Sen. Ed Hooper

State Employees; Providing for the resolution of collective bargaining issues at impasse between the state and certified bargaining units for state employees, etc.

Appropriations; Providing moneys for the annual period beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, and supplemental appropriations for the period ending June 30, 2026, to pay salaries, and other expenses, capital outlay - buildings, and other improvements, and for other specified purposes of the various agencies of state government, etc. APPROPRIATION: $115,025,780,033

Implementing the 2026-2027 General Appropriations Act; Revising the services required to be provided by regional consortium service organizations under certain circumstances; creating the Regional Consortia Service Organization Supplemental Services Program; establishing the Rural Incentive for Professional Educators (RIPE) Program within the Department of Education for a specified purpose; authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration to submit a budget amendment requesting additional spending authority to implement specified programs and payments, etc.

Newborn Screenings; Citing this act as “Mattie’s Law”; requiring that newborns, beginning on a specified date, be screened for biliary atresia; requiring the Department of Health to consult with the Genetics and Newborn Screening Advisory Council before adopting certain rules; requiring hospitals that provide birthing services to screen for biliary atresia in a specified manner, etc.

Speech and Debate Education; Creating the Florida Speech and Debate Hall of Fame; designating Florida Speech and Debate Week annually in February; establishing the Florida Debate Initiative, Inc., (FDI) as a statewide speech and debate organization that performs certain functions in support of the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative (FCDI) in the Department of Education; requiring the Board of Governors of the State University System and the State Board of Education to develop specified undergraduate and graduate coursework, certificates, and micro-credentials, etc. APPROPRIATION: $2,400,000

Candidate Qualification; Specifying that a person seeking to qualify for office as a candidate must be a registered member of a political party, or registered without any party affiliation, for 365 consecutive days preceding the beginning of qualifying for an election; authorizing qualified candidates or certain political parties to challenge compliance with specified provisions by filing suit in a specified circuit court; prohibiting a person from being qualified as a candidate for nomination or election and appearing on the ballot under specified circumstances, etc.

Maddy summarySB 7022 revises the required employer contribution rates for different employee groups within Florida's Retirement System. It adjusts how much public employers must pay into retirement funds based on specific membership classes and subclasses, such as different job types or service categories. The bill directly affects Florida state and local government employers who participate in the Florida Retirement System. This change modifies the financial obligations employers have toward employee retirement benefits without altering eligibility or benefit amounts.

Mental Health; Citing this act as the “Tristin Murphy Act”; expanding the programs and diversion initiatives supported by implementation or expansion grants to include training for 911 public safety telecommunicators and emergency medical technicians for certain purposes and to include veterans treatment court programs; encouraging communities to apply for specified grants to establish misdemeanor or ordinance violation mental health diversion programs; encouraging communities to apply for specified grants to establish pretrial felony mental health diversion programs; expanding eligibility for the Forensic Hospital Diversion Pilot Program to include Hillsborough County, etc. APPROPRIATION: $794,880

Candidate Qualification; Providing eligibility requirements for persons seeking to qualify for nomination as candidates of a political party or as candidates with no party affiliation; providing that certain entities may bring an action for declaratory and injunctive relief based on a certain claim; prohibiting a person from qualifying as a candidate for election and prohibiting his or her name from appearing on the ballot under certain circumstances, etc.

Traffic Offenses; Prohibiting a person from operating a motor vehicle while using a wireless communications device in a handheld manner; providing an exception; requiring that sustained use of a wireless communications device by a person operating a motor vehicle be conducted through a hands-free accessory until such use is terminated; revising penalty provisions relating to the use of wireless communications devices in a handheld manner in certain circumstances; requiring persons cited for specified infractions that result in a crash with another vehicle to appear at a certain mandatory hearing, etc.