Sen. Jennifer Bradley

General Permits for Distributed Wastewater Treatment Systems; Authorizing the Secretary of Environmental Protection to grant a general permit for the replacement of an existing onsite sewage treatment and disposal system with a distributed wastewater treatment system under certain circumstances; providing for the installation of distributed wastewater treatment units to proceed without any further action by the Department of Environmental Protection if a permittee submits a notification to the department at least a specified number of days before installation, etc.

Flood Disclosures; Requiring a landlord of residential real property to provide specified information to a prospective tenant at or before the time the rental agreement is executed; providing that if a landlord fails to disclose flood information truthfully and a tenant suffers substantial loss or damage, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement by giving a written notice of termination and surrendering possession of the premises to the landlord within a specified timeframe; requiring a developer of a residential condominium unit to provide specified information to a prospective purchaser at or before the time the sales contract is executed; requiring a park owner of a mobile home park to provide specified information to a prospective lessee at or before the time the rental agreement is executed, etc.

Solar Facilities; Defining the terms “agricultural land” and “decommissioned”; authorizing a county to adopt an ordinance requiring that certain solar facilities be properly decommissioned under certain circumstances; deleting a provision providing that a solar facility is a permitted use in certain land use categories and zoning districts and is subject to compliance with certain requirements; deleting a provision exempting solar facility substations from the electric substations for which local governments may adopt and enforce certain land development regulations, etc.

Mandatory Human Reviews of Insurance Claim Denials; Requiring that insurers’ decisions to deny claims or any portion of a claim be made by qualified human professionals; prohibiting using algorithms, artificial intelligence, or machine learning systems as the sole basis for determining whether to adjust or deny a claim; requiring insurers to include certain information in denial communications to claimants, etc.

Veterinary Professional Associates; Citing this act as the “Veterinary Workforce Innovation Act”; authorizing certain individuals to use the title “veterinary professional associate”; authorizing veterinary professional associates to perform certain duties only while under the responsible supervision of a licensed veterinarian; prohibiting such associates from prescribing certain drugs or controlled substances or performing certain surgical procedures, etc.

Property Insurer Financial Strength Ratings; Requiring certain annual insurance reports prepared by the Office of Insurance Regulation for the Legislature and the Governor to include the financial strength ratings of property insurers against which delinquency and similar proceedings were instituted, etc.

Policy Cancellations and Nonrenewals by Property Insurers; Prohibiting insurers from canceling or nonrenewing, within certain timeframes, policies covering personal residential or commercial residential properties damaged by hurricanes or wind losses; providing that an insurer may not cancel personal residential or commercial residential property insurance policies until certain repairs are made or a specified policy renewal expires; requiring homeowner’s policy insurers to give specified notifications to policyholders, etc.

Prescription Hearing Aids; Authorizing the distribution of prescription hearing aids through the mail to patients 18 years of age or older before a scheduled telehealth appointment with a Florida-licensed audiologist or hearing aid specialist, respectively, if certain requirements are met; authorizing the sale of prescription hearing aids through the mail to patients 18 years of age or older who have been fitted for such hearing aids by a licensed audiologist or licensed hearing aid specialist, respectively, etc.

Coverage for Ground Ambulance Emergency Services; Defining the terms “ambulance service provider” and “nonparticipating ambulance service provider”; requiring certain health insurers to reimburse nonparticipating ambulance service providers at the lowest of specified rates for providing ground ambulance services; requiring small employer carriers to comply with specified reimbursement provisions; requiring certain health maintenance contracts to require a health maintenance organization to reimburse out-of-network ambulance service providers at the lowest of specified rates for providing covered ambulance services, etc.

Immigration; Revising the duties and responsibilities of the Office of Economic Accountability and Transparency within the Department of Commerce; revising penalties, including suspension and revocation of certain licenses and the imposition of fines, for violating provisions related to employing unauthorized aliens; revising the definition of the term “employee”; requiring that all private employers, rather than only those employing a specified number or more of employees, use the E-Verify system to verify a new employee’s employment eligibility, etc.