TODAY’S HAPPENINGS
[NOTE: The bills listed below are linked to the each bill’s website where you can find information about the bill including the bill sponsor, committees of reference, and staff analysis. The committees/subcommittees are linked to each committee’s website where you can find information about the committee including the committee’s leadership, membership and staff, the committee’s meeting packets, contact information, and related materials.]
In the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee:
SB 962 – Vocational Rehabilitation by Gaetz — PASSED
Requiring the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to initiate, by a specified date, a performance improvement plan designed to achieve specified goals; requiring the division to submit a performance report annually, by a specified date, to the Governor and the Legislature which includes specified information, etc.
SB 7036 – School District Purchasing by Governmental Oversight – TEMPORARILY POSTPONED
Requiring each district school board to use certain agreements and contracts for purchasing nonacademic commodities and contractual services under certain circumstances; requiring a district school board to post a written justification for certain determinations on the board’s website, etc.
In the House Judiciary Committee:
HB 675 – Federal Immigration Enforcement by Metz – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS)
Designates act “Rule of Law Adherence Act”; requires state & local governmental agencies to comply with & support enforcement of federal immigration law; prohibits restrictions on transfer of information regarding citizenship or immigration status of individual, action taken with respect to such information, or enforcement of federal immigration law; prohibits sanctuary policies; authorizes law enforcement agency to transport unauthorized alien; requires recordkeeping; provides exception to reporting requirements for crime victims or witnesses; requires state & local governmental officials to report violations; authorizes ordinances for recovery immigration detainer costs; provides penalties for failing to report violation; provides whistleblower protections for certain officials; requires AG to prescribe format for submitting complaints; provides cause of action for personal injury or wrongful death caused by sanctuary policy; waives sovereign immunity for such actions.
In the House State Affairs Committee:
HB 273 – Public Records by Beshears — PASSED
Requires public agency contract for services to include statement providing contact information of public agency’s custodian of public records; prescribes form of statement; revises required provisions in public agency contract for services regarding contractor’s compliance with public records laws; requires public records request relating to records for public agency’s contract for services to be made directly to public agency; requires contractor to provide requested records to public agency or allow inspection or copying of requested records; specifies circumstances under which court must assess & award reasonable costs of enforcement against contractor; specifies sufficient notice; provides that contractor who takes certain actions is not liable for reasonable costs of enforcement.
HB 7037 – OGSR/Audit Report & Records by Government Operations — PASSED
Removes scheduled repeal of public records exemption for certain information related to audit report of internal auditor or investigative report of inspector general prepared for or on behalf of local government unit.
In the House Education Committee:
HB 229 – Bullying and Harassment Policies by Geller — PASSED
Requires school districts to review their bullying & harassment policies at specified intervals, school principals to implement district’s bullying and harassment policy at school & integrate it with specified programs; requires policy to include procedure for reports of alleged acts of bullying & list of authorized bullying & harassment programs.
HB 241 – Children & Youth Cabinet by Harrell — PASSED
Revises membership of Children & Youth Cabinet to include a superintendent.
HB 443 – Education / AICE Funding by Plasencia — PASSED
Provides requirements related to allocation & use of certain funds; authorizes maximum bonus of $3,000 for Advanced International Certificate of Education teachers under certain circumstances.
HB 4013 – Blended Learning Courses by Diaz — PASSED
Deletes requirement that students in blended learning course receive online instruction in classroom setting at school.
