Article
Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By Herald/Times
Staff
Published
June 28, 2015
Bills that passed and failed in the 2015 legislative
session. To become law, bills must not be vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott.
Bills that passed are in BOLD.
Criminal justice
CAPITAL FELONIES (FAILED): Requires unanimous verdict of all 12
jurors in capital felony cases to recommend death sentence. (SB 664/HB
139)
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS (FAILED): Requires police to tell
confidential informants their legal rights and makes negligence of
informants a felony. (SB 372/HB 267)
CIVIL CITATIONS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