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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to prohibitions and limitations on 2
diversity, equity, and inclusion and requirements for 3
medical institutions of higher education; amending s. 4
20.105, F.S.; providing requirements for state 5
agencies applying for certain federal health care -6
related grants; creating s. 20.615, F.S.; providing 7
definitions; prohibiting state agencies from expending 8
certain funds for a diversity, equity, and inclusion 9
office or officer; authorizing a person to notify the 10
Attorney General for violations of law by a state 11
agency; authorizing the Attorney General to file suit 12
for a writ of mandamus; providing construction; 13
creating s. 20.62, F.S.; prohibiting a person from 14
being excluded on an examining or licensing board 15
based on specified grounds and from being sub jected to 16
discrimination by such board; prohibiting an examining 17
or licensing board from establishing or effectuating 18
certain policies or from making decisions based on 19
certain personal characteristics; creating a private 20
cause of action against certain bo ards and persons; 21
providing for actual, compensatory, or punitive 22
damages under certain circumstances; creating s. 23
287.139, F.S.; requiring potential recipients of state 24
contracts or grants to provide a specified 25
HB 731 2025
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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
certification to the Chief Financial Office r; 26
providing a definition for the term "diversity, 27
equity, and inclusion"; creating s. 395.3042, F.S.; 28
providing definitions; requiring health care providers 29
and medical institutions of higher education to 30
provide a specified certification to their governi ng 31
boards by a date certain and annually thereafter; 32
requiring the Florida Board of Medical Examiners to 33
publish on its website by a date certain, and annually 34
thereafter, a list of providers and institutions that 35
provided such certification; amending s. 4 56.013, 36
F.S.; providing definitions; prohibiting health care -37
related professional licensing boards and other 38
organizations that issue health care -related licenses 39
and certifications from certain actions relating to 40
diversity, equity, and inclusion; creatin g s. 41
1004.099, F.S.; requiring medical institutions of 42
higher education to provide letter grade -based 43
assessments for required courses; providing an 44
exception; amending s. 1007.263, F.S.; requiring 45
specified standardized tests for admission to medical 46
institutions of higher education; providing a 47
definition for the term "medical institution of higher 48
education"; providing an effective date. 49
50
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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
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 51
52
Section 1. Subsection (3) is added to section 20.1 05, 53
Florida Statutes, to read: 54
20.105 Federal Grants Trust Fund. — 55
(3) A state agency as defined in s. 216.011(1) that is 56
applying for a federal health care -related grant relating to 57
diversity, equity, and inclusion, as defined in s. 20.615(1), 58
must do the following: 59
(a) Publish on its website all materials, requirements, 60
and instructions related to the federal grant application which 61
are in the state agency's possession. 62
(b) Submit a copy of the federal grant proposal to all 63
members of the Health Po licy Committee in the Senate and the 64
Health and Human Services Committee in the House of 65
Representatives. 66
Section 2. Section 20.615, Florida Statutes, is created to 67
read: 68
20.615 Diversity, equity, and inclusion in state 69
agencies.— 70
(1) As used in this section, the term: 71
(a)1. "Diversity, equity, and inclusion" or "DEI" means: 72
a. Any effort to manipulate or otherwise influence the 73
composition of employees with reference to race, sex, color, or 74
ethnicity, other than ensuring colorblind and race -neutral 75
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hiring in accordance with state and federal antidiscrimination 76
laws; 77
b. Any effort to promote differential treatment of or 78
provide special benefits to a person based on his or her race, 79
color, or ethnicity; 80
c. Any effort to promote or adopt polici es or procedures 81
designed or implemented with reference to race, color, or 82
ethnicity, other than policies or procedures approved in writing 83
by the Attorney General for the sole purpose of ensuring 84
compliance with any applicable court order or state or fede ral 85
law; 86
d. Any effort to promote or adopt training, programming, 87
or activities designed or implemented with reference to race, 88
color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, other 89
than training, programming, or activities developed by an 90
attorney licensed in this state and approved in writing by the 91
Attorney General for the sole purpose of ensuring compliance 92
with any applicable court order or state or federal law; or 93
e. Any effort to promote as the official position of a 94
state agency a particular opinion referencing unconscious or 95
implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender 96
ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, antiracism, 97
systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, 98
