Florida Senate - 2025 SB 2502 By the Committee on Appropriations 576-03198-25 20252502__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act implementing the 2025-2026 General 3 Appropriations Act; providing legislative intent; 4 incorporating by reference certain calculations; 5 authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration, 6 in consultation with the Department of Health, to 7 submit a budget amendment to realign funding for 8 specified purposes; specifying requirements for such 9 realignment; authorizing the Agency for Health Care 10 Administration to request nonoperating budget 11 authority to transfer certain federal funds to the 12 Department of Health; authorizing the Agency for 13 Health Care Administration to submit a budget 14 amendment to realign Medicaid funding for specified 15 purposes, subject to certain limitations; authorizing 16 the Agency for Health Care Administration to submit a 17 budget amendment to realign Medicaid funding for a 18 specified purpose within a specified fiscal year; 19 specifying requirements for such realignment; 20 authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration 21 and the Department of Health to each submit a budget 22 amendment to realign funding within the Florida 23 Kidcare program appropriation categories or to 24 increase budget authority for certain purposes; 25 specifying the time period within which each budget 26 amendment must be submitted; amending s. 381.986, 27 F.S.; extending for 1 fiscal year the exemption of 28 certain rules pertaining to the medical use of 29 marijuana from certain rulemaking requirements; 30 amending s. 14(1), chapter 2017-232, Laws of Florida; 31 exempting certain rules pertaining to medical 32 marijuana adopted to replace emergency rules from 33 specified rulemaking requirements; providing for the 34 future expiration and reversion of specified law; 35 authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration 36 to submit a budget amendment requesting additional 37 spending authority to implement specified programs and 38 payments; requiring institutions participating in a 39 specified workforce expansion and education program to 40 provide quarterly reports to the agency; authorizing 41 the Agency for Health Care Administration to a submit 42 budget amendment for a specified purpose; authorizing 43 the Agency for Health Care Administration to submit a 44 budget amendment requesting additional spending 45 authority to implement the Low Income Pool component 46 of the Florida Managed Medical Assistance 47 Demonstration up to a certain amount; requiring that 48 the amendment include a signed attestation and 49 acknowledgment for entities relating to the Low Income 50 Pool; authorizing the Agency for Health Care 51 Administration to submit a budget amendment requesting 52 additional spending authority to implement certain 53 payments and specified programs; authorizing the 54 Agency for Health Care Administration to submit a 55 budget amendment requesting additional spending 56 authority to implement a certified expenditure program 57 for emergency medical transportation services; 58 authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration 59 to submit a budget amendment requesting additional 60 spending authority to implement the Disproportionate 61 Share Hospital Program; requiring such amendment to 62 include specified information; amending s. 409.908, 63 F.S.; revising the Quality Incentive Program payment 64 pool percentage for the reimbursement of Medicaid 65 providers; providing for the future expiration and 66 reversion of specified law; authorizing the Department 67 of Children and Families to submit a budget amendment 68 to realign funding within specified areas of the 69 department based on implementation of the Guardianship 70 Assistance Program; authorizing the Department of 71 Children and Families, the Department of Health, and 72 the Agency for Health Care Administration to submit 73 budget amendments to increase budget authority to 74 support certain refugee programs; requiring the 75 Department of Children and Families to submit 76 quarterly reports to the Executive Office of the 77 Governor and the Legislature; authorizing the 78 Department of Children and Families to submit budget 79 amendments to increase budget authority to support 80 specified federal grant programs; amending s. 81 394.9082, F.S.; authorizing a managing entity to carry 82 forward certain unexpended funds; providing 83 construction; amending s. 409.9913, F.S.; requiring 84 core services funding to be allocated as provided in 85 the General Appropriations Act; requiring the 86 Department of Children and Families to develop and 87 report on an alternative tiered funding methodology 88 and to provide certain information; providing 89 requirements for the methodology; requiring lead 90 agencies and providers to submit detailed cost and 91 expenditure data as requested by the department for a 92 specified purpose; providing reporting requirements; 93 authorizing the Department of Health to submit a 94 budget amendment to increase budget authority for the 95 Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and 96 Children (WIC) and the Child Care Food Program if a 97 certain condition is met; authorizing the Department 98 of Health to submit a budget amendment to increase 99 budget authority for the HIV/AIDS Prevention and 100 Treatment Program if a certain condition is met; 101 authorizing the Department of Health to submit a 102 budget amendment to increase budget authority for the 103 department if additional federal revenues specific to 104 COVID-19 relief funds become available; requiring the 105 Agency for Health Care Administration to replace the 106 Florida Medicaid Management Information System (FMMIS) 107 and fiscal agent operations with a specified new 108 system; specifying items that may not be included in 109 the new system; providing directives to the Agency for 110 Health Care Administration related to the new Florida 111 Health Care Connection (FX) system; requiring the 112 Agency for Health Care Administration to meet certain 113 requirements in replacing FMMIS and the current 114 Medicaid fiscal agent; requiring the Agency for Health 115 Care Administration to implement a specified program 116 governance structure that includes an executive 117 steering committee composed of specified members; 118 providing the duties of the executive steering 119 committee; requiring the establishment of specified 120 working groups; providing the composition of such 121 groups; providing requirements for such groups; 122 requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration, 123 in consultation with the Department of Health, the 124 Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Department 125 of Children and Families, and the Department of 126 Corrections, to competitively procure a contract with 127 a vendor to negotiate prices for certain prescribed 128 drugs and biological products; providing 129 specifications for such contract; authorizing the 130 Agency for Persons with Disabilities to submit budget 131 amendments to transfer funding from the Salaries and 132 Benefits appropriation categories for a specified 133 purpose; authorizing the Agency for Persons with 134 Disabilities to submit budget amendments to request 135 funds from the Lump Sum-Home and Community Based 136 Waiver category for a specified purpose; authorizing 137 the Agency for Health Care Administration to submit 138 budget amendments within a specified timeframe for a 139 specified purpose; authorizing the Department of 140 Veterans Affairs to submit a budget amendment, 141 subject to Legislative Budget Commission approval, 142 requesting certain authority for certain purposes 143 relating to veterans nursing homes; amending s. 144 296.34, F.S.; authorizing the Department of Veterans 145 Affairs to contract with a vendor for the management 146 and operations of the Alwyn C. Cashe State Veterans 147 Nursing Home; authorizing the department to submit a 148 budget amendment, subject to Legislative Budget 149 Commission approval, for a specified purpose; amending 150 s. 409.915, F.S.; extending for 1 year the expiration 151 of an exception for certain funds used for the 152 hospital directed payment program; authorizing the 153 Department of Veterans Affairs to submit budget 154 amendments, subject to certain approval, for the 155 development and construction of a new State Veterans 156 Nursing Home and Adult Day Health Care Center in a 157 specified county; authorizing the Department of 158 Elderly Affairs to submit a budget amendment 159 requesting certain authority for an Adult Care Food 160 Program under certain circumstances; amending s. 161 216.262, F.S.; extending for 1 fiscal year the 162 authority of the Department of Corrections to submit a 163 budget amendment for additional positions and 164 appropriations under certain circumstances; amending 165 s. 215.18, F.S.; extending for 1 fiscal year the 166 authority and related repayment requirements for 167 temporary trust fund loans to the state court system 168 which are sufficient to meet the systems 169 appropriation; requiring the Department of Juvenile 170 Justice to review county juvenile detention payments 171 to determine whether a county has met specified 172 financial responsibilities; requiring that amounts 173 owed by certain county for such financial 174 responsibilities be deducted from certain county 175 funds; requiring the Department of Revenue to transfer 176 withheld funds to a specified trust fund; requiring 177 the Department of Revenue to ensure that such 178 reductions in amounts distributed do not reduce 179 distributions below amounts necessary for certain 180 payments due on bonds and to comply with bond 181 covenants; requiring the Department of Revenue to 182 notify the Department of Juvenile Justice if bond 183 payment requirements mandate a reduction in deductions 184 for amounts owed by a county; requiring the Department 185 of Juvenile Justice to take certain actions; 186 reenacting s. 27.40(1), (2)(a), (3)(a), (5), (6), and 187 (7), F.S., relating to court-appointed counsel; 188 extending for 1 fiscal year provisions governing the 189 appointment of court-appointed counsel; providing for 190 the future expiration and reversion of specified 191 statutory text; reenacting and amending s. 27.5304, 192 F.S., relating to the extension for 1 fiscal year 193 limitations on compensation for representation in 194 criminal proceedings; revising the maximum 195 compensation for certain proceedings; providing for 196 the future expiration and reversion of specified 197 statutory text; amending s. 934.50, F.S.; providing 198 how certain appropriated funds may be used; extending 199 for 1 year the expiration of a certain grant program; 200 requiring the Department of Management Services, with 201 the cooperation of certain agencies, to use tenant 202 broker services to renegotiate or reprocure certain 203 private lease agreements for office or storage space; 204 requiring the Department of Management Services to 205 provide a report to the Governor and the Legislature 206 by a specified date; prohibiting an agency from 207 transferring funds from a data processing category to 208 another category other than another data processing 209 category; authorizing the Executive Office of the 210 Governor to transfer funds appropriated in certain 211 categories between departments for purposes of 212 aligning amounts paid for risk management insurance 213 and for human resources services purchased per 214 statewide contract; authorizing the Department of 215 Management Services to use certain facility 216 disposition funds from the Architects Incidental Trust 217 Fund to pay for certain relocation expenses; 218 authorizing the Department of Management Services to 219 submit budget amendments for an increase in 220 appropriation under certain circumstances; requiring 221 that such amendments include specified information; 222 authorizing all agencies to continue to purchase 223 productivity tools and services; requiring the 224 Department of Financial Services to replace specified 225 components of the Florida Accounting Information 226 Resource Subsystem (FLAIR) and the Cash Management 227 Subsystem (CMS) with a specified integrated enterprise 228 system; prohibiting the Department of Financial 229 Services from including certain components in the 230 replacement of FLAIR and CMS; providing requirements 231 for the Department of Financial services related to 232 replacing FLAIR and CMS; providing for the composition 233 of an executive steering committee to oversee FLAIR 234 and CMS replacement; providing requirements for the 235 executive steering committee chair; providing duties 236 and responsibilities of the executive steering 237 committee; reenacting s. 282.709(3), F.S., relating to 238 the state agency law enforcement radio system and 239 interoperability network; providing for future 240 expiration and reversion of specified statutory text; 241 authorizing state agencies and other eligible users of 242 the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System to use the 243 Department of Management Services contract to purchase 244 equipment and services; requiring that a specified 245 transaction fee percentage for use of the online 246 procurement system be collected for a specified fiscal 247 year; reenacting and amending s. 627.351, F.S.; 248 extending for 1 year the specified authority of 249 Citizens Property Insurance Corporation; amending s. 250 110.116, F.S.; requiring the Department of Management 251 Services to enter into, by a specified date, a 252 contract with the entity operating the People First 253 System for a specified time period; revising contract 254 requirements; requiring the department to enter into a 255 contract with an independent software quality 256 assurance and testing provider for specified purposes; 257 providing reporting requirements; extending for 1 258 fiscal year provisions relating to the departments 259 renewal of specified contracts with current vendors; 260 amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; revising homeowner 261 eligibility criteria for a hurricane mitigation grant 262 from the My Safe Florida Home Program; providing that 263 certain funds appropriated to the Department of 264 Financial Services may be carried forward through a 265 specified fiscal year; authorizing the Department of 266 Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife 267 Conservation Commission, and the Department of 268 Agriculture and Consumer Services to submit a budget 269 amendment, subject to Legislative Budget Commission 270 approval, to increase budget authority for land 271 management under certain circumstances; authorizing 272 the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to 273 submit budget amendments to increase budget authority 274 for the National School Lunch Program; amending s. 275 215.18, F.S.; extending for 1 fiscal year certain 276 authority to transfer funds from certain trust funds 277 in the State Treasury to other trust funds in certain 278 circumstances; requiring the Department of 279 Environmental Protection to transfer designated 280 proportions of the revenues deposited in the Land 281 Acquisition Trust Fund within the department to land 282 acquisition trust funds in the Department of 283 Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of 284 State, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 285 Commission according to specified parameters and 286 calculations; defining the term department; 287 requiring the Department of Environmental Protection 288 to make transfers to land acquisition trust funds 289 monthly; specifying the method of determining transfer 290 amounts; authorizing the Department of Environmental 291 Protection to advance funds from its land acquisition 292 trust fund to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 293 Commissions land acquisition trust fund for specified 294 purposes; amending s. 259.105, F.S.; providing that 295 proceeds from a specified trust fund shall be 296 distributed as provided in the General Appropriations 297 Act for a specified fiscal year; amending s. 376.91, 298 F.S.; extending for 1 year the date by which the 299 Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt 300 statewide cleanup target levels for PFAS under certain 301 circumstances; providing for future expiration and 302 reversion of specified statutory text; reenacting s. 303 376.3071(15)(g), F.S., relating to the Inland 304 Protection Trust Fund; providing for the future 305 expiration and reversion of specified statutory text; 306 requiring the Department of Citrus to enter into 307 agreements for specified purposes by a certain date; 308 requiring the Department of Citrus to file certain 309 information with the departments Inspector General; 310 reenacting and amending s. 380.5105, F.S., relating to 311 the Stan Mayfield Working Waterfronts; revising the 312 intent of the program; providing for the future 313 expiration and reversion of specified statutory text; 314 authorizing the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 315 Commission to use specified funds to provide grants 316 for a specified purpose; amending s. 403.0673, F.S.; 317 requiring that funds appropriated for the water 318 quality improvement grant program be used for a 319 specified fiscal year as provided in the General 320 Appropriations Act; amending s. 288.80125, F.S.; 321 extending for 1 fiscal year a requirement that funds 322 in the Triumph Gulf Coast Trust Fund be related to 323 Hurricane Michael recovery; amending s. 339.135, F.S.; 324 extending for 1 fiscal year the authority for the 325 chair and vice chair of the Legislative Budget 326 Commission to approve certain work program amendments 327 under specified circumstances; amending s. 339.08, 328 F.S.; revising the use of moneys in the State 329 Transportation Trust Fund for a specified fiscal year; 330 amending s. 250.245, F.S.; extending for 1 fiscal year 331 the Florida National Guard Joint Enlistment 332 Enhancement Program within the Department of Military 333 Affairs; amending s. 288.0655, F.S.; extending for 1 334 fiscal year a requirement that certain appropriated 335 funds relating to the Rural Infrastructure Fund be 336 distributed in a specified manner; authorizing the 337 Division of Emergency Management to submit budget 338 amendments to increase budget authority for certain 339 expenditures; requiring the Department of Management 340 Services to assess an administrative health insurance 341 assessment on each state agency; providing the rate of 342 such assessment; defining the term state agency; 343 providing how a state agency shall remit certain 344 funds; requiring the Department of Management Services 345 to take certain actions in case of delinquencies; 346 requiring the Chief Financial Officer to transfer 347 funds under specified circumstances; requiring state 348 agencies to provide a list of positions that qualify 349 for such exception by a specified date and to update 350 the list monthly thereafter; requiring state agencies 351 to include the administrative health insurance 352 assessment in their indirect cost plan beginning for a 353 specified fiscal year and annually thereafter; 354 requiring agencies to notify the Department of 355 Management Services, the Executive Office of the 356 Governor, and the Legislature regarding the approval 357 of their updated indirect cost plans; authorizing the 358 Executive Office of the Governor to transfer budget 359 authority between agencies in specified circumstances; 360 providing that the annual salaries of the members of 361 the Legislature be maintained at a specified level for 362 a specified fiscal year; reenacting s. 215.32(2)(b), 363 F.S., relating to the authorization for transferring 364 unappropriated cash balances from selected trust funds 365 to the Budget Stabilization Fund and General Revenue 366 Fund; providing for future expiration and reversion of 367 specific statutory text; specifying the type of travel 368 which may be used with state employee travel funds for 369 a specified fiscal year; providing exceptions; 370 providing applicability; providing a monetary cap on 371 lodging costs for state employee travel to certain 372 meetings organized or sponsored by a state agency or 373 the judicial branch; authorizing employees to expend 374 their own funds for lodging expenses that exceed the 375 monetary caps; providing construction; amending s. 376 216.181, F.S.; extending for 1 fiscal year the 377 authority of the Legislative Budget Commission to 378 approve budget amendments for certain fixed capital 379 outlay projects; amending s. 216.292, F.S.; extending 380 for 1 fiscal year the requirements for certain 381 transfers; authorizing state agencies to purchase 382 vehicles from nonstate term contract vendors without 383 prior approval from the Department of Management 384 Services under certain circumstances; providing that 385 the annual salary rate for specified departments will 386 be controlled at the budget entity level; providing 387 conditions under which the veto of certain 388 appropriations or proviso language in the General 389 Appropriations Act voids language that implements such 390 appropriation; providing for the continued operation 391 of certain provisions notwithstanding a future repeal 392 or expiration provided by the act; providing 393 severability; providing for contingent retroactivity; 394 providing effective dates. 395 396 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 397 398 Section 1.It is the intent of the Legislature that the 399 implementing and administering provisions of this act apply to 400 the General Appropriations Act for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. 401 Section 2.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 5, 402 6, 88, 89, and 89A of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 403 the calculations of the Florida Education Finance Program for 404 the 2025-2026 fiscal year included in the document titled 405 Public School Funding: The Florida Education Finance Program 406 (FEFP) Fiscal Year 2025-2026, dated March 28, 2025, and filed 407 with the Secretary of the Senate, are incorporated by reference 408 for the purpose of displaying the calculations used by the 409 Legislature, consistent with the requirements of state law, in 410 making appropriations for the Florida Education Finance Program. 