attorney fees. 4407
(h)1. Upon the request of a member state, the commission 4408
shall attempt to resolve disputes related to this compact that 4409
arise among member states and between member and nonmember 4410
states. 4411
2. The commission shall adopt a rule providing for both 4412
binding and nonbinding alternative dispute resolution for 4413
disputes as appropriate. 4414
(i)1. The commission, in th e reasonable exercise of its 4415
discretion, shall enforce the provisions and rules of this 4416
compact. 4417
2. By a majority vote, the commission may initiate legal 4418
action in the United States District Court for the District of 4419
Columbia or the federal district wher e the commission has its 4420
principal offices against a member state in default to enforce 4421
compliance with the provisions of this compact and its adopted 4422
rules and bylaws. The relief sought may include both injunctive 4423
relief and damages. In the event judicial enforcement is 4424
necessary, the prevailing party shall be awarded all costs of 4425
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such litigation, including reasonable attorney fees. The 4426
remedies herein shall not be the exclusive remedies of the 4427
commission. The commission may pursue any other remedies 4428
available under federal or state law. 4429
4430
ARTICLE XI 4431
EFFECTUATION, WITHDRAWAL, AND AMENDMENT 4432
4433
(1) This compact shall come into effect on the date on 4434
which the compact statute is enacted into law in the tenth 4435
member state. 4436
(a) On or after the effective date of this compact, the 4437
commission shall convene and review the enactment of each of the 4438
charter member states to determine if the statute enacted by 4439
such charter member state is materially different from the model 4440
compact statute. 4441
(b) A charter member state w hose enactment is found to be 4442
materially different from the model compact statute shall be 4443
entitled entitle to the default process set forth in Article X. 4444
(c) Member states enacting the compact subsequent to the 4445
charter member states shall be subject to the process set forth 4446
in Article VII(3)(t) Article VII(X)(a) to determine if their 4447
enactments are materially different from the model compact 4448
statute and whether they qualify for participation in the 4449
compact. 4450
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(2) If any member state is later found to be in default, 4451
or is terminated or withdraws from the compact, the commission 4452
commissioner shall remain in existence and the compact shall 4453
remain in effect even if the number of member states should be 4454
less than 10. 4455
(3) Any state that joins this compact aft er the 4456
commission's initial adoption of the rules and bylaws shall be 4457
subject to the rules and bylaws as they exist on the date on 4458
which this compact becomes law in that state. Any rule that has 4459
been previously adopted by the commission shall have the full 4460
force and effect of law on the day this compact becomes law in 4461
that state, as the rules and bylaws may be amended as provided 4462
in this compact. 4463
(4) Any member state may withdraw from this compact by 4464
enacting a statute repealing the same. 4465
(a) A member state's withdrawal shall not take effect 4466
until 6 months after the enactment of the repealing statute. 4467
(b) Withdrawal shall not affect the continuing requirement 4468
of the withdrawing state's licensing authority to comply with 4469
the investigative and adverse action reporting requirements of 4470
this act prior to the effective date of the withdrawal. 4471
(5) This compact may be amended by member states. No 4472
amendment to this compact shall become effective and binding 4473
upon any member state until it is enacted into the laws of all 4474
member states. 4475
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4476
ARTICLE XII 4477
CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY 4478
4479
This compact shall be liberally construed to effectuate the 4480
purpose thereof. The provisions of this compact shall be 4481
severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of 4482
this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of 4483
any member state or a state seeking membership in this compact 4484
or the United States Constitution or the applicability thereof 4485
to any other government, agency, person, or circumstance is held 4486
invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and the 4487
applicability thereof to any government, agency, person, or 4488
circumstance shall not be affected effected. If this compact 4489
shall be held contrary to the constitution of any member state, 4490
this compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the 4491
remaining member states and in full force and effect as to the 4492
member state affected as to all severable matters. 4493
4494
ARTICLE XIII 4495
CONSISTENT EFFECT AND 4496
CONFLICT WITH OTHER STATE LAWS 4497
4498
(1) Nothing herein shall prevent or inhibit the 4499
enforcement of any other law of a member state that is not 4500
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inconsistent with this compact. 4501
