Sen. Annette Taddeo

Release from Confinement During an Epidemic or a Pandemic; Authorizing the Secretary of Corrections to release prisoners from the correctional system during an epidemic or a pandemic if they meet specified criteria; authorizing each sheriff to release from detention county and municipal prisoners during an epidemic or a pandemic if they meet specified criteria; authorizing the secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice to release persons it is detaining during an epidemic or a pandemic if they meet specified criteria, etc.

Voter Registration; Revising procedures governing voter registration by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; providing that driver license or identification card applications, driver license or identification card renewal applications, and applications for changes of address for existing driver licenses or identification cards submitted to the department serve as voter registration applications; specifying that an applicant is deemed to have consented to the use of his or her signature for voter registration purposes, unless a declination is made, etc.

Legislative Procedures in Certain Emergencies; Requiring each house of the Legislature to provide by rule procedures authorizing the use of remote technology systems for remote participation in committee meetings and floor proceedings by members; specifying requirements and limitations for the use of remote technology systems; specifying that a member’s use of a remote technology system is subject to approval by the presiding officer of the applicable house, etc.

Bottled Water Excise Tax; Imposing an excise tax upon bottled water operators; specifying the rate of the tax and the trust fund where tax proceeds are to be deposited; specifying requirements for bottled water operators in filing monthly returns with the Department of Revenue; specifying the department’s authority to inspect, examine, and audit bottled water operator books and records, issue subpoenas, require testimony under oath or affirmation of certain persons, and apply for certain judicial orders, etc.

Discretionary Sales Surtaxes; Authorizing a county to levy a local government infrastructure surtax for the purposes of mitigating the adverse effects of sea-level rise and flooding if certain conditions are met; prescribing the form of a ballot statement for the surtax; providing for distribution of the proceeds from the surtax; providing that the surtax does not affect the levy of other local government infrastructure surtaxes, etc.

Lowell Correctional Institution Body Cameras Pilot Program; Creating the Lowell Correctional Institution Body Cameras Pilot Program within the Department of Corrections; requiring that each correctional officer working at the Lowell Correctional Institution wear a body camera while acting within the scope of his or her official duties; requiring the department to provide training for the wear, use, maintenance, and storage of body cameras; requiring the audio and video data recorded by such cameras to be maintained in accordance with public records laws, etc.

Corporal Punishment in Public Schools; Citing this act as the “Sofia Taddeo-Goldstein Act”; specifying that only school principals, and not teachers, may administer corporal punishment to public school students; requiring school principals to notify students’ parents in writing and receive written consent before administering corporal punishment; authorizing teachers and other instructional personnel to request that principals administer corporal punishment; prohibiting principals from administering corporal punishment unless they have taken specified actions, etc.

Education; Requiring the Department of Education to adopt native language versions of the school readiness screener, the school readiness assessment, the Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten Assessment, and the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener; requiring that a high school equivalency examination administered in any language other than English be given the same weight as a high school equivalency examination administered in English; revising requirements of the statewide, standardized assessment program to include native language versions of related assessments, etc.

Residential Swimming Pools; Citing this act as the "Sylas Alexander Gatlyn Act"; requiring a home inspector to specify in his or her written report whether a swimming pool meets certain requirements; requiring that a pool barrier be used at certain times at a residence where a young child resides; requiring a property owner who owns a parcel with a swimming pool to provide a person purchasing the parcel with specified information relating to pool safety, etc.

Naming Highways; Requiring counties and municipalities to rename their respective portions of Dixie Highway, Old Dixie Highway, North Dixie Highway, or South Dixie Highway as “Harriet Tubman Highway” by a specified date; requiring the Department of Transportation to rename portions of such highways as “Harriet Tubman Highway” upon approval of the appropriate board of county commissioners or governing body of a municipality, etc.