Sen. Erin Grall

Maddy summarySB 1546 requires independent athletic sanctioning authorities in Florida to conduct mandatory level 2 background checks on all current and prospective athletic coaches by January 1, 2025 (earlier than the original 2026 deadline). This law directly affects athletic coaches and the organizations that oversee them, such as school districts or sports leagues. The key provision mandates that no coach can be authorized to work without a completed background check that does not result in disqualification. The bill amends Florida Statutes section 943.0438 and became law on May 27, 2025.

Public Records/Lethality Assessment Forms; Providing an exemption from public records requirements for a lethality assessment form that contains certain information and responses; authorizing the disclosure of a lethality assessment form to a domestic violence center and to the office of the state attorney; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing for retroactive application of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.

Patient Access to Records; Requiring a mental health service provider to furnish records within a specified timeframe after receiving a request for such records; requiring a substance abuse service provider to furnish and provide access to records within a specified timeframe after receiving a written request from an individual or the individual’s legal representative; revising the timeframe within which a nursing home facility must provide access to, and copies of, resident records after receiving a request for such records, etc.

Amendments to the State Constitution; Requiring the Secretary of State to have received the ballot summary and the full text of the proposed revision or amendment to the State Constitution from the sponsor and to have received the financial impact statement from the Financial Impact Estimating Conference before submitting an initiative petition to the Attorney General; revising the criteria that the Attorney General uses when petitioning the Supreme Court for an advisory opinion related to a proposed revision or amendment to the State Constitution, etc.

Public Officers and Employees; Requiring that, beginning on a specified date, secretaries and executive directors of departments, chief administrative officers of certain units of state government, members of commissions and licensing boards, chairs of governing boards or certain chief executives of certain statewide entities, or any persons appointed to hold state office in the executive branch of state government be United States citizens and residents of this state; requiring that, beginning on a specified date, members of the Board of Governors of the State University System be United States citizens and either residents of this state or have graduated from a state university; prohibiting career service employees from using the influence of their positions for specified purposes, etc.

Financial Services; Revising the conditions for insurance coverage to be eligible for export; requiring state financial institutions to pay a semiannual assessment for specified time periods; authorizing the office to issue a specified certificate under certain circumstances; authorizing certain elected officers, directors, or committee members of a credit union to be reimbursed for certain expenses, etc.

Construction Regulations; Requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt minimum standards for the installation of synthetic turf on specified properties; requiring that, for certain contracts entered into on or after a specified date, local governmental entities approve or deny certain price quotes and provide notice to contractors within a specified timeframe; prohibiting the state or political subdivisions that contract for public works projects from penalizing or rewarding bidders for performing larger or smaller volumes of construction work for the state or political subdivisions when scoring or evaluating certain bids; requiring that elevator car interiors have at least one support rail that meets certain specifications, etc.

Uniform Commercial Code; Creating the “Uniform Commercial Code—Controllable Electronic Records”; specifying when a purchaser of a controllable account or controllable payment intangible is a qualifying purchaser; specifying when a person has control of a controllable electronic record; authorizing account debtors on a controllable account or controllable payment intangible to discharge obligations under certain circumstances; specifying requirements for perfecting security interests that are enforceable and perfected before a specified date, etc.

Vexatious Litigants; Expanding actions subject to the Florida Vexatious Litigant Law; revising eligibility for designation as a vexatious litigant; prohibiting clerks of the court from accepting certain filings from a vexatious litigant, etc.

Insulin Administration by Direct-support Professionals and Relatives; Defining the term “direct-support professional”; authorizing direct-support professionals and relatives of clients in group home facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities to administer insulin as prescribed to the client if specified conditions are met, etc.