neopronouns, heteronormativity , disparate impact, gender theory, 99
racial or sexual privilege, or any related formulation of these 100
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concepts. 101
2. The term does not include equal opportunity or equal 102
employment opportunity materials designed to inform a person 103
about the prohibition on dis crimination based on protected 104
status under state or federal law. 105
(b) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion office" or "DEI 106
office" means any division, office, center, or other unit of a 107
state agency, or component thereof, that coordinates, creates, 108
develops, designs, implements, organizes, plans, or promotes 109
policies, programming, training, practices, activities, and 110
procedures relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 111
(c) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion officer" or "DEI 112
officer" means a person who i s a full-time or part-time employee 113
of a state agency, or component thereof, or an independent 114
contractor of a state agency, or component thereof, whose duties 115
for the state agency include coordinating, creating, developing, 116
designing, implementing, organi zing, planning, or promoting 117
policies, programming, training, practices, activities, or other 118
procedures relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 119
(d) "State agency" has the same meaning as in s. 120
216.011(1). 121
(2) A state agency may not expend approp riated funds or 122
otherwise expend any funds derived from bequests, charges, 123
deposits, donations, grants, gifts, income, receipts, or any 124
other source to establish, sustain, support, or staff a DEI 125
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office or to contract, employ, engage, or hire a person to s erve 126
as a DEI officer. 127
(3) A person may notify the Attorney General of a 128
violation or potential violation of this section by a state 129
agency. The Attorney General may file suit for a writ of 130
mandamus compelling the state agency to comply with this 131
section. 132
(4) This section does not prohibit bona fide 133
qualifications based on sex which are reasonably necessary to 134
the normal operation of government functions. 135
Section 3. Section 20.62, Florida Statutes, is created to 136
read: 137
20.62 Prohibition on gender a nd racial quotas.— 138
(1) A person may not be excluded, based on the ground of 139
race, color, ethnicity, gender, or sex, from joining an 140
examining or licensing board, as that term is defined in s. 141
20.03, or be subjected to discrimination by any such board 142
governed by this chapter. 143
(2) An examining or licensing board may not establish or 144
effectuate in practice race -based policies, including 145
affirmative action, racial preferences, or racial quotas, 146
relating to the composition of the board. 147
(3) An examining or licensing board may not use in any way 148
an applicant's or candidate's race, color, ethnicity, or 149
national origin to make decisions about such person's 150
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participation with or on the board. The use of aggregated data 151
concerning the applicant's or candidate's race, color, 152
ethnicity, or national origin to make any decisions is 153
prohibited. 154
(4) There is a private cause of action against any 155
examining or licensing board governed by this chapter for a 156
violation, directly or indirectly, of the prohibitions in this 157
section. 158
(5) There is a private cause of action against an officer, 159
employee, or agent of an examining or licensing board governed 160
by this chapter for a violation of this section. However, if an 161
officer, employee, or agent of an examining or licensing b oard 162
performed an action at the direction of the board or any other 163
superior officer, employee, or agent in violation of subsection 164
(2) or subsection (3), the cause of action may only be brought 165
against the examining or licensing board or the superior 166
officer, employee, or agent. 167
(6) In an action brought under this section, a prevailing 168
plaintiff may recover any of the following: 169
(a) Actual or compensatory damages sustained by the 170
plaintiff as a result of a violation of this section. 171
(b) Punitive damages against the examining or licensing 172
board if the plaintiff demonstrates that the board discriminated 173
against the plaintiff intentionally or with reckless disregard 174
of the protected rights of such plaintiff. 175
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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
Section 4. Section 287.139, Florida Statut es, is created 176
to read: 177
287.139 Prohibition against utilizing diversity, equity, 178
and inclusion material. —All potential recipients for a state 179
contract or grant must certify to the Chief Financial Officer 180
before being awarded such contract or grant that t he recipient 181
does not and will not require its employees, contractors, 182
volunteers, vendors, or agents to ascribe to, study, or be 183
instructed with diversity, equity, and inclusion material using 184
state funds. For purposes of this section, the term "diversity , 185
equity, and inclusion" has the same meaning as in s. 20.615(1). 186
Section 5. Section 395.3042, Florida Statutes, is created 187
to read: 188
395.3042 Prohibition on diversity, equity, and inclusion 189