(2) Any laws, statutes, regulations, or other legal 4502
requirements in a member state in conflict with this compact are 4503
superseded to the exte nt of the conflict. 4504
(3) All permissible agreements between the commission and 4505
the member states are binding in accordance with their terms. 4506
Reviser's note.—Amended to conform to context, to confirm 4507
editorial substitutions to improve clarity and facilitat e 4508
correct interpretation, to confirm an editorial deletion to 4509
eliminate a repetition of words, and to correct a cross -4510
reference to conform to the fact that the provision for the 4511
duty of the commission to determine whether a state's 4512
adopted language is mate rially different from the model 4513
compact such that the state would not qualify for 4514
participation in the compact, is found in Article VII(3)(t) 4515
of the compact as passed by the Florida Legislature, 4516
codified as s. 1012.993. 4517
Section 93. Paragraph (a) of sub section (2) of section 4518
1013.64, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 4519
1013.64 Funds for comprehensive educational plant needs; 4520
construction cost maximums for school district capital 4521
projects.—Allocations from the Public Education Capital Outlay 4522
and Debt Service Trust Fund to the various boards for capital 4523
outlay projects shall be determined as follows: 4524
(2)(a) The department shall establish, as a part of the 4525
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Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund, a 4526
separate account, in an amount det ermined by the Legislature, to 4527
be known as the "Special Facility Construction Account." The 4528
Special Facility Construction Account shall be used to provide 4529
necessary construction funds to school districts which have 4530
urgent construction needs but which lack sufficient resources at 4531
present, and cannot reasonably anticipate sufficient resources 4532
within the period of the next 3 years, for these purposes from 4533
currently authorized sources of capital outlay revenue. A school 4534
district requesting funding from the Spec ial Facility 4535
Construction Account shall submit one specific construction 4536
project, not to exceed one complete educational plant, to the 4537
Special Facility Construction Committee. A district may not 4538
receive funding for more than one approved project in any 3 -year 4539
period or while any portion of the district's participation 4540
requirement is outstanding. The first year of the 3 -year period 4541
shall be the first year a district receives an appropriation. 4542
During the 2019-2020 school year, a school district that 4543
sustained hurricane damage in the 2018 -2019 school year may 4544
request funding from the Special Facility Construction Account 4545
for a new project before the completion of the district's 4546
participation requirement for an outstanding project. The 4547
department shall encourage a construction program that reduces 4548
the average size of schools in the district. The request must 4549
meet the following criteria to be considered by the committee: 4550
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1. The project must be deemed a critical need and must be 4551
recommended for funding by the Spe cial Facility Construction 4552
Committee. Before developing construction plans for the proposed 4553
facility, the district school board must request a 4554
preapplication review by the Special Facility Construction 4555
Committee or a project review subcommittee convened by the chair 4556
of the committee to include two representatives of the 4557
department and two staff members from school districts not 4558
eligible to participate in the program. A school district may 4559
request a preapplication review at any time; however, if the 4560
district school board seeks inclusion in the department's next 4561
annual capital outlay legislative budget request, the 4562
preapplication review request must be made before February 1. 4563
Within 90 days after receiving the preapplication review 4564
request, the committee or su bcommittee must meet in the school 4565
district to review the project proposal and existing facilities. 4566
To determine whether the proposed project is a critical need, 4567
the committee or subcommittee shall consider, at a minimum, the 4568
capacity of all existing facil ities within the district as 4569
determined by the Florida Inventory of School Houses; the 4570
district's pattern of student growth; the district's existing 4571
and projected capital outlay full -time equivalent student 4572
enrollment as determined by the demographic, reve nue, and 4573
education estimating conferences established in s. 216.136; the 4574
district's existing satisfactory student stations; the use of 4575
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all existing district property and facilities; grade level 4576
configurations; and any other information that may affect the 4577
need for the proposed project. 4578
2. The construction project must be recommended in the 4579
most recent survey or survey amendment cooperatively prepared by 4580
the district and the department, and approved by the department 4581
