Sen. Joe Gruters

Local Government Salaries and Benefits; Requiring the use of the county population on a specified date to calculate the group rate element of the salary formula applicable to county commissioners of noncharter counties beginning on a specified date; providing procedures for calculating salary adjustments for members of boards of county commissioners of certain counties; requiring a referendum for the governing body of a municipality to increase the salary, retirement benefits, or other compensation paid to its members, etc.

Revenue Administration; Replacing the term “tax assessor” with the term “property appraiser”; revising the definitions of the terms “ad valorem tax” and “assessed value of property”; prohibiting the levy of non-ad valorem assessments on agricultural lands under certain circumstances; specifying that non-ad valorem assessments may become delinquent and bear penalties in the same manner as county taxes; authorizing non-ad valorem assessments to be levied to pay certain bonds issued, etc.

Education; Authorizing certain entities to report their students directly to the Department of Education; authorizing schools of hope in certain counties to colocate with other public schools in certain facilities; requiring that students enrolled in schools of hope be included in specified school district calculations; prohibiting a rental or leasing fee from being charged to a school of hope, etc.

Chemicals in Consumer Products; Revising the definition of the term “drug”; defining the term “vaccine or vaccine material”; requiring that, beginning on a specified date, cosmetics manufactured, sold, offered or distributed for sale, or distributed for use in this state provide notice of specified added ingredients on a website that is created and maintained by the cosmetics manufacturer and made available to the public regarding such added ingredients; deeming a food misbranded if it contains a vaccine or vaccine material, but its label does not include specified information, etc.

Chemical Additives in Food Products; Beginning on a specified date, prohibiting a food establishment from manufacturing, selling, or distributing food that contains specified chemical additives, etc.

Transportation Facility Designations/Harris Rosen Way and Geraldine Thompson Way; Providing honorary designations of certain transportation facilities in a specified county; directing the Department of Transportation to erect suitable markers, etc.

Firefighter Health and Safety; Requiring the Division of State Fire Marshal within the Department of Financial Services to assist in decreasing the frequency and severity of fatalities; authorizing the division to recommend a phased approach in adopting certain rules related to firefighting gear; requiring the division to adopt rules relating to education on chemical hazards and toxic substances in protective gear and employers’ mental health best practices, etc.

Legal Tender; Requiring the Department of Financial Services to contract with an appropriate vendor to conduct a specified study and submit a report to the Legislature by a specified date; prohibiting the vendor from having certain relationships; requiring, by a specified date, the department to provide proposed statutory and administrative rule language if certain conditions are met, etc.

Criminal Offender Substance Abuse Pilot Program; Creating a substance abuse accountability pilot program in a specified county; providing for eligibility for the program; providing for design and implementation of the program in the county; authorizing subgrants for personnel needs; requiring a report to certain officials by a specified date, etc. APPROPRIATION: $2,500,000

Improving Screening for and Treatment of Blood Clots; Citing this act as the "Emily Adkins Family Protection Act"; requiring hospitals with emergency departments and ambulatory surgical centers to develop and implement policies and procedures and conduct training for the rendering of appropriate medical attention for persons at risk of forming venous thromboembolisms; requiring the Department of Health to contract with a private entity to establish a statewide venous thromboembolism registry at no cost to the state; revising requirements for certain annual inservice training for certified nursing assistants employed by nursing home facilities, etc.