Individual Education Plans; Revises requirements for school districts relating to determination of eligibility, implementation, & accountability for student IEPs; provides that parent has right to access, upon request, service logs within specified timeframe; requires IEP team to inform parents of such right; requires each school district to provide individualized orientation to parent of student newly identified to be eligible for exceptional student education services; requires school district to obtain signed acknowledgement from each parent; provides requirements for orientation & acknowledgement; requires school districts to notify parents of available refresher orientations each year; requires that certain information be retained in student's education records; requires school districts to develop standardized services logs for provisions of specified services for use by specified persons.
Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation; Revising eligibility for coverage of residential structures in certain counties by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation; requiring the corporation to implement certain rate increases annually in such counties for single policies issued by the corporation; providing additional policies issued by the corporation which do not require policyholders to purchase flood insurance as a condition for maintaining the policies, etc.
Community Health Worker Services; Authorizes AHCA to pay for community health worker services as optional Medicaid service; specifies coverage requirements; defines "community health worker"; requires agency to adopt rules; authorizes agency to seek federal approval; adds community health worker services to list of Medicaid services authorized for reimbursement on fee-for-service basis; adds community health worker services to list of minimum benefits required to be covered by Medicaid managed care plans.
Sales Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans; Creates exemption from specified taxes for sales of certain new motor vehicles made to specified veterans; requires DOR to provide certificate of exemption for specified purpose; authorizes DOR to adopt emergency rules.
Research and Development Tax Credit; Increases combined total amount of credits which may be granted to business enterprises during any calendar year.
Community Health Worker Services; Authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration to pay for specified community health worker services as an optional Medicaid service, subject to certain coverage requirements; defining the term “community health worker”; adding community health worker services to the list of Medicaid services authorized for reimbursement on a fee-for-service basis, etc.
Specialty License Plates/Miami Northwestern Alumni Association; Directing the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to develop a Miami Northwestern Alumni Association license plate; specifying design elements for the plate; providing for distribution and use of fees collected from the sale of the plate, etc.
Deferred Compensation Plans for Public Employees; Citing this act as the "Deferred Compensation Automatic Enrollment Act"; authorizing the inclusion of an automatic enrollment arrangement in a government employee’s deferred compensation plan; requiring that the automatic enrollment arrangement provide employees the ability to make certain elections regarding contributions; requiring that the plan provide for a default investment into which contributions must be placed under a specified circumstance; authorizing counties, municipalities, political subdivisions, and constitutional county officers to adopt automatic enrollment arrangements for specified deferred compensation programs, etc.
HB 653 clarifies tax definitions for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Florida. It revises the definition of "distribution company" to explicitly exclude EV charging station operators under Section 366.94(2)(a), and updates "retail sale" to include electricity sales to these operators. This means EV charging stations will be treated as retail sales (subject to sales tax) rather than utility services, affecting how taxes apply to their electricity purchases. The changes apply retroactively to January 2019, clarifying existing tax treatment without creating new taxes or rates. The bill directly impacts EV charging station operators and their tax reporting.
Music Therapy; Creates Music Therapy Advisory Committee within DOH for specified purpose; authorizes committee to facilitate development of certain materials & act as facilitator of statewide dissemination of information between certain entities; requires committee to provide annual analysis of certain licensure data; requires department to seek advice of committee on issues relating to music therapy; requires department to issue license to practice as professional music therapist to applicants meeting specified criteria; specifies collaboration requirements for licensees engaging in practice of music therapy; beginning on specified date, prohibiting unlicensed individuals from using specified titles related to practice of music therapy; provides exceptions; authorizes unlicensed individuals meeting specified criteria to practice without license under supervision of licensed professional music therapist for specified timeframe; provides grounds for disciplinary action; authorizes department to conduct investigations of alleged misconduct.
Assessment of Property Used for Residential Purposes; Prohibits consideration of increase in just value of property which is attributable to changes or improvements made to improve property's resistance to wind damage in determinations of assessed value of certain property.
Affordable Housing; Increasing the length of time that certain rental units must remain affordable in order to qualify for a specified zoning variance; requiring that certain incentives be used for the construction of affordable housing; decreasing the maximum median income used to determine eligibility for certain tax incentives; specifying that documentary stamp taxes do not apply to deeds, transfers, or conveyances of residential property to first-time homebuyers, etc.
