Sen. Janet Cruz

Public School Transportation; Revising the requirement that district school boards provide transportation for certain students; requiring a district school superintendent to request a review of a hazardous walking condition upon receipt of a written request from a parent of a student; requiring, rather than authorizing, a district school board to initiate a specified proceeding relating to hazardous walking conditions, etc.

Family and Medical Leave Insurance Benefits Fund; Creating the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Benefits Fund under the Department of Financial Services; providing the purpose of the trust fund; providing for future review and termination of the trust fund, etc.

Standard High School Diploma Award Requirements; Adding a new requirement for the award of a standard high school diploma to Academically Challenging Curriculum to Enhance Learning students; requiring certain students to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid in order to be awarded a standard high school diploma, etc.

Recycling of Organic Waste Material; Requiring certain commercial waste generators and certain institutions of higher education, beginning on specified dates and under certain circumstances, to ensure that their organic waste materials are separated and recycled at specified recycling facilities; providing an exception for commercial waste generators or institutions of higher education that perform composting of or treat organic waste material onsite, etc.

Legislature; Citing this act as the "Truth in Government Act"; deleting provisions regarding the administration of oaths and affirmations to witnesses appearing before legislative committees, and associated penalties, to conform to changes made by the act; requiring that persons addressing a legislative committee take an oath or affirmation of truthfulness; providing criminal penalties for certain false statements before a legislative committee, etc.

State Contracting; Prohibiting vendors that default or otherwise fail to fulfill terms and conditions of a state contract from submitting a bid, proposal, or reply, or entering into or renewing a contract, to provide any goods or services to an agency after placement on the suspended vendor list; prohibiting an agency from accepting any bids, proposals, or replies from, or entering into or renewing any contract with, any suspended vendor until certain conditions are met; requiring an agency to notify the Department of Management Services of, and provide certain information regarding, any such vendors, etc.

Educational Instruction on African-American History; Revising the required instruction relating to African-American history to include certain information on present-day racial injustices and hardships; requiring the Department of Education to contract with the Commissioner of Education’s African American History Task Force in developing a specific framework for such instruction; requiring the task force to submit its recommendations to the commissioner and the State Board of Education by a specified date; requiring each school district to annually certify, beginning on a specified date, that it has met certain requirements, etc.

Employment Practices for Family and Medical Leave; Creating the “Florida Family and Medical Leave Act”; requiring an employer to allow certain employees to take family and medical leave to bond with a minor child upon the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement; requiring an employer to provide notice to employees of certain rights relating to family and medical leave; authorizing an employee to file a civil action against an employer for a violation; revising the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 to prohibit specified employment practices on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, etc.

Drinking Water in Public Schools; Requiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to conduct a study of the prevalence and effects of lead in drinking water in public schools; specifying the information that must be included in the study; requiring OPPAGA to consult with district school boards, district boards, and other interested entities; requiring OPPAGA to submit the study to the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date; providing for future repeal, etc.

Public Construction Contracts; Requiring a contractor who responds to a solicitation for a vertical construction project, as part of the bid, to certify certain information regarding the usage of apprentice or on-the-job training labor for the project; specifying the minimum percentage of apprentice labor required on the vertical construction project; requiring the contractor to submit a written notification of its inability to meet the labor requirement to the awarding body for its determination of whether a good faith effort existed; requiring the Department of Management Services to develop a form that the contractor must submit to document compliance with the requirements, etc.