Florida Senate President Gardiner notes key legislation passed during the 2016 Legislative Session

On Friday, March 11, 2016, the Florida Senate concluded the 2016 Legislative Session with final passage of a balanced budget, broad-based tax relief for Florida’s families, and several other key pieces of legislation that will now be sent to Florida Governor Rick Scott. Senate President Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) commented:

“The 2016 Legislative Session concludes today with the final passage of several important priorities of our Legislators and Governor Scott designed to improve key aspects of public policy in our state. We saw final passage legislation to improve the delivery of mental health and substance abuse services and to make information on health care prices more readily available to consumers. Coupled with funding enhancements in our budget, these pieces of legislation reflect our strong commitment to improving health care in our state.”

“Expanding retirement benefits for the families of fallen officers will help families, like the family of Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Pine, who lose a loved one in the line of duty,” continued President Gardiner. “Additionally, our statewide water and natural resources policy and expansion of education and employment opportunities for people with unique abilities, already signed in to law by Governor Scott, will leave a lasting impact on our state for years to come. I am grateful to Governor Scott, Speaker Crisafulli and my colleagues in the House and Senate for their hard work and support as we worked to finalize these important pieces of legislation.”  

Broad-Based Tax Relief for Florida Families and Businesses

HB 7099 and provisions of HB 5001, the 2016-17 General Appropriations Act, provide significant broad-based tax relief to businesses and families across Florida.

Reducing Local Millage Rates

HB 5001, the 2016-17 General Appropriations Act, appropriates unprecedented per-student funding for K-12 education and reduces local millage rates. Together, these provisions raise the percentage contributed by state tax dollars to increase education funding, and lower the portion borne by local property taxpayers.

Permanent Sales Tax Exemption for Manufacturing Equipment

HB 7099 makes permanent the sales tax exemption for machinery and equipment used in manufacturing, agricultural post-harvest activities, and by metal recyclers.

Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday

The legislation creates a three-day “back-to-school” sales tax holiday for clothing and footwear costing $60 or less, and school supplies costing less than $15 from August 5, 2016 to August 7, 2016. Among other tax relief measures HB 7099 also provides a sales tax exemption for sales of food and drink by veterans service organizations.

Increasing Health Care Transparency

HB 1175, Transparency in Health Care, increases the transparency and availability of health care pricing and quality of service information to consumers. Empowering consumers with accurate and timely information, to compare costs and the quality of medical services, will allow patients to make informed health care decisions that will best meet their individual needs.

Expanding Prescribing Privileges PAs and ARNPs

HB 423, Drug Prescription by Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners & Physician Assistants, expands prescribing privileges for physician assistants (PAs) and advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs).

Health Insurance Coverage for Therapies for Individuals with Down Syndrome

HB221, Out-of-Network Health Insurance Coverage, requires health insurance contracts to cover speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and applied behavior analysis services for individuals with Down Syndrome, just as they are currently covered for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Improving the Delivery of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

SB 12, Mental Health and Substance Abuse, improves the delivery of mental health and substance abuse services. The current system of behavioral health services is fragmented and inefficient, making it hard for persons with complex and persistent illnesses to obtain the services they need. Too often mental health and substance abuse issues are addressed too little, or too late, to avoid heartbreaking consequences. While government cannot prevent every tragedy, the Senate is committed to doing more to ensure people struggling with mental illness or substance abuse find the treatment they need to recover. This legislation is designed to improve the delivery of critically important services, while protecting and respecting the rights of individuals struggling with addiction and making certain they receive treatment in an environment that promotes long-term recovery.

Cradle to Career Pathway to Economic Independence for People with Unique Abilities

Personal Learning Scholarship Account (PLSA) – Gardiner Scholarship Program

The PLSA Program was created during the 2014 Legislative Session to provide K-12 students, who are Florida residents and who have a disability, the option to apply for scholarship funds that can be used for authorized instructional materials, curriculum, specialized services, enrollment and tuition, assessment fees, Florida Prepaid College Program contributions, and contracted services by a public school or school district. The program was expanded in the 2015-16 GAA, for one year only, to include additional students on the autism spectrum, students with muscular dystrophy, and three and four year old children who meet certain criteria. SB 672, Educational Options, codifies this expansion in to Florida law. SB 672 also renames the Personal Learning Scholarship Account Program the “Gardiner Scholarship” in honor of President Gardiner and his family.

Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Program

SB 672 also establishes a process through which postsecondary institutions in Florida can voluntarily seek approval to offer a Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Program (FPCTP) for students with intellectual disabilities. The bill creates a Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities at the University of Central Florida for statewide coordination of information, and sets requirements for students to enroll in a FPCTP and receive state financial assistance in the form of a FPCTP Scholarship.

Expanding Employment Opportunities

HB 7003, Individuals with Disabilities, expands employment options for people with disabilities. The legislation creates the Florida Unique Abilities Partner Program to recognize businesses that employ individuals who have a disability and establishes a financial literacy program to help individuals with unique abilities navigate the complex network of federal and state requirements and find employment resources. The legislation requires an interagency plan with reporting requirements to ensure the state leads by example and improves employment options for individuals who have a developmental disability and wish to serve in state government.

