8 April 27 - MAy 3, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | BILL SUBJECT SUMMARY VOTES, BILL STATUS AS OF APRIL 20, 2023 INTRODUCED BY RELATED BILLS TL;DR House Bill 1403 Protections of Medical Conscience Authorizes health care providers & health care payors to opt out of participation in or payment for health care services by conscience-based objections without discrimination or threat of adverse actions; requires health care provider to notify patient and health care provider’s supervisor or employee or educational institution in writing when such health care provider declines to participate in health care services; prohibits boards and Department of Health from taking certain disciplinary actions. 4/20: Added to special order calendar Joel Rudman, M.D. (Republican, District 3, Navarre) Senate Bill 1580 Allows healthcare providers and insurers to deny medical services on the basis of moral, religious, and ethical beliefs. House Bill 1281 Preemption Over Utility Service Restrictions Prohibiting certain local governmental entities, subject to specified exceptions, from enacting or enforcing a resolution, an ordinance, a rule, a code, or a policy or from taking any action that restricts or prohibits or has the effect of restricting or prohibiting the use of appliances; revising an exception to preemption, etc. 4/20: Added to Special Order Calendar 4/25 James Buchanan (Republican, District 74, Osprey) Senate Bill 1256 You can pry my gas stove out of my cold dead hands! Senate Bill 1718 Immigration Prohibiting counties and municipalities, respectively, from providing funds to any person, entity, or organization to issue identification documents to an individual who does not provide proof of lawful presence in the United States; specifying that certain driver licenses and permits issued by other states exclusively to unauthorized immigrants are not valid in this state; requiring certain hospitals to collect patient immigration status data information on admission or registration forms; increasing the maximum fine that may be imposed for a first violation of specified provisions relating to employing, hiring, recruiting, or referring aliens for private or public employment; creating a certain rebuttable presumption that the public employer, contractor, or subcontractor has not violated specified provisions with respect to the hiring of an unauthorized alien. 4/20: On committee agenda, Fiscal Policy Blaise Ingoglia (Republican, District 11, Spring Hill) House Bill 1617 Makes it a crime to “knowingly and will- fully” transport or harbor undocu- mented immigrants “into or within” the state. House Bill 999 Postsecondary Educational Institutions Revises powers & duties of Board of Governors; revises academic & research excellence stan- dards for preeminent state research universities; provides requirements for hiring university faculty; provides requirements for employment, promotion, & evaluation processes for state university employees; authorizes state university boards of trustees to review tenure status of faculty members; requires such boards to confirm selection & reappointment of specified personnel; requires state university presidents to annually present specified information to such boards; creates Institute for Risk Management & Insurance Education within College of Business at University of Central Florida; revises requirements for general education core courses. 4/19: Favorable by Education & Employment Committee Alex Andrade (Republican, District 2, Pensacola) Senate Bill 266 No state-funded Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at public universities and colleges. Bill restricts teaching of critical race theory while expanding powers of Board of Governors and university presidents. Senate Bill 1220 Defamation and Related Actions Specifying that the professional journalist’s privilege does not apply to defamation or related actions; specifying that the publication of an altered or unaltered photograph, video, or audio recording may form the basis of a defamation action; specifying that a defamatory allegation is made with actual malice for purposes of a defamation action under certain circumstances; providing that the negligence standard applies in a defamation action in which the defendant does not identify the source for a defamatory statement. 4/19: On committee agenda, Rules, temporarily postponed Jason Brodeur (Republican, District 10, Lake Mary) Makes it easier for non-elected government officials, including police officers, to sue for defamation. House Bill 1543 Minimum Age for Firearm Purchase or Transfer Reducing [from 21 to 18] minimum age at which person may purchase firearm & age of purchasers to which specified licensees are prohibited from selling or transferring firearm. 3/23: Added to Second Reading Calendar Bobby Payne (Republican, District 20, Palatka) Sweet child of mine, you aren’t old enough to drink legally, but to cele- brate your 18th birthday, here’s your very own Ruger! Senate Bill 952 Employer Coverage of Gender Dysphoria Treatment Citing this act as the “Reverse Woke Act”; requiring employers that provide coverage of gender dysphoria treatment to also cover the full costs associated with treatment that reverses such gender dysphoria treatment, regardless of the rate of coverage provided for the initial treatment; prohibiting employers from making coverage of the subsequent treatment contingent on whether the employee receives such treatment in this state; creating a right of action for aggrieved persons to recover actual total costs and damages from an employer or former employer, as applicable, under certain circumstances, etc. 3/7: Introduced Blaise Ingoglia (Senate Republican, District 11, Spring Hill), Taylor Michael Yarkowsky (House Republican, District 25, Montverde) House Bill 1265 (Identical) Employers that cover gender reassignment treatment must also foot the bill for reversal thereof. Senate Bill 1096 Monuments and Memorials Citing this act as the “Historical Monuments and Memorials Protection Act”; defining the terms “memorial” and “monument” providing that a person or an entity that damages, defaces, destroys, or removes a monument or memorial is liable for treble the costs to return, repair, or replace the monument or memorial; prohibiting the placement of specified objects on or near a memorial that existed before a specified date, etc. 4/5: Moved to Rules Committee Jonathan Martin (Republican, District 33, Fort Myers) Allows citizens and entities to sue over unauthorized removal or alteration of Confederate monuments. (Identical) gender reassignment treatment must also foot the bill for reversal thereof. (Republican, District 33, Allows citizens and entities to sue over unauthorized removal or alteration of Confederate monuments. 4/19: Favorable by Education & Employment Committee Alex Andrade (Republican, District 2, Pensacola) 4/19: On committee agenda, Rules, temporarily postponed Jason Brodeur (Republican, District 10, Lake Mary) Osprey) 4/20: On committee Fiscal Policy Blaise Ingoglia (Republican, District 11, Spring Hill) is made with actual malice for purposes of a defamation action under certain circumstances; providing that the negligence standard applies in a defamation action in which the defendant Citing this act as the “Reverse Woke Act”; requiring employers that provide coverage of 3/7: Introduced 4/5: Moved to Rules Committee