HB 7029 – School Choice by Choice & Innovation – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A CS
Making technical changes relating to requirements for the creation of a virtual charter school; specifying that a sponsor may not require a charter school to adopt the sponsor’s reading plan and that charter schools are eligible for the research-based reading allocation if certain criteria are met; revising required contents of charter school applications; requiring an applicant to provide the sponsor with a copy of an appeal to an application denial; authorizing a charter school to defer the opening of its operations for up to a specified time; specifying notice requirements for voluntary closure of a charter school; deleting a requirement that students in a blended learning course receive certain instruction in a classroom setting; providing that a student may not be dismissed from a charter school based on his or her academic performance; requiring a charter school applicant to provide monthly financial statements before opening; requiring a sponsor to review each financial statement of a charter school to identify the existence of certain conditions; providing for the automatic termination of a charter contract if certain conditions are met; authorizing governing board members to hold a certain number of public meetings and participate in such meetings in person or through communications media technology; revising requirements for payments to charter schools; allowing for the use of certain surpluses and assets; providing for an injunction under certain circumstances; providing the administrative fee a sponsor may withhold for charter schools operating in a critical need area; providing an exemption from the replication limitations for a high-performing charter school; providing deadlines for a high-performing charter contract renewal; providing for an appeal to an administrative law judge under certain circumstances; establishing a High Impact Charter Network; revising the calculation of “full-time equivalent student”; revising conditions for termination of a virtual instruction provider’s contract; revising the purpose of the Credit Acceleration Program; authorizing a charter school to develop and operate a professional development certification and education competency program; revising eligibility requirements for charter school capital outlay funding; revising charter school funding allocations; etc. [NOTE: This summary reflects most of the amendments made to the bill today.]
In the House Local & Federal Affairs Committee:
HB 301 – Property Prepared for Tax-Exempt Use by Burton — PASSED
Consolidates provisions relating to tax exemptions on property owned by certain tax-exempt organizations; authorizes property appraiser to serve notice of tax lien on certain otherwise exempt properties under certain circumstances; specifies entities to whom lien attaches; provides exemption; deletes provisions rendered obsolete by consolidation.
In the House Regulatory Affairs Committee:
HB 577 – Liability Insurance Coverage by Lee – TEMPRORARILY POSTPONED
Adds company employee adjusters to list of persons who may respond to claimant’s written request for information relating to liability insurance coverage.
In the Senate will be in Session:
Bills on 3rd Reading:
SB 86 – Scrutinized Companies by Negron – READ 2ND TIME; READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE
Requiring the State Board of Administration to identify all companies that are boycotting Israel or are engaged in a boycott of Israel in which the public fund owns direct or indirect holdings in; requiring the public fund to create and maintain a scrutinized companies list that names all such companies; prohibiting a state agency or local governmental entity from contracting for goods and services that exceed a specified amount if the company has been placed on the Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel List, etc.
Bills on 2nd Reading:
SB 386 – Criminal Records / Minors by Detert – READ 2ND TIME
Decreasing the period of time that a minor’s criminal history record must be retained before expunction; deleting a limitation on the period of time within which a minor must submit an application for prearrest or postarrest diversion expunction to the Department of Law Enforcement after successful completion of the diversion program, etc.
In the House Appropriations Committee:
HB 249 – Culinary Education Programs by Moskowitz — PASSED
Provides for applicability of DOH sanitation rules to licensed culinary education program; permits culinary education program with public food service establishment license to obtain alcoholic beverage license under certain conditions.
HB 253 – Highway Safety by Passidomo — PASSED
Revises provisions relating to operation of bicycles, passing of vehicle, & careless driving; provides penalties for specified infractions contributing to bodily injury of vulnerable user; requires hearing for specified offenses; directs law enforcement officer issuing citation for specified violations to note certain information on citation.
HJR 7015 – Property Tax Assessment by Finance & Tax — PASSED
Proposes amendment to State Constitution to allow Legislature to limit growth in assessed value of homestead & specified nonhomestead property to growth rate in just value & to prohibit increases in assessed value of homestead & specified nonhomestead property if just value of property decreases.
The Committee also had a presentation on School District Fixed Capital Outlay Funding [NOTE: Today’s presentation provided information about construction actual costs compared to statutorily set costs per student station. Some of this information was presented without full context. The presentation can be found on pages 158-240 of the Committee Meeting Packet.}
COMING UP TOMORROW
There are no legislative committee meetings scheduled for tomorrow. FSBA will release our Weekly Video Update for the second week of the Session and our next issue of the Daily Update on Monday.
I hope you find this information useful. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Ruth
Ruth Haseman Melton
Director of Government Relations
Florida School Boards Association
Office: 850 / 414-2578
Cell: 850 / 509-6411
Email: melton@fsba.org
