SB 720 prevents Florida students from losing their in-state tuition residency status solely due to incarceration in state or federal correctional facilities. This applies to all students enrolled in Florida public colleges, universities, or career centers covered by Florida Statute 1009.21. The bill amends the statute to explicitly state that incarceration cannot be the basis for changing a student's resident classification for tuition purposes, ensuring continued access to lower tuition rates for those who were residents before incarceration. The law takes effect July 1, 2026.
School Safety Equipment; Requires private schools & public schools, including charter schools, to have specified safety equipment on each campus of school; requires DOE, in coordination with FDLE, to establish minimum specifications for such equipment; authorizes schools to use specified funds to meet requirements of such safety equipment; provides training requirements for such safety equipment; requires schools to report specified information to Office of Safe Schools; & authorizes office to conduct random audits for specified purposes.
Public Records and Public Meetings/Hearings Relating to Mental Health and Substance Abuse; Providing that all hearings relating to mental health examination or treatment and substance abuse treatment or assessment and stabilization, respectively, are confidential and closed to the public; providing that certain information is exempt from public records requirements; authorizing disclosure of certain confidential and exempt documents to certain service providers; authorizing courts to use a respondent’s name for certain purposes; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing statements of public necessity, etc.
Small Independent Special Fire Control Districts; Defining the term “small independent special fire control district”; authorizing the governing body of a small independent special fire control district to apply for participation in the state group health insurance and prescription drug programs; requiring the Department of Management Services to conduct a certain actuarial analysis; requiring that such analysis be paid for by the small independent special fire control district, etc.
Discounted Drug Pricing Study; Requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration to conduct or contract for a specified study; requiring the agency to provide the results to the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date, etc.
Cybersecurity Standards and Liability; Prohibiting local governments from imposing certain cybersecurity standards or processes on vendors; providing that a local government, a covered entity, or a third-party agent that complies with certain requirements is not liable in connection with a cybersecurity incident under certain circumstances; requiring covered entities and third-party agents to implement revised frameworks, standards, laws, or regulations within a specified timeframe in order to retain protection from liability, etc.
Causes of Action Based on Improvements to Real Property; Revises time in which action founded on design, planning, or construction of improvement to real property shall be commenced; revises date on which statute of limitations period for such action begins; revises latest date by which action shall be commenced.
911 Public Safety Telecommunicator Employment-related Mental or Nervous Injuries; Defining the term “911 public safety telecommunicator”; providing that specified provisions relating to certain medical benefits for mental or nervous injuries for first responders also apply to 911 public safety telecommunicators, etc.
Sealing of Criminal History Records; Providing that persons adjudicated guilty of certain misdemeanor offenses are eligible to petition a court to seal the criminal history record of such offenses; revising certain eligibility criteria to provide that a person is eligible to petition the court to seal a criminal history record if such person is no longer serving the sentence to which the petition to seal pertains, etc.
Felony Battery; Revising the elements of the offense of battery by strangulation to delete creating a risk of or causing great bodily harm to another; revising the elements of the offense of domestic battery by strangulation to delete creating a risk of or causing great bodily harm to another; reclassifying the offense of battery by strangulation for the purposes of the offense severity ranking chart of the Criminal Punishment Code, etc.
Pub. Rec./Health Care ; Provides exemptions from public meetings requirements for certain portions of meetings of Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice, Physician Assistant Licensure Compact Commission, & Social Work Licensure Compact Commission; respectively; provides exemption from public records requirements for recordings, minutes, & records generated during exempt portions of such meetings; provides for future legislative review & repeal of exemptions; provides statement of public necessity.
Sealing of Criminal History Records; Provides that persons adjudicated guilty of certain misdemeanor offenses are eligible to petition court to seal criminal history record of such offenses; provides that persons previously adjudicated guilty of certain misdemeanor offenses are eligible to petition court to seal subsequent criminal history record; revises certain eligibility criteria to provide that person is eligible to petition court to seal criminal history record if such person is no longer serving sentence to which petition to seal pertains; revises certain eligibility criteria to provide that person is eligible to petition court to seal criminal history record if such person has never secured prior sealing or expunction related to offense for which person was adjudicated guilty; provides certain eligibility criteria for certain persons who seek subsequent sealing of criminal history record relating to offense for which adjudication was withheld; provides certain eligibility criteria for certain persons who seek sealing of criminal history record relating to offense for which person was adjudicated guilty; authorizes court to order sealing of criminal history record pertaining to more than one adjudication of guilt if additional adjudications directly relate to original arrest, incident of criminal activity, or adjudication of guilt.