411 This section expires July 1, 2026. 412 Section 3.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 81 413 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, the school 414 readiness reimbursement rates for the 2025-2026 fiscal year 415 included in the document titled School Readiness Program 416 Reimbursement Rates Fiscal Year 2025-2026, dated March 28, 417 2025, and filed with the Secretary of the Senate, are 418 incorporated by reference, consistent with the requirements of 419 state law, in making appropriations for the school readiness 420 program allocation. This section expires July 1, 2026. 421 Section 4.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 422 197 through 225 and 530 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations 423 Act, and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida 424 Statutes, the Agency for Health Care Administration, in 425 consultation with the Department of Health, may submit a budget 426 amendment, subject to the notice, review, and objection 427 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, to realign funding 428 within and between agencies based on implementation of the 429 managed medical assistance component of the Statewide Medicaid 430 Managed Care program for the Childrens Medical Services program 431 of the Department of Health. The funding realignment shall 432 reflect the actual enrollment changes due to the transfer of 433 beneficiaries from fee-for-service to the capitated Childrens 434 Medical Services network. The Agency for Health Care 435 Administration may submit a request for nonoperating budget 436 authority to transfer the federal funds to the Department of 437 Health pursuant to s. 216.181(12), Florida Statutes. This 438 section expires July 1, 2026. 439 Section 5.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 440 197 through 225 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 441 notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, the 442 Agency for Health Care Administration may submit a budget 443 amendment, subject to the notice, review, and objection 444 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, to realign funding 445 within the Medicaid program appropriation categories to address 446 projected surpluses and deficits within the program and to 447 maximize the use of state trust funds. A single budget amendment 448 shall be submitted in the last quarter of the 2025-2026 fiscal 449 year only. This section expires July 1, 2026. 450 Section 6.Effective upon this act becoming a law, and in 451 order to implement Specific Appropriations 197 through 225 of 452 the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding 453 section 6 of chapter 2024-228, Laws of Florida, the Agency for 454 Health Care Administration is authorized to submit a budget 455 amendment, subject to the notice, review and objection 456 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, to realign funding 457 within the Medicaid program appropriation categories to address 458 projected surpluses and deficits within the program for the 459 2025-2026 fiscal year. The Agency for Health Care Administration 460 may not realign funds to provide Medicaid reimbursements at 461 rates above the amounts adopted at the February 27, 2025, Social 462 Services Estimating Conference. This section expires July 1, 463 2025. 464 Section 7.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 465 179 through 184 and 530 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations 466 Act, and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida 467 Statutes, the Agency for Health Care Administration and the 468 Department of Health may each submit a budget amendment, subject 469 to the notice, review, and objection procedures of s. 216.177, 470 Florida Statutes, to realign funding within the Florida Kidcare 471 program appropriation categories, or to increase budget 472 authority in the Childrens Medical Services network category, 473 to address projected surpluses and deficits within the program 474 or to maximize the use of state trust funds. A single budget 475 amendment must be submitted by each agency in the last quarter 476 of the 2025-2026 fiscal year only. This section expires July 1, 477 2026. 478 Section 8.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 479 461 through 469A of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 480 subsection (17) of section 381.986, Florida Statutes, is amended 481 to read: 482 381.986Medical use of marijuana. 483 (17)Rules adopted pursuant to this section before July 1, 484 2026 2025, are not subject to ss. 120.54(3)(b) and 120.541. This 485 subsection expires July 1, 2026 2025. 486 Section 9.Effective July 1, 2025, upon the expiration and 487 reversion of the amendments made to subsection (1) of section 14 488 of chapter 2017-232, Laws of Florida, pursuant to section 10 of 489 chapter 2024-228, Laws of Florida, and in order to implement 490 Specific Appropriations 461 through 469A of the 2025-2026 491 General Appropriations Act, subsection (1) of section 14 of 492 chapter 2017-232, Laws of Florida, is amended to read: 493 Section 14.Department of Health; authority to adopt rules; 494 cause of action. 495 (1)EMERGENCY RULEMAKING. 496 (a)The Department of Health and the applicable boards 497 shall adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida 498 Statutes, and this section necessary to implement s. 381.986 ss. 499 381.986 and 381.988, Florida Statutes. If an emergency rule 500 adopted under this section is held to be unconstitutional or an 501 invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority, and becomes 502 void, the department or the applicable boards may adopt an 503 emergency rule pursuant to this section to replace the rule that 504 has become void. If the emergency rule adopted to replace the 505 void emergency rule is also held to be unconstitutional or an 506 invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority and becomes 507 void, the department and the applicable boards must follow the 508 nonemergency rulemaking procedures of the Administrative 509 Procedures Act to replace the rule that has become void. 510 (b)For emergency rules adopted under this section, the 511 department and the applicable boards need not make the findings 512 required by s. 120.54(4)(a), Florida Statutes. Emergency rules 513 adopted under this section are exempt from ss. 120.54(3)(b) and 514 120.541, Florida Statutes. The department and the applicable 515 boards shall meet the procedural requirements in s. 120.54(4)(a) 516 s. 120.54(a), Florida Statutes, if the department or the 517 applicable boards have, before July 1, 2019 the effective date 518 of this act, held any public workshops or hearings on the 519 subject matter of the emergency rules adopted under this 520 subsection. Challenges to emergency rules adopted under this 521 subsection are subject to the time schedules provided in s. 522 120.56(5), Florida Statutes. 523 (c)Emergency rules adopted under this section are exempt 524 from s. 120.54(4)(c), Florida Statutes, and shall remain in 525 effect until replaced by rules adopted under the nonemergency 526 rulemaking procedures of the Administrative Procedures Act. 527 Rules adopted under the nonemergency rulemaking procedures of 528 the Administrative Procedures Act to replace emergency rules 529 adopted under this section are exempt from ss. 120.54(3)(b) and 530 120.541, Florida Statutes. By July 1, 2026 January 1, 2018, the 531 department and the applicable boards shall initiate nonemergency 532 rulemaking pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act to 533 replace all emergency rules adopted under this section by 534 publishing a notice of rule development in the Florida 535 Administrative Register. Except as provided in paragraph (a), 536 after July 1, 2026 January 1, 2018, the department and 537 applicable boards may not adopt rules pursuant to the emergency 538 rulemaking procedures provided in this section. 539 Section 10.The amendments to subsection (1) of section 14 540 of chapter 2017-232, Laws of Florida, made by this act expire 541 July 1, 2026, and the text of that subsection shall revert to 542 that in existence on June 30, 2019, except that any amendments 543 to such text enacted other than by this act shall be preserved 544 and continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are 545 not dependent upon the portions of text which expire pursuant to 546 this section. 547 Section 11.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 548 203, 204, 207, and 211 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations 549 Act, the Agency for Health Care Administration may submit a 550 budget amendment pursuant to chapter 216, Florida Statutes, 551 requesting additional spending authority to implement the 552 federally approved Directed Payment Program for hospitals 553 statewide providing inpatient and outpatient services to 554 Medicaid managed care enrollees, the Indirect Medical Education 555 (IME) Program, and a nursing workforce expansion and education 556 program for certain institutions participating in a graduate 557 medical education or nursing education program. For institutions 558 participating in the nursing workforce expansion and education 559 program, the budget amendment must identify the educational 560 institutions partnering with the teaching hospital. Institutions 561 participating in the nursing workforce expansion and education 562 program shall provide quarterly reports to the agency detailing 563 the number of nurses participating in the program. This section 564 expires July 1, 2026. 565 Section 12.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 566 204, 207, and 211 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 567 the Agency for Health Care Administration may submit a budget 568 amendment pursuant to chapter 216, Florida Statutes, requesting 569 additional spending authority to implement the federally 570 approved Directed Payment Program and fee-for-service 571 supplemental payments for cancer hospitals that meet the 572 criteria in 42 U.S.C. s. 1395ww(d)(1)(B)(v). This section 573 expires July 1, 2026. 574 Section 13.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 575 197 through 225 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, the 576 Agency for Health Care Administration may submit a budget 577 amendment pursuant to chapter 216, Florida Statutes, requesting 578 additional spending authority to implement the Low Income Pool 579 component of the Florida Managed Medical Assistance 580 Demonstration up to the total computable funds authorized by the 581 federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The budget 582 amendment must include the final terms and conditions of the Low 583 Income Pool, a proposed distribution model by entity, and a 584 listing of entities contributing intergovernmental transfers to 585 support the state match required. In addition, for each entity 586 included in the distribution model, a signed attestation must be 587 provided that includes the charity care cost upon which the Low 588 Income Pool payment is based and an acknowledgment that should 589 the distribution result in an overpayment based on the Low 590 Income Pool cost limit audit, the entity is responsible for 591 returning that overpayment to the agency for return to the 592 federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This section 593 expires July 1, 2026. 594 Section 14.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 595 210 and 211 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, the 596 Agency for Health Care Administration may submit a budget 597 amendment pursuant to chapter 216, Florida Statutes, requesting 598 additional spending authority to implement fee-for-service 599 supplemental payments and a directed payment program for 600 physicians and subordinate licensed health care practitioners 601 employed by or under contract with a Florida medical or dental 602 school, or a public hospital. This section expires July 1, 2026. 603 Section 15.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 604 208, 211, and 223 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 605 the Agency for Health Care Administration may submit a budget 606 amendment pursuant to chapter 216, Florida Statutes, requesting 607 additional spending authority to implement a certified 608 expenditure program for emergency medical transportation 609 services. This section expires July 1, 2026. 610 Section 16.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 611 197 through 225 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, the 612 Agency for Health Care Administration may submit a budget 613 amendment pursuant to chapter 216, Florida Statutes, requesting 614 additional spending authority to implement the Disproportionate 615 Share Hospital Program. The budget amendment must include a 616 proposed distribution model by entity and a listing of entities 617 contributing intergovernmental transfers and certified public 618 expenditures to support the state match required. This section 619 expires July 1, 2026. 620 Section 17.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 621 208, 222, and 223 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 622 paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 409.908, Florida 623 Statutes, is amended to read: 624 409.908Reimbursement of Medicaid providers.Subject to 625 specific appropriations, the agency shall reimburse Medicaid 626 providers, in accordance with state and federal law, according 627 to methodologies set forth in the rules of the agency and in 628 policy manuals and handbooks incorporated by reference therein. 629 These methodologies may include fee schedules, reimbursement 630 methods based on cost reporting, negotiated fees, competitive 631 bidding pursuant to s. 287.057, and other mechanisms the agency 632 considers efficient and effective for purchasing services or 633 goods on behalf of recipients. If a provider is reimbursed based 634 on cost reporting and submits a cost report late and that cost 635 report would have been used to set a lower reimbursement rate 636 for a rate semester, then the providers rate for that semester 637 shall be retroactively calculated using the new cost report, and 638 full payment at the recalculated rate shall be effected 639 retroactively. Medicare-granted extensions for filing cost 640 reports, if applicable, shall also apply to Medicaid cost 641 reports. Payment for Medicaid compensable services made on 642 behalf of Medicaid-eligible persons is subject to the 643 availability of moneys and any limitations or directions 644 provided for in the General Appropriations Act or chapter 216. 645 Further, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent 646 or limit the agency from adjusting fees, reimbursement rates, 647 lengths of stay, number of visits, or number of services, or 648 making any other adjustments necessary to comply with the 649 availability of moneys and any limitations or directions 650 provided for in the General Appropriations Act, provided the 651 adjustment is consistent with legislative intent. 652 (2) 653 (b)Subject to any limitations or directions in the General 654 Appropriations Act, the agency shall establish and implement a 655 state Title XIX Long-Term Care Reimbursement Plan for nursing 656 home care in order to provide care and services in conformance 657 with the applicable state and federal laws, rules, regulations, 658 and quality and safety standards and to ensure that individuals 659 eligible for medical assistance have reasonable geographic 660 access to such care. 661 1.The agency shall amend the long-term care reimbursement 662 plan and cost reporting system to create direct care and 663 indirect care subcomponents of the patient care component of the 664 per diem rate. These two subcomponents together shall equal the 665 patient care component of the per diem rate. Separate prices 666 shall be calculated for each patient care subcomponent, 667 initially based on the September 2016 rate setting cost reports 668 and subsequently based on the most recently audited cost report 669 used during a rebasing year. The direct care subcomponent of the 670 per diem rate for any providers still being reimbursed on a cost 671 basis shall be limited by the cost-based class ceiling, and the 672 indirect care subcomponent may be limited by the lower of the 673 cost-based class ceiling, the target rate class ceiling, or the 674 individual provider target. The ceilings and targets apply only 675 to providers being reimbursed on a cost-based system. Effective 676 October 1, 2018, a prospective payment methodology shall be 677 implemented for rate setting purposes with the following 678 parameters: 679 a.Peer Groups, including: 680 (I)North-SMMC Regions 1-9, less Palm Beach and Okeechobee 681 Counties; and 682 (II)South-SMMC Regions 10-11, plus Palm Beach and 683 Okeechobee Counties. 684 b.Percentage of Median Costs based on the cost reports 685 used for September 2016 rate setting: 686 (I)Direct Care Costs........................100 percent. 687 (II)Indirect Care Costs......................92 percent. 688 (III)Operating Costs.........................86 percent. 689 c.Floors: 690 (I)Direct Care Component.....................95 percent. 691 (II)Indirect Care Component................92.5 percent. 692 (III)Operating Component...........................None. 693 d.Pass-through Payments..................Real Estate and 694 ...............................................Personal Property 695 ...................................Taxes and Property Insurance. 696 e.Quality Incentive Program Payment 697 Pool..................................12 10 percent of September 698 .......................................2016 non-property related 699 ................................payments of included facilities. 700 f.Quality Score Threshold to Qualify Quality for Quality 701 Incentive Payment...........................................20th 702 ..............................percentile of included facilities. 703 g.Fair Rental Value System Payment Parameters: 704 (I)Building Value per Square Foot based on 2018 RS Means. 705 (II)Land Valuation...10 percent of Gross Building value. 706 (III)Facility Square Footage......Actual Square Footage. 707 (IV)Movable Equipment Allowance..........$8,000 per bed. 708 (V)Obsolescence Factor......................1.5 percent. 709 (VI)Fair Rental Rate of Return................8 percent. 710 (VII)Minimum Occupancy.......................90 percent. 711 (VIII)Maximum Facility Age.....................40 years. 712 (IX)Minimum Square Footage per Bed..................350. 713 (X)Maximum Square Footage for Bed...................500. 714 (XI)Minimum Cost of a renovation/replacements$500 per bed. 715 h.Ventilator Supplemental payment of $200 per Medicaid day 716 of 40,000 ventilator Medicaid days per fiscal year. 717 2.The direct care subcomponent shall include salaries and 718 benefits of direct care staff providing nursing services 719 including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and 720 certified nursing assistants who deliver care directly to 721 residents in the nursing home facility, allowable therapy costs, 722 and dietary costs. This excludes nursing administration, staff 723 development, the staffing coordinator, and the administrative 724 portion of the minimum data set and care plan coordinators. The 725 direct care subcomponent also includes medically necessary 726 dental care, vision care, hearing care, and podiatric care. 727 3.All other patient care costs shall be included in the 728 indirect care cost subcomponent of the patient care per diem 729 rate, including complex medical equipment, medical supplies, and 730 other allowable ancillary costs. Costs may not be allocated 731 directly or indirectly to the direct care subcomponent from a 732 home office or management company. 733 4.On July 1 of each year, the agency shall report to the 734 Legislature direct and indirect care costs, including average 735 direct and indirect care costs per resident per facility and 736 direct care and indirect care salaries and benefits per category 737 of staff member per facility. 738 5.Every fourth year, the agency shall rebase nursing home 739 prospective payment rates to reflect changes in cost based on 740 the most recently audited cost report for each participating 741 provider. 742 6.A direct care supplemental payment may be made to 743 providers whose direct care hours per patient day are above the 744 80th percentile and who provide Medicaid services to a larger 745 percentage of Medicaid patients than the state average. 746 7.Pediatric, Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, and 747 government-owned facilities are exempt from the pricing model 748 established in this subsection and shall remain on a cost-based 749 prospective payment system. Effective October 1, 2018, the 750 agency shall set rates for all facilities remaining on a cost 751 based prospective payment system using each facilitys most 752 recently audited cost report, eliminating retroactive 753 settlements. 754 755 It is the intent of the Legislature that the reimbursement plan 756 achieve the goal of providing access to health care for nursing 757 home residents who require large amounts of care while 758 encouraging diversion services as an alternative to nursing home 759 care for residents who can be served within the community. The 760 agency shall base the establishment of any maximum rate of 761 payment, whether overall or component, on the available moneys 762 as provided for in the General Appropriations Act. The agency 763 may base the maximum rate of payment on the results of 764 scientifically valid analysis and conclusions derived from 765 objective statistical data pertinent to the particular maximum 766 rate of payment. The agency shall base the rates of payments in 767 accordance with the minimum wage requirements as provided in the 768 General Appropriations Act. 769 Section 18.The amendments to s. 409.908, Florida Statutes, 770 made by this act expire July 1, 2026, and the text of that 771 section shall revert to that in existence on June 30, 2025, 772 except that any amendments to such text enacted other than by 773 this act shall be preserved and continue to operate to the 774 extent that such amendments are not dependent upon the portions 775 of text which expire pursuant to this section. 