SB 1000 – Relating to Nutrient Application Rates

On Tuesday, March 8, SB 1000 by Senator Ben Albritton (R-Bartow) was read a third time on the House floor and passed with 110 yeas and 6 nays.

The bill allows certified crop advisors to recommend preferred fertilizer rates to tailor nutrient application rates. The bill provides that producers using rate tailoring are required to enroll in and implement applicable best management practices (BMPs) adopted by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

SB 1000 will now go to the Governor.

AIF supports legislation which protects an agricultural producers’ enrollment in the Best Management Practices program while providing the ability to specifically tailor nutrient rates based upon variables such as crop variety, site-specific conditions, meteorological events, or pest and disease pressures.

SB 434 – Relating to Florida Tourism Marketing

On Tuesday, March 8, SB 434 by Senator Ed Hooper (R-Palm Harbor) was received by the Senate from House messages, the Senate concurred with the House amendment, and the bill passed with 36 yeas and 3 nays.

VISIT FLORIDA is the name for the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation, a non-profit that serves as Florida’s statewide destination marketing organization and represents the state’s tourism industry. Under the amended bill, the scheduled repeal date for VISIT FLORIDA and the Division of Tourism Marketing is extended from October 1, 2023, to October 1, 2028.

SB 434 will now go to the Governor.

AIF supports investment in building a world-class marketing engine with top talent, analytics, and funding that develops and executes data-driven branding strategies to bolster tourism and further the economic growth of Florida.

SB 1374 – Relating to Clinical Laboratory Testing

On Tuesday, March 8, SB 1374 by Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R-Doral) was read a third time on the House floor and passed with 117 yeas and 0 nays.

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 Governor.

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.

HB 7049 – Relating to Legal Notices

On Tuesday, March 8, HB 7049 by the House Judiciary Committee was heard by the Senate Rules Committee and was reported favorable with 9 yeas and 6 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 Senate 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.