Daily Legislative Brief From January 20, 2022

BUSINESS REGULATION

SB 280 – Relating to Local Ordinances

On Thursday, January 20, SB 280 by Senator Travis Hutson (R-Palm Coast) was heard by the Senate Rules Committee and was reported favorable with 14 yeas and 2 nays. AIF’s Legislative Affairs Assistant, BD Jogerst, stood in support of this legislation.

The amended bill pertains to the passage and challenging of local ordinances by affected businesses and requires counties and cities to produce a “business impact estimate” prior to passing an ordinance. The estimate must be published on the local government’s website and include information such as the proposed ordinance’s purpose, estimated economic impact on businesses, and compliance costs.

SB 280 will now go to the Senate floor for consideration.

AIF supports legislation that grants businesses the right to challenge in court unjust and arbitrary local ordinances that create barriers to business which leads to jobs lost and a decelerated economy. Business is the lifeblood of Florida and owners deserve the right to protect their livelihood.

 

SB 620 – Relating to Local Government

On Thursday, January 20, SB 620 Senator Travis Hutson (R-Palm Coast) was heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee and was reported favorable with 11 yeas and 7 nays. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, stood in support of this legislation.

This bill creates a cause of action for a business to sue a local government when the enactment or amendment of an ordinance or charter provision causes at least a 15% loss of profits to the business, if the business has been legally operating for at least 3 years preceding the ordinance.

SB 620 will now go to the Senate floor for consideration.

AIF supports legislation bolstering the rights of businesses to recoup undue losses at the hands of local governments to maintain a prosperous business climate in Florida.

 

HB 1095 – Relating to Telephone Solicitation

On Thursday, January 20, HB 1095 by Representative Mike Beltran (R-Valrico) was heard by the House Regulatory Reform Subcommittee and was reported favorable by unanimous vote. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, stood in support of this legislation.

In 2021, SB 1120 was passed and prevented telephonic sales calls using automated systems that select numbers OR the usage of automated systems that dial the numbers. This bill further clarifies that telephonic sales calls may not be made using automated number generators AND automated dialers, i.e., robocalls. The bill allows telephonic sales calls with human interaction and therefore clarifies the intent of the original 2021 bill to prevent robocalls.

HB 1095 will now go to the House Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee.

AIF supports legislative efforts that address some of the issues created by the 2021 passage of SB 1120 dealing with telephone solicitation to allow businesses to use certain systems to conduct legitimate telephone solicitation.

INSURANCE

HB 7013 – Relating to OGSR/Workers’ Compensation/Department of Financial Services

On Thursday, January 20, HB 7013, sponsored by the House Government Operations Subcommittee, was heard by the House State Affairs Committee and was reported favorable by unanimous vote. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, stood in support of this legislation.

Prior to the passage of this public records exemption in 2017, the Division of Workers’ Compensation would receive approximately 90 requests monthly—from law firms—for the names and contact information of injured or deceased workers reported in the previous month. These law firms would then use the information to solicit the nearly 5,000 employees per month that are injured on the job. Such solicitation violated the privacy of injured workers for the sole and exclusive purpose of driving litigation. AIF spearheaded the effort to protect this information in 2017 and it is important to make these protections permanent.

AIF supports protecting the private information of injured or deceased employees. Employees and employers deserve to be treated fairly in the workers’ compensation process, and keeping this loophole closed avoids unnecessary interference by those seeking to exploit the system.