Historic Cemeteries Program; Requires local governments to approve applications from historic African-American cemeteries to change land use category & zoning district of excess vacant land under certain conditions to allow development consistent & compatible with adjacent land uses.
Domestic Violence and Protective Injunctions; Reclassifying penalties for committing a domestic violence offense if a person has a prior conviction for domestic violence; providing that sentencing and incentive gain-time eligibility determinations are made without regard to a penalty enhancement; establishing an electronic monitoring pilot program in a specified county; requiring the sheriff, in consultation with certain persons, to design and implement the pilot program; providing requirements for the pilot program; requiring the Department of Corrections to complete an evaluation and provide specified reports to the Legislature; requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to enter injunctions against dating violence and sexual violence into a statewide verification system, etc.
School Safety; Requires sheriffs to assist public postsecondary educational institutions in implementing guardian programs under certain provisions; authorizes public postsecondary educational institutions to participate in the school guardian program; requires a sheriff to establish a guardian training program or contract with certain other sheriff's offices to do so in certain circumstances; creates the offense of discharging a weapon or firearm within 1,000 feet of a school; provides that a person arrested for certain offenses must be held in custody until brought before the court for admittance to bail; ranks an offense created by the act on the offense severity ranking chart of the Criminal Punishment Code; authorizes the State Board of Education and the Board of Governors to adopt rules and regulations, respectively, etc.
HB 1509 revises Florida's requirements for veterinarians seeking licensure by endorsement from another state. To qualify, applicants must hold a valid, active license in good standing for three years in another U.S. state, district, or territory, pass an exam equivalent to or stricter than Florida's, and complete a clinical competency exam. The bill also adds a requirement to demonstrate knowledge of Florida's veterinary laws. This change affects veterinarians moving to Florida from other jurisdictions, effective July 1, 2026.
Domestic Animals; Requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to post on its website specified information relating to each individual convicted of specified animal cruelty offenses; extending the timeframe for which a consumer may pursue remedies for the sale of an animal certifiably unfit for purchase; requiring a pet dealer to provide copies of specified medical records to a consumer; requiring the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to develop a list of best management practices for adoption and implementation, etc.
Animal Welfare; Creating the offense of causing or enticing a minor to commit, or in the presence of a minor committing, animal cruelty; requiring a court to order a minor who commits specified acts of animal cruelty to undergo a psychological evaluation and receive counseling and treatment for a specified time period; requiring the minor's parent or guardian or the state to pay the cost of such evaluation, counseling, and treatment; providing an exception; authorizing the court to hold the parent or guardian in contempt under certain circumstances; requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to post on its website specified information relating to each individual convicted of specified animal cruelty offenses; specifying time periods for which the information shall be posted; requiring the department to develop a procedure to allow a person to petition for the removal of his or her information under specified circumstances; requiring the department to remove specified information under specified circumstances; specifying the time period within which such information must be removed; authorizing the department to adopt rules; requiring clerks of court and county detention facilities to provide the Department of Law Enforcement with specified information, data, and images; creating the offense of causing or enticing a minor to commit, or in the presence of a minor committing, fighting or baiting animals; creating the offense of causing or enticing a minor to commit, or in the presence of a minor committing, sexual activities involving animals; increasing the maximum civil penalty for specified violations of ordinances relating to animal control or cruelty; increasing the level on the offense severity ranking chart for fighting or baiting animals; ranking offenses created by the act on the offense severity ranking chart, etc.
Veterinary Prescription Disclosure; Requires veterinarian to inform client of right to receive written prescription or option to have prescription filled at veterinary establishment; specifies certain transmission methods for "written prescriptions"; requires disclosure to include acknowledgement signed by client; requires acknowledgement to include certain information; prohibits certain statements, notifications, warnings, or assumptions; requires posting of certain information; provides requirements therefor; provides exceptions.
Higher Education; Establishing the Florida Center for Nursing within the University of South Florida; providing that a specified fee waiver applies to a student’s out-of-pocket expenses for tuition and fees after other aid is applied; providing that the LINE Fund was established for shortages in health science professions in addition to nursing; requiring institutions awarded grant funds to submit an annual report by a certain date to the center instead of the Board of Governors or the Department of Education; requiring the Office of Reimagining Education and Career Help to provide specified data to the department, etc.
State Employees; Providing for the resolution of collective bargaining issues at impasse between the state and certified bargaining units for state employees, etc.
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.
