HB 1007 – Offenses Involving Gift Cards

On Wednesday, March 19, HB 1007 by Representative Sam Greco (R-St. Augustine) was heard by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee and was reported favorably with 17 yeas and 0 nays. AIF stood in support of this legislation.

This bill establishes criminal penalties for those who illegally obtain, tamper with, or misuse gift cards sold by a business. There is a rising rate in the illegal use of gift cards in retail and online businesses that is costing Florida businesses millions. The penalties for fraudulently using gift cards would be a misdemeanor for all offenses under $950 in damages and a felony for offenses above $950 in damages.

HB 1007 will now go to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.

AIF supports legislation that deters criminal acts against Florida businesses by establishing criminal penalties for those who commit them.

HB 1219 – Employment Agreements

On Wednesday, March 19, HB 1219 by Representative Traci Koster (R-Tampa) was heard by the House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee and was reported favorably with 11 yeas and 5 nays. AIF stood in support of this legislation.

In highly competitive business environments, companies are often required to keep innovations and intellectual property developments confidential. HB 1219 strengthens non-compete and confidential employment agreement guidelines by establishing a framework that protects confidential trade secret information. The framework sets new rules for covered garden leave agreements for covered employers and covered employees, as current laws allow for several loopholes that employees can use to contest these agreements through litigation while also working for a competing business.

HB 1219 will now go to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.

AIF supports legislation that protects a business’s sensitive information and drives more innovation through clarified rulemaking. These standards will allow more businesses who rely heavily on research & development to invest in Florida and create new jobs in various industry sectors.

SB 110 – Rural Communities

On Wednesday, March 19, SB 110 by Senator Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee) was read for a third time, amended, and passed on the Senate Floor with 39 yeas and 0 nays.

SB 110 is a piece of Senate President Ben Albritton’s (R-Wauchula) “Rural Renaissance” plan to strengthen Florida’s rural communities by investing and restructuring Florida’s approach to rural community management. This bill creates grant programs designed to promote new economic opportunities and growth by providing broadband infrastructure to underserved populations. The bill also develops roadmaps to expand healthcare access and modernization tools for rural counties in need of economic stimulation.

SB 110 will now go to the Florida House for consideration.

AIF supports legislative efforts to boost economic vitality in Florida’s rural communities. These efforts will create jobs and allow businesses more opportunities for investment in the Sunshine State.

HB 369 – Provenance of Digital Content

On Wednesday, March 19, HB 369 by Representative Fiona McFarland (R-Sarasota) was heard and amended by the House Information Technology Budget & Policy Subcommittee and was reported favorably with 17 yeas and 0 nays.

The strike-all amendment was passed by the committee and was added to the bill. Among the positive changes it makes, the amendment removes language relating to capture devices, narrows the definitions relating to social media, and pushes back the effective date of the bill by an extra year.  

This bill reworks existing laws that govern online digital content by providing definitions and guidelines related to “provenance data”. As defined in this legislation, provenance data is “information identifying whether some or all of the content has been derived through generative artificial intelligence and, if so, the name of the generative artificial intelligence tool used to generate such content and the organization that developed such tool.” This definition would require businesses to provide notice and origin information on the generative AI that is being used on their platform.

HB 369 will now go to the House Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee for consideration.

AIF is in the process of gathering feedback from members and other stakeholders about the changes made to the bill today.