SB 362 – Relating to Florida Tourism Marketing
On Wednesday, January 29, SB 362 by Senator Ed Hooper (R-Palm Harbor) was heard by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development and was reported favorable with 8 yeas and 0 nays. AIF’s Senior Vice President of State and Federal Affairs, Brewster Bevis, stood in support of this legislation.
The bill extends the scheduled repeal date for the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation, doing business as VISIT FLORIDA, until October 1, 2028, and removes the scheduled repeal date for the Division of Tourism Marketing within Enterprise Florida, Inc. Without the bill, the statutory provisions for these entities will be repealed on July 1, 2020.
SB 362 will now move to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AIF supports investment in building a world-class marketing engine with top talent, analytics, and funding that develops and executes data-driven branding strategies.
HB 115 – Relating to Keep Our Graduates Working Act
On Wednesday, January 29, HB 115 by Representative Nicholas Duran (D-Miami) was read a second and third time on the House floor and passed with a vote of 118 yeas and 0 nays.
The bill removes the state authority to take disciplinary action against a healthcare practitioner who defaults on a student loan or who fails to comply with the terms of a service scholarship. Under the bill, a healthcare practitioner may not have his or her license suspended or revoked by the Department of Health (DOH) solely because of a loan default or failure to complete service scholarship obligations.
Additionally, the bill specifies that a state authority may not suspend or revoke a license that it has issued to a person who is in default on or delinquent in the payment of his or her student loans solely on the basis of such default or delinquency. The bill defines the term “state authority” to mean any department, board, or agency with the authority to grant a license to any person in this state.
HB 115 will now go to the Senate for consideration.
AIF supports efforts to protect Florida’s workforce from professional license revocation exclusively due to loan default.