Vocational Rehabilitation Performance Improvement Plan

HB 7029 seeks to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities through the development and implementation of a performance improvement plan within the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR).  The legislation directs administrative efforts toward improving the VR program by establishing measurable metrics that focus on outcomes related to employment, independence, and other meaningful measures of success. 

Improving Early Childhood Development Services

SB 7058, Early Childhood Development, improves the Early Steps program to better serve infants and toddlers who have developmental delays and revises provisions of the School Readiness program to align to federal requirements in the 2014 reauthorization of the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant.

Statewide Water and Natural Resources Policy

Senate Bill 552, Environmental Resources, provides for a statewide policy to preserve and restore Florida’s water and natural resources for future generations.

Public Access to Public Lands

The bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to publish an online, publicly accessible database of conservation lands on which public access is compatible with conservation and recreation purposes. The bill also directs the DEP to create a downloadable mobile application to locate state lands available for public access using the user’s current location or activity of interest. Using a smartphone, users could locate recreational opportunities throughout Florida just as easily as people can currently locate hotels, restaurants, and gas stations.

Outstanding Florida Springs

SB 552 creates the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act to provide for the protection and restoration of Outstanding Florida Springs (OFSs). The bill defines “Outstanding Florida Springs” to include all historic first magnitude springs, including their associated spring runs, as determined by the DEP using the most recent version of the Florida Geological Survey’s springs bulletin. The following springs and their associated spring runs are also considered OFSs: Deleon Springs, Peacock Springs, Poe Spring, Rock Springs, Wekiwa Springs, and Gemini Springs.

Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection

SB 552 updates and restructures the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program to reflect and build upon the DEP’s completion of basin management action plans for Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, and the St. Lucie River and Estuary, and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ implementation of best management practices. The enforcement mechanisms for best management practices are enhanced both in these watersheds and statewide. Within the Northern Everglades Estuaries Protection areas, additional monitoring and site inspection requirements are put in place. Statewide, the bill requires that rules be put in place for site inspections and other practices, such as monitoring, to help assure the proper implementation of agricultural best management practices.

Water Conservation and Water Supply

The legislation requires additional information related to all water quality or water quantity projects as part of a 5-year work program. SB 552 also creates a pilot program for an alternative water supply in restricted allocation areas, a pilot program for innovative nutrient and sediment reduction and conservation, and revises certain considerations for water resource permits.

Annual Review of Water Supply and Conservation Lands 

The legislation requires the Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) to conduct an annual assessment of water resources and conservation lands and modifies water supply and resource planning and processes to make them more stringent. SB 552 also requires the DEP to conduct a feasibility study for creating and maintaining a web-based, interactive map of the state’s waterbodies as well as regulatory information about each waterbody.

Safeguarding Women’s Health and Guarding Against Taxpayer Funded Abortion

HB 1411, Termination of Pregnancies, protects vulnerable women by ensuring abortion clinics and the practitioners who perform elective abortion procedures are held to the same medical standards as other facilities where outpatient surgery is performed.

Safeguards Women’s Health

The legislation more clearly defines the terms “gestation,” “first trimester,” “second trimester,” and “third trimester.” To ensure availability of advanced medical treatment for mothers and align safety precautions governing abortion clinics with those of state regulated ambulatory surgery centers, clinics that perform first and second trimester abortions must have a written patient transfer agreement with a local hospital so that all physicians who perform abortions can provide the appropriate medical treatment if needed.

Guards Against Taxpayer Funded Abortion

The legislation enhances the current prohibition against taxpayer dollars being used to fund elective abortions by prohibiting state agencies, local governmental entities, and Medicaid managed care plans from contracting with, or expending funds for the benefit of, an organization that owns, operates, or is affiliated with facilities that perform elective abortions.

Enhances Protections Governing Fetal Remains

HB 1411 extends the current prohibition against the sale and donation of fetal remains from an abortion by specifying limits on any disposal of fetal remains and increases penalties for the improper disposal.

Improves Medical Standards at Abortion Clinics

Under the bill, Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) would perform annual licensure inspections of abortion clinics, inspect at least 50 percent of abortion clinic records during a license inspection, and promptly investigate all credible allegations of unlicensed abortions being performed. Entities that refer women for abortion procedures would be required to register with AHCA. Additionally, AHCA would collect certain data from facilities in which abortions are performed and submit the data to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency would also submit an annual report to the Legislature summarizing regulatory actions taken as it relates to the oversight of facilities that perform abortions. 

Increased Retirement Benefits for Families of Fallen Officers

SB 7012 increases the monthly survivor benefits available to the spouses and children of FRS pension plan members in the Special Risk Class when killed in the line of duty from 50 percent of the member’s monthly salary at the time of death to 100 percent of the member’s monthly salary at the time of death. The legislation also permits the surviving spouse or children of an investment plan member in the Special Risk Class killed in the line of duty to opt into the FRS investment plan survivor benefits program in lieu of receiving normal retirement benefits under the FRS investment plan. Through this program, the surviving spouse and children are eligible to receive annuitized benefits much like the survivor benefits afforded to Special Risk Class members of the FRS pension plan.

Information on the General Appropriations Act is available here.  For more information on the legislation outlined above, please visit www.FLSenate.gov.

Tags: Government/Politics & Law