Doug Broxson represents Escambia, Santa Rosa and part of Okaloosa counties in the Florida Senate. As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, he is one of the most powerful lawmakers in Tallahassee, and because of demands of the chairmanship, he has only filed one bill this session.
Escambia County has two representatives in the Florida House. Rep. Alex Andrade is sponsoring two bills that have drawn significant criticism. HB 991 makes it easier for journalists and the media to be sued for defamation. HB 999 outlaws diversity and inclusion statements in a state university’s hiring process, eliminates classes on CRT and gender and puts the institution’s board of trustees in charge of the hiring and firing of faculty.
Rep. Michelle Salzman’s proposals have drawn little attention. Her most controversial legislation is HB 633 which lowers the penalties for violating the Florida Constitution amendment that voters passed in 2002 to limit the number of students in core classes. I’ve included a trio of interesting bills that she is co-sponsoring.
State Sen. Doug Broxson (R-District 1)
Senate web page broxson.doug.web@flsenate.gov
Link
Bills Filed:
SB 1670- Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP): Increasing the period of time for which specified instructional and administrative personnel may extend their participation in the DROP, if such personnel enter the program before a specified date.
State Rep. Michelle Salzman (R-District 1)
House web page: Link
Michelle.Salzman@myfloridahouse.gov
HB 299 – Education and Training for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Forms of Dementia: Requires the Department of Elderly Affairs to offer education about Alzheimer’s disease & related forms of dementia to the public and to adopt training guidelines for employees taking care of adults in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and similar facilities. The training will be required for all such workers.
HB 485 – Veterans’ Services and Recognition: Creates Division of Long-term Care in the Department of Veteran Affairs; Eliminates the requirement that county & city veteran service officers must have served in the military; Establishes basic standards for veterans’ adult day health care programs; and designates the week of Nov. 11 as “Veterans Week.”
HB 487 – Department of Financial Services: Removes provisions prohibiting individuals holding specified insurance licenses from holding certain other insurance licenses; provides disposition of funds received by title insurance agencies & funds required to be maintained in escrow trust accounts; exempts appointed public adjusters from certain insurance activities’ prohibitions; requires navigators’ registrations to expire under certain circumstances; prohibits insurers and insurance agents from engaging in specified practices relating to collateral protection property insurance; removes certain financial requirements for warranty associations and parent corporations; prohibits the department from issuing temporary bail bond agent’s licenses; specifies procedures for remission of forfeitures of deceased defendants; specifies procedures for remission of forfeitures of defendants for whom the state is unwilling to seek extradition.
HB 553 – State Recognition of Indian Tribes and Bands: Provides for state recognition of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Santa Rosa Band of the Lower Muscogee; Authorizes other Indian tribes and bands to petition the Secretary of State for state recognition; Authorizes Secretary of State to review petitions and make recommendations to Legislature; Requires Secretary of State to consider certain factors when making recommendations.
HB 629 & HB 631- Victims of Reform School Abuse: Both are tied to the Dozier School for Boys scandal. HB 629 establishes requirements for a person seeking certification as a victim of Florida reform school abuse or for their family if the victim is deceased. HB 631 provides an exemption from public records requirements for victims.
HB 633 – Class Size: Reduces financial penalties for school districts failing to meet constitutional class size requirements. The bill also gives preference to students of active duty military personnel for enrollment in magnet schools, advanced studies programs, advanced placement, dual enrollment, Advanced International Certificate of Education, and International Baccalaureate programs.
HB 1189 – Monuments: Establishes Florida Space Exploration Monument to be displayed on the Capitol Complex premises.
Interesting Co-sponsored Bills by Salzman:
HJR 131 & HB 209 – Recall of County Officers and Commissioners: HJR 131 proposes a state constitutional amendment to establish procedures for the recall of county officers and commissioners for charter counties. HB 209: Provides commissioners of a non-charter county to be removed from office by the county’s voters. Escambia and Santa Rosa are non-charter counties. Rep. Joel Rudman of Santa Rosa County is the sponsor of these bills.
HB 251 – Entertainment Industry Tax Credit Program: Creates Florida First Production Partnership Program within the Department of Economic Opportunity and provides tax credits or entertainment industry projects.
HB 269 – Public Nuisances: Prohibits a person from distributing pamphlets, flyers, or other materials in a public place when such distribution leads to littering; Prohibit a person from willfully following, harassing, or interfering with another person’s quiet enjoyment based on the person’s wearing of religious-based garments or garments commonly associated with a particular religious or ethnic group; Prohibits a person, punishable as a third-degree felony, defacing, cemetery, historical marker, school, place of worship or similar sites; Creates create a new prohibition on projecting an image outdoors onto a building or other property, without the written consent of the owner of the building or other property; and Prohibits a person from willfully interrupting or disturbing a memorial or funeral service.
Rep. Alex Andrade (R-District 2)
House web page: Link
Alex.Andrade@myfloridahouse.gov
Bills Filed:
HB 65 – Withholding Funds from the Return of Cash Bonds: If a third party such as a non-spouse relative or friend posts a cash bond, the clerk of the court may not withhold funds from the cash bond at the conclusion of a defendant’s criminal case.
HB 113 – Contacting Consumer Debtors: Prohibits contacting debtors if the debt arises from documented elder and economic abuse, documented identity theft or the debtor is a victim of human trafficking or in foster care.
CS/HB 179 – Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act: Prohibits the sale, delivery, bartering, furnishing, or giving of any kratom product to a person under 21 years of age.
HB 315 – Civil Remedies for Unlawful Employment Practices: Provides limits on civil judgments on cases regarding discriminatory cases to not exceed $1 million for punitive damages and for compensatory damages, either the actual damages or three times the plaintiff’s highest annual salary, whichever is higher.
CS/HB 425 – Transportation (Transportation & Modals Subcommittee): Revises and provides requirements relating to autonomous vehicle grading standards for certain roads, Implementing Solutions from Transportation Research & Evaluating Emerging Technologies Living Lab, certification of aggregate shipments, acceptance of electronic proof of delivery, liability insurance, cost reduction, sharing of cost savings, settlements requiring payment of certain amounts, contractor’s certificate of qualification to bid, exemption from public records requirements for identities of potential transportation project bidders, and request for legislative approval of proposed turnpike projects.
HB 991 – Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likenesses: Makes it easier to sue the media and anyone on the Internet who writes, says, posts or edits any form of media that attributes something false or leads a reasonable viewer to believe something false about a plaintiff; Narrows the definition of a public figure to exclude someone defending themselves public accusations, granting an interview on a specific topic, public employees other than elected officials or those appointed by an elected official, or in a video, image or statement on the Internet. Statements made by an anonymous source are presumed to be false in defamation cases if the defendant refuses to identify the source. Plaintiff no longer has to show actual malice.
HB 999 – Public Postsecondary Educational Institutions: Removing from state colleges and universities any classes in Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies, Intersectionality, or any derivative. Statements of diversity, equity or inclusion are banned from the hiring process. The hiring and firing of all faculty are placed in the hands of the board of trustees for each institution. The board may review any faculty member at any time. Note: The trustees serve at the pleasure of the governor.
HB 1205 – Advertisement for Legal Services: Prohibits ads for legal services from being presented as alerts or public service announcements or using a state or federal government logo to imply an agency’s approval or affiliation; Adds several disclaimers that must be included if the ad concerns a medicine or medical devices have been approved by FDA; Prohibits protected health information from being sold, transferred, disclosed, used, or obtained without written authorization.