Equity and Inclusion; Repealing a provision relating to minority representation on boards, commissions, councils, and committees; repealing a provision relating to the Center for Environmental Equity and Justice, etc.
HB 1353 revises Florida's legal definitions of "harass" and "cyberstalk" to clarify what constitutes these offenses. The bill defines "harass" as repeated actions causing serious emotional harm with no legitimate purpose, and "cyberstalk" as using electronic communication or unauthorized access to online accounts to cause such harm. These updated definitions will apply to existing laws banning religious/ethnic harassment and school bullying, ensuring consistent terminology. The changes take effect on July 1, 2026.
Education; Revises provisions relating to K-12 expenditures, school districts, charter schools, lab schools, epinephrine use in public & private schools, school attendance, VPK program, school readiness program, early learning coalitions, Gold Seal Quality Program, required instruction, comprehensive mathematics instruction, parental consent to opt out of specified instruction, certain education funding, instructional materials, educator certifications, & State Requirements for Educational Facilities.
Interpersonal Violence Injunctions; Revises provisions relating to interpersonal violence injunctions, including, revising required forms, motions, & information all clerk of court offices must provide to assist petitioners, distinguishing between ex parte reviews & final hearings, requiring personal service & authorizing subsequent service by e-mail, revising service requirements, revising notice & service requirements, revising factors court is required to consider & evaluate, revising what clerk must transmit to sheriff or law enforcement agency, revising service requirements, revising circumstances in which clerk must provide; revises name of Domestic & Repeat Violence Injunction Statewide Verification System created within FDLE to Statewide Injunction Verification System; revises injunctions required to be maintained in system.
Guardianship; Prohibiting a guardian from restricting the ability of an adult ward to maintain contact with a person except under certain circumstances; requiring a guardian to provide a ward with notice of a change in residential setting under certain circumstances; requiring that an initial guardianship plan identify the persons entitled to certain information, etc.
Long-range Program Plans; Requiring that plans of state agencies be based on statutorily established policies and driven by priorities and outcomes to achieve certain goals, objectives, and policies; requiring that the plans of the judicial branch be policy based, priority driven, accountable, and developed through careful examination and justification of programs and activities; requiring that plans identify specified performance measures, trends and conditions relevant to the performance measures and state goals, agency programs implementing statutorily established policies, and the judicial branch programs implementing state policy, etc.
Big Cypress Basin; Revising the membership of the Big Cypress Basin governing board; requiring the South Florida Water Management District to revise the boundaries of the Big Cypress Basin based on a specified study at a specified time; requiring the South Florida Water Management District to ensure that basin ad valorem taxes collected within the Big Cypress Basin be used in a specified manner, etc.
Information Technology Procurement and Contracting; Revises duties & requirements of Florida Digital Services; creates the Bureau of Enterprise Project Management and Oversight; provides duties & requirements of the bureau; requires state agencies include follow certain processes and use certain forms; requires certain information be included in specified contracts; revises requirements for certain contracts; requires DMS to create a repository for certain records; revises requirements for information technology competitive solicitations.
Public Assistance; Authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration to conduct retrospective reviews and audits of certain claims under the state Medicaid program for a specified purpose; requiring the agency to seek federal approval to implement mandatory work and community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults as a condition of obtaining and maintaining Medicaid coverage; requiring the agency, in consultation with the Department of Children and Families, to develop a business plan to implement specified provisions; revising the purpose of the Medicaid Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics Committee to include creation of a Medicaid preferred physician-administered drug list, a Medicaid preferred product list, and a high-cost drug list; requiring the department to develop and implement a food assistance payment accuracy improvement plan for a specified purpose, etc.
Bail Bonds; Revises requirements for approval & certification as approved limited surety agent & professional bail bond agent prelicensing school; authorizes bail bond agents & agencies to accept certain fees or charges; prohibits virtual offices; revises provisions relating to pretrial release and detention; revises criteria court must consider in making specified determinations; revises duties and responsibilities of clerk of court relating to bonds and forfeiture of bonds; removes and revises certain provisions relating to sureties and ownership of property, justification of suretyship, provision of information, access to jails, and liability; revises provisions relating to deposit of bail money; revises provisions relating to bond forfeiture and discharge of forfeiture; requires sheriff to enter defendant's information in National Crime Information Center database for each felony warrant for failure to appear; revises provisions relating to remission of forfeiture; revises provisions relating to bond cancellation; specifies limits on effect of original appearance bond; specifies that the clerk of court does not have standing to object to reinstatement of bond; removes provisions relating to guaranteed arrest bond certificates as cash bail; authorizes pretrial detention of certain defendants arrested for certain dangerous crimes.
Application Stores; Requiring an app store provider to take certain steps to verify the ages of individuals who create or who have existing accounts with the app store provider; providing parental consent requirements for accounts created or held by minors; requiring app store providers to take certain steps to protect specified personal information; authorizing minors, or the parents of minors, to bring civil actions against app store providers or developers for violations of the act, etc.
Statewide Provider and Health Plan Claim Dispute Resolution Program; Specifying additional circumstances under which a disputed claim is not subject to review under the statewide provider and health plan claim dispute resolution program, etc.
