Florida Senate - 2025 SB 782 By Senator Pizzo 37-01843C-25 2025782__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to immigration; amending s. 20.60, 3 F.S.; revising the duties and responsibilities of the 4 Office of Economic Accountability and Transparency 5 within the Department of Commerce; amending s. 448.09, 6 F.S.; revising penalties, including suspension and 7 revocation of certain licenses and the imposition of 8 fines, for violating provisions related to employing 9 unauthorized aliens; requiring that such fines be 10 deposited into a specified trust fund; conforming 11 provisions to changes made by the act; providing 12 increased penalties, including suspension and 13 revocation of certain licenses and the imposition of 14 fines, for violating provisions related to employing 15 unauthorized aliens where specified injury or death 16 occurs; requiring that such fines be deposited into a 17 specified trust fund; amending s. 448.095, F.S.; 18 revising the definition of the term employee; 19 requiring that all private employers, rather than only 20 those employing a specified number or more of 21 employees, use the E-Verify system to verify a new 22 employees employment eligibility; prohibiting the 23 awarding of future public contracts by any public 24 agency in this state to specified contractors; 25 requiring that certain fines be deposited into a 26 specified trust fund; conforming provisions to changes 27 made by the act; amending s. 908.104, F.S.; 28 authorizing law enforcement agencies to use the E 29 Verify system to investigate a detained persons 30 immigration status; providing an effective date. 31 32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33 34 Section 1.Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 35 20.60, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 36 20.60Department of Commerce; creation; powers and duties. 37 (3)(a)The following divisions and offices of the 38 Department of Commerce are established: 39 1.The Division of Economic Development. 40 2.The Division of Community Development. 41 3.The Division of Workforce Services. 42 4.The Division of Finance and Administration. 43 5.The Division of Information Technology. 44 6.The Office of the Secretary. 45 7.The Office of Economic Accountability and Transparency, 46 which shall: 47 a.Oversee the departments critical objectives as 48 determined by the secretary and make sure that the departments 49 key objectives are clearly communicated to the public. 50 b.Organize department resources, expertise, data, and 51 research to focus on and solve the complex economic challenges 52 facing the state. 53 c.Provide leadership for the departments priority issues 54 that require integration of policy, management, and critical 55 objectives from multiple programs and organizations internal and 56 external to the department; and organize and manage external 57 communication on such priority issues. 58 d.Promote and facilitate key department initiatives to 59 address priority economic issues and explore data and identify 60 opportunities for innovative approaches to address such economic 61 issues. 62 e.Promote strategic planning for the department. 63 f.Administer and enforce the E-Verify system and 64 employment authorization compliance as set forth in ss. 448.09 65 and 448.095. 66 Section 2.Present subsection (5) of section 448.09, 67 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (8), new 68 subsections (5), (6), and (7) are added to that section, and 69 present subsections (3) and (4) of that section are amended, to 70 read: 71 448.09Unauthorized aliens; employment prohibited. 72 (3)For an employer that violates this section, the 73 department shall suspend or revoke all licenses issued by a 74 licensing agency pursuant to chapter 120 for 1 year and impose a 75 fine not to exceed $10,000. Fines must be deposited in the 76 Florida Highway Patrol Safety Operating Trust Fund For a 77 violation of this section, the department shall place the 78 employer on probation for a 1-year period and require that the 79 employer report quarterly to the department to demonstrate 80 compliance with the requirements of subsection (1) and s. 81 448.095. 82 (4)For an employer that subsequently violates this 83 section, the department shall suspend or revoke all licenses 84 issued by a licensing agency pursuant to chapter 120 for 5 years 85 and impose a fine not to exceed $50,000. Fines must be deposited 86 in the Florida Highway Patrol Safety Operating Trust Fund Any 87 violation of this section which takes place within 24 months 88 after a previous violation constitutes grounds for the 89 suspension or revocation of all licenses issued by a licensing 90 agency subject to chapter 120. The department shall take the 91 following actions for a violation involving: 92 (a)One to ten unauthorized aliens, suspension of all 93 applicable licenses held by a private employer for up to 30 days 94 by the respective agencies that issued them. 95 (b)Eleven to fifty unauthorized aliens, suspension of all 96 applicable licenses held by a private employer for up to 60 days 97 by the respective agencies that issued them. 98 (c)More than fifty unauthorized aliens, revocation of all 99 applicable licenses held by a private employer by the respective 100 agencies that issued them. 101 (5)For an employer that violates this section a third 102 time, the department shall permanently revoke all licenses 103 issued by a licensing agency pursuant to chapter 120 and impose 104 a fine not to exceed $250,000. Fines must be deposited in the 105 Florida Highway Patrol Safety Operating Trust Fund. 106 (6)For an employer that violates this section, and an 107 unauthorized alien employees actions result in injuries to 108 another person, the department shall suspend or revoke all 109 licenses issued by a licensing agency pursuant to chapter 120 110 for 5 years and impose a fine not to exceed $100,000. Fines must 111 be deposited in the Florida Highway Patrol Safety Operating 112 Trust Fund. 113 (7)For an employer that violates this section, and an 114 unauthorized alien employees actions result in the death of 115 another person, the department shall permanently revoke all 116 licenses issued by a licensing agency pursuant to chapter 120 117 and impose a fine not to exceed $500,000. Fines must be 118 deposited in the Florida Highway Patrol Safety Operating Trust 119 Fund. 120 Section 3.Paragraph (b) of subsection (1), paragraph (b) 121 of subsection (2), paragraph (c) of subsection (5), and 122 subsection (6) of section 448.095, Florida Statutes, are amended 123 to read: 124 448.095Employment eligibility. 125 (1)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 126 (b)Employee means an individual filling a permanent 127 position who performs labor or services under the control or 128 direction of an employer that has the power or right to control 129 and direct the employee in the material details of how the work 130 is to be performed in exchange for salary, wages, or other 131 remuneration. The term also includes labor that is occasional, 132 incidental, or irregular, that exceeds 40 person-hours in total 133 duration. As used in this subsection, the term duration means 134 the period of time from the commencement to the completion of 135 the particular job or project. An individual hired for casual 136 labor, as defined in s. 443.036, which is to be performed 137 entirely within a private residence, is not an employee of an 138 occupant or owner of a private residence. An independent 139 contractor, as defined in federal laws or regulations, hired to 140 perform a specified portion of labor or services is not an 141 employee. For the purposes of this section, an individual who 142 receives a Form 1099 from the Internal Revenue Service is an 143 employee. 144 (2)EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION. 145 (b)1.A public agency shall use the E-Verify system to 146 verify a new employees employment eligibility as required under 147 paragraph (a). 148 2.Beginning on July 1, 2025 2023, all a private employers 149 employer with 25 or more employees shall use the E-Verify system 150 to verify a new employees employment eligibility as required 151 under paragraph (a). 152 3.Each employer required to use the E-Verify system under 153 this paragraph must certify on its first return each calendar 154 year to the tax service provider that it is in compliance with 155 this section when making contributions to or reimbursing the 156 states unemployment compensation or reemployment assistance 157 system. An employer that voluntarily uses the E-Verify system 158 may also make such a certification on its first return each 159 calendar year in order to document such use. 160 (5)PUBLIC AGENCY CONTRACTING. 161 (c)1.A public agency, contractor, or subcontractor who has 162 a good faith belief that a person or an entity with which it is 163 contracting has knowingly violated s. 448.09(1) shall terminate 164 the contract with the person or entity. 165 2.A public agency that has a good faith belief that a 166 subcontractor knowingly violated this subsection, but the 167 contractor otherwise complied with this subsection, shall 168 promptly notify the contractor and order the contractor to 169 immediately terminate the contract with the subcontractor. 170 3.A contract terminated under this paragraph is not a 171 breach of contract and may not be considered as such. If a 172 public agency terminates a contract with a contractor under this 173 paragraph, the contractor may not be awarded any public contract 174 in the future with any public agency in this state a public 175 contract for at least 1 year after the date on which the 176 contract was terminated. A contractor is liable for any 177 additional costs incurred by a public agency as a result of the 178 termination of a contract. 179 (6)COMPLIANCE. 180 (a)In addition to the requirements under s. 288.061(6), 181 beginning on July 1, 2024, for public agencies or on July 1, 182 2025, for private employers, if the Department of Commerce 183 determines that an employer failed to use the E-Verify system to 184 verify the employment eligibility of employees as required under 185 this section, the department must notify the employer of the 186 departments determination of noncompliance and provide the 187 employer with 30 days to cure the noncompliance. 188 (b)If the Department of Commerce determines that an 189 employer failed to use the E-Verify system as required under 190 this section three times in any 24-month period, the department 191 must impose a fine of $1,000 per day until the employer provides 192 sufficient proof to the department that the noncompliance is 193 cured. Noncompliance constitutes grounds for the suspension of 194 all licenses issued by a licensing agency subject to chapter 120 195 until the noncompliance is cured. 196 (c)Fines collected under this subsection must be deposited 197 into the Florida Highway Patrol Safety Operating Trust Fund 198 State Economic Enhancement and Development Trust Fund for use by 199 the department for employer outreach and public notice of the 200 states employment verification laws. 201 Section 4.Present paragraphs (a) through (f) of subsection 202 (2) of section 908.104, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 203 paragraphs (b) through (g), respectively, and a new paragraph 204 (a) is added to that subsection, to read: 205 908.104Cooperation with federal immigration authorities. 206 (2)Except as otherwise expressly prohibited by federal 207 law, a state entity, local governmental entity, or law 208 enforcement agency, or an employee, an agent, or a 209 representative of the entity or agency, may not prohibit or in 210 any way restrict a law enforcement agency from taking any of the 211 following actions with respect to information regarding a 212 persons immigration status: 213 (a)Using the E-Verify system to investigate a detained 214 persons immigration status. 215 Section 5.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.