Sen. Joe Gruters

Construction Defects; Specifying that certain disclosures and documents must be provided before a claimant may file an action; revising the timeframes within which certain persons are required to serve a written response to a notice of claim; providing requirements for the repair of alleged construction defects; prohibiting certain persons from requiring advance payments for certain repairs; requiring parties to a construction defect claim to participate in certain mandatory nonbinding arbitration within a specified time, etc.

Designating Drug Cartels as Terrorist Organizations; Urging the federal government to designate certain drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, etc.

Treatment-based Drug Court Programs; Authorizing a court to offer an option for verification of participation in self-help groups or activities to certain defendants, etc.

Taxation of Real Property; Exempting from the sales and use tax certain property that is rented, leased, subleased, or licensed to a specified small business; requiring the Department of Revenue to approve or deny such application within a specified time period, etc.

Sales Tax Holiday for Disaster Preparedness Supplies; Providing exemptions from the sales and use tax for specified disaster preparedness supplies during a specified timeframe; providing applicability for certain exemptions; specifying locations where the exemptions do not apply, etc. APPROPRIATION: $70,072

Cooling Towers; Requiring that owners of cooling towers register them with the Department of Health; requiring the department to create a statewide electronic system for such registrations; requiring that owners of cooling towers obtain or update a maintenance program and plan for existing and newly installed cooling towers, by a specified date; requiring that certain culture analyses be conducted by certified environmental laboratories; authorizing an officer, employee, or agent of the department or county health department to enter a property to inspect a cooling tower, etc.

Drones; Expanding the authorized uses of drones by law enforcement agencies and other specified entities for specified purposes, etc.

Insulation Products; Specifying that a person who takes certain actions relating to interior building envelope insulation products without having a certain test report is subject to the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act; requiring that the test report be provided, upon request, to a local building official, etc.

Municipal Service Taxing Units and Municipal Service Benefit Units; Requiring that the establishment, merger, or abolishment of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit be approved by majority vote of certain qualified electors in an election that is called for such purpose by the governing body of the county on its own motion; providing procedures for the dissolution of a municipal service taxing or benefit unit, etc.

Entertainment Industry; Creating the Film, Television, and Digital Media Targeted Rebate Program within the Department of Economic Opportunity under the supervision of the Commissioner of Film and Entertainment; authorizing applicants to receive rebates up to a specified amount, including bonuses; requiring an applicant that receives funding to make a good faith effort to use existing providers of infrastructure or equipment in this state and to employ residents of this state; requiring the Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council to determine a score for each qualified project using specified criteria, etc.