Recap of Week 8 & Preview of Week 9 of Session
Emotions: Session’s Final Days of Debate
This past week in the legislature has been an emotional week with legislators discussing bills that dealt with the Florida Dozier School for Boys atrocities (the school was open for a century and closed in 2011) and rallies to remind all of us that hate crimes against the Jewish population, (HB 187 lists these hate crimes) or any population for that matter, is just wrong. There was debate about HB 1291 mandating that teacher training cannot include “identity politics or theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the US.” Opponents of this bill said that it means teachers would no longer get accurate training on the Civil War or the Jim Crow era. Supporters of the bill said if there is instruction on these topics, the lessons should not distort the facts, with one legislator calling that distortion “woke garbage.” The debate was heated, with the Speaker of the House banging his gavel and raising his voice demanding the behavior stop, saying he would not tolerate it from either side. And there continues to be strong sentiment around House Bill 1, “Online Protection for Minors,” commonly called the social media minor ban, which is the House Speaker’s #1 priority this year. The bill requires age verification for pornographic websites. The Governor on Friday vetoed the bill after signaling he believes it would not pass constitutional muster, so the House and Senate are mulling shaping another bill seeking the Governor’s favor in these last few days of session that remain until Friday’s (March 8) scheduled adjournment.
The Governor signed HB 117 on Thursday of last week to allow the release of grand jury testimony about the Jeffrey Epstein proceeding. Later that day, a Palm Beach judge denied the public records request until after the July 1, 2024 effective date of the bill, saying among other things, that he wanted to weigh factors to determine if releasing the records “would further justice.” For those Door Dash or Grub Hub users, it looks like SB 676 will pass, prohibiting these services from restaurant pickup without prior permission from the establishment and specifying that tips and fees must be itemized for the patron.
Other bills of in this year’s session involve returning felons having an easier time to become licensed barbers and cosmetologists and a bill that sets standards for pet insurance, from spelling out what a pre- existing condition is, to disclosures that have to be a part of the policy. Another bill examined whether it makes sense to put on a statewide ballot the use of matching state dollars for political races, a practice that has been around for decades with the last round of candidates for the Governor and Cabinet raking in $13 million dollars of taxpayer funds. Some say these public dollars serve a public purpose to help those who can’t access corporate donations as easy as other candidates.
Another bill that is moving is a requirement that larger Florida counties must manage their homeless that sleep on the streets by setting up encampments instead in areas that “do not effect property values” and provide restrooms, water and security. And last but not least is HB 293 that requires homeowners’ associations to allow homeowners to place hurricane protection features in their homes like certain types of roofing, storm shutters, and exterior fixed generators.
The Senate stopped several bills from advancing any further such as a measure to let parents sue for the death of an unborn child. The Senate President said in last week’s press conference that placing this kind of provision in our state’s liability statutes is “wrong” (her word!) and the bill is dead for this year. And the move to lower a gun owner’s age to 18 from 21 is also a Senate casualty.
The $115+ billion budget for the next fiscal year beginning July 1 looks like it will get hammered out with over $100 million a year to build additional prisons and repair existing facilities, $100 million for university teacher recruitment, and $80 million for cancer research. Once the House and Senate settle on a final budget (most likely today), there is a 72-hour window for legislators to review it before taking a final vote. I encourage you to peruse the 500+ page budget (you can see it preliminarily here). Talk about following the money!
And finally, under the category of “anything can happen,” comes HB 1563 with tough new rules and enforcement in fighting post-hurricane contractor fraud. It would require construction contractors to put payments for improvements to residential property into escrow accounts. There are other conditions as well, including requiring licensing boards to at least order a one-year license suspension for convictions to certain wrongdoing, including guilty and no-contest pleas in prosecutions. The bill saw a surge of action last week and was placed on the special-order calendar for final action by the full House this week. Although its Senate companion (SB 1778) saw no action this session, the House bill could become an amendment onto another bill that is heading to the finish line by Friday’s sine die.
It will be a busy week for us on the hill as we watch for good (and not so good) things to happen on the House and Senate Floor. I am hopeful our newsletters are informative and entertaining and I am here to help you in any way I can. Remember…I can’t do what I do unless you do what you do!
Next up is our final “Bills in Play.” For those of you who were following closely, we have published the last few weeks a category called “Bills Not in Play” so if you want to look back at those, please view last week’s Bill Watch.