776 Section 19.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 777 316, 318, 347, and 348 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations 778 Act, and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida 779 Statutes, the Department of Children and Families may submit a 780 budget amendment, subject to the notice, review, and objection 781 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, to realign funding 782 within the department based on the implementation of the 783 Guardianship Assistance Program, between the specific 784 appropriations for guardianship assistance payments, foster care 785 Level 1 room and board payments, relative caregiver payments, 786 and nonrelative caregiver payments. This section expires July 1, 787 2026. 788 Section 20.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 789 197 through 199, 204, 207, 208, 210 through 212, 342, 351, 447, 790 451 through 452, 458, 471, 472, 478, and 482 of the 2025-2026 791 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 792 216.292, Florida Statutes, the Department of Children and 793 Families, the Department of Health, and the Agency for Health 794 Care Administration may submit budget amendments, subject to the 795 notice, review, and objection procedures of s. 216.177, Florida 796 Statutes, to increase budget authority to support refugee 797 programs administered by the federal Office of Refugee 798 Resettlement due to the ongoing instability of federal 799 immigration policy and the resulting inability of the state to 800 reasonably predict, with certainty, the budgetary needs of this 801 state with respect to the number of refugees relocated to the 802 state as part of those federal programs. The Department of 803 Children and Families shall submit quarterly reports to the 804 Executive Office of the Governor, the President of the Senate, 805 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the number of 806 refugees entering the state, the nations of origin of such 807 refugees, and current expenditure projections. This section 808 expires July 1, 2026. 809 Section 21.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 810 276 through 370 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 811 notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, the 812 Department of Children and Families may submit budget 813 amendments, subject to the notice, review, and objection 814 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, to increase budget 815 authority to support the following federal grant programs: the 816 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Grant Program, the Pandemic 817 Electronic Benefit Transfer, the American Rescue Plan Grant, the 818 State Opioid Response Grant, the Substance Use Prevention and 819 Treatment Block Grant, the Chafee Grant for Independent Living 820 Services, Education and Traditional Voucher Grant, Title IV-B 821 Subparts 1 and 2 Grants, Elder Justice Act, STOP Violence 822 Against Women Grant, the Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing 823 Grant, and the Mental Health Block Grant. This section expires 824 July 1, 2026. 825 Section 22.Effective upon this act becoming a law, and in 826 order to implement Specific Appropriations 354 through 370A of 827 the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, paragraph (c) of 828 subsection (9) of section 394.9082, Florida Statutes, is amended 829 to read: 830 394.9082Behavioral health managing entities. 831 (9)FUNDING FOR MANAGING ENTITIES. 832 (c)Notwithstanding paragraph (a), for the 2025-2026 2023 833 2024 fiscal year and the 2024-2025 fiscal year, a managing 834 entity may carry forward documented unexpended funds 835 appropriated from the State Opioid Settlement Trust Fund from 1 836 one fiscal year to the next. Funds carried forward pursuant to 837 this paragraph are not included in the 8 percent cumulative cap 838 that may be carried forward. This paragraph expires July 1, 2026 839 2025. 840 Section 23.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 841 302, 316 through 318, and 364 of the 2025-2026 General 842 Appropriations Act, subsection (9) is added to section 409.9913, 843 Florida Statutes, to read: 844 409.9913Funding methodology to allocate funding to lead 845 agencies. 846 (9)Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, core 847 services funding shall be allocated as provided in the General 848 Appropriations Act. The department shall develop and report on 849 an alternative tiered funding methodology to allocate funding to 850 lead agencies. The department shall provide additional data and 851 analysis to strengthen the existing proposed funding framework. 852 This enhancement will aim to maximize transparency, drive 853 performance and quality measures, and build on prior provisions 854 and innovative practices. 855 (a)The methodology must include, but is not limited to, 856 the following components: 857 1.Administration tier.A distinct allocation reflecting 858 actual, allowable operational and fixed costs, consistent with 859 federal and state guidelines, including, but not limited to: 860 a.Salaries and benefits. 861 b.Information technology. 862 c.Lease payments. 863 d.Asset depreciation. 864 e.Utilities. 865 f.Administrative components of case management. 866 g.Mandated activities such as training, quality 867 improvement, or contract management. 868 2.Prevention tier.A dedicated prevention tier to 869 incorporate early intervention strategies and services that 870 reduce the need for higher-intensity system involvement which 871 includes, but is not limited to: 872 a.Family support services. 873 b.Family-focused prevention programs. 874 c.Hotline referrals and nonjudicial services. 875 d.Differential response/child protection team 876 coordination. 877 3.Core services tier.A base funding allocation that 878 includes: 879 a.Direct service delivery costs for case management, 880 foster care, and post-placement services. 881 b.Pass-through obligations, including, but not limited to: 882 (I)Funds appropriated for independent living services. 883 (II)Funds appropriated for maintenance adoption subsidies. 884 (III)Funds allocated by the department for child 885 protective investigation service training. 886 (IV)Nonrecurring funds. 887 (V)Designated mental health wrap-around service funds. 888 (VI)Funds for special projects for a designated lead 889 agency. 890 (VII)Funds appropriated for the Guardianship Assistance 891 Program established under s. 39.6225. 892 4.Performance and quality measures tier.Funding 893 adjustments or incentives based on performance against outcome 894 based metrics, which may include, but are not limited to: 895 a.Maintaining or increasing sibling group placements 896 together. 897 b.Average yearly caseload of case managers, including only 898 filled positions, at or below 1:14. 899 c.Increasing finalized adoptions by at least 3 percent 900 over the prior fiscal year. 901 d.Reducing reentry into foster care within 12 months of 902 case closure. 903 e.Placement stability and least-restrictive placement 904 rates. 905 f.Other department-defined measures aligned with federal 906 Child and Family Services Reviews. 907 5.Innovation tier.A competitive or direct grant mechanism 908 that allows lead agencies to propose and implement innovative, 909 evidence-informed practices aimed at improving family 910 preservation, child well-being, community partnerships, or 911 service delivery models. Funded projects under this tier must be 912 time-limited and subject to performance benchmarks, be evaluated 913 independently for effectiveness and scalability, and support 914 goals not currently funded through core allocations. 915 (b)At a minimum, the methodology must be: 916 1.Cost-based. 917 2.Actuarially sound. 918 3.Designed to incentivize efficient and effective lead 919 agency operation, prevention, family preservation, and 920 permanency. 921 4.Regionally scaled for cost-of-living factors. 922 (c)The lead agencies and providers shall submit any 923 detailed cost and expenditure data that the department requests 924 for the development of the funding methodology. 925 (d)By December 1, 2025, the department shall submit a 926 detailed report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 927 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must 928 include: 929 1.A proposed structure and funding methodology for each 930 tier; 931 2.A summary of stakeholder input; 932 3.Projected fiscal impacts by community-based care region; 933 4.Recommended statutory or budgetary changes needed to 934 implement the new methodology; and 935 5.A plan for phased implementation, including performance 936 tracking and reporting. 937 (e)The department shall provide to the Governor, the 938 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 939 Representatives monthly reports beginning July 2025 through 940 November 2025 which provide updates on activities and progress 941 in developing the funding methodology. 942 (f)This subsection expires July 1, 2026. 943 Section 24.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 944 439 and 441 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 945 notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, the 946 Department of Health may submit a budget amendment, subject to 947 the notice, review, and objection procedures of s. 216.177, 948 Florida Statutes, to increase budget authority for the 949 Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children 950 (WIC) and the Child Care Food Program if additional federal 951 revenues will be expended in the 2025-2026 fiscal year. This 952 section expires July 1, 2026. 953 Section 25.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 954 448 and 496 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 955 notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, the 956 Department of Health may submit a budget amendment, subject to 957 the notice, review, and objection procedures of s. 216.177, 958 Florida Statutes, to increase budget authority for the HIV/AIDS 959 Prevention and Treatment Program if additional federal revenues 960 specific to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment become available 961 in the 2025-2026 fiscal year. This section expires July 1, 2026. 962 Section 26.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 963 409 through 556A of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 964 and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, 965 the Department of Health may submit a budget amendment, subject 966 to the notice, review, and objection procedures of s. 216.177, 967 Florida Statutes, to increase budget authority for the 968 department if additional federal revenues specific to COVID-19 969 relief funds become available in the 2025-2026 fiscal year. This 970 section expires July 1, 2026. 971 Section 27.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 972 192 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act: 973 (1)The Agency for Health Care Administration shall replace 974 the current Florida Medicaid Management Information System 975 (FMMIS) and fiscal agent operations with a system that is 976 modular, interoperable, and scalable for the Florida Medicaid 977 program and that complies with all applicable federal and state 978 laws and requirements. The agency may not include in the program 979 to replace the current FMMIS and fiscal agent contract: 980 (a)Functionality that duplicates any of the information 981 systems of the other health and human services state agencies; 982 (b)Procurement for agency requirements external to 983 Medicaid programs with the intent to leverage the Medicaid 984 technology infrastructure for other purposes without legislative 985 appropriation or legislative authorization to procure these 986 requirements. The new system, the Florida Health Care Connection 987 (FX) system, must provide better integration with subsystems 988 supporting Floridas Medicaid program; uniformity, consistency, 989 and improved access to data; and compatibility with the Centers 990 for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicaid Information 991 Technology Architecture (MITA) as the system matures and expands 992 its functionality; or 993 (c)Any contract executed after July 1, 2022, not including 994 staff augmentation services purchased off the Department of 995 Management Services Information Technology staff augmentation 996 state term contract that are not deliverables based fixed price 997 contracts. 998 (2)For purposes of replacing FMMIS and the current 999 Medicaid fiscal agent, the Agency for Health Care Administration 1000 shall: 1001 (a)Prioritize procurements for the replacement of the 1002 current functions of FMMIS and the responsibilities of the 1003 current Medicaid fiscal agent, to minimize the need to extend 1004 all or portions of the current fiscal agent contract. 1005 (b)Comply with and not exceed the Centers for Medicare and 1006 Medicaid Services funding authorizations for the FX system. 1007 (c)Ensure compliance and uniformity with the published 1008 MITA framework and guidelines. 1009 (d)Ensure that all business requirements and technical 1010 specifications have been provided to all affected state agencies 1011 for their review and input and approved by the executive 1012 steering committee established in paragraph (h). 1013 (e)Consult with the Executive Office of the Governors 1014 working group for interagency information technology integration 1015 for the development of competitive solicitations that provide 1016 for data interoperability and shared information technology 1017 services across the states health and human services agencies. 1018 (f)Implement a data governance structure for the program 1019 to coordinate data sharing and interoperability across state 1020 health care entities. 1021 (g)Establish a continuing oversight team for each contract 1022 pursuant to s. 287.057(26), Florida Statutes. The teams must 1023 provide quarterly reports to the executive steering committee, 1024 summarizing the status of the contract, the pace of 1025 deliverables, the quality of deliverables, contractor 1026 responsiveness, and contractor performance. 1027 (h)Implement a program governance structure that includes 1028 an executive steering committee composed of: 1029 1.The Secretary of Health Care Administration, or the 1030 executive sponsor of the program. 1031 2.A representative of the Division of Health Care Finance 1032 and Data of the Agency for Health Care Administration, appointed 1033 by the Secretary of Health Care Administration. 1034 3.Two representatives from the Division of Medicaid 1035 Policy, Quality, and Operations of the Agency for Health Care 1036 Administration, appointed by the Secretary of Health Care 1037 Administration. 1038 4.A representative of the Division of Health Care Policy 1039 and Oversight of the Agency for Health Care Administration, 1040 appointed by the Secretary of Health Care Administration. 1041 5.A representative of the Florida Center for Health 1042 Information and Transparency of the Agency for Health Care 1043 Administration, appointed by the Secretary of Health Care 1044 Administration. 1045 6.The Chief Information Officer of the Agency for Health 1046 Care Administration, or his or her designee. 1047 (3)(a)The Secretary of Health Care Administration or the 1048 executive sponsor of the program shall serve as chair of the 1049 executive steering committee, and the committee shall take 1050 action by a vote of at least 5 affirmative votes with the chair 1051 voting on the prevailing side. A quorum of the executive 1052 steering committee consists of at least 5 members. 1053 (b)1.The chair shall establish a program finance and 1054 contracting working group composed of: 1055 a.The FX program director. 1056 b.A representative from the agencys Office of the General 1057 Counsel. 1058 c.A representative from the agencys Division of 1059 Administration. 1060 d.Representatives from each continuing oversight team. 1061 e.The FX program strategic roadmap manager. 1062 f.The FX program project managers. 1063 g.The FX program risk manager. 1064 h.Any other personnel deemed necessary by the chair. 1065 2.The working group shall meet at least monthly to review 1066 the program status and all contract and program operations, 1067 policies, risks, and issues related to the budget, spending 1068 plans and contractual obligations, and shall develop 1069 recommendations to the executive steering committee for 1070 improvement. The working group shall review all change requests 1071 that impact the programs scope, schedule, or budget related to 1072 contract management and vendor payments and submit those 1073 recommended for adoption to the executive steering committee. 1074 The chair shall request input from the working group on agenda 1075 items for each scheduled meeting. The program shall make 1076 available program staff to the group, as needed, for the group 1077 to fulfill its duties. 1078 (c)1.The chair shall establish a state agency stakeholder 1079 working group composed of: 1080 a.The executive sponsor of the FX program. 1081 b.A representative of the Department of Children and 1082 Families, appointed by the Secretary of Children and Families. 1083 c.A representative of the Department of Health, appointed 1084 by the State Surgeon General. 1085 d.A representative of the Agency for Persons with 1086 Disabilities, appointed by the director of the Agency for 1087 Persons with Disabilities. 1088 e.A representative from the Florida Healthy Kids 1089 Corporation. 1090 f.A representative from the Department of Elderly Affairs, 1091 appointed by the Secretary of Elderly Affairs. 1092 g.The state chief information officer, or his or her 1093 designee. 1094 h.A representative of the Department of Financial Services 1095 who has experience with the states financial processes, 1096 including development of the PALM system, appointed by the Chief 1097 Financial Officer. 1098 2.The working group shall meet at least quarterly to 1099 review the program status and all program operations, policies, 1100 risks, and issues that may impact the operations external to the 1101 Agency for Health Care Administration FX program, and shall 1102 develop recommendations to the executive steering committee for 1103 improvement. The chair shall request input from the working 1104 group on agenda items for each scheduled meeting. The program 1105 shall make available program staff to the group to provide 1106 system demonstrations and any program documentation, as needed, 1107 for the group to fulfill its duties. 1108 (4)The executive steering committee has the overall 1109 responsibility for ensuring that the program to replace FMMIS 1110 and the Medicaid fiscal agent meets its primary business 1111 objectives and shall: 1112 (a)Identify and recommend to the Executive Office of the 1113 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 1114 House of Representatives any statutory changes needed to 1115 implement the modular replacement to standardize, to the fullest 1116 extent possible, the states health care data and business 1117 processes. 1118 (b)Review and approve any changes to the programs scope, 1119 schedule, and budget. 1120 (c)Review and approve any changes to the programs 1121 strategic roadmap. 1122 (d)Review and approve change requests that impact the 1123 programs scope, schedule, or budget recommended for adoption by 1124 the program finance and contracting working group. 1125 (e)Review recommendations provided by the program working 1126 groups. 1127 (f)Review vendor scorecards, reports, and notifications 1128 produced by the continuing oversight teams. 1129 (g)Ensure that adequate resources are provided throughout 1130 all phases of the program. 1131 (h)Approve all major program deliverables. 1132 (i)Review and verify that all procurement and contractual 1133 documents associated with the replacement of the current FMMIS 1134 and Medicaid fiscal agent align with the scope, schedule, and 1135 anticipated budget for the program. 1136 (5)This section expires July 1, 2026. 1137 Section 28.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1138 211, 212, 262, 272, 328, 474, 496, and 699 of the 2025-2026 1139 General Appropriations Act, the Agency for Health Care 1140 Administration, in consultation with the Department of Health, 1141 the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the Department of 1142 Children and Families, and the Department of Corrections, shall 1143 competitively procure a contract with a vendor to negotiate, for 1144 these agencies, prices for prescribed drugs and biological 1145 products excluded from the program established under s. 1146 381.02035, Florida Statutes, and ineligible under 21 U.S.C. s. 1147 384, including, but not limited to, insulin and epinephrine. The 1148 contract may allow the vendor to directly purchase these 1149 products for participating agencies when feasible and 1150 advantageous. The contracted vendor must be compensated on a 1151 contingency basis, paid from a portion of the savings achieved 1152 by its price negotiation or purchase of the prescription drugs 1153 and products. This section expires July 1, 2026. 1154 Section 29.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1155 254, 260, 261, 265, 270, and 271 of the 2025-2026 General 1156 Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, 1157 Florida Statutes, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities may 1158 submit budget amendments, subject to the notice, review, and 1159 objection procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, to 1160 transfer funding from the Salaries and Benefits appropriation 1161 categories to categories used for contractual services in order 1162 to support additional staff augmentation resources needed at the 1163 Developmental Disability Centers. This section expires July 1, 1164 2026. 