under the rules of the State Board of E ducation. If a district 4582
employs a consultant in the preparation of a survey or survey 4583
amendment, the consultant may not be employed by or receive 4584
compensation from a third party that designs or constructs a 4585
project recommended by the survey. 4586
3. The construction project must appear on the district's 4587
approved project priority list under the rules of the State 4588
Board of Education. 4589
4. The district must have selected and had approved a site 4590
for the construction project in compliance with s. 1013.36 and 4591
the rules of the State Board of Education. 4592
5. The district shall have developed a district school 4593
board adopted list of facilities that do not exceed the norm for 4594
net square feet occupancy requirements under the State 4595
Requirements for Educational Facilities, u sing all possible 4596
programmatic combinations for multiple use of space to obtain 4597
maximum daily use of all spaces within the facility under 4598
consideration. 4599
6. Upon construction, the total cost per student station, 4600
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including change orders, must not exceed th e cost per student 4601
station as provided in subsection (6) unless approved by the 4602
Special Facility Construction Committee. At the discretion of 4603
the committee, costs that exceed the cost per student station 4604
for special facilities may include legal and adminis trative 4605
fees, the cost of site improvements or related offsite 4606
improvements, the cost of complying with public shelter and 4607
hurricane hardening requirements, cost overruns created by a 4608
disaster as defined in s. 252.34(2), costs of security 4609
enhancements approved by the school safety specialist, and 4610
unforeseeable circumstances beyond the district's control. 4611
7. There shall be an agreement signed by the district 4612
school board stating that it will advertise for bids within 30 4613
days of receipt of its encumbrance a uthorization from the 4614
department. 4615
8. For construction projects for which Special Facilities 4616
Construction Account funding is sought before the 2019 -2020 4617
fiscal year, the district shall, at the time of the request and 4618
for a continuing period necessary to m eet the district's 4619
participation requirement, levy the maximum millage against its 4620
nonexempt assessed property value as allowed in s. 1011.71(2) or 4621
shall raise an equivalent amount of revenue from the school 4622
capital outlay surtax authorized under s. 212.05 5(6). Beginning 4623
with construction projects for which Special Facilities 4624
Construction Account funding is sought in the 2019 -2020 fiscal 4625
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year, the district shall, for a minimum of 3 years before 4626
submitting the request and for a continuing period necessary to 4627
meet its participation requirement, levy the maximum millage 4628
against the district's nonexempt assessed property value as 4629
authorized under s. 1011.71(2) or shall raise an equivalent 4630
amount of revenue from the school capital outlay surtax 4631
authorized under s. 212.055(6). Any district with a new or 4632
active project, funded under the provisions of this subsection, 4633
shall be required to budget no more than the value of 1 mill per 4634
year to the project until the district's participation 4635
requirement relating to the loc al discretionary capital 4636
improvement millage or the equivalent amount of revenue from the 4637
school capital outlay surtax is satisfied. 4638
9. If a contract has not been signed 90 days after the 4639
advertising of bids, the funding for the specific project shall 4640
revert to the Special Facility New Construction Account to be 4641
reallocated to other projects on the list. However, an 4642
additional 90 days may be granted by the commissioner. 4643
10. The department shall certify the inability of the 4644
district to fund the survey -recommended project over a 4645
continuous 3-year period using projected capital outlay revenue 4646
derived from s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution, as 4647
amended, paragraph (3)(a) of this section, and s. 1011.71(2). 4648
11. The district shall have on file with the department an 4649
adopted resolution acknowledging its commitment to satisfy its 4650
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participation requirement, which is equivalent to all 4651
unencumbered and future revenue acquired from s. 9(d), Art. XII 4652
of the State Constitution, as amended, paragraph (3)(a) of this 4653
section, and s. 1011.71(2), in the year of the initial 4654
appropriation and for the 2 years immediately following the 4655
initial appropriation. 4656
12. Phase I plans must be approved by the district school 4657
board as being in compliance with the building and life safety 4658
codes before June 1 of the year the application is made. 4659
Reviser's note.—Amended to delete obsolete language. 4660
Section 94. This act shall take effect on the 60th day 4661
after adjournment sine die of the session of the Legislature in 4662
which enacted. 4663