Sen. Lori Berman

Upgrades to Education Facilities as Emergency Shelters; Exempting costs of less than $2 million associated with certain upgrades to education facilities from being included in certain cost per student station calculations; requiring costs associated with certain upgrades to be consistent with prevailing market costs in the area where the education facility is located, etc.

Entertainment Industry; Creating the Targeted High Wage Production Program within the Department of Economic Opportunity under the supervision of the Commissioner of Film and Entertainment; requiring that film, television, and digital media projects being produced in this state meet specified criteria to be eligible for tax credit awards; requiring a certified project 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; requiring the department to disqualify a project under certain circumstances, etc.

Court Recordings; Requiring that certain family law court proceedings be electronically or stenographically recorded in their entirety; requiring that the recordings or transcripts of a proceeding be made available to the parties for purchase; requiring the court to provide an indigent party with a recording or transcript of the proceeding at no cost, upon request, etc.

Energy SMART Schools; Requiring the Department of Education and the Department of Environmental Protection to consult with specified entities to coordinate to develop a program to jointly designate public schools as Energy SMART Schools; requiring the program to include an application process that meets specified requirements; requiring that awards, recognition, and designations be jointly granted annually; requiring the Office of Educational Facilities, in consultation with the Office of Energy within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to provide, upon request, specified technical assistance and consultation with public schools and school districts, etc.

Contracts for Instructional Personnel; Deleting a prohibition on the awarding of certain annual contracts by district school boards on the basis of unauthorized contingencies or conditions; requiring that the annual contract of instructional personnel who meet certain criteria be renewed; providing an exception; providing responsibilities for district school superintendents who exercise certain authority, etc.

Driving Under the Influence; Expanding conditions under which a person commits the offense of driving under the influence and must remain in custody after arrest, etc.

Lactation Space; Requiring at least one lactation space to be provided in each county courthouse; providing requirements for the lactation space; authorizing the use of state or private funds to provide lactation space in appellate courthouses, etc.

Drinking Water in Public Schools; Subject to legislative appropriation, requiring district boards to coordinate with district school boards to identify certain schools and to provide funding to those schools by a specified date; requiring school districts, as applicable, to install filters that meet certain specifications on drinking water sources; requiring school districts, as applicable, to post signage on certain water sources and requiring school districts to publish specified information on school district websites, etc. APPROPRIATION: $3,000,000

Safe Waterways Act; Requiring, rather than authorizing, the Department of Health to adopt and enforce certain rules; requiring the department to notify a municipality or county if the department issues a health advisory against swimming on the basis of elevated bacteria levels in a public bathing place within the municipality’s or county’s jurisdiction; requiring the department to adopt by rule a certain health advisory sign; providing that municipalities and counties are responsible for maintaining the health advisory signs for affected beach waters and public bathing places that they own, etc.

State Medicaid Plan; Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to require amendment of the state Medicaid plan to provide Medicaid coverage to persons under age 65 who have an income equal to or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, etc.