Originally published January 20, 2020 – Check back for updates, vote counts and more
Day 8 of the 2020 legislative session is expected to be another busy one! Tuesday hearings will include bills on School Board Term Limits (House), Sovereign Immunity (Senate), and School Safety (Senate)– all linked below. Below you will also find the full House and Senate daily calendar, as well as some bills of interest.As always, reach out to our team should you have questions on a specific bill, or need clarification or details to assist your advocacy efforts. Don’t forget to check back for vote counts, comments, and more.
Watch live stream and archived videos on the Florida Channel
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE (with bill links)
10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Senate Health Policy
SB 120 Naxolone in Schools (Pizzo) – NOT CONSIDERED
Naloxone in Schools; Authorizing a public school to purchase a supply or enter into an arrangement to receive a supply of the opioid antagonist naloxone for a certain purpose; requiring the school district to adopt a protocol for the administration of naloxone; providing that a school district and its employees and agents and the physician who provides the protocol are not liable for any injury arising from the administration of the naloxone pursuant to the protocol, etc.
10:00-12:00 House Energy and Utilities Subcommittee
HB 969 Broadband Internet Service (Drake) FAVORABLE, 14-0
Designates DEO as lead state agency to facilitate expansion of broadband Internet service in this state; requires department to work collaboratively with certain entities; creates Florida Office of Broadband within DEO
SB 1302 Sovereign Immunity (Flores) – FAVORABLE 5-0 (amended from $1 million to $500,000 increase)
Designating the “Florida Fair Claims Act”; providing an exception to certain liability for the state and its agencies and subdivisions; increasing the statutory limits on liability for tort claims against the state and its agencies and subdivisions; revising when a state and its agencies and subdivisions may agree to settle a claim or judgment without further action from the Legislature; requiring certain final judgment amounts to be paid without further action by the Legislature.
12:30-2:30 House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee
HB 485 Athletic Trainers (Antone) FAVORABLE 14-0
Revises definition of term “athletic trainer”; revises athletic trainer licensure requirements; requires certain licensees to maintain certification in good standing without lapse as condition of renewal of their athletic trainer licenses; requires that athletic trainer work within specified scope of practice; requires direct supervision of athletic training student to be in accordance with rules adopted by Board of Athletic Training
2:30-4:00 Senate Education Committee Meeting
SB 918 Civic Education (Brandes) FAVORABLE 8-0
Requiring the Commissioner of Education to develop minimum criteria for a nonpartisan civic literacy practicum for high school students, beginning with a specified school year; authorizing students to apply the hours they devote to practicum activities to certain community service requirements; requiring the State Board of Education to designate certain high schools as Freedom Schools, based on criteria the board establishes relating to students’ civic learning and civic engagement.
SB 1220 Education (Diaz) FAVORABLE 6-2
Requiring that the rules to establish uniform core curricula for each state-approved teacher preparation program include evidence-based reading instructional strategies and mental health strategies and support; providing that for a subject requiring only a baccalaureate degree, a baccalaureate degree with a major in the subject area, conferred within the last 10 years, is an acceptable means of demonstrating mastery of subject area knowledge; directing the Commissioner of Education, with the advice and consent of the chair of the Education Practices Commission, to appoint an executive director who is exempt from career service and may be removed by the commissioner.
SB 1246 Dual Enrollment (Stargel) FAVORABLE 7-1
Clarifying that secondary students eligible for dual enrollment programs include students who are enrolled in home education programs; prohibiting district school boards and Florida College System institutions from denying students who have met eligibility requirements from participating in dual enrollment except under specified circumstances; providing that certain independent colleges and universities are eligible for inclusion in the dual enrollment and early admission programs; establishing the Dual Enrollment Scholarship Program.
SB 1420 Charter Schools (Flores) FAVORABLE 6-2
Prohibiting sponsors from refusing to receive a charter school application submitted during the calendar year; requiring certain charter school employees or governing board members to inform a school district if he or she has completed a criminal history check in another district within a certain timeframe; specifying how many applications a high-performing charter school may submit in any school district in the state to establish and operate a new charter school; revising the virtual instruction a virtual charter school may provide.
Consideration of Proposed Bill: SPB 7040 Education FAVORABLE 8-0
Implementation of the Recommendations of the Marjory Stonemason Douglas High School Public Safety Commission.
2:30 – 4:00 Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability
SPB 7044 State-administered Retirement Systems Revising required employer retirement contribution rates for each membership class and subclass of the Florida Retirement System; providing a declaration of important state interest. FAVORABLE 4-0
3:00-5:00 House PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee
HB 23 Panic Alarms in Public Schools (Gottlieb and Daley) FAVORABLE 17-0
Requires each public school building on campus of public elementary, middle, or high school to be equipped with at least one panic alarm; provides panic alarm requirements.
HJR 157 – Limitation on Terms of Office for Members of a District School Board (Sabatini and Willhite) FAVORABLE 13-4
Proposing amendments to the State Constitution to limit the terms of office for a member of a district school board.
HB 883 Education (Duggan) FAVORABLE 17-0
Requiring DOE to maintain a disqualification list of certain individuals; revises provisions relating to employment & termination of certain public school & private school employees; revises duties of DOE, Commissioner of Education, & school districts relating to employee conduct & employment & termination of certain public school & private school employees.
4:30-6:00 Senate Infrastructure and Security
SB 290 School Bus Safety (Hooper) FAVORABLE 7-0
Revising civil penalties for certain violations relating to stopping for a school bus
SB 538 Emergency Reporting (Diaz) FAVORABLE 7-0
Requiring a county or municipality to report certain incidents to the State Watch Office within the Division of Emergency Management; authorizing the division to establish guidelines to specify additional inform