1165 Section 30.In order to implement section 52 of the 2025 1166 2026 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 1167 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, the Agency for Persons with 1168 Disabilities may submit budget amendments, subject to the 1169 notice, review, and objection procedures of s. 216.177, Florida 1170 Statutes, to request the appropriation of funds from the Lump 1171 Sum-Home and Community Based Waiver category to address any 1172 deficits or funding shortfalls. This section expires July 1, 1173 2026. 1174 Section 31.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1175 219 and 242 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 1176 notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, the 1177 Agency for Health Care Administration may submit budget 1178 amendments, subject to the notice, review, and objection 1179 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, at least 3 days 1180 before the effective date of the action, to increase budget 1181 authority to support the implementation of the home and 1182 community-based services Medicaid waiver program of the Agency 1183 for Persons with Disabilities. This section expires July 1, 1184 2026. 1185 Section 32.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 1186 557 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 1187 notwithstanding chapter 216, Florida Statutes, the Department of 1188 Veterans Affairs may submit a budget amendment, subject to 1189 Legislative Budget Commission approval, requesting the authority 1190 to establish positions in excess of the number authorized by the 1191 Legislature, increase appropriations from the Operations and 1192 Maintenance Trust Fund, or provide a necessary salary rate 1193 sufficient to provide for essential staff for veterans nursing 1194 homes, if the department projects that additional direct care 1195 staff are needed to meet its established staffing ratio. This 1196 section expires July 1, 2026. 1197 Section 33.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1198 557 and 563 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 1199 subsection (6) is added to section 296.34, Florida Statutes, to 1200 read: 1201 296.34Administrator; qualifications, duties, and 1202 responsibilities. 1203 (6)Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (4), the department 1204 may contract with a vendor for the management and operations of 1205 the Alwyn C. Cashe State Veterans Nursing Home in Orlando. The 1206 contracted vendor may appoint an administrator of the home and 1207 the employees of the home may be contracted staff. The 1208 department may submit a budget amendment, subject to Legislative 1209 Budget Commission approval, and pursuant to chapter 216, to move 1210 funds from Salaries and Benefits to Contracted Services to 1211 implement this subsection. This subsection expires July 1, 2026. 1212 Section 34.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 1213 211 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, subsection (1) 1214 of section 409.915, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1215 409.915County contributions to Medicaid.Although the 1216 state is responsible for the full portion of the state share of 1217 the matching funds required for the Medicaid program, the state 1218 shall charge the counties an annual contribution in order to 1219 acquire a certain portion of these funds. 1220 (1)(a)As used in this section, the term state Medicaid 1221 expenditures means those expenditures used as matching funds 1222 for the federal Medicaid program. 1223 (b)The term does not include funds specially assessed by 1224 any local governmental entity and used as the nonfederal share 1225 for the hospital directed payment program after July 1, 2021. 1226 This paragraph expires July 1, 2026 2025. 1227 Section 35.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1228 557 through 581B of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 1229 the Department of Veterans Affairs may submit budget amendments 1230 pursuant to chapter 216, Florida Statutes, subject to federal 1231 approval, requesting additional spending authority to support 1232 the development and construction of a new State Veterans 1233 Nursing Home and Adult Day Health Care Center in Collier County. 1234 This section expires July 1, 2026. 1235 Section 36.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1236 386 and 396 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 1237 notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, the 1238 Department of Elderly Affairs may submit a budget amendment, 1239 subject to the notice, review, and objection procedures of s. 1240 216.177, Florida Statutes, to increase budget authority for the 1241 United States Department of Agricultures Adult Care Food 1242 Program if additional federal revenues will be expended in the 1243 2025-2026 fiscal year. This section expires July 1, 2026. 1244 Section 37.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1245 584 through 671 and 680 through 723 of the 2025-2026 General 1246 Appropriations Act, subsection (4) of section 216.262, Florida 1247 Statutes, is amended to read: 1248 216.262Authorized positions. 1249 (4)Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter relating 1250 to increasing the number of authorized positions, and for the 1251 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal year only, if the actual inmate 1252 population of the Department of Corrections exceeds the inmate 1253 population projections of the February 21, 2025 December 15, 1254 2023, Criminal Justice Estimating Conference by 1 percent for 2 1255 consecutive months or 2 percent for any month, the Executive 1256 Office of the Governor, with the approval of the Legislative 1257 Budget Commission, shall immediately notify the Criminal Justice 1258 Estimating Conference, which shall convene as soon as possible 1259 to revise the estimates. The Department of Corrections may then 1260 submit a budget amendment requesting the establishment of 1261 positions in excess of the number authorized by the Legislature 1262 and additional appropriations from unallocated general revenue 1263 sufficient to provide for essential staff, fixed capital 1264 improvements, and other resources to provide classification, 1265 security, food services, health services, and other variable 1266 expenses within the institutions to accommodate the estimated 1267 increase in the inmate population. All actions taken pursuant to 1268 this subsection are subject to review and approval by the 1269 Legislative Budget Commission. This subsection expires July 1, 1270 2026 2025. 1271 Section 38.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1272 2956 through 3018A of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 1273 subsection (2) of section 215.18, Florida Statutes, is amended 1274 to read: 1275 215.18Transfers between funds; limitation. 1276 (2)The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may receive one 1277 or more trust fund loans to ensure that the state court system 1278 has funds sufficient to meet its appropriations in the 2025-2026 1279 2024-2025 General Appropriations Act. If the Chief Justice 1280 accesses the loan, he or she must notify the Governor and the 1281 chairs of the legislative appropriations committees in writing. 1282 The loan must come from other funds in the State Treasury which 1283 are for the time being or otherwise in excess of the amounts 1284 necessary to meet the just requirements of such last-mentioned 1285 funds. The Governor shall order the transfer of funds within 5 1286 days after the written notification from the Chief Justice. If 1287 the Governor does not order the transfer, the Chief Financial 1288 Officer shall transfer the requested funds. The loan of funds 1289 from which any money is temporarily transferred must be repaid 1290 by the end of the 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal year. This 1291 subsection expires July 1, 2026 2025. 1292 Section 39.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1293 1051 through 1061 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act: 1294 (1)The Department of Juvenile Justice shall review county 1295 juvenile detention payments to ensure that counties fulfill 1296 their financial responsibilities required in s. 985.6865, 1297 Florida Statutes. If the Department of Juvenile Justice 1298 determines that a county has not met its obligations, the 1299 department shall direct the Department of Revenue to deduct the 1300 amount owed to the Department of Juvenile Justice from the funds 1301 provided to the county under s. 218.23, Florida Statutes. The 1302 Department of Revenue shall transfer the funds withheld to the 1303 Shared County/State Juvenile Detention Trust Fund. 1304 (2)As an assurance to holders of bonds issued by counties 1305 before July 1, 2025, for which distributions made pursuant to s. 1306 218.23, Florida Statutes, are pledged, or bonds issued to refund 1307 such bonds which mature no later than the bonds they refunded 1308 and which result in a reduction of debt service payable in each 1309 fiscal year, the amount available for distribution to a county 1310 shall remain as provided by law and continue to be subject to 1311 any lien or claim on behalf of the bondholders. The Department 1312 of Revenue must ensure, based on information provided by an 1313 affected county, that any reduction in amounts distributed 1314 pursuant to subsection (1) does not reduce the amount of 1315 distribution to a county below the amount necessary for the 1316 timely payment of principal and interest when due on the bonds 1317 and the amount necessary to comply with any covenant under the 1318 bond resolution or other documents relating to the issuance of 1319 the bonds. If a reduction to a countys monthly distribution 1320 must be decreased in order to comply with this section, the 1321 Department of Revenue must notify the Department of Juvenile 1322 Justice of the amount of the decrease, and the Department of 1323 Juvenile Justice must send a bill for payment of such amount to 1324 the affected county. 1325 (3)This section expires July 1, 2026. 1326 Section 40.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1327 733 through 754A, 880 through 1002A, and 1020 through 1050A of 1328 the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding 1329 the expiration date in section 41 of chapter 2024-228, Laws of 1330 Florida, subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection (2), 1331 paragraph (a) of subsection (3), and subsections (5), (6), and 1332 (7) of section 27.40, Florida Statutes, are reenacted to read: 1333 27.40Court-appointed counsel; circuit registries; minimum 1334 requirements; appointment by court. 1335 (1)Counsel shall be appointed to represent any individual 1336 in a criminal or civil proceeding entitled to court-appointed 1337 counsel under the Federal or State Constitution or as authorized 1338 by general law. The court shall appoint a public defender to 1339 represent indigent persons as authorized in s. 27.51. The office 1340 of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel shall be 1341 appointed to represent persons in those cases in which provision 1342 is made for court-appointed counsel, but only after the public 1343 defender has certified to the court in writing that the public 1344 defender is unable to provide representation due to a conflict 1345 of interest or is not authorized to provide representation. The 1346 public defender shall report, in the aggregate, the specific 1347 basis of all conflicts of interest certified to the court. On a 1348 quarterly basis, the public defender shall submit this 1349 information to the Justice Administrative Commission. 1350 (2)(a)Private counsel shall be appointed to represent 1351 persons in those cases in which provision is made for court 1352 appointed counsel but only after the office of criminal conflict 1353 and civil regional counsel has been appointed and has certified 1354 to the court in writing that the criminal conflict and civil 1355 regional counsel is unable to provide representation due to a 1356 conflict of interest. The criminal conflict and civil regional 1357 counsel shall report, in the aggregate, the specific basis of 1358 all conflicts of interest certified to the court. On a quarterly 1359 basis, the criminal conflict and civil regional counsel shall 1360 submit this information to the Justice Administrative 1361 Commission. 1362 (3)In using a registry: 1363 (a)The chief judge of the circuit shall compile a list of 1364 attorneys in private practice, by county and by category of 1365 cases, and provide the list to the clerk of court in each 1366 county. The chief judge of the circuit may restrict the number 1367 of attorneys on the general registry list. To be included on a 1368 registry, an attorney must certify that he or she: 1369 1.Meets any minimum requirements established by the chief 1370 judge and by general law for court appointment; 1371 2.Is available to represent indigent defendants in cases 1372 requiring court appointment of private counsel; and 1373 3.Is willing to abide by the terms of the contract for 1374 services, s. 27.5304, and this section. 1375 1376 To be included on a registry, an attorney must enter into a 1377 contract for services with the Justice Administrative 1378 Commission. Failure to comply with the terms of the contract for 1379 services may result in termination of the contract and removal 1380 from the registry. Each attorney on the registry is responsible 1381 for notifying the clerk of the court and the Justice 1382 Administrative Commission of any change in his or her status. 1383 Failure to comply with this requirement is cause for termination 1384 of the contract for services and removal from the registry until 1385 the requirement is fulfilled. 1386 (5)The Justice Administrative Commission shall approve 1387 uniform contract forms for use in procuring the services of 1388 private court-appointed counsel and uniform procedures and forms 1389 for use by a court-appointed attorney in support of billing for 1390 attorneys fees, costs, and related expenses to demonstrate the 1391 attorneys completion of specified duties. Such uniform 1392 contracts and forms for use in billing must be consistent with 1393 s. 27.5304, s. 216.311, and the General Appropriations Act and 1394 must contain the following statement: The State of Floridas 1395 performance and obligation to pay under this contract is 1396 contingent upon an annual appropriation by the Legislature. 1397 (6)After court appointment, the attorney must immediately 1398 file a notice of appearance with the court indicating acceptance 1399 of the appointment to represent the defendant and of the terms 1400 of the uniform contract as specified in subsection (5). 1401 (7)(a)A private attorney appointed by the court from the 1402 registry to represent a client is entitled to payment as 1403 provided in s. 27.5304 so long as the requirements of subsection 1404 (1) and paragraph (2)(a) are met. An attorney appointed by the 1405 court who is not on the registry list may be compensated under 1406 s. 27.5304 only if the court finds in the order of appointment 1407 that there were no registry attorneys available for 1408 representation for that case and only if the requirements of 1409 subsection (1) and paragraph (2)(a) are met. 1410 (b)1.The flat fee established in s. 27.5304 and the 1411 General Appropriations Act shall be presumed by the court to be 1412 sufficient compensation. The attorney shall maintain appropriate 1413 documentation, including contemporaneous and detailed hourly 1414 accounting of time spent representing the client. If the 1415 attorney fails to maintain such contemporaneous and detailed 1416 hourly records, the attorney waives the right to seek 1417 compensation in excess of the flat fee established in s. 27.5304 1418 and the General Appropriations Act. These records and documents 1419 are subject to review by the Justice Administrative Commission 1420 and audit by the Auditor General, subject to the attorney-client 1421 privilege and work-product privilege. The attorney shall 1422 maintain the records and documents in a manner that enables the 1423 attorney to redact any information subject to a privilege in 1424 order to facilitate the commissions review of the records and 1425 documents and not to impede such review. The attorney may redact 1426 information from the records and documents only to the extent 1427 necessary to comply with the privilege. The Justice 1428 Administrative Commission shall review such records and shall 1429 contemporaneously document such review before authorizing 1430 payment to an attorney. Objections by or on behalf of the 1431 Justice Administrative Commission to records or documents or to 1432 claims for payment by the attorney shall be presumed correct by 1433 the court unless the court determines, in writing, that 1434 competent and substantial evidence exists to justify overcoming 1435 the presumption. 1436 2.If an attorney fails, refuses, or declines to permit the 1437 commission or the Auditor General to review documentation for a 1438 case as provided in this paragraph, the attorney waives the 1439 right to seek, and the commission may not pay, compensation in 1440 excess of the flat fee established in s. 27.5304 and the General 1441 Appropriations Act for that case. 1442 3.A finding by the commission that an attorney has waived 1443 the right to seek compensation in excess of the flat fee 1444 established in s. 27.5304 and the General Appropriations Act, as 1445 provided in this paragraph, shall be presumed to be correct, 1446 unless the court determines, in writing, that competent and 1447 substantial evidence exists to justify overcoming the 1448 presumption. 1449 Section 41.The text of s. 27.40(1), (2)(a), (3)(a), (5), 1450 (6), and (7), Florida Statutes, as carried forward from chapter 1451 2019-116, Laws of Florida, by this act, expires July 1, 2026, 1452 and the text of those subsections and paragraphs, as applicable, 1453 shall revert to that in existence on June 30, 2019, except that 1454 any amendments to such text enacted other than by this act shall 1455 be preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such 1456 amendments are not dependent upon the portions of text which 1457 expire pursuant to this section. 1458 Section 42.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1459 733 through 754A, 880 through 1002A, and 1020 through 1050A of 1460 the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding 1461 the expiration date in section 43 of chapter 2024-228, Laws of 1462 Florida, subsection (13) of section 27.5304, Florida Statutes, 1463 is amended, and subsections (1), (3), (6), (7), and (11), and 1464 paragraphs (a) through (e) of subsection (12) of that section 1465 are reenacted, to read: 1466 27.5304Private court-appointed counsel; compensation; 1467 notice. 1468 (1)Private court-appointed counsel appointed in the manner 1469 prescribed in s. 27.40(1) and (2)(a) shall be compensated by the 1470 Justice Administrative Commission only as provided in this 1471 section and the General Appropriations Act. The flat fees 1472 prescribed in this section are limitations on compensation. The 1473 specific flat fee amounts for compensation shall be established 1474 annually in the General Appropriations Act. The attorney also 1475 shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses in 1476 accordance with s. 29.007. If the attorney is representing a 1477 defendant charged with more than one offense in the same case, 1478 the attorney shall be compensated at the rate provided for the 1479 most serious offense for which he or she represented the 1480 defendant. This section does not allow stacking of the fee 1481 limits established by this section. 1482 (3)The court retains primary authority and responsibility 1483 for determining the reasonableness of all billings for attorney 1484 fees, costs, and related expenses, subject to statutory 1485 limitations and the requirements of s. 27.40(7). Private court 1486 appointed counsel is entitled to compensation upon final 1487 disposition of a case. 1488 (6)For compensation for representation pursuant to a court 1489 appointment in a proceeding under chapter 39: 1490 (a)At the trial level, compensation for representation for 1491 dependency proceedings shall not exceed $1,450 for the first 1492 year following the date of appointment and shall not exceed $700 1493 each year thereafter. Compensation shall be paid based upon 1494 representation of a parent irrespective of the number of case 1495 numbers that may be assigned or the number of children involved, 1496 including any children born during the pendency of the 1497 proceeding. Any appeal, except for an appeal from an 1498 adjudication of dependency, shall be completed by the trial 1499 attorney and is considered compensated by the flat fee for 1500 dependency proceedings. 1501 1.Counsel may bill the flat fee not exceeding $1,450 1502 following disposition or upon dismissal of the petition. 1503 2.Counsel may bill the annual flat fee not exceeding $700 1504 following the first judicial review in the second year following 1505 the date of appointment and each year thereafter as long as the 1506 case remains under protective supervision. 1507 3.If the court grants a motion to reactivate protective 1508 supervision, the attorney shall receive the annual flat fee not 1509 exceeding $700 following the first judicial review and up to an 1510 additional $700 each year thereafter. 1511 4.If, during the course of dependency proceedings, a 1512 proceeding to terminate parental rights is initiated, 1513 compensation shall be as set forth in paragraph (b). If counsel 1514 handling the dependency proceeding is not authorized to handle 1515 proceedings to terminate parental rights, the counsel must 1516 withdraw and new counsel must be appointed. 