Sen. Shev Jones

Serving as Personal Representative after a Felony Conviction; Creating an exception to allow a person convicted of a felony who is not currently incarcerated to serve as a personal representative if they have a specified relationship to the deceased in certain circumstances; requiring a court to consider certain criteria when determining if such person may serve as a personal representative, 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.

Official Records of Condominium Associations, Residential Cooperative Associations, and Homeowners’ Associations; Revising the list of official records that a condominium association is required to maintain to include audio conference recordings; revising association meeting requirements and authorizing associations to use audioconferencing, in addition to videoconferencing, or to use both; revising the emergency powers of a condominium association to include the power to conduct meetings and elections via audioconferencing; revising the emergency powers of a residential cooperative association and a homeowners’ association, respectively, to include the power to conduct meetings and elections via audioconferencing, 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

Maddy summarySB 1422 designates Florida's coral reefs as "critical natural infrastructure" and a nature-based solution for mitigating climate risks like storms and flooding, specifically protecting reefs in Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties. The bill establishes a tiered penalty system for reef damage: fines start at $225 for minor damage (≤1 sq. m) and rise to $1,500 per square meter for extensive harm (>10 sq. m), with multipliers for repeat offenses (up to quadruple penalties). It also clarifies the Department of Environmental Protection as the state's lead agency for reef protection and allows habitat equivalency analysis for calculating compensation. The law takes effect July 1, 2026.

Prohibitions Against Discriminatory Practices Relating to 340B Entities and 340B Drugs; Prohibiting drug manufacturers from engaging in certain acts relating to the acquisition of 340B drugs by and the delivery of such drugs to specified pharmacies; prohibiting health insurance issuers, pharmacy benefit managers, and other third-party payors, and agents thereof, from engaging in certain discriminatory acts relating to reimbursement to 340B entities for 340B drugs; prohibiting individual health insurers, group, blanket, and franchise health insurers, and health maintenance organizations, respectively, and pharmacy benefit managers on behalf of such insurers and health maintenance organizations, from engaging in certain discriminatory acts relating to reimbursement to 340B entities for 340B drugs, etc.

Business Development Incentives for Veterans and Military Spouses; Authorizing the Department of Revenue to provide specified state tax information to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of State under a specified condition; creating the “Florida Veterans and Military Spouses Business Development Act”; requiring the Department of State to waive all fees for certain businesses; requiring the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to establish registration requirements for businesses seeking certain fee waivers and tax exemptions; providing annual reporting requirements, beginning on a specified date, etc.

Guardianship; Prohibiting a guardian from restricting the ability of an adult ward to maintain contact with a person except under certain circumstances; requiring a guardian to provide a ward with notice of a change in residential setting under certain circumstances; requiring that an initial guardianship plan identify the persons entitled to certain information, etc.

Food Insecure Areas; Authorizing a local government to enact land development regulations to permit land use for a small-footprint grocery store located in a food insecure area; authorizing a local government to include in its comprehensive plan a provision permitting land use for a small-footprint grocery store located in a food insecure area, etc.

Compensation of the Descendants of Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, and Ernest Thomas; Providing that certain facts are found and declared to be true; providing that a sum is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of State for specified relief; requiring that a specified percentage of such relief be provided to certain individuals and estates; providing that specified persons are ineligible for further compensation, etc. APPROPRIATION: $4,000,000