Here is the list of legislative bills we’re following. You can click the bill link in the list below to go directly to the bill and its details further below. “Updated” bills are so noted. Updates within each bill are noted in blue font:
Policy Cancellations and Nonrenewals by Property Insurers Updated
Department of Financial Services Updated
Insurance Updated
Hurricane Protections for Homeowners’ Associations Updated
My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program Updated
My Safe Florida Home Program Updated
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Updated
Flood Disclosure in the Sale of Real Property Updated
Consumer Protection Updated
Bills Not in Play
Property Insurance – Regulation & Claims:
Policy Cancellations and Nonrenewals by Property Insurers ̶ SB 1104 and the similar HB 1149 by Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) and Rep. Adam Botana (R-Bonita Springs) would put new restrictions on insurance companies cancelling or nonrenewing policies, with a focus on flood damage – regardless of whether an insurance policy provides coverage for flood damage or not. Both bills are awaiting their House and Senate floor votes with no movement last week. The Insurance Journal’s story about these bills, released Thursday of last week quoted the President of the Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) of Florida, Lori Augustyniak as saying, “The Legislature has made some significant reforms in the last two years. Let’s give those time to work and take a pause on this.” I have the privilege of being one of PIA’s advocates and applaud the organization for having a reasoned approach. The language of these bills was also sitting in a bill with provisions exclusively affecting the Office of Insurance Regulation, HB 1611 by Rep. Cyndi Stevenson. However, when HB 1611 passed the House floor on Friday it did so with an amendment that deleted the controversial provisions of HB 1149. HB 1611 is now headed to the Senate for consideration. Meanwhile, we are closely watching SB 1104 to see if that bill will be considered on the Senate floor this week, possibly today (March 4). You can read more about HB 1611 and its companion bill below.
The latest iteration of the House bill says if there is a zip code with a flood event determined by OIR, insurers must stay on a risk in that zip code for 270 days. And if, during that time, there is a loss (flood or otherwise), insurers must stay on the risk for the earlier of repair or one policy renewal period. We are happy to discuss with you in more detail the challenges of these bills but for further details of the provisions, you can read the latest House bill analysis and the latest Senate bill analysis. (Return to Top of List)
Department of Financial Services ̶ HB 989 by Rep. Chip LaMarca (R-Lighthouse Point) and SB 1098 by Senator Nick DiCeglie (R-St. Petersburg) are the annual omnibus bills that touch on the many regulations and responsibilities of the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), including insurance. The House bill passed the full House last week but not without Commerce Chair Rommel’s preferred language that was the subject of his HB 585 (which passed the full House but the Senate companion didn’t move) that requires financial institutions who suspend, terminate, or take similar action restricting access to a customer’s account to file a report with the Office of Financial Regulation. You can read more about it here. It remains to be seen if the Senate will concur with the House version of the bill and send it on its way to the Governor. The Senate is scheduled to take up its own SB 1098 tomorrow (March 5). You can read the previous bill analysis on the House bill and the latest Senate bill analysis. (Return to Top of List)
Insurance ̶ SB 1622 by Senator Jay Trumbull (R-Panama City) and HB 1611 by Rep. Cyndi Stevenson (R-St. Johns) increases regulation of reciprocal insurance exchanges, which are a form of insurance organization in which individuals and businesses exchange insurance contracts and spread the risks associated with those contracts among themselves. HB 1611 passed the House floor on Friday with an amendment that deleted the controversial provisions of HB 1149 (see above). HB 1611 is now headed to the Senate for consideration. The Senate version, SB 1622, passed the full Senate on Friday of last week. Here is the latest bill analysis on the Senate bill, which now contains a much more reasonable approach to the issue of unrepaired damage post storm. Here’s the House bill analysis prior to controversial unrepaired flood damage language placed into HB 1611. Confusing? Yes! We are happy to walk you through these bills! (Return to Top of List)
Property Insurance – Condominium & Homeowners Associations:
Hurricane Protections for Homeowners’ Associations ̶ SB 600 by Senator Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) and the identical HB 293 by Rep. Tyler Sirois (R-Merritt Island) requires a homeowners association committee or board to adopt hurricane protection specifications that conform to applicable building codes. It also prohibits the committee or board from denying an application to install or enhance certain hurricane protections and contains provisions for adhering to guidelines on the external appearance of buildings. SB 600 and HB 293, in our estimation, will make it across the finish line and head to the Governor with the Senate Bill passing the full Senate and the House voting their version out as well. You can read the very latest on both in the Senate bill analysis and the House bill analysis. (Return to Top of List)
My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program ̶ SB 1366 by Senator Nick DiCeglie (R-St. Petersburg) and the identical HB 1029 by Reps. Vicki Lopez (R-Miami) and Rep. Christine Hunschofsky (D-Parkland) would apply the popular homeowners program of the same name to condominium complexes & individual condo unit owners in an initial pilot program. The program includes requirements on associations and unit owners that choose to participate, required inspections, and on the hurricane mitigation inspectors who perform the services. The House Bill passed the full House but the Senate Bill didn’t move last week. The good news for this effort is that the House and Senate this week agreed to fund $30 million for the pilot program, contingent on the bills making their way to the Governor. We will keep you apprised. You can read the latest Senate bill analysis and House bill analysis, as well as this story recently in the Sun-Sentinel. (Return to Top of List)
My Safe Florida Home Program (MSFH) ̶ On January 11, SB 7028 was released that for all intents and purposes replaced SB 1208 by Senator Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers). The bill passed the full Senate on February 7 and is still awaiting House consideration. The bill analysis lists the changes to the MSFH program, the most notable of which is that the grant award criteria will give preference to Floridians over 60 and low income. The House version, HB 1263 by Rep. Chip LaMarca (R-Lighthouse Point) is similar to SB 7028 and passed the Commerce Committee unanimously but has not moved since last Monday (February 26). You can read the latest House bill analysis. We are closely watching both these bills. These bills revise provisions in this popular program that offers free home inspections and grants of up to $10,000 on a $2 to $1 match to incentivize homeowners to harden their homes from future hurricanes. The legislature re-established the program in 2023 but by mid-summer the number of applications exceeded the $100 million program funding. The legislature in special session in November 2023 pumped another $176 million into the program, and this bill funds another $100 million in the upcoming fiscal year July 1. (Return to Top of List)
Property Insurance – Citizens Property Insurance Corporation:
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation ̶ SB 1716 by Senate Banking and Insurance Committee Chairman Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and the similar HB 1503 by Rep. Tiffany Esposito (R-Ft. Myers) are continuing to move. The House bill passed the full House but not without Rep. Esposito having to face Rep. Hillary Cassel’s intense line of questioning primarily about Surplus Lines insurers removing second homes from Citizens in the takeout process. The amendments to the House bill somewhat conform it to the Senate version, which is awaiting its hearing on the full Senate Floor. One of the provisions in the Senate bill that is not in the House bill would have allowed the Insurance Commissioner to determine if Citizens should raise their coverage cap up to $1 million based on scarcity of coverage. The differences between the House and Senate bills must be reconciled if they are going to be finalized for the Governor’s signature. We will report the final outcome in a week. You can read the updated House bill analysis and the updated Senate bill analysis. The bills authorize surplus lines companies to do takeouts of Citizens’ non-homesteaded residential properties, such as second homes, among other risks. It also makes needed reference changes reflecting that combining Citizens’ three accounts into one will make it much less likely that Citizens policyholders will face a future surcharge and even more unlikely that non-Citizen policyholders will face an emergency assessment from a future catastrophe. (Return to Top of List)
Consumer Protections:
Consumer Protection ̶ SB 1066 by Senator Colleen Burton (R-Lakeland) and the identical HB 939 by Rep. Griff Griffitts, Jr. (R-Panama City Beach) is a multi-part bill. These bills are still in position to pass this Session. SB 1066 will be heard today on the Senate floor and HB 939 was heard on Friday with three amendments that were all adopted. We noticed that one of them (573053) at Line 70 provides protection from financial exploitation to specified adults, including the elderly. This bill would give banks and other financial institutions time to pause the execution of a transaction to explore potential exploitation. If you have elderly parents, we urge you to read this section. Here is the updated Senate bill analysis and the latest House bill analysis. (Return to Top of List)
Flood Disclosure in the Sale of Real Property ̶ SB 484 and the similar HB 1049 by Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) and Rep. Christine Hunschofsky (D-Parkland) would require a seller of real property to disclose in writing a variety of flood information to a prospective purchaser before executing a contract for the sale of the property. Similar bills in the 2023 session never received a hearing. Both bills are still poised to make it across the finish line. SB 484 is waiting to be heard by the full Senate and HB 1049 will be heard today (March 4) on the House floor. You can read the latest House bill analysis and the updated Senate bill analysis. . (Return to Top of List)
LMA Newsletter of 3-4-24