1517 (b)At the trial level, compensation for representation in 1518 termination of parental rights proceedings shall not exceed 1519 $1,800 for the first year following the date of appointment and 1520 shall not exceed $700 each year thereafter. Compensation shall 1521 be paid based upon representation of a parent irrespective of 1522 the number of case numbers that may be assigned or the number of 1523 children involved, including any children born during the 1524 pendency of the proceeding. Any appeal, except for an appeal 1525 from an order granting or denying termination of parental 1526 rights, shall be completed by trial counsel and is considered 1527 compensated by the flat fee for termination of parental rights 1528 proceedings. If the individual has dependency proceedings 1529 ongoing as to other children, those proceedings are considered 1530 part of the termination of parental rights proceedings as long 1531 as that termination of parental rights proceeding is ongoing. 1532 1.Counsel may bill the flat fee not exceeding $1,800 30 1533 days after rendition of the final order. Each request for 1534 payment submitted to the Justice Administrative Commission must 1535 include the trial counsels certification that: 1536 a.Counsel discussed grounds for appeal with the parent or 1537 that counsel attempted and was unable to contact the parent; and 1538 b.No appeal will be filed or that a notice of appeal and a 1539 motion for appointment of appellate counsel, containing the 1540 signature of the parent, have been filed. 1541 2.Counsel may bill the annual flat fee not exceeding $700 1542 following the first judicial review in the second year after the 1543 date of appointment and each year thereafter as long as the 1544 termination of parental rights proceedings are still ongoing. 1545 (c)For appeals from an adjudication of dependency, 1546 compensation may not exceed $1,800. 1547 1.Counsel may bill a flat fee not exceeding $1,200 upon 1548 filing the initial brief or the granting of a motion to 1549 withdraw. 1550 2.If a brief is filed, counsel may bill an additional flat 1551 fee not exceeding $600 upon rendition of the mandate. 1552 (d)For an appeal from an adjudication of termination of 1553 parental rights, compensation may not exceed $3,500. 1554 1.Counsel may bill a flat fee not exceeding $1,750 upon 1555 filing the initial brief or the granting of a motion to 1556 withdraw. 1557 2.If a brief is filed, counsel may bill an additional flat 1558 fee not exceeding $1,750 upon rendition of the mandate. 1559 (7)Counsel eligible to receive compensation from the state 1560 for representation pursuant to court appointment made in 1561 accordance with the requirements of s. 27.40(1) and (2)(a) in a 1562 proceeding under chapter 384, chapter 390, chapter 392, chapter 1563 393, chapter 394, chapter 397, chapter 415, chapter 743, chapter 1564 744, or chapter 984 shall receive compensation not to exceed the 1565 limits prescribed in the General Appropriations Act. Any such 1566 compensation must be determined as provided in s. 27.40(7). 1567 (11)It is the intent of the Legislature that the flat fees 1568 prescribed under this section and the General Appropriations Act 1569 comprise the full and complete compensation for private court 1570 appointed counsel. It is further the intent of the Legislature 1571 that the fees in this section are prescribed for the purpose of 1572 providing counsel with notice of the limit on the amount of 1573 compensation for representation in particular proceedings and 1574 the sole procedure and requirements for obtaining payment for 1575 the same. 1576 (a)If court-appointed counsel moves to withdraw prior to 1577 the full performance of his or her duties through the completion 1578 of the case, the court shall presume that the attorney is not 1579 entitled to the payment of the full flat fee established under 1580 this section and the General Appropriations Act. 1581 (b)If court-appointed counsel is allowed to withdraw from 1582 representation prior to the full performance of his or her 1583 duties through the completion of the case and the court appoints 1584 a subsequent attorney, the total compensation for the initial 1585 and any and all subsequent attorneys may not exceed the flat fee 1586 established under this section and the General Appropriations 1587 Act, except as provided in subsection (12). 1588 1589 This subsection constitutes notice to any subsequently appointed 1590 attorney that he or she will not be compensated the full flat 1591 fee. 1592 (12)The Legislature recognizes that on rare occasions an 1593 attorney may receive a case that requires extraordinary and 1594 unusual effort. 1595 (a)If counsel seeks compensation that exceeds the limits 1596 prescribed by law, he or she must file a motion with the chief 1597 judge for an order approving payment of attorney fees in excess 1598 of these limits. 1599 1.Before filing the motion, the counsel shall deliver a 1600 copy of the intended billing, together with supporting 1601 affidavits and all other necessary documentation, to the Justice 1602 Administrative Commission. 1603 2.The Justice Administrative Commission shall review the 1604 billings, affidavit, and documentation for completeness and 1605 compliance with contractual and statutory requirements and shall 1606 contemporaneously document such review before authorizing 1607 payment to an attorney. If the Justice Administrative Commission 1608 objects to any portion of the proposed billing, the objection 1609 and supporting reasons must be communicated in writing to the 1610 private court-appointed counsel. The counsel may thereafter file 1611 his or her motion, which must specify whether the commission 1612 objects to any portion of the billing or the sufficiency of 1613 documentation, and shall attach the commissions letter stating 1614 its objection. 1615 (b)Following receipt of the motion to exceed the fee 1616 limits, the chief judge or a single designee shall hold an 1617 evidentiary hearing. The chief judge may select only one judge 1618 per circuit to hear and determine motions pursuant to this 1619 subsection, except multicounty circuits and the eleventh circuit 1620 may have up to two designees. 1621 1.At the hearing, the attorney seeking compensation must 1622 prove by competent and substantial evidence that the case 1623 required extraordinary and unusual efforts. The chief judge or 1624 single designee shall consider criteria such as the number of 1625 witnesses, the complexity of the factual and legal issues, and 1626 the length of trial. The fact that a trial was conducted in a 1627 case does not, by itself, constitute competent substantial 1628 evidence of an extraordinary and unusual effort. In a criminal 1629 case, relief under this section may not be granted if the number 1630 of work hours does not exceed 75 or the number of the states 1631 witnesses deposed does not exceed 20. 1632 2.Objections by or on behalf of the Justice Administrative 1633 Commission to records or documents or to claims for payment by 1634 the attorney shall be presumed correct by the court unless the 1635 court determines, in writing, that competent and substantial 1636 evidence exists to justify overcoming the presumption. The chief 1637 judge or single designee shall enter a written order detailing 1638 his or her findings and identifying the extraordinary nature of 1639 the time and efforts of the attorney in the case which warrant 1640 exceeding the flat fee established by this section and the 1641 General Appropriations Act. 1642 (c)A copy of the motion and attachments shall be served on 1643 the Justice Administrative Commission at least 20 business days 1644 before the date of a hearing. The Justice Administrative 1645 Commission has standing to appear before the court, and may 1646 appear in person or telephonically, including at the hearing 1647 under paragraph (b), to contest any motion for an order 1648 approving payment of attorney fees, costs, or related expenses 1649 and may participate in a hearing on the motion by use of 1650 telephonic or other communication equipment. The Justice 1651 Administrative Commission may contract with other public or 1652 private entities or individuals to appear before the court for 1653 the purpose of contesting any motion for an order approving 1654 payment of attorney fees, costs, or related expenses. The fact 1655 that the Justice Administrative Commission has not objected to 1656 any portion of the billing or to the sufficiency of the 1657 documentation is not binding on the court. 1658 (d)If the chief judge or a single designee finds that 1659 counsel has proved by competent and substantial evidence that 1660 the case required extraordinary and unusual efforts, the chief 1661 judge or single designee shall order the compensation to be paid 1662 to the attorney at a percentage above the flat fee rate, 1663 depending on the extent of the unusual and extraordinary effort 1664 required. The percentage must be only the rate necessary to 1665 ensure that the fees paid are not confiscatory under common law. 1666 The percentage may not exceed 200 percent of the established 1667 flat fee, absent a specific finding that 200 percent of the flat 1668 fee in the case would be confiscatory. If the chief judge or 1669 single designee determines that 200 percent of the flat fee 1670 would be confiscatory, he or she shall order the amount of 1671 compensation using an hourly rate not to exceed $75 per hour for 1672 a noncapital case and $100 per hour for a capital case. However, 1673 the compensation calculated by using the hourly rate shall be 1674 only that amount necessary to ensure that the total fees paid 1675 are not confiscatory, subject to the requirements of s. 1676 27.40(7). 1677 (e)Any order granting relief under this subsection must be 1678 attached to the final request for a payment submitted to the 1679 Justice Administrative Commission and must satisfy the 1680 requirements of subparagraph (b)2. 1681 (13)Notwithstanding the limitation set forth in subsection 1682 (5) and for the 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal year only, the 1683 compensation for representation in a criminal proceeding may not 1684 exceed the following: 1685 (a)For misdemeanors and juveniles represented at the trial 1686 level: $2,000. 1687 (b)For noncapital, nonlife felonies represented at the 1688 trial level: $15,000. 1689 (c)For life felonies represented at the trial level: 1690 $15,000. 1691 (d)For capital cases represented at the trial level: 1692 $25,000. For purposes of this paragraph, a capital case is any 1693 offense for which the potential sentence is death and the state 1694 has not waived seeking the death penalty. 1695 (e)For representation on appeal: $9,000. 1696 (f)This subsection expires July 1, 2026 2025. 1697 Section 43.The text of s. 27.5304(1), (3), (7), (11), and 1698 (12)(a)-(e), Florida Statutes, as carried forward from chapter 1699 2019-116, Laws of Florida, and the text of s. 27.5304(6), 1700 Florida Statutes, as carried forward from chapter 2023-240, Laws 1701 of Florida, by this act, expire July 1, 2026, and the text of 1702 those subsections and paragraphs, as applicable, shall revert to 1703 that in existence on June 30, 2019, except that any amendments 1704 to such text enacted other than by this act shall be preserved 1705 and continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are 1706 not dependent upon the portions of text which expire pursuant to 1707 this section. 1708 Section 44.In order to implement section 97 of the 2025 1709 2026 General Appropriations Act, paragraph (f) of subsection (7) 1710 of section 934.50, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1711 934.50Searches and seizure using a drone. 1712 (7)SECURITY STANDARDS FOR GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY DRONE USE. 1713 (f)Notwithstanding this subsection: 1714 1.Subject to appropriation, the drone replacement grant 1715 program is created within the Department of Law Enforcement. The 1716 program shall provide funds to law enforcement agencies, fire 1717 service providers, ambulance crews, or other first responders 1718 that turn in drones that are not in compliance with this 1719 section. To be eligible, the drone must have not reached its end 1720 of life and must still be in working condition. Funds shall be 1721 provided per drone based upon the drones replacement costs. 1722 Grant funds may only be used to purchase drones that are in 1723 compliance with this section. The Department of Law Enforcement 1724 shall expeditiously develop an application process, and funds 1725 shall be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, 1726 determined by the date the department receives the application. 1727 The department may adopt rules to implement this program. For 1728 the purposes of this paragraph, the term law enforcement 1729 agency has the same meaning as in this section. 1730 2.The Department of Law Enforcement shall provide the 1731 first two functional drones of each unique make and model 1732 received through the drone grant replacement program to the 1733 Florida Center for Cybersecurity within the University of South 1734 Florida. The Florida Center for Cybersecurity shall analyze each 1735 drone received from the Department of Law Enforcement to 1736 determine whether the drones presented a cybersecurity concern 1737 during its time of use and shall provide a report of its 1738 findings and a list of any specific security vulnerabilities 1739 found in the drone to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 1740 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The center must 1741 return any drone received through the drone replacement grant 1742 program to the Department of Law Enforcement for destruction 1743 pursuant to subparagraph 3., following the completion of the 1744 cybersecurity analysis. 1745 3.The Department of Law Enforcement shall ensure the 1746 destruction of all drones received through the drone replacement 1747 grant program after ensuring that the first two functional 1748 drones of each unique make and model received have been 1749 transmitted to the Florida Center for Cybersecurity for 1750 analysis. The Florida Center for Cybersecurity shall return to 1751 the department for destruction any duplicate model drones in 1752 their possession which were previously transmitted to the 1753 center, and which are not being retained for analysis. 1754 4.From the funds appropriated to the drone replacement 1755 grant program, the Department of Law Enforcement: 1756 a.May expend funds to directly cause, or contract for, the 1757 secure destruction of all drones received under the program 1758 during fiscal years 2023-2024, and 2024-2025, 2025-2026 which 1759 are not being retained for analysis or retained by the 1760 department following a completed analysis. 1761 b.Must provide to the Florida Center for Cybersecurity 1762 $25,000 to cover the centers expenses associated with the 1763 analysis, transport, secure storage, reporting, and other 1764 related costs necessary to comply with the requirements of this 1765 subsection. 1766 c.May increase the awards previously provided in fiscal 1767 year 2024-2025 2023-2024, which were based on the drones value, 1768 to award the value to reflect the drones replacement cost. 1769 5.The Department of Law Enforcement is authorized, and all 1770 conditions are deemed met, to adopt emergency rules under s. 1771 120.54(4) for the purpose of implementing the drone replacement 1772 grant program. Notwithstanding any other law, emergency rules 1773 adopted under this section are effective for 12 months after 1774 adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to 1775 adopt permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency 1776 rules. 1777 1778 This paragraph expires July 1, 2026 2025. 1779 Section 45.In order to implement appropriations used to 1780 pay existing lease contracts for private lease space in excess 1781 of 2,000 square feet in the 2025-2026 General Appropriations 1782 Act, the Department of Management Services, with the cooperation 1783 of the agencies having the existing lease contracts for office 1784 or storage space, shall use tenant broker services to 1785 renegotiate or reprocure all private lease agreements for office 1786 or storage space expiring between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 1787 2028, in order to reduce costs in future years. The department 1788 shall incorporate this initiative into its 2025 master leasing 1789 report required under s. 255.249(7), Florida Statutes, and may 1790 use tenant broker services to explore the possibilities of 1791 collocating office or storage space, to review the space needs 1792 of each agency, and to review the length and terms of potential 1793 renewals or renegotiations. The department shall provide a 1794 report to the Executive Office of the Governor, the President of 1795 the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by 1796 November 1, 2025, which lists each lease contract for private 1797 office or storage space, the status of renegotiations, and the 1798 savings achieved. This section expires July 1, 2026. 1799 Section 46.In order to implement appropriations authorized 1800 in the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act for data center 1801 services, and notwithstanding s. 216.292(2)(a), Florida 1802 Statutes, an agency may not transfer funds from a data 1803 processing category to a category other than another data 1804 processing category. This section expires July 1, 2026. 1805 Section 47.In order to implement the appropriation of 1806 funds in the appropriation category Special Categories-Risk 1807 Management Insurance in the 2025-2026 General Appropriations 1808 Act, and pursuant to the notice, review, and objection 1809 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, the Executive Office 1810 of the Governor may transfer funds appropriated in that category 1811 between departments in order to align the budget authority 1812 granted with the premiums paid by each department for risk 1813 management insurance. This section expires July 1, 2026. 1814 Section 48.In order to implement the appropriation of 1815 funds in the appropriation category Special Categories-Transfer 1816 to Department of Management Services-Human Resources Services 1817 Purchased per Statewide Contract in the 2025-2026 General 1818 Appropriations Act, and pursuant to the notice, review, and 1819 objection procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, the 1820 Executive Office of the Governor may transfer funds appropriated 1821 in that category between departments in order to align the 1822 budget authority granted with the assessments that must be paid 1823 by each agency to the Department of Management Services for 1824 human resource management services. This section expires July 1, 1825 2026. 1826 Section 49.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 1827 2602 in the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act in the Building 1828 Relocation appropriation category from the Architects Incidental 1829 Trust Fund of the Department of Management Services, and in 1830 accordance with s. 215.196, Florida Statutes: 1831 (1)Upon the final disposition of a state-owned building, 1832 the Department of Management Services may use up to 5 percent of 1833 facility disposition funds from the Architects Incidental Trust 1834 Fund to defer, offset, or otherwise pay for all or a portion of 1835 relocation expenses, including furniture, fixtures, and 1836 equipment for state agencies impacted by the disposition of the 1837 departments managed facilities in the Florida Facilities Pool. 1838 The extent of the financial assistance provided to impacted 1839 state agencies shall be determined by the department. 1840 (2)The Department of Management Services may submit budget 1841 amendments for an increase in appropriation if necessary for the 1842 implementation of this section pursuant to the provisions of 1843 chapter 216, Florida Statutes. Budget amendments for an increase 1844 in appropriation shall include a detailed plan providing all 1845 estimated costs and relocation proposals. 1846 (3)This section expires July 1, 2026. 1847 Section 50.In order to implement the appropriation of 1848 funds in the appropriation category Enterprise Cybersecurity 1849 Resiliency in the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 1850 notwithstanding chapter 287, Florida Statutes, in order to 1851 ensure continued operations, all agencies may continue to 1852 purchase, subject to appropriation, their current productivity 1853 tools and services. This section expires July 1, 2026. 1854 Section 51.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 1855 2217 through 2220A of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act: 1856 (1)The Department of Financial Services shall replace the 1857 four main components of the Florida Accounting Information 1858 Resource Subsystem (FLAIR), which include central FLAIR, 1859 departmental FLAIR, payroll, and information warehouse, and 1860 shall replace the cash management and accounting management 1861 components of the Cash Management Subsystem (CMS) with an 1862 integrated enterprise system that allows the state to organize, 1863 define, and standardize its financial management business 1864 processes and that complies with ss. 215.90-215.96, Florida 1865 Statutes. The department may not include in the replacement of 1866 FLAIR and CMS: 1867 (a)Functionality that duplicates any of the other 1868 information subsystems of the Florida Financial Management 1869 Information System; or 1870 (b)Agency business processes related to any of the 1871 functions included in the Personnel Information System, the 1872 Purchasing Subsystem, or the Legislative Appropriations 1873 System/Planning and Budgeting Subsystem. 1874 (2)For purposes of replacing FLAIR and CMS, the Department 1875 of Financial Services shall: 1876 (a)Take into consideration the cost and implementation 1877 data identified for Option 3 as recommended in the March 31, 1878 2014, Florida Department of Financial Services FLAIR Study, 1879 version 031. 1880 (b)Ensure that all business requirements and technical 1881 specifications have been provided to all state agencies for 1882 their review and input and approved by the executive steering 1883 committee established in paragraph (c), including any updates to 1884 these documents. 