by health care providers. — 190
(1) As used in this section, th e term: 191
(a) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion" has the same 192
meaning as in s. 20.615(1). 193
(b) "Health care provider" means a hospital, doctor's 194
office, outpatient clinic, medical testing site, medical 195
laboratory, physical or occupational therapy or rehab ilitation 196
provider, chiropractor, dentist, optometrist, mental health and 197
clinical social worker, and any related provider that accepts 198
public funding, including funding through Medicaid or Medicare. 199
(c) "Medical institution of higher education" means a 200
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Florida College System institution or state university, as those 201
terms are defined in s. 1000.21, that offer bachelor's, 202
master's, or doctoral degrees, or a trade school that receives 203
state funds and offers health care -related degrees, 204
certification progra ms, or training. 205
(2) All health care providers and medical institutions of 206
higher education must certify to their respective governing 207
boards by December 31, 2025, and annually thereafter, that they 208
do not and will not require their employees, contractor s, 209
volunteers, vendors, or agents to ascribe to, study, or be 210
instructed with diversity, equity, and inclusion material using 211
state funds. 212
(3) The Florida Board of Medical Examiners shall publish 213
on its website by December 31, 2025, and annually thereaft er, a 214
list of all health care providers and medical institutions of 215
higher education that have provided certification that such 216
provider or institution is not engaging in, promoting, teaching, 217
participating in, or requiring diversity, equity, and inclusion 218
material. 219
Section 6. Subsection (13) is added to section 456.013, 220
Florida Statutes, to read: 221
456.013 Department; general licensing provisions. — 222
(13)(a) As used in this subsection, the term: 223
1. "Diversity, equity, and inclusion" has the same meaning 224
as in s. 20.615(1). 225
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2. "Health care-related professional licensing board" 226
means public licensing boards for audiology and speech 227
pathology, chiropractic, dentistry, dietetics and nutrition, 228
medicine, osteopathy, long -term care, mental health and human 229
services, massage therapy, nursing, occupational therapy, 230
optometry, pharmacology, physical therapy, podiatry, 231
professional counseling, psychology, and social work. 232
(b) Health care-related professional licensing boards may 233
not adopt or impose, as a condition of obtaining or renewing 234
licenses, any incentives or requirements that applicants for 235
licensure undergo, demonstrate familiarity with, or support 236
diversity, equity, and inclusion training, education, material, 237
or programming. 238
(c) Organizations that issue health care -related 239
professional licenses and certifications may not use diversity, 240
equity, and inclusion material or require diversity, equity, and 241
inclusion training as part of the licensing or certification 242
process. 243
(d) Health care-related professional licensing boards and 244
organizations that issue health care -related professional 245
licenses and certifications may not conduct internal diversity, 246
equity, and inclusion audits or otherwise engage with diversity, 247
equity, and inclusion consultants. 248
Section 7. Section 1004.099, Florida Statutes, is created 249
to read: 250
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1004.099 Grading in medical institutions of higher 251
education.—A medical institution of higher education as defined 252
in s. 1007.263(6), excluding those institutions that are open 253
enrollment, must provide letter grade -based assessments for each 254
course required to graduate and may not use pass/fail 255
assessments for any required course. 256
Section 8. Subsection (6) is added to section 1007.263, 257
Florida Statutes, to read: 258
1007.263 Florida College System institutions; admissions 259
of students.—Each Florida College System institution board of 260
trustees is authorized to adopt rules governing admissions of 261
students subject to this section and rules of the State Board of 262
Education. These rules sha ll include the following: 263
(6) A medical institution of higher education must require 264
a standardized admissions test focused on knowledge of and 265
critical thinking skills for science and medical training as a 266
requirement for admission. The term "medical in stitution of 267
higher education" means a Florida College System institution or 268
state university, as those terms are defined in s. 1000.21, that 269
offer bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees, or a trade 270
school that receives state funds and offers health car e-related 271
degrees, certification programs, or training. 272
273
Each board of trustees shall establish policies that notify 274
students about developmental education options for improving 275
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their communication or computation skills that are essential to 276
performing college-level work, including tutoring, extended time 277
in gateway courses, free online courses, adult basic education, 278
adult secondary education, or private provider instruction. 279
Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 280