Jul
9
Florida Legislative Session Review - Part IX: Financial Services & Insurance
July 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Insurance
HB 1381 makes changes pertaining to the regulation of insurance agencies, agents and adjusters under the authority of the Department of Financial Services. Passed 117-0 and 40-0.
HB 743 makes a number of changes to the Florida Trust Code, including limiting the power of a trustee to distribute principal in some cases and expanding the power […]
Jul
7
Health Care and other health related issues tend to be a major component of each Legislative Session.
Health Regulation
HB 543 authorizes pharmacists to administer flu shots to adults and creates the Task Force for Study of Biotech Competitiveness to develop proposals for bringing flu vaccine manufacturing and distribution companies to Florida. Passed 93-22 and 33-5.
HB […]
Jun
20
Florida Legislative Session Review - Part VII: Transportation & Economic Development
June 20, 2007 | 1 Comment
Economic Development
SB 1974 creates the Agency for Enterprise Information Technology within the Executive Office of Governor. Passed 39-0 and 119-0.
HB 83 the “Florida Capital Formation Act” - requires Enterprise Florida to facilitate the creation of the Florida Opportunity Fund to increase availability of seed capital and early stage venture equity capital for emerging companies […]
Jun
19
Florida Legislative Session Review - Part VI: Elections
June 19, 2007 | 1 Comment
There was one major elections bill that passed this year, and it contained a lot of provisions. A few, less extensive bills passed dealing with citizen initiatives.
HB 573 is the major election package. It’s provisions include:
requiring voter registration organizations, including political parties, to submit voter registrations in a timely manner;
setring the presidential preference primary […]
Jun
18
The number of bills affecting active military service members and veterans has dwindled over the years, as the Legislature runs out of ways to support the military. Heck, we do a GREAT job of that now.
Here are the bills that passed this year:
HB 981 among state park provisions, this bill provides free admission to […]
Jun
4
Florida Legislative Session Review - Part IV: Public Safety & Judicial System
June 4, 2007 | Leave a Comment
A number of bills are filed every year that deal with law enforcement, public safety, and Florida’s court system.
Law Enforcement & First Responders
SB 1030 increases court cost assessed against anyone convicted of violating state penal or criminal statute or convicted of violating municipal or county ordinance, requires defendants to pay all outstanding criminal costs and […]
May
29
Once area that is challenging in Florida is the balance between protecting natural resources while allowing for both the significant growth we are experiencing and the desire for people to enjoy those resources. This is one area where many bills are filed every year.
Growth Management
HB 7203 is a bill dealing with comprehensive planning. […]
May
24
As a former Student Body President, and someone who is not yet a parent, I often think of higher education first when education issues arise. However, the issue of education is far broader. Here are the 20 education related bills (at least the 20 I identified) passed by the Legislature this year:
School Readiness […]
May
21
Florida has a long history of open government, a tradition dating to the 1909 passage of the “Public Records Law.” Open government laws, now called Government in the Sunshine laws, provide everyone with access to the inner workings of our state and local governments.
I had not thought much of this philosophy until I worked […]
May
18
Florida Legislative Session Review
May 18, 2007 | Leave a Comment
As part of a new series, I will be highlighting the bills which passed the Legislature during the 2007 Regular Legislative Session.
First, let me say that the Legislature passed a total of 345 bills - which is a fairly low number. The average, at least since I started working for the Legislature is around […]





