HB 741 – Relating to Net Metering

On Monday, February 21, HB 741 by Representative Lawrence McClure (R-Plant City) was heard by the House State Administration and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee and was reported favorable with 9 yeas and 6 nays. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, stood in support of this legislation.

Net metering is a metering and billing methodology where customer-owned renewable generation (such as rooftop solar panels) is allowed to offset the customer’s electricity consumption from utility providers. Under net metering, customers are credited for excess energy produced which flows back to the grid. A meter is used to record both electricity drawn from the grid and excess electricity that flows to the grid from the customer.

HB 741 will now go to the House Commerce Committee.

AIF supports legislation that allows Florida’s utility providers to best serve the state and the businesses located here while reducing the financial burden passed on to the general customer base.

HB 7049 – Relating to Legal Notices

On Monday, February 21, HB 7049 by the House Judiciary Committee, was heard by the House State Affairs Committee and was reported favorable with 13 yeas and 7 nays. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, spoke in opposition to this legislation.

In 2021, the Florida Legislature passed legislation that modernized public notice. It was a collective piece of legislation that took input from a variety of stakeholders, including the business community, and, importantly, ensured businesses and individuals would not lose access to critical information gained from public notice - most especially regarding private property rights, including judicial notice of sale.

The bill gives a governmental agency the option to publish legal notices on a publicly accessible website instead of in a print newspaper, essentially repealing and replacing the legislation from last year which will negatively impact businesses.

HB 7049 will now go to the House floor for consideration.

AIF opposes internet-only public notice, as it eliminates the wide net created by print media and the internet combined. Webpages are present one day and gone the next; the internet is an inherently unreliable platform for critical information.

SB 1374 – Relating to Clinical Laboratory Testing

On Monday, February 21, SB 1374 by Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R-Doral) was heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee and was reported favorable with 18 yeas and 0 nays. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, stood in support of this legislation.

Currently, advanced practice registered nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and licensed clinical laboratory personnel are permitted to perform testing at alternate-sites (lab testing under control of a hospital but not on-site) which allows for bedside, ER and operating room testing.  A freestanding emergency department (FED) is a facility that receives individuals for emergency care and is structurally separate from a hospital. Only licensed clinical laboratory personnel may perform clinical laboratory testing in a FED. The bill exempts individuals who perform alternate-site testing outside of a central laboratory of a hospital or at a hospital-based, off campus emergency department from clinical laboratory personnel licensure requirements. This allows all individuals, not just licensed clinical laboratory personnel, to perform alternate-site testing within a hospital or in a FED.

SB 1374 will now go to the Senate Rules Committee.

AIF supports permitting registered nurses to perform moderately complex lab tests, outside of a clinical lab, but within a hospital department or an off-site hospital-based emergency department to ensure greater access to quality care.