1885 (c)Implement a project governance structure that includes 1886 an executive steering committee composed of: 1887 1.The Chief Financial Officer or the executive sponsor of 1888 the project. 1889 2.A representative of the Division of Treasury of the 1890 Department of Financial Services, appointed by the Chief 1891 Financial Officer. 1892 3.The Chief Information Officers of the Department of 1893 Financial Services and the Department of Environmental 1894 Protection. 1895 4.Two employees from the Division of Accounting and 1896 Auditing of the Department of Financial Services, appointed by 1897 the Chief Financial Officer. Each employee must have experience 1898 relating to at least one of the four main components that 1899 compose FLAIR. 1900 5.Two employees from the Executive Office of the Governor, 1901 appointed by the Governor. One employee must have experience 1902 relating to the Legislative Appropriations System/Planning and 1903 Budgeting Subsystem. 1904 6.One employee from the Department of Revenue, appointed 1905 by the executive director, who has experience using or 1906 maintaining the departments finance and accounting systems. 1907 7.Two employees from the Department of Management 1908 Services, appointed by the Secretary of Management Services. One 1909 employee must have experience relating to the departments 1910 personnel information subsystem and one employee must have 1911 experience relating to the departments purchasing subsystem. 1912 8.A state agency administrative services director, 1913 appointed by the Governor. 1914 9.Two employees from the Agency for Health Care 1915 Administration. One employee shall be the executive sponsor of 1916 the Florida Health Care Connection (FX) System or his or her 1917 designee, appointed by the Secretary of Health Care 1918 Administration, and one employee shall be the Assistant Deputy 1919 Secretary for Finance or his or her designee. 1920 10.The State Chief Information Officer, or his or her 1921 designee, as a nonvoting member. The State Chief Information 1922 Officer, or his or her designee, shall provide monthly status 1923 reports to the executive steering committee pursuant to the 1924 oversight responsibilities in s. 282.0051, Florida Statutes. 1925 11.One employee from the Department of Business and 1926 Professional Regulation who has experience in finance and 1927 accounting and FLAIR, appointed by the Secretary of Business and 1928 Professional Regulation. 1929 12.One employee from the Florida Fish and Wildlife 1930 Conservation Commission who has experience using or maintaining 1931 the commissions finance and accounting systems, appointed by 1932 the Chair of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation 1933 Commission. 1934 13.The budget director of the Department of Education, or 1935 his or her designee. 1936 (3)(a)The Chief Financial Officer or the executive sponsor 1937 of the project shall serve as chair of the executive steering 1938 committee, and the committee shall take action by a vote of at 1939 least eight affirmative votes with the Chief Financial Officer 1940 or the executive sponsor of the project voting on the prevailing 1941 side. A quorum of the executive steering committee consists of 1942 at least 10 members. 1943 (b)No later than 14 days before a meeting of the executive 1944 steering committee, the chair shall request input from committee 1945 members on agenda items for the next scheduled meeting. 1946 (c)The chair shall establish a working group consisting of 1947 FLAIR users, state agency technical staff who maintain 1948 applications that integrate with FLAIR, and no less than four 1949 state agency finance and accounting or budget directors. The 1950 working group shall meet at least monthly to review PALM 1951 functionality, assess project impacts to state financial 1952 business processes and agency staff, and develop recommendations 1953 to the executive steering committee for improvements. The chair 1954 shall request input from the working group on agenda items for 1955 each scheduled meeting. The PALM project team shall dedicate a 1956 staff member to the group and provide system demonstrations and 1957 any project documentation, as needed, for the group to fulfill 1958 its duties. 1959 (d)The chair shall request all agency project sponsors to 1960 provide bimonthly status reports to the executive steering 1961 committee. The form and format of the bimonthly status reports 1962 shall be developed by the Florida PALM project and provided to 1963 the executive steering committee meeting for approval. Such 1964 agency status reports shall provide information to the executive 1965 steering committee on the activities and ongoing work within the 1966 agency to prepare their systems and impacted employees for the 1967 deployment of the Florida PALM System. The first bimonthly 1968 status report is due September 1, 2025, and bimonthly 1969 thereafter. 1970 (4)The executive steering committee has the overall 1971 responsibility for ensuring that the project to replace FLAIR 1972 and CMS meets its primary business objectives and shall: 1973 (a)Identify and recommend to the Executive Office of the 1974 Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 1975 House of Representatives any statutory changes needed to 1976 implement the replacement subsystem that will standardize, to 1977 the fullest extent possible, the states financial management 1978 business processes. 1979 (b)Review and approve any changes to the projects scope, 1980 schedule, and budget which do not conflict with the requirements 1981 of subsection (1). 1982 (c)Ensure that adequate resources are provided throughout 1983 all phases of the project. 1984 (d)Approve all major project deliverables and any cost 1985 changes to each deliverable over $250,000. 1986 (e)Approve contract amendments and changes to all 1987 contract-related documents associated with the replacement of 1988 FLAIR and CMS. 1989 (f)Review, and approve as warranted, the format of the 1990 bimonthly agency status reports to include objective and 1991 quantifiable information on each agencys progress in planning 1992 for the Florida PALM Major Implementation, covering the agencys 1993 people, processes, technology, and data transformation 1994 activities. 1995 (g)Ensure compliance with ss. 216.181(16), 216.311, 1996 216.313, 282.318(4)(h), and 287.058, Florida Statutes. 1997 (5)This section expires July 1, 2026. 1998 Section 52.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 1999 2698 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 2000 notwithstanding the expiration date in section 53 of chapter 2001 2024-228, Laws of Florida, subsection (3) of section 282.709, 2002 Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 2003 282.709State agency law enforcement radio system and 2004 interoperability network. 2005 (3)In recognition of the critical nature of the statewide 2006 law enforcement radio communications system, the Legislature 2007 finds that there is an immediate danger to the public health, 2008 safety, and welfare, and that it is in the best interest of the 2009 state to continue partnering with the systems current operator. 2010 The Legislature finds that continuity of coverage is critical to 2011 supporting law enforcement, first responders, and other public 2012 safety users. The potential for a loss in coverage or a lack of 2013 interoperability between users requires emergency action and is 2014 a serious concern for officers safety and their ability to 2015 communicate and respond to various disasters and events. 2016 (a)The department, pursuant to s. 287.057(11), shall enter 2017 into a 15-year contract with the entity that was operating the 2018 statewide radio communications system on January 1, 2021. The 2019 contract must include: 2020 1.The purchase of radios; 2021 2.The upgrade to the Project 25 communications standard; 2022 3.Increased system capacity and enhanced coverage for 2023 system users; 2024 4.Operations, maintenance, and support at a fixed annual 2025 rate; 2026 5.The conveyance of communications towers to the 2027 department; and 2028 6.The assignment of communications tower leases to the 2029 department. 2030 (b)The State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System Trust 2031 Fund is established in the department and funded from surcharges 2032 collected under ss. 318.18, 320.0802, and 328.72. Upon 2033 appropriation, moneys in the trust fund may be used by the 2034 department to acquire the equipment, software, and engineering, 2035 administrative, and maintenance services it needs to construct, 2036 operate, and maintain the statewide radio system. Moneys in the 2037 trust fund from surcharges shall be used to help fund the costs 2038 of the system. Upon completion of the system, moneys in the 2039 trust fund may also be used by the department for payment of the 2040 recurring maintenance costs of the system. 2041 Section 53.The text of s. 282.709(3), Florida Statutes, as 2042 carried forward from chapter 2024-228, Laws of Florida, by this 2043 act expires July 1, 2026, and the text of that subsection, shall 2044 revert to that in existence on June 1, 2021, except that any 2045 amendments to such text enacted other than by this act, shall be 2046 preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such 2047 amendments are not dependent upon the portions of text which 2048 expire pursuant to this section. 2049 Section 54.In order to implement appropriations relating 2050 to the purchase of equipment and services related to the 2051 Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) as authorized in 2052 the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding s. 2053 287.057, Florida Statutes, state agencies and other eligible 2054 users of the SLERS network may use the Department of Management 2055 Services SLERS contract for purchase of equipment and services. 2056 This section expires July 1, 2026. 2057 Section 55.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 2058 2616 through 2626 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 2059 and notwithstanding rule 60A-1.031, Florida Administrative Code, 2060 the transaction fee as identified in s. 287.057(24)(c), Florida 2061 Statutes, shall be collected for use of the online procurement 2062 system and is 0.7 percent for the 2025-2026 fiscal year only. 2063 This section expires July 1, 2026. 2064 Section 56.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 2065 2733 through 2740A of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 2066 paragraph (ll) of subsection (6) of section 627.351, Florida 2067 Statutes, is reenacted and amended to read: 2068 627.351Insurance risk apportionment plans. 2069 (6)CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION. 2070 (ll)1.In addition to any other method of alternative 2071 dispute resolution authorized by state law, the corporation may 2072 adopt policy forms that provide for the resolution of disputes 2073 regarding its claim determinations, including disputes regarding 2074 coverage for, or the scope and value of, a claim, in a 2075 proceeding before the Division of Administrative Hearings. Any 2076 such policies are not subject to s. 627.70154. All proceedings 2077 in the Division of Administrative Hearings pursuant to such 2078 policies are subject to ss. 57.105 and 768.79 as if filed in the 2079 courts of this state and are not considered chapter 120 2080 administrative proceedings. Rule 1.442, Florida Rules of Civil 2081 Procedure, applies to any offer served pursuant to s. 768.79, 2082 except that, notwithstanding any provision in Rule 1.442, 2083 Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, to the contrary, an offer 2084 shall not be served earlier than 10 days after filing the 2085 request for hearing with the Division of Administrative Hearings 2086 and shall not be served later than 10 days before the date set 2087 for the final hearing. The administrative law judge in such 2088 proceedings shall award attorney fees and other relief pursuant 2089 to ss. 57.105 and 768.79. The corporation may not seek, and the 2090 office may not approve, a maximum hourly rate for attorney fees. 2091 2.The corporation may contract with the division to 2092 conduct proceedings to resolve disputes regarding its claim 2093 determinations as may be provided for in the applicable policies 2094 of insurance. This subparagraph expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2095 Section 57.Effective upon this act becoming law, and in 2096 order to implement Specific Appropriations 2665 through 2671A of 2097 the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding 2098 the proviso language for Specific Appropriation 2966 in chapter 2099 2023-239, Laws of Florida, subsection (2) of section 110.116, 2100 Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2101 110.116Personnel information system; payroll procedures. 2102 (2)In recognition of the critical nature of the statewide 2103 personnel and payroll system commonly known as People First, the 2104 Legislature finds that it is in the best interest of the state 2105 to continue partnering with the current People First third-party 2106 operator. The People First System annually processes 500,000 2107 employment applications, 455,000 personnel actions, and the 2108 states $9.5-billion payroll. The Legislature finds that the 2109 continuity of operations of the People First System and the 2110 critical functions it provides such as payroll, employee health 2111 insurance benefit records, and other critical services must not 2112 be interrupted. Presently, the Chief Financial Officer is 2113 undertaking the development of a new statewide accounting and 2114 financial management system, commonly known as the Planning, 2115 Accounting, and Ledger Management (PALM) system, scheduled to be 2116 operational in the year 2026. The procurement and implementation 2117 of an entire replacement of the People First System will impede 2118 the timeframe needed to successfully integrate the states 2119 payroll system with the PALM System. In order to maintain 2120 continuity of operations and to ensure the successful completion 2121 of the PALM System, the Legislature directs that: 2122 (a)The department, pursuant to s. 287.057(11), shall enter 2123 into one a 3-year contract extension for a period of 3 years 2124 with the entity operating the People First System by on January 2125 1, 2026 2024. The contract extension must: 2126 1.Provide for the integration of the current People First 2127 System with PALM. 2128 2.Exclude major functionality updates or changes to the 2129 People First System prior to completion of the PALM System. This 2130 does not include: 2131 a.Routine system maintenance such as code updates 2132 following open enrollment; or 2133 b.The technical remediation necessary to integrate the 2134 system with PALM within the PALM projects planned 2135 implementation schedule. 2136 3.Include project planning and analysis deliverables 2137 necessary to: 2138 a.Detail and document the states functional requirements. 2139 b.Estimate the cost of transitioning the current People 2140 First System to a cloud-based supported version of the current 2141 software cloud computing infrastructure within the contract 2142 extension and after the successful integration with PALM. The 2143 project cost evaluation shall estimate the annual cost and 2144 capacity growth required to host the system in a cloud 2145 environment. 2146 2147 The department shall develop these system specifications in 2148 conjunction with the Department of Financial Services and the 2149 Auditor General. 2150 4.Include technical support for state agencies that may 2151 need assistance in remediating or integrating current financial 2152 shadow systems with People First in order to integrate with PALM 2153 or the cloud version of People First. 2154 5.Include organizational change management and training 2155 deliverables needed to support the implementation of PALM 2156 payroll functionality and the People First System cloud upgrade. 2157 Responsibilities of the operator and the department shall be 2158 outlined in a project role and responsibility assignment chart 2159 within the contract. 2160 6.Include an option to renew the contract for one 2161 additional year. 2162 (b)The department shall submit, no later than June 30, 2163 2026, its project planning and detailed cost estimate to upgrade 2164 the current People First System to the chair of the Senate 2165 Committee on Appropriations, the chair of the House of 2166 Representatives Budget Appropriations Committee, and the 2167 Executive Office of the Governors Office of Policy and Budget, 2168 for preliminary review and consideration of funding the 2169 departments Fiscal Year 2026-2027 legislative budget request to 2170 update the system. 2171 (c)The department shall contract with an independent 2172 software quality assurance and testing provider to work with all 2173 stakeholders to: 2174 1.Conduct a comprehensive business process analysis to 2175 document current workflows, identify inefficiencies, and develop 2176 recommendations to streamline business processes to improve 2177 service delivery, reduce redundancy, and enhance operational 2178 efficiency. 2179 2.Develop detailed current and future state business, 2180 functional, and technical requirements, including, but not 2181 limited to: 2182 a.System capabilities and user requirements; 2183 b.Security, accessibility, and compliance standards; 2184 c.Data migration and conversion requirements; 2185 d.Integration points with existing enterprise systems and 2186 third-party applications; and 2187 e.Verifiable acceptance criteria for each requirement. 2188 3.Conduct a complete system integration assessment to 2189 identify dependencies, interoperability challenges, and 2190 strategies for seamless data exchange. 2191 4.Deliver a streamlined transparent process to track, 2192 test, and update all system requirements. 2193 5.Submit a report detailing these requirements, process 2194 improvements, and any related statutory change recommendations 2195 to the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the chair 2196 of the House Budget Committee, and the Executive Office of the 2197 Governors Office of Policy and Budget by June 30, 2026. 2198 (d)This subsection expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2199 Section 58.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2200 2139 through 2141 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 2201 paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 215.5586, Florida 2202 Statutes, is amended to read: 2203 215.5586My Safe Florida Home Program.There is established 2204 within the Department of Financial Services the My Safe Florida 2205 Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal 2206 accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 2207 for the program, consistent with this section. This section does 2208 not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the 2209 state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of 2210 residential property in this state. Implementation of this 2211 program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is 2212 the intent of the Legislature that, subject to the availability 2213 of funds, the My Safe Florida Home Program provide licensed 2214 inspectors to perform hurricane mitigation inspections of 2215 eligible homes and grants to fund hurricane mitigation projects 2216 on those homes. The department shall implement the program in 2217 such a manner that the total amount of funding requested by 2218 accepted applications, whether for inspections, grants, or other 2219 services or assistance, does not exceed the total amount of 2220 available funds. If, after applications are processed and 2221 approved, funds remain available, the department may accept 2222 applications up to the available amount. The program shall 2223 develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach 2224 for hurricane damage mitigation pursuant to the requirements 2225 provided in this section. 2226 (2)HURRICANE MITIGATION GRANTS.Financial grants shall be 2227 used by homeowners to make improvements recommended by an 2228 inspection which increase resistance to hurricane damage. 2229 (a)A homeowner is eligible for a hurricane mitigation 2230 grant if all of the following criteria are met: 2231 1.The home must be eligible for an inspection under 2232 subsection (1). 2233 2.The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of 2234 $700,000 or less. Homeowners who are low-income persons, as 2235 defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this requirement. 2236 3.The home must undergo an acceptable hurricane mitigation 2237 inspection as provided in subsection (1). 2238 4.The building permit application for initial construction 2239 of the home must have been made before January 1, 2008. 2240 5.The homeowner must agree to make his or her home 2241 available for inspection once a mitigation project is completed. 2242 6.The homeowner must agree to provide to the department 2243 information received from the homeowners insurer identifying 2244 the discounts realized by the homeowner because of the 2245 mitigation improvements funded through the program. 2246 7.a.The homeowner must be a low-income person or moderate 2247 income person as defined in s. 420.0004. 2248 b.The hurricane mitigation inspection must have occurred 2249 within the previous 24 months from the date of application. 2250 c.This subparagraph expires July 1, 2026. 2251 Section 59.Effective upon this act becoming a law, in 2252 order to implement Specific Appropriation 2245A of the 2025-2026 2253 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding s. 216.301, 2254 Florida Statutes, the funds appropriated to the Department of 2255 Financial Services in Specific Appropriation 2489A or section 2256 179 of the 2024-2025 General Appropriations Act will not revert 2257 and may be carried forward through the 2025-2026 fiscal year. 2258 This section expires July 1, 2026. 2259 Section 60.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 2260 1362, 1622, and 1752A of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations 2261 Act, and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida 2262 Statutes, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Fish 2263 and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Department of 2264 Agriculture and Consumer Services may submit a budget amendment, 2265 subject to Legislative Budget Commission approval, to increase 2266 budget authority for land management contingent upon the 2267 submission of a detailed spend and activity plan for the funds 2268 and shall focus on enhanced upland management activities and 2269 invasive species removal beyond the recurring funding for land 2270 management activities. This section expires July 1, 2026. 2271 Section 61.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2272 1456 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 2273 notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, the 2274 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services may submit 2275 budget amendments, subject to the notice, review, and objection 2276 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, to increase budget 2277 authority to support the National School Lunch Program. This 2278 section expires July 1, 2026. 2279 Section 62.In order to implement specific appropriations 2280 from the land acquisition trust funds within the Department of 2281 Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of 2282 Environmental Protection, the Department of State, and the Fish 2283 and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which are contained in the 2284 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, subsection (3) of section 2285 215.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2286 215.18Transfers between funds; limitation. 2287 (3)Notwithstanding subsection (1) and only with respect to 2288 a land acquisition trust fund in the Department of Agriculture 2289 and Consumer Services, the Department of Environmental 2290 Protection, the Department of State, or the Fish and Wildlife 2291 Conservation Commission, whenever there is a deficiency in a 2292 land acquisition trust fund which would render that trust fund 2293 temporarily insufficient to meet its just requirements, 2294 including the timely payment of appropriations from that trust 2295 fund, and other trust funds in the State Treasury have moneys 2296 that are for the time being or otherwise in excess of the 2297 amounts necessary to meet the just requirements, including 2298 appropriated obligations, of those other trust funds, the 2299 Governor may order a temporary transfer of moneys from one or 2300 more of the other trust funds to a land acquisition trust fund 2301 in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the 2302 Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of State, 2303 or the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Any action 2304 proposed pursuant to this subsection is subject to the notice, 2305 review, and objection procedures of s. 216.177, and the Governor 2306 shall provide notice of such action at least 7 days before the 2307 effective date of the transfer of trust funds, except that 2308 during July 2025 2024, notice of such action shall be provided 2309 at least 3 days before the effective date of a transfer unless 2310 such 3-day notice is waived by the chair and vice chair of the 2311 Legislative Budget Commission. Any transfer of trust funds to a 2312 land acquisition trust fund in the Department of Agriculture and 2313 Consumer Services, the Department of Environmental Protection, 2314 the Department of State, or the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 2315 Commission must be repaid to the trust funds from which the 2316 moneys were loaned by the end of the 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal 2317 year. The Legislature has determined that the repayment of the 2318 other trust fund moneys temporarily loaned to a land acquisition 2319 trust fund in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 2320 Services, the Department of Environmental Protection, the 2321 Department of State, or the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 2322 Commission pursuant to this subsection is an allowable use of 2323 the moneys in a land acquisition trust fund because the moneys 2324 from other trust funds temporarily loaned to a land acquisition 2325 trust fund shall be expended solely and exclusively in 2326 accordance with s. 28, Art. X of the State Constitution. This 2327 subsection expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2328 Section 63.(1)In order to implement specific 2329 appropriations from the land acquisition trust funds within the 2330 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department 2331 of Environmental Protection, the Department of State, and the 2332 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission which are contained in 2333 the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, the Department of 2334 Environmental Protection shall transfer revenues from the Land 2335 Acquisition Trust Fund within the department to the land 2336 acquisition trust funds within the Department of Agriculture and 2337 Consumer Services, the Department of State, and the Fish and 2338 Wildlife Conservation Commission as provided in this section. As 2339 used in this section, the term department means the Department 2340 of Environmental Protection. 2341 (2)After subtracting any required debt service payments, 2342 the proportionate share of revenues to be transferred to each 2343 land acquisition trust fund shall be calculated by dividing the 2344 appropriations from each of the land acquisition trust funds for 2345 the fiscal year by the total appropriations from the Land 2346 Acquisition Trust Fund within the department and the land 2347 acquisition trust funds within the Department of Agriculture and 2348 Consumer Services, the Department of State, and the Fish and 2349 Wildlife Conservation Commission for the fiscal year. The 2350 department shall transfer the proportionate share of the 2351 revenues in the Land Acquisition Trust Fund within the 2352 department on a monthly basis to the appropriate land 2353 acquisition trust funds within the Department of Agriculture and 2354 Consumer Services, the Department of State, and the Fish and 2355 Wildlife Conservation Commission and shall retain its 2356 proportionate share of the revenues in the Land Acquisition 2357 Trust Fund within the department. Total distributions to a land 2358 acquisition trust fund within the Department of Agriculture and 2359 Consumer Services, the Department of State, and the Fish and 2360 Wildlife Conservation Commission may not exceed the total 2361 appropriations from such trust fund for the fiscal year. 2362 (3)In addition, the department shall transfer from the 2363 Land Acquisition Trust Fund to land acquisition trust funds 2364 within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the 2365 Department of State, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 2366 Commission amounts equal to the difference between the amounts 2367 appropriated in chapter 2024-231, Laws of Florida, to the 2368 departments Land Acquisition Trust Fund and the other land 2369 acquisition trust funds, and the amounts actually transferred 2370 between those trust funds during the 2024-2025 fiscal year. 2371 (4)The department may advance funds from the beginning 2372 unobligated fund balance in the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to 2373 the Land Acquisition Trust Fund within the Fish and Wildlife 2374 Conservation Commission needed for cash flow purposes based on a 2375 detailed expenditure plan. The department shall prorate amounts 2376 transferred quarterly to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation 2377 Commission to recoup the amount of funds advanced by June 30, 2378 2026. 2379 (5)This section expires July 1, 2026. 2380 Section 64.In order to implement specific appropriations 2381 from the Florida Forever Trust Fund within the Department of 2382 Environmental Protection, which are contained in the 2025-2026 2383 General Appropriations Act, paragraph (m) of subsection (3) of 2384 section 259.105, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2385 259.105The Florida Forever Act. 2386 (3)Less the costs of issuing and the costs of funding 2387 reserve accounts and other costs associated with bonds, the 2388 proceeds of cash payments or bonds issued pursuant to this 2389 section shall be deposited into the Florida Forever Trust Fund 2390 created by s. 259.1051. The proceeds shall be distributed by the 2391 Department of Environmental Protection in the following manner: 2392 (m)Notwithstanding paragraphs (a)-(j) and for the 2025 2393 2026 2024-2025 fiscal year, the proceeds shall be distributed as 2394 provided in the General Appropriations Act. This paragraph 2395 expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2396 Section 65.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2397 1609 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, paragraph (a) 2398 of subsection (2) of section 376.91, Florida Statutes, is 2399 amended to read: 2400 376.91Statewide cleanup of perfluoroalkyl and 2401 polyfluoroalkyl substances. 2402 (2)STATEWIDE CLEANUP TARGET LEVELS. 2403 (a)If the United States Environmental Protection Agency 2404 has not finalized its standards for PFAS in drinking water, 2405 groundwater, and soil by January 1, 2026 2025, the department 2406 shall adopt by rule statewide cleanup target levels for PFAS in 2407 drinking water, groundwater, and soil using criteria set forth 2408 in s. 376.30701, with priority given to PFOA and PFOS. The rules 2409 for statewide cleanup target levels may not take effect until 2410 ratified by the Legislature. 2411 Section 66.The amendments to s. 376.91, Florida Statutes, 2412 made by this act expire July 1, 2026, and the text of that 2413 section shall revert to that in existence on June 30, 2025, 2414 except that any amendments to such text enacted other than by 2415 this act shall be preserved and continue to operate to the 2416 extent that such amendments are not dependent upon the portions 2417 of text which expire pursuant to this section. 2418 Section 67.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2419 1609 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 2420 notwithstanding the expiration date in section 66 of chapter 2421 2024-228, Laws of Florida, paragraph (g) of subsection (15) of 2422 section 376.3071, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 2423 376.3071Inland Protection Trust Fund; creation; purposes; 2424 funding. 2425 (15)ETHANOL OR BIODIESEL DAMAGE; PREVENTIVE MEASURES.The 2426 department shall pay, pursuant to this subsection, up to $10 2427 million each fiscal year from the fund for the costs of labor 2428 and equipment to repair or replace petroleum storage systems 2429 that may have been damaged due to the storage of fuels blended 2430 with ethanol or biodiesel, or for preventive measures to reduce 2431 the potential for such damage. 2432 (g)Payments may not be made for the following: 2433 1.Proposal costs or costs related to preparation of the 2434 application and required documentation; 2435 2.Certified public accountant costs; 2436 3.Except as provided in paragraph (j), any costs in excess 2437 of the amount approved by the department under paragraph (b) or 2438 which are not in substantial compliance with the purchase order; 2439 4.Costs associated with storage tanks, piping, or 2440 ancillary equipment that has previously been repaired or 2441 replaced for which costs have been paid under this section; 2442 5.Facilities that are not in compliance with department 2443 storage tank rules, until the noncompliance issues have been 2444 resolved; or 2445 6.Costs associated with damage to petroleum storage 2446 systems caused in whole or in part by causes other than the 2447 storage of fuels blended with ethanol or biodiesel. 2448 Section 68.The text of s. 376.3071(15)(g), Florida 2449 Statutes, as carried forward from chapter 2020-114, Laws of 2450 Florida, by this act expires July 1, 2026, and the text of that 2451 paragraph shall revert to that in existence on July 1, 2020, but 2452 not including any amendments made by this act or chapter 2020 2453 114, Laws of Florida, and any amendments to such text enacted 2454 other than by this act shall be preserved and continue to 2455 operate to the extent that such amendments are not dependent 2456 upon the portion of text which expires pursuant to this section. 2457 Section 69.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2458 2052 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 2459 notwithstanding chapter 287, Florida Statutes, the Department of 2460 Citrus shall enter into agreements for the purpose of increasing 2461 production of trees that show tolerance or resistance to citrus 2462 greening and to commercialize technologies that produce 2463 tolerance or resistance to citrus greening in trees. The 2464 department shall enter into these agreements no later than 2465 January 1, 2026, and shall file with the departments Inspector 2466 General a certification of conditions and circumstances 2467 justifying each agreement entered into without competitive 2468 solicitation. This section expires July 1, 2026. 2469 Section 70.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2470 1502 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 2471 notwithstanding the expiration date in section 71 of chapter 2472 2024-228, Laws of Florida, section 380.5105, Florida Statutes, 2473 is reenacted and amended to read: 2474 380.5105The Stan Mayfield Working Waterfronts; Florida 2475 Forever program. 2476 (1)Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it 2477 is the intent of the Legislature that the trust shall administer 2478 the working waterfronts land acquisition program as set forth in 2479 this section. 2480 (a)The trust and the Department of Agriculture and 2481 Consumer Services shall jointly develop rules specifically 2482 establishing an application process and a process for the 2483 evaluation, scoring and ranking of working waterfront projects. 2484 The proposed rules jointly developed pursuant to this paragraph 2485 shall be promulgated by the trust. Such rules shall establish a 2486 system of weighted criteria to give increased priority to 2487 projects: 2488 1.Within a municipality with a population less than 2489 30,000; 2490 2.Within a municipality or area under intense growth and 2491 development pressures, as evidenced by a number of factors, 2492 including a determination that the municipalitys growth rate 2493 exceeds the average growth rate for the state; 2494 3.Within the boundary of a community redevelopment agency 2495 established pursuant to s. 163.356; 2496 4.Adjacent to state-owned submerged lands designated as an 2497 aquatic preserve identified in s. 258.39; or 2498 5.That provide a demonstrable benefit to the local 2499 economy. 2500 (b)For projects that will require more than the grant 2501 amount awarded for completion, the applicant must identify in 2502 their project application funding sources that will provide the 2503 difference between the grant award and the estimated project 2504 completion cost. Such rules may be incorporated into those 2505 developed pursuant to s. 380.507(11). 2506 (c)The trust shall develop a ranking list based on 2507 criteria identified in paragraph (a) for proposed fee simple and 2508 less-than-fee simple acquisition projects developed pursuant to 2509 this section. The trust shall, by the first Board of Trustees of 2510 the Internal Improvement Trust Fund meeting in February, present 2511 the ranking list pursuant to this section to the board of 2512 trustees for final approval of projects for funding. The board 2513 of trustees may remove projects from the ranking list but may 2514 not add projects. 2515 (d)Grant awards, acquisition approvals, and terms of less 2516 than-fee acquisitions shall be approved by the trust. Waterfront 2517 communities that receive grant awards must submit annual 2518 progress reports to the trust identifying project activities 2519 which are complete, and the progress achieved in meeting the 2520 goals outlined in the project application. The trust must 2521 implement a process to monitor and evaluate the performance of 2522 grant recipients in completing projects that are funded through 2523 the working waterfronts program. 2524 (2)Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it 2525 is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of 2526 Environmental Protection shall administer the working 2527 waterfronts capital outlay grant program as set forth in this 2528 section to support the commercial fishing and marine aquaculture 2529 industries industry, including the infrastructure for receiving 2530 or unloading seafood for the purpose of supporting the seafood 2531 economy. 2532 (a)The working waterfronts capital outlay grant program is 2533 created to provide funding to assist commercial saltwater 2534 products or commercial saltwater wholesale dealer or retailer 2535 license holders and seafood houses in maintaining their 2536 operations. 2537 (b)Eligible costs and expenditures include fixed capital 2538 outlay and operating capital outlay, including, but not limited 2539 to, the repair and maintenance or replacement of equipment, the 2540 repair and maintenance or replacement of water-adjacent 2541 facilities or infrastructure, and the construction or renovation 2542 of shoreside facilities. 2543 (c)The applicant must demonstrate a benefit to the local 2544 economy. 2545 (d)Grant recipients must submit annual progress reports to 2546 the department identifying project activities that are complete 2547 and the progress achieved in meeting the goals outlined in the 2548 project application. 2549 (e)The department shall implement a process to monitor and 2550 evaluate the performance of grant recipients in completing 2551 projects funded through the program. 2552 Section 71.The text of s. 380.5105, Florida Statutes, as 2553 carried forward from chapter 2024-228, Laws of Florida, by this 2554 act expire July 1, 2026, and the text of that section shall 2555 revert to that in existence on June 30, 2024, except that any 2556 amendments to such text enacted other than by this act shall be 2557 preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such 2558 amendments are not dependent upon the portions of text which 2559 expire pursuant to this section. 2560 Section 72.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2561 1725 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act and 2562 notwithstanding s. 823.11(4)(c), Florida Statutes, the Fish and 2563 Wildlife Conservation Commission may use funds appropriated for 2564 the derelict vessel removal program for grants to local 2565 governments or to remove, store, destroy, and dispose of, or to 2566 pay private contractors to remove, store, destroy, and dispose 2567 of, derelict vessels or vessels declared a public nuisance 2568 pursuant to s. 327.73(1)(aa), Florida Statutes. This section 2569 expires July 1, 2026. 2570 Section 73.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2571 1555 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, subsection (9) 2572 of section 403.0673, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2573 403.0673Water quality improvement grant program.A grant 2574 program is established within the Department of Environmental 2575 Protection to address wastewater, stormwater, and agricultural 2576 sources of nutrient loading to surface water or groundwater. 2577 (9)For the 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal year, and 2578 notwithstanding the requirements of this section, funds 2579 appropriated for the water quality improvement grant program 2580 must be used as provided in the General Appropriations Act 2581 subsections (4)-(6), the department shall dedicate at least $25 2582 million of the revenues transferred from s. 201.15(4)(h), for 2583 priority projects to improve water quality in the Indian River 2584 Lagoon. This subsection expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2585 Section 74.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 2586 2059 through 2065 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 2587 subsection (3) of section 288.80125, Florida Statutes, is 2588 amended to read: 2589 288.80125Triumph Gulf Coast Trust Fund. 2590 (3)For the 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal year, funds shall be 2591 used for the Rebuild Florida Revolving Loan Fund program to 2592 provide assistance to businesses impacted by Hurricane Michael 2593 as provided in the General Appropriations Act. This subsection 2594 expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2595 Section 75.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 2596 1822 through 1835, 1840, 1841, 1853 through 1858, 1860 through 2597 1864, 1866 through 1874, and 1905 through 1914 of the 2025-2026 2598 General Appropriations Act, paragraph (h) of subsection (7) of 2599 section 339.135, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2600 339.135Work program; legislative budget request; 2601 definitions; preparation, adoption, execution, and amendment. 2602 (7)AMENDMENT OF THE ADOPTED WORK PROGRAM. 2603 (h)1.Any work program amendment that also adds a new 2604 project, or phase thereof, to the adopted work program in excess 2605 of $3 million is subject to approval by the Legislative Budget 2606 Commission. Any work program amendment submitted under this 2607 paragraph must include, as supplemental information, a list of 2608 projects, or phases thereof, in the current 5-year adopted work 2609 program which are eligible for the funds within the 2610 appropriation category being used for the proposed amendment. 2611 The department shall provide a narrative with the rationale for 2612 not advancing an existing project, or phase thereof, in lieu of 2613 the proposed amendment. 