Firearm bills, LGBTG flags, vaccine requirements, more to be considered by Florida lawmakers
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Lawmakers are gearing up to head back to Tallahassee starting Jan. 9 for the 2024 legislative session.
Here are some of the bills that we can expect for the upcoming session:
Deregulate public schools
Three bills are aimed at supporting public schools: SPB 7000, SPB 7002 and SPB 7004.
Sen. Alexis Calatayud, R-Miami, is carrying SPB 7000. Sen. Travis Hutson, R-St. Augustine, is carrying SPB 7002, and Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, is carrying SPB 7004.
Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said in a press release “reducing bureaucratic red tape” will give public schools “a meaningful chance to compete right alongside other school choice options that are now available to every child, in every family across our state.”
Loosening firearm purchasing restrictions
Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed legislation on that would remove the three-day waiting period requirement to purchase a firearm, with the exception of handguns. A companion bill has not yet been filed in the House.
The bill also exempts people from having to compete the three-day waiting period to purchase a handgun if they already hold a concealed weapons permit.
Protecting historical monuments
Martin filed a bill protecting statues and monuments from being removed by government entities.
Rep. Dean Black, R-Jacksonville, who filed the companion bill, HB 395, said the legislation would help protect “all history.”
No LGBTQ flags on public property
Rep. David Borrero, R-Sweetwater, filed a bill to prohibit the display of flags on government property that depicts political, racial, or LGBTQ imagery. Martin filed a similar bill in the Senate.
HB 901 would ban governmental agencies, a local government, or another unit of local government from flying such flags. The bill also covers public schools, public colleges, and public universities.
No business with NewsGuard-like companies engaging in “censorship”
HB 939 bars Florida agencies from entering contracts with entities that “advise” the censorship or blacklisting of news sources, such as NewsGuard.
Rep. Philip Griffitts, R-Panama City Beach, filed the legislation in the House and Sen. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, filed the bill in the Senate.
Further crackdown on foreign adversary influences
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, and Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, filed similar bills forbidding local government officials from accepting gifts from foreign countries of concern.
Under SB 734, local governments’ public officers, an agency employee, or a local government attorney could not solicit or accept gifts, loans, rewards, promises of future employments or favors from a foreign country of concern.
Returning seized weapons more promptly
A bill passed through the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee that would require law enforcement to return weapons or firearms that were seized due to an arrest to their rightful owner upon request.
HB 485, sponsored by Reps. Robert Brackett, R-Vero Beach, and Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, would remove the current requirement for a sheriff or chief of police to keep possession of all weapons or firearms that were seized because of an arrest until after the trial of the person arrested.
A companion bill has yet to be filed in the Senate.
Promoting cryptocurrency
Rep. Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, introduced legislation that would implement a sales tax holiday for purchases made with virtual currencies like Bitcoin. Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, filed an identical bill in the Senate.
HB 369 provides a sales tax exemption from June 1, 2025 through July 31, 2025 for purchases made with virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, at gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, cosmetology salons and bars.
Expanding who can exempt themselves from vaccine requirements
A new piece of legislation would allow all Floridians to claim an exemption from any vaccine requirement if certain safety criteria are not met.
Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, filed the bill in the Senate. The bill targets vaccines required in both the public and private sector, such as a condition for employment, school attendance or any licensure, if the vaccine doesn’t meet certain criteria.
Stricter penalties on people who flee police
A Florida bill would impose new mandatory minimum sentences for people who flee or attempt to elude a law enforcement officer.
Current law already poses an array of penalties for refusing to follow a law enforcement officer’s order to stop while driving a vehicle and willfully fleeing to elude an officer.
Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview, sponsored the legislation in the House and Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa filed an identical bill in the Senate.
Banning pronoun requirements/penalties
Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, R-Ocala, introduced a bill that would crack down on pronoun mandates and penalties in the workplace. A related bill has not yet been filed in the Senate.
It would protect employees and contractors from penalization and punishment by employers if they are required to use, or refer to others with, certain titles and pronouns that don’t correspond with a person’s biological sex.
The bill, HB 599, also prevents non-profit organizations that receive state funding from requiring, as a condition of employment, any “training, instruction, or activity on sexual orientation.”
Banning lab-grown meat
Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, filed a bill that would ban the manufacturing and sale of cultivated meat, also called lab-grown meat. Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, filed a similar bill in the Senate.
As outlined in the bill, “cultivated meat” is defined as any meat or food product produced from cultured animal cells.
Revoking financial benefits for college students who support Hamas
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, and Rep. John Temple, R-Wildwood, filed identical bills that would revoke state-provided scholarships from students who promote a terrorist organization on a Florida college or university campus.
Students would not be eligible for institutional or state grants, financial aid, scholarships, or tuition assistance if they are found to be promoting foreign terrorist organizations during any term of his or her enrollment, according to HB 465 and SB 470.
Pregnancy and parenting resources
Lawmakers introduced legislation to create an online hub for pregnancy and parenting resources in Florida.
Sen. Erin Grall, R-Fort Pierce, and Rep. Berny Jacques, R-Seminole filed the legislation.
SB 436, and its House companion, HB 415, establish a platform for pregnant mothers and parents to access “vital information and support,” a press release said.
Health care improvements
Passidomo, along with other lawmakers, previously unveiled the senate’s “Live Healthy” policy proposal targeting many of the major healthcare issues that Florida is facing.
SPB 7016, sponsored by Sen. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, would appropriate $796.7 million for health care workforce training and deregulation in order to increase employment mobility.
SPB 7018, carried by Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, would coordinate $76.25 million in loans for technological innovation in the sector.
Additionally, the proposal plans to introduce legislation that would provide a “streamlined pathway” for out-of-state insurance providers to offer coverage in Florida, as well as a bill increasing health care price transparency.
An effort to ban reparations for slavery
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, filed an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would ban reparations for slavery.
The constitutional amendment would need to be passed by the legislature to appear on the November 2024 ballot for voter approval.
Insurance improvements
Florida lawmakers will consider the governor’s budget proposal which includes more than $1.1 billion in tax relief, including a new tax relief initiative, $431 million to reduce the cost of homeowners insurance.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ budget slashes government jobs, cuts taxes, property insurance, more
Lawmakers will take up DeSantis’ $114.4 billion “Focus on Florida’s Future” budget for 2024-2025.
The upcoming budget is less than the previous year, DeSantis said. Last year, the Framework for Freedom Budget totaled $116.5 billion. The governor said his proposed budget would induce a surplus of $16.3 billion.
