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2020 Legislative Accomplishments

Prime Sponsor of HB 175: House Discrimination. Removes housing discrimination as cause of action for relief & damages stemming from violations of Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992.

Prime Sponsor of HB 279: Local Government & Public Construction Works. Requires local governments to consider estimated costs when making decisions to perform projects using its own employees and equipment and that costs to be disclosed to the Auditor General.

Prime Sponsor of HB 327: Illegal Taking of Florida Bears. Increases the criminal penalties for illegal taking, possession, and selling of bears.  
Prime Sponsor of HB 329: Insurance Guaranty Associations. Makes technical language changes in order to strengthen the financial solvency of Florida Insurance Guaranty Associations.  

Prime Sponsor of HB 2061: $717K appropriation for Seminole State College to renovate building V at the Sanford campus.
 
Prime Sponsor of HB 2335: $220K appropriation for The Grove, a teenage drug & alcohol residential facility in Winter Springs. Allows for septic to sewer conversion.

Prime Sponsor of HB 2427: $225K appropriation for the City of Oviedo. Final phase of the regional stormwater retention pond.

Prime Sponsor of HB 2647: $321K appropriation for Inspire of Central Florida. Adults with disabilities training program located in Winter Springs.

Prime Sponsor of HB 3313: $125K appropriation for the City of Sanford. Sanford-Orlando International airport stormwater management system.

Prime Sponsor of HB 4895: $150K appropriation for the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens. Rainwater harvesting project. Flush toilets with rainwater.

HB 61: Adoption Benefits.   Extends Department of Children and Families’ adoption-benefit program eligibility to veterans and servicemembers who live in Florida.

HB 115: Keep Our Graduates Working Act. Prohibits any state authority from denying the issuance of, refusing to renew, suspending, or revoking a professional license based solely on the licensee being delinquent on a payment of or defaulting on his or her student loans.  

HB 199: Sexual Battery Prosecution Time Limitation. Named “Donna’s Law,” ensures that a prosecution can begin at any time for a sexual battery offense against a victim younger than 18 at the time the offense is committed.  
 
HB 205: Unlawful Use of Uniforms, Medals or Insignia. Preserves the respect and honor of military uniforms, ranks, and symbols by prohibiting a person from falsely claiming to have served in the military, embellishing any rank attained, or fraudulently claiming to have received a valor award for the purpose of material gain by seeking public employment or public office resulting in compensation.

HB 265: Abortion. Prohibits a physician from performing an abortion on a girl younger than age 18 unless a parent consents or a court waives the requirement. 
 
HB 389: Practice of Pharmacy. Authorizes pharmacists to enter into a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement with a physician to manage chronic health conditions. Pharmacists will also be permitted to provide some basic health care services, including testing and treatment for flu and strep within the framework of a written protocol with a supervising physician.
 
HB 599: Consultant Pharmacists. Expands consultant pharmacist scope of practice by authorizing a consultant pharmacist to enter into a written collaborative practice agreement to provide medication management services with a healthcare facility medical director or Florida-licensed physician or dentist. Under the agreement, a pharmacist may order and evaluate laboratory and clinical testing, conduct patient assessments, administer medications, and modify or discontinue medicinal drugs pursuant to a patient-specific order or treatment protocol.

HB 607: Direct Care Workers. Allows qualified advanced practice registered nurses to practice autonomously in primary care and midwifery. 

HB 613: Post Secondary Education. Creates “State Universities of Distinction” to spur state universities to earn a national distinction by excelling in a core competency area unique to Florida’s workforce needs. It also creates another option for Bright Futures Florida Medallion Scholar Award recipients by allowing students initially eligible in the fall 2021 semester to receive 100 percent of tuition and fees for an associate degree at a Florida College System (FCS) institution. 

HB 641: Funds for the Operation of Schools.  Establishes the single largest Teacher pay raise in the history of the State of Florida. School districts (including charter schools) must use their funds to raise the minimum base salary for full-time classroom teachers, including certified pre-K teachers, to at least $47,500 or the maximum amount achievable. Repeals Florida’s Best and Brightest Teacher and Principal bonus pay programs.

HB1061: Aquatic Preserves. Establishes the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve and specifies its boundaries. The Preserve will protect some of the state’s most precious natural resources and ensure they are conserved for years to come. Currently, Florida has 41 aquatic preserves that span over 2.2 million acres. These areas serve many ecological and economic functions, such as providing aquatic nurseries and habitat for shorebirds as well as economy-boosting outdoor activities such as fishing, swimming, and boating.

HB 1213: Educational Instruction of Historical Events. Holocaust education has been part of required instruction for students in K-12 public schools since 1994. 

HB 1213 brings specificity to this law by adding to this required instruction the state’s definition of and policy against anti-Semitism, current and historical examples of anti-Semitism, and the prevention of anti-Semitism. The bill also requires the Department of Education to develop standards and offer curriculum for teaching the history of the Holocaust. The bill also requires the Department of Education and other state agencies to explore ways to recognize the historical significance of the 1920 Ocoee Election Day Riots.  

HB 1265: Verification of Employment Eligibility. Requires public employers, contractors, and subcontractors to register with and use the E-Verify system for all newly hired employees beginning January 1, 2021. Private employers must verify a new hire’s employment eligibility using the E-Verify system, or by requiring the person to provide the same documentation as the Form I-9.

HB 7063Child Welfare. Makes substantial long-term changes to Florida’s child welfare system to serve kids better. It provides more support for critical workers to prevent and mitigate traumatic stress and burnout, improves workforce development at every stage in the labor pipeline, and builds long term career supports and advancement opportunities. The bill also adds new mechanisms for measuring performance and improving accountability, and it holds more child welfare partners to consistent high standards.
 
HB 7067: Education. Expands eligibility for the Family Empowerment Scholarship program and ensures that students who seek to renew their scholarships are prioritized.

HB 7097: Taxation. A $47.4 million tax reduction package that includes a Back-to-School and Disaster Preparedness sales tax holiday. The tax reduction package also requires hospitals to document the value of charitable services they provide and limits the property tax exemption for nonprofit hospitals to the value of that charitable care.