Sen. Shev Jones

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.

Schools of Innovation; Establishing the Schools of Innovation Program within the Department of Education; authorizing the State Board of Education to authorize the Commissioner of Education to waive certain rules; authorizing public school districts to apply for identified schools to receive the designation of school of innovation; prohibiting a student attending a school of innovation who transfers to another school from being subject to specified penalties; authorizing schools designated as schools of innovation to use an alternative definition of letter grades, etc.

Medicaid Managed Care; Requiring that the rental and purchase of durable medical equipment and complex rehabilitation technology by providers of home health care services or medical supplies and appliances be reimbursed by the Agency for Health Care Administration, managed care plans, and subcontractors at a specified amount; requiring that Medicaid enrollees be allowed their choice of certain qualified Medicaid providers; prohibiting a managed care plan from referring its members to a subcontractor for covered services if the subcontractor has an ownership interest or a profit-sharing arrangement with certain entities, 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.

Relief of Maury Hernandez by the Department of Corrections; Providing for the relief of Maury Hernandez; providing an appropriation to compensate Maury Hernandez, a former Broward County Sheriff’s Office deputy, for injuries and damages sustained as a consequence of the alleged negligence of the Department of Corrections in the course of his employment; providing a limitation on the payment of compensation and attorney fees, etc. CLAIM WITH APPROPRIATION: $10,000,000

Fee Waivers for Students Living in a Recovery Residence; Authorizing each Florida College System institution, career center operated by a school district, and charter technical career center to waive out-of-state fees for students living in a recovery residence; providing eligibility criteria for such students; prohibiting tuition and fees charged to a student granted the waiver from exceeding the tuition and fees charged to a resident student; providing a statewide limit on such waivers, etc.

Relief of Leonard Cure by the State of Florida; Providing for the relief of Leonard Cure; providing an appropriation to compensate him for being wrongfully incarcerated for 16 years; directing the Chief Financial Officer to draw a warrant payable directly to Mr. Cure; requiring the Chief Financial Officer to pay the directed funds without requiring that Mr. Cure sign a liability release; providing for the waiver of certain tuition and fees for Mr. Cure; prohibiting funds awarded under this act to Mr. Cure from being used or paid for attorney or lobbying fees, etc. CLAIM WITH APPROPRIATION: $817,000

Residential Tenancies; Requiring a landlord to provide written notice of a rent increase to a tenant by a specified time; providing that a tenant has a cause of action for actual and punitive damages under certain circumstances; deleting the option for a landlord to deposit certain money into a non-interest-bearing account; requiring a landlord to inspect a dwelling unit at a specified time to ensure compliance with applicable codes; prohibiting a landlord from terminating a rental agreement or evicting a tenant because the tenant or the tenant’s minor child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking, etc.

Certified School Counselors; Providing certification requirements for school counselors; requiring certified school counselors to provide a certain program for a specified purpose; authorizing such counselors to perform certain duties; authorizing such counselors to perform specified additional duties under certain circumstances, etc.

Florida’s Potential Grant Program; Establishing the Florida’s Potential Grant Program within the Department of Education; authorizing Florida College System institutions to apply to the department to receive a grant under the program for certain purposes; authorizing the department to award grants to applicants; requiring the Department of Economic Opportunity to partner with each institution receiving a grant under the program to provide specified insight, etc.