Transportation Facility Designations; Providing honorary designations of certain transportation facilities in specified counties and a specified municipality; directing the Department of Transportation to erect suitable markers; revising a specified interchange designation, etc.
HB 253 clarifies eligibility for Florida's Veterans Dental Care Grant Program, which provides dental care to veterans residing in the state. The bill specifies that veterans must have incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level to qualify for the program. Administered by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the program ensures access to oral health care for eligible veterans. This clarification takes effect on July 1, 2026.
Housing for Veterans; Creating the “Homes for Veterans Property Management Incentive Pilot Program Act”; establishing the Homes for Veterans Property Management Incentive Pilot Program in certain counties, subject to legislative appropriation; requiring a landlord to submit to the contracted program administrator required documentation within a specified time period to apply for funding; authorizing a landlord to apply for up to a specified dollar amount from the funds, etc.
Veterans Affairs; Revises admissions process for veterans treatment court programs; authorizes court, in consultation with multidisciplinary team, to determine eligibility for veterans treatment court programs; requires court to consider recommendation of state attorney when making eligibility determination; authorizes sentencing courts to divert defendants to veterans treatment court programs under certain circumstances; requires certain notice be provided to defendants; provides for disposition of probation or community control violations by program participants.
Veteran Benefit Payments to Minor Clients; Authorizing the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Health, or the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to access certain benefit payments for specified purposes; prohibiting the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Health, or the Agency for Persons with Disabilities from supplanting certain financial assistance, etc.
Motor Vehicles; Requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to establish and maintain a secure online license and registration portal for verifying, recording, and processing the seizure or confiscation of license plates; providing that a disabled veteran may retain a certain license plate designation upon reissuance, renewal, or transfer of the plate; prohibiting a person from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, or affixing to any registration license plate certain covers, films, or overlays that obscure or alter the registration license plate in a specified manner, etc.
Business Development Incentives for Veterans and Military Spouses; Authorizing the Department of Revenue to provide specified state tax information to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of State under a specified condition; creating the “Florida Veterans and Military Spouses Business Development Act”; requiring the Department of State to waive all fees for certain businesses; requiring the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to establish registration requirements for businesses seeking certain fee waivers and tax exemptions; providing annual reporting requirements, beginning on a specified date, etc.
Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans; Revising a limitation on the amount of a tax exemption that a surviving spouse may transfer to a new residence, etc.
Department of Law Enforcement; Authorizing the Department of Law Enforcement to adopt rules relating to the Florida Medal of Valor and the Florida Blue/Red Heart Medal; specifying the circumstances under which an appointment or reappointment to the Medical Examiners Commission is considered in force; requiring the commission, rather than the Governor, to appoint district medical examiners for each medical examiner district; requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to accept and process fingerprints taken of natural persons who are control persons of a licensee or are applicants for licensure, etc.
SB 96 establishes a Veterans Dental Care Grant Program within Florida's Department of Veterans’ Affairs to provide oral health care to eligible veterans. It directly affects Florida veterans with household incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. The bill appropriates $500,000 from the General Revenue Fund for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to fund this program, which will cover dental services for qualifying veterans. The program becomes effective July 1, 2026, and is administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
