This week the House and Senate met in Tallahassee for a weeklong Special Session. During the Special Session, the Legislature passed several bills related to Emergency Management, Illegal Immigration, Intercollegiate Athletics; as well as local bills related to Reedy Creek Improvement District, Sunshine Water Control District, and Eastpoint Water and Sewer District.
Senate Bill 2B, Emergency Response, by Senator Ben Albritton
SB 2B creates the Local Government Emergency Response Bridge Loan within the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). The bill appropriates $700 million dollars to provide financial assistance to local governments impacted by Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole. $50 million in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund will be provided to the DEO to fund the Local Government Emergency Bridge Loan Program and $650 million from the General Revenue Fund will be provided to the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to be used for preparing and responding to a declared state of emergency. Eligible local governments who demonstrate substantial loss of revenue as a result of the hurricane may secure a loan under the bridge loan program to offset such losses and continue their operations.
Senate Bill 4B, Statewide Prosecutor, by Senator Jonathan Martin
SB 4B is a bill that stems from the high-profile arrests in August of 20 people on allegations that they cast ballots while being ineligible to vote. The bill removes any crime involving voter registration, voting, or candidate or issue petition activities from the enumerated list of offenses and creates a new paragraph specifying the authority of the office for election-related crimes. Specifically, the bill authorizes the office to investigate and prosecute any crime involving the certain activities if certain conditions are met. The bill requires an information or indictment charging one of the enumerated election-related offenses to state the judicial circuits and counties in which crimes are alleged to have occurred or the judicial circuits and counties which the crimes are alleged to have affected. It also provides that the authority of the office to investigate and prosecute any enumerated crime that is facilitated by or connected to the use of the Internet also applies to the new paragraph containing election-related offenses.
Senate Bill 6B, Transportation of Inspected Unauthorized Aliens, by Senator Blaise Ingoglia
SB 6B creates the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program within the Division of Emergency Management to facilitate the transport of inspected unauthorized aliens within the United States. Under the program, $10 million would be available to transport migrants from Florida and other states to sanctuary areas.
House Bill 7B, Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights, by Representative Chip LaMarca
HB 7B would repeal a prohibition that allows college athletes to earn money based on their names, images and likenesses, or NIL. Colleges and universities and their employees currently are barred from causing “compensation to be directed” to athletes. The bill also would seek to shield colleges and universities and their employees, including coaches, from potential lawsuits for any damages to an intercollegiate athlete’s ability to earn compensation for the use of her or his name, image, or likeness resulting from decisions and actions routinely taken in the course of intercollegiate athletics.
House Bill 9B, Reedy Creek Improvement District, Orange and Osceola Counties, by Representative Fred Hawkins
HB 9B is a local bill that reenacts, amends & repeals chapter 67-764, Laws of Florida, relating to district; provides for continuation of authority for revenue collection & powers to meet outstanding obligations; renames district; provides boundaries; revises manner of selection of board of supervisors; provides term limits; revises board member compensation; revises powers of board; revises powers of district; provides for transition; provides for continued effect of stipulation between district & Orange County; provides exception to general law. The changes would give Gov. Ron DeSantis authority to appoint the district’s five-member Board of Supervisors and change the name to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. All the current members of the district’s current board would end as of the effective date of the bill; however, they can continue to serve until a successor in office is appointed and qualified. The bill also allows for a transition period of two years following the effective date of the bill to provide time to make necessary changes to legal and financial documents, physical assets, and other locations where the district’s name is used.
House Bill 11B, Sunshine Water Control District, Broward County, by Representative Dan Daley
HB 11B is a local bill that is set to reestablish this district that was set to dissolve in June of 2023.
House Bill 13B, Eastpoint Water and Sewer District, Franklin County, by Representative Jason Shoaf
HB 13B will ratify and confirm the continued existence of the district and provides legislative intent to preserve the district’s necessary authority to generate revenue and pay outstanding indebtedness as provided in its original charter as such authority was preserved by Art. XII, ss. 2 and 15 of the Florida Constitution.
Bills Outside of the Call
House Democrats tried to expand the scope of special session by introducing House Bill 15B, Insurance, by Representative Fentrice Driskell and House Bill 17B, Eligibility for Medical Assistance and Related Services, by Fentrice Driskell, on Monday to help with making property insurance more affordable and expand access to Florida’s Medicaid program; however majority vote refused to expand the scope of Special Session and the bills were not introduced.
The Legislature officially closed out the Special Session sine die at 1:39 p.m. on Friday, February 10, 2022. The Legislature will be back Tuesday, February 14th to resume regular scheduled committees.
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This publication is for general information only. It is not legal advice, and legal counsel should be contacted before any action is taken that might be influenced by this publication.
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