Florida Bills

Appropriations; Providing moneys for the annual period beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, and supplemental appropriations for the period ending June 30, 2026, to pay salaries, and other expenses, capital outlay - buildings, and other improvements, and for other specified purposes of the various agencies of state government, etc. APPROPRIATION: $115,025,780,033

This bill proposes to reduce the number of judges in several Florida judicial circuits and counties, specifically decreasing the count in the First, Fifth, Seventh, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth circuits, as well as in Duval, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Walton counties. The legislation amends state statutes to lower these judicial positions by a specific number in each location, ranging from a reduction of one to eight judges depending on the jurisdiction. These changes are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026, and the bill is currently being reviewed by a conference committee to finalize details before becoming law.

Retirement; Authorizing an elected officer, except while serving as a legislator, to remain in elective office and receive accumulated Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) proceeds after the officer attains a certain age; revising the cost-of-living adjustment for eligible Special Risk Class retirees; defining the term “eligible Special Risk Class retiree”; revising required employer retirement contribution rates for each membership class and subclass of the Florida Retirement System; revising required allocations from the Contributions Clearing Trust Fund to provide disability coverage to members of the investment plan of the Florida Retirement System, etc.

Department of Management Services; Revises, creates, and repeals provisions relating to administrative health insurance assessments of state agencies; permanent tenants of Capitol Complex; Capitol Center projects, long-range planning, & parking spaces; certification of & state contracting for minority business enterprises; the Office of Supplier Development; participation of Florida-based small business enterprises in state procurement system; Florida Advisory Council on Small & Minority Business Development; Florida Minority Business Loan Mobilization Program; & disposition of specified proceeds used for law enforcement communication systems.

State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System; Abrogating the scheduled expiration of provisions relating to the remission of surcharges for specified criminal offenses and noncriminal moving traffic violations to the Department of Revenue to fund the state agency law enforcement radio system and to provide technical assistance with respect to statewide systems of regional law enforcement communications, etc.

Documentary Stamp Tax Distributions; Revises how taxes collected from documentary stamp tax are distributed; prohibits transfer of specified funds to South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.

Health; Requiring the Social Services Estimating Conference to develop certain official information relating to the pilot program for individuals with developmental disabilities; authorizing the Department of Children and Families, as authorized by and consistent with appropriated funding, to contract with a specified organization to provide grief support services to help certain children and youth; revising the monthly room and board rates the department is required to pay to certain foster parents and caregivers; renaming the Step into Success Workforce Education and Internship Pilot Program as the Step into Success Workforce Education and Internship Program, etc.

Pre-K-12 Education; Revising conditions under which a specified scholarship account’s funds revert to the state; providing a supplement for districts that have a decline in enrollment; requiring that fiscally constrained districts receive a higher calculation than non-fiscally constrained districts, etc.

Fuel Taxes; Revising the distribution of the proceeds of the fuel sales tax; revising the transfer of funds received and collected into the Fuel Tax Collection Trust Fund, etc.

Government Administration; Revises provisions relating to government administration including auditing, reviews, & investigations of programs, appropriations, & state entities; government accountability; planning & budgeting; estimating conferences; EOG budget recommendations; & budget requests.

Implementing the 2026-2027 General Appropriations Act; Revising the services required to be provided by regional consortium service organizations under certain circumstances; creating the Regional Consortia Service Organization Supplemental Services Program; establishing the Rural Incentive for Professional Educators (RIPE) Program within the Department of Education for a specified purpose; authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration to submit a budget amendment requesting additional spending authority to implement specified programs and payments, etc.

Public Records/Examination and Assessment Instruments; Deleting a duplicative exemption from public records requirements for certain examination and assessment instruments; requiring the State Board of Education and the Board of Governors to adopt rules and regulations, respectively, governing the retention and disposal process for specified records; deleting a provision requiring the State Board of Education and the Board of Governors to adopt certain rules and regulations, respectively, governing access to records; extending the scheduled repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.