2614 2.If the department submits an amendment to the 2615 Legislative Budget Commission and the commission does not meet 2616 or consider the amendment within 30 days after its submittal, 2617 the chair and vice chair of the commission may authorize the 2618 amendment to be approved pursuant to s. 216.177. This 2619 subparagraph expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2620 Section 76.Effective upon this act becoming a law, and in 2621 order to implement section 181 of the 2025-2026 General 2622 Appropriations Act, subsection (4) of section 339.08, Florida 2623 Statutes, is amended to read: 2624 339.08Use of moneys in State Transportation Trust Fund. 2625 (4)Notwithstanding any other law, and for the 2023-2024 2626 and 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 fiscal years only, funds are 2627 appropriated to the State Transportation Trust Fund from the 2628 General Revenue Fund and the Discretionary Sales Surtax Clearing 2629 Trust Fund as provided in the General Appropriations Act. The 2630 department is not required to deplete the resources transferred 2631 from the General Revenue Fund for the fiscal year as required in 2632 s. 339.135(3)(b), and the funds may not be used in calculating 2633 the required quarterly cash balance of the trust fund as 2634 required in s. 339.135(6)(b). The department shall track and 2635 account for appropriated funds from the General Revenue Fund as 2636 a separate funding source for eligible projects on the State 2637 Highway System and from the Discretionary Sales Surtax Clearing 2638 Trust Fund for eligible projects pursuant to the General 2639 Appropriations Act. This subsection expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2640 Section 77.In order to implement section 175 of the 2025 2641 2026 General Appropriations Act, section 250.245, Florida 2642 Statutes, is amended to read: 2643 250.245Florida National Guard Joint Enlistment Enhancement 2644 Program. 2645 (1)The Florida National Guard Joint Enlistment Enhancement 2646 Program (JEEP) is established within the Department of Military 2647 Affairs. The purpose of the program is to motivate soldiers, 2648 airmen, and retirees of the Florida National Guard to bolster 2649 recruitment efforts and increase the force structure of the 2650 Florida National Guard. 2651 (2)As used in this section, the term recruiting 2652 assistant means a member of the Florida National Guard or a 2653 retiree of the Florida National Guard who assists in the 2654 recruitment of a new member and who provides motivation, 2655 encouragement, and moral support until the enlistment of such 2656 new member. 2657 (3)A current member in pay grade E-1 to O-3 or a retiree 2658 in any pay grade is eligible for participation in JEEP as a 2659 recruiting assistant. 2660 (4)The Adjutant General shall provide compensation to 2661 recruiting assistants participating in JEEP. A recruiting 2662 assistant shall receive $1,000 for each new member referred by 2663 them to the Florida National Guard upon the enlistment of such 2664 referred member. 2665 (5)The Department of Military Affairs, in cooperation with 2666 the Florida National Guard, shall adopt rules to administer the 2667 program. 2668 (6)This section expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2669 Section 78.In order to implement Specific Appropriation 2670 2113 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, subsection (6) 2671 of section 288.0655, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2672 288.0655Rural Infrastructure Fund. 2673 (6)For the 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal year, the funds 2674 appropriated for the grant program for Florida Panhandle 2675 counties shall be distributed pursuant to and for the purposes 2676 described in the proviso language associated with Specific 2677 Appropriation 2113 2348 of the 2025-2026 2024-2025 General 2678 Appropriations Act. This subsection expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2679 Section 79.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 2680 2445 through 2454 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 2681 and notwithstanding ss. 216.181 and 216.292, Florida Statutes, 2682 the Division of Emergency Management may submit budget 2683 amendments, subject to the notice, review, and objection 2684 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, to increase budget 2685 authority for projected expenditures due to reimbursements from 2686 federally declared disasters. This section expires July 1, 2026. 2687 Section 80.(1)In order to implement section 8 of the 2688 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, beginning July 1, 2025, 2689 and on the first day of each month thereafter, the Department of 2690 Management Services shall assess an administrative health 2691 insurance assessment on each state agency equal to the 2692 employers cost of individual employee health care coverage for 2693 each vacant position within such agency eligible for coverage 2694 through the Division of State Group Insurance. As used in this 2695 section, the term state agency means an agency within the 2696 State Personnel System, the Department of the Lottery, the 2697 Justice Administrative Commission and all entities 2698 administratively housed in the Justice Administrative 2699 Commission, and the state courts system. 2700 (2)Each state agency shall remit the assessed 2701 administrative health insurance assessment under subsection (1) 2702 to the State Employees Health Insurance Trust Fund, for the 2703 State Group Insurance Program, as provided in ss. 110.123 and 2704 110.1239, Florida Statutes, from currently allocated monies for 2705 salaries and benefits, within 30 days after receipt of the 2706 assessment from the Department of Management Services. Should 2707 any state agency become more than 60 days delinquent in payment 2708 of this obligation, the Department of Management Services shall 2709 certify to the Chief Financial Officer the amount due and the 2710 Chief Financial Officer shall transfer the amount due to the 2711 Department of Management Services. 2712 (3)The administrative health insurance assessment shall 2713 apply to all vacant positions funded with state funds whether 2714 fully or partially funded with state funds. Vacant positions 2715 partially funded with state funds shall pay a percentage of the 2716 assessment imposed in subsection (1) equal to the percentage 2717 share of state funds provided for such vacant positions. No 2718 assessment shall apply to vacant positions fully funded with 2719 federal funds. Each state agency shall provide the Department of 2720 Management Services with a complete list of position numbers 2721 that are funded, or partially funded, with federal funding, and 2722 include the percentage of federal funding for each position no 2723 later than July 31, 2025, and shall update the list on the last 2724 day of each month thereafter. For federally funded vacant 2725 positions, or partially funded vacant positions, each state 2726 agency shall immediately take steps to include the 2727 administrative health insurance assessment in its indirect cost 2728 plan for the 2026-2027 fiscal year and each fiscal year 2729 thereafter. A state agency shall notify the Department of 2730 Management Services, the Executive Office of the Governor, and 2731 the chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the 2732 chair of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, upon 2733 approval of the updated indirect cost plan. If the state agency 2734 is not able to obtain approval from its federal awarding agency, 2735 the state agency must notify the Department of Management 2736 Services, the Executive Office of the Governor, and the 2737 appropriation and budget chairs no later than January 15, 2026. 2738 (4)Pursuant to the notice, review, and objection 2739 procedures of s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, the Executive Office 2740 of the Governor may transfer budget authority appropriated in 2741 the Salaries and Benefits appropriation category between 2742 agencies in order to align the appropriations granted with the 2743 assessments that must be paid by each agency to the Department 2744 of Management Services for the administrative health insurance 2745 assessment. 2746 (5)This section expires July 1, 2026. 2747 Section 81.In order to implement Specific Appropriations 2748 2530 and 2531 of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, and 2749 notwithstanding s. 11.13(1), Florida Statutes, the authorized 2750 salaries for members of the Legislature for the 2025-2026 fiscal 2751 year shall be set at the same level in effect on July 1, 2010. 2752 This section expires July 1, 2026. 2753 Section 82.In order to implement the transfer of funds 2754 from the General Revenue Fund from trust funds for the 2025-2026 2755 General Appropriations Act, and notwithstanding the expiration 2756 date in section 91 of chapter 2024-228, Laws of Florida, 2757 paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 215.32, Florida 2758 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 2759 215.32State funds; segregation. 2760 (2)The source and use of each of these funds shall be as 2761 follows: 2762 (b)1.The trust funds shall consist of moneys received by 2763 the state which under law or under trust agreement are 2764 segregated for a purpose authorized by law. The state agency or 2765 branch of state government receiving or collecting such moneys 2766 is responsible for their proper expenditure as provided by law. 2767 Upon the request of the state agency or branch of state 2768 government responsible for the administration of the trust fund, 2769 the Chief Financial Officer may establish accounts within the 2770 trust fund at a level considered necessary for proper 2771 accountability. Once an account is established, the Chief 2772 Financial Officer may authorize payment from that account only 2773 upon determining that there is sufficient cash and releases at 2774 the level of the account. 2775 2.In addition to other trust funds created by law, to the 2776 extent possible, each agency shall use the following trust funds 2777 as described in this subparagraph for day-to-day operations: 2778 a.Operations or operating trust fund, for use as a 2779 depository for funds to be used for program operations funded by 2780 program revenues, with the exception of administrative 2781 activities when the operations or operating trust fund is a 2782 proprietary fund. 2783 b.Operations and maintenance trust fund, for use as a 2784 depository for client services funded by third-party payors. 2785 c.Administrative trust fund, for use as a depository for 2786 funds to be used for management activities that are departmental 2787 in nature and funded by indirect cost earnings and assessments 2788 against trust funds. Proprietary funds are excluded from the 2789 requirement of using an administrative trust fund. 2790 d.Grants and donations trust fund, for use as a depository 2791 for funds to be used for allowable grant or donor agreement 2792 activities funded by restricted contractual revenue from private 2793 and public nonfederal sources. 2794 e.Agency working capital trust fund, for use as a 2795 depository for funds to be used pursuant to s. 216.272. 2796 f.Clearing funds trust fund, for use as a depository for 2797 funds to account for collections pending distribution to lawful 2798 recipients. 2799 g.Federal grant trust fund, for use as a depository for 2800 funds to be used for allowable grant activities funded by 2801 restricted program revenues from federal sources. 2802 2803 To the extent possible, each agency must adjust its internal 2804 accounting to use existing trust funds consistent with the 2805 requirements of this subparagraph. If an agency does not have 2806 trust funds listed in this subparagraph and cannot make such 2807 adjustment, the agency must recommend the creation of the 2808 necessary trust funds to the Legislature no later than the next 2809 scheduled review of the agencys trust funds pursuant to s. 2810 215.3206. 2811 3.All such moneys are hereby appropriated to be expended 2812 in accordance with the law or trust agreement under which they 2813 were received, subject always to the provisions of chapter 216 2814 relating to the appropriation of funds and to the applicable 2815 laws relating to the deposit or expenditure of moneys in the 2816 State Treasury. 2817 4.a.Notwithstanding any provision of law restricting the 2818 use of trust funds to specific purposes, unappropriated cash 2819 balances from selected trust funds may be authorized by the 2820 Legislature for transfer to the Budget Stabilization Fund and 2821 General Revenue Fund in the General Appropriations Act. 2822 b.This subparagraph does not apply to trust funds required 2823 by federal programs or mandates; trust funds established for 2824 bond covenants, indentures, or resolutions whose revenues are 2825 legally pledged by the state or public body to meet debt service 2826 or other financial requirements of any debt obligations of the 2827 state or any public body; the Division of Licensing Trust Fund 2828 in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the 2829 State Transportation Trust Fund; the trust fund containing the 2830 net annual proceeds from the Florida Education Lotteries; the 2831 Florida Retirement System Trust Fund; trust funds under the 2832 management of the State Board of Education or the Board of 2833 Governors of the State University System, where such trust funds 2834 are for auxiliary enterprises, self-insurance, and contracts, 2835 grants, and donations, as those terms are defined by general 2836 law; trust funds that serve as clearing funds or accounts for 2837 the Chief Financial Officer or state agencies; trust funds that 2838 account for assets held by the state in a trustee capacity as an 2839 agent or fiduciary for individuals, private organizations, or 2840 other governmental units; and other trust funds authorized by 2841 the State Constitution. 2842 Section 83.The text of s. 215.32(2)(b), Florida Statutes, 2843 as carried forward from chapter 2011-47, Laws of Florida, by 2844 this act expires July 1, 2026, and the text of that paragraph 2845 shall revert to that in existence on June 30, 2011, except that 2846 any amendments to such text enacted other than by this act shall 2847 be preserved and continue to operate to the extent that such 2848 amendments are not dependent upon the portions of text which 2849 expire pursuant to this section. 2850 Section 84.In order to implement appropriations in the 2851 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act for state employee travel, 2852 the funds appropriated to each state agency which may be used 2853 for travel by state employees are limited during the 2025-2026 2854 fiscal year to travel for activities that are critical to each 2855 state agencys mission. Funds may not be used for travel by 2856 state employees to foreign countries, other states, conferences, 2857 staff training activities, or other administrative functions 2858 unless the agency head has approved, in writing, that such 2859 activities are critical to the agencys mission. The agency head 2860 shall consider using teleconferencing and other forms of 2861 electronic communication to meet the needs of the proposed 2862 activity before approving mission-critical travel. This section 2863 does not apply to travel for law enforcement purposes, military 2864 purposes, emergency management activities, or public health 2865 activities. This section expires July 1, 2026. 2866 Section 85.In order to implement appropriations in the 2867 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act for state employee travel 2868 and notwithstanding s. 112.061, Florida Statutes, costs for 2869 lodging associated with a meeting, conference, or convention 2870 organized or sponsored in whole or in part by a state agency or 2871 the judicial branch may not exceed $225 per day. An employee may 2872 expend his or her own funds for any lodging expenses in excess 2873 of $225 per day. For purposes of this section, a meeting does 2874 not include travel activities for conducting an audit, 2875 examination, inspection, or investigation or travel activities 2876 related to a litigation or emergency response. This section 2877 expires July 1, 2026. 2878 Section 86.In order to implement the appropriations and 2879 reappropriations authorized in the 2025-2026 General 2880 Appropriations Act, paragraph (d) of subsection (11) of section 2881 216.181, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 2882 216.181Approved budgets for operations and fixed capital 2883 outlay. 2884 (11) 2885 (d)Notwithstanding paragraph (b) and paragraph (2)(b), and 2886 for the 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal year only, the Legislative 2887 Budget Commission may approve budget amendments for new fixed 2888 capital outlay projects or increase the amounts appropriated to 2889 state agencies for fixed capital outlay projects. This paragraph 2890 expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2891 2892 The provisions of this subsection are subject to the notice and 2893 objection procedures set forth in s. 216.177. 2894 Section 87.In order to implement the salaries and 2895 benefits, expenses, other personal services, contracted 2896 services, special categories, and operating capital outlay 2897 categories of the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act, 2898 paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 216.292, Florida 2899 Statutes, is amended to read: 2900 216.292Appropriations nontransferable; exceptions. 2901 (2)The following transfers are authorized to be made by 2902 the head of each department or the Chief Justice of the Supreme 2903 Court whenever it is deemed necessary by reason of changed 2904 conditions: 2905 (a)The transfer of appropriations funded from identical 2906 funding sources, except appropriations for fixed capital outlay, 2907 and the transfer of amounts included within the total original 2908 approved budget and plans of releases of appropriations as 2909 furnished pursuant to ss. 216.181 and 216.192, as follows: 2910 1.Between categories of appropriations within a budget 2911 entity, if no category of appropriation is increased or 2912 decreased by more than 5 percent of the original approved budget 2913 or $250,000, whichever is greater, by all action taken under 2914 this subsection. 2915 2.Between budget entities within identical categories of 2916 appropriations, if no category of appropriation is increased or 2917 decreased by more than 5 percent of the original approved budget 2918 or $250,000, whichever is greater, by all action taken under 2919 this subsection. 2920 3.Any agency exceeding salary rate established pursuant to 2921 s. 216.181(8) on June 30th of any fiscal year shall not be 2922 authorized to make transfers pursuant to subparagraphs 1. and 2. 2923 in the subsequent fiscal year. 2924 4.Notice of proposed transfers under subparagraphs 1. and 2925 2. shall be provided to the Executive Office of the Governor and 2926 the chairs of the legislative appropriations committees at least 2927 3 days prior to agency implementation in order to provide an 2928 opportunity for review. The review shall be limited to ensuring 2929 that the transfer is in compliance with the requirements of this 2930 paragraph. 2931 5.For the 2025-2026 2024-2025 fiscal year, the review 2932 shall ensure that transfers proposed pursuant to this paragraph 2933 comply with this chapter, maximize the use of available and 2934 appropriate trust funds, and are not contrary to legislative 2935 policy and intent. This subparagraph expires July 1, 2026 2025. 2936 Section 88.In order to implement appropriations in the 2937 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act for the acquisitions of 2938 motor vehicles, and notwithstanding chapter 287, Florida 2939 Statutes, relating to the purchase of motor vehicles from a 2940 state term contract, state agencies may purchase vehicles from 2941 nonstate term contract vendors without prior approval from the 2942 Department of Management Services, provided the cost of the 2943 motor vehicle is equal to or less than the cost of a similar 2944 class of vehicle found on a state term contract and provided the 2945 funds for the purchase have been specifically appropriated. This 2946 section expires July 1, 2026. 2947 Section 89.In order to implement specific appropriations 2948 containing salary rate in the 2025-2026 General Appropriations 2949 Act, and notwithstanding s. 216.181(8)(b), Florida Statutes, the 2950 annual salary rate for all agencies as defined in s. 216.011, 2951 Florida Statutes, shall be controlled at the budget entity 2952 level. This section expires July 1, 2026. 2953 Section 90.Any section of this act which implements a 2954 specific appropriation or specifically identified proviso 2955 language in the 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act is void if 2956 the specific appropriation or specifically identified proviso 2957 language is vetoed. Any section of this act which implements 2958 more than one specific appropriation or more than one portion of 2959 specifically identified proviso language in the 2025-2026 2960 General Appropriations Act is void if all the specific 2961 appropriations or portions of specifically identified proviso 2962 language are vetoed. 2963 Section 91.If any other act passed during the 2025 Regular 2964 Session of the Legislature contains a provision that is 2965 substantively the same as a provision in this act, but that 2966 removes or is otherwise not subject to the future repeal applied 2967 to such provision by this act, the Legislature intends that the 2968 provision in the other act takes precedence and continues to 2969 operate, notwithstanding the future repeal provided by this act. 2970 Section 92.If any provision of this act or its application 2971 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity 2972 does not affect other provisions or applications of the act 2973 which can be given effect without the invalid provision or 2974 application, and to this end the provisions of this act are 2975 severable. 2976 Section 93.Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 2977 act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 2978 this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 2979 2025, or, if this act fails to become a law until after that 2980 date, it shall take effect upon becoming a law and shall operate 2981 retroactively to July 1, 2025.