2024 Legislative Items Being Watched

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LOOKING AHEAD TO 2024

The 2024 Legislative Session will kick off January 2024 and is sure to be action packed.  Bills are being filed as of this writing, and committees have been meeting since late September.  We encourage you to stay abreast of proposed legislation by bookmarking this page where we provide updates on bills we are following on your behalf.  If you wish to follow other proposed legislation, you can visit the State Legislative site, sign up for an account, and begin tracking legislation.  You will receive daily alerts each time any action is taken on the bill you have marked to track.  The easiest way to do this is once on the site, select the Florida Senate link, and once on that page look to the upper right corner and you will see an option to "Sign Up".  Click that and create your account which is needed in order to track bills.  Once you have created your account you can begin to look at bills in both the House and Senate, and mark those that you wish to track.

This site also allows you to view a summary of each bill, see the full text of the bill, see where the bill is in the legislative process, see companion bills, and see any amendments filed to the bills as they move through committees.  On this site you can also find you legislators and information is available on how to contact them.

Committees in both chambers have been appointed.  It is critical that as members, you know who your legislators are.  Click here to Find Your Representative.  By looking at your Voter Registration Card and finding your Senate District, you can Find Your Senator.

Once you have located these elected officials through the links above, you can see on the Representative's/Senator's webpage what committees they have been assigned.  On these pages you can also find information on the individual's interests and other information that will help you prepare a visit to their office, or a letter supporting issues of importance to you.

We encourage you to bookmark this page and check it regularly as we will update information as it becomes available.  FRPA eConnect will also be used to send legislative Elerts if quick action is needed on an issue.

Using This Page:

Each proposed bill being followed is linked below, directly below the title of the proposed legislation.  However, if a committee substitute (CS) or amendment has been filed, that link will appear in the Status Box below the description of the bill.  For the latest copy of the proposal, you will want to look for a CS and if present, select that link to read the bill.

Status Boxes contain where the proposed legislation is on its journey through Session.  A great resource to understand the path a proposal follows is this How a Bill Becomes a Law document.

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CHILD WATER SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

HB 123 by Representative Chambliss
SB 274 by Senator Rodriguez

Citing this act as the "Kareem Angel Green Act"; providing that certain organizations that care for or supervise children must require parents or legal guardians to attest certain information in writing before taking children under their care or supervision to public bathing places or public swimming pools; providing requirements to provide personal floatation equipment for children when such organizations conduct certain activities in public bathing places or public swimming pools.   Providing an exception for children participating in swimming instruction.

Status of HB 123

Status of SB 274

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MANGROVE REPLANTING AND RESTORATION

SB 32 by Senator Garcia

Mangrove Replanting and Restoration; Requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules for mangrove replanting and restoration; providing requirements for the rules, etc.

Status of SB 32

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POSSESSION OR USE OF FIREARM IN SENSITIVE LOCATION

SB 130 by Senator Berman
HB 209 by Representative Rayner

Prohibits possession or use of a firearm in sensitive locations – defined to include any park, recreational facility or area, or playground owned or controlled by a state, county, or municipality or other governmental entity.

Status of SB 130

Status of HB 209

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PUBLIC RESTROOM FACILITIES

SB 44 by Senator Stewart

Requiring the Florida Building Commission to adopt certain requirements in the Florida Building Code for certain public restroom facilities newly constructed or renovated after a specified date, etc.

Status of SB 44

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RELEASE OF BALLOONS

HB 321 by Representative Chaney
SB 602 by Senator DiCegile

Provides that intentional release of certain balloons is considered littering; revises penalty for such release.

Status of HB 321

Status of SB 602

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SAFETY OF CHILD CARE FACILITIES

HB 541 by Representative Williams

Requires law enforcement agencies to notify child care facilities of certain incidents at nearby schools.

Status of HB 541

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SMOKING IN STATE PARKS

HB 495 by Representative Woodson

Prohibits smoking & vaping within boundaries of state parks; requires DOH to post specified signs; provides penalties.

Status of HB 495

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SWIMMING LESSON VOUCHER PROGRAM

SB 544 by Senators Hutson and Berman
HB 581 by Representative Cabrera

Swimming Lesson Voucher Program; Creating the program within the Department of Health for a specified purpose; requiring the department to contract with and establish a network of swimming lesson vendors to participate in the program; requiring the department to attempt to secure a vendor in each county; specifying eligibility criteria for the program, etc.

Status of SB 544

Status of HB 581

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TREE TRIMMING

SB 122 by Senator Stewart

Relating to trees on residential property; 3 repealing s. 163.045, F.S., relating to tree pruning, 4 trimming, or removal on such property.

Status of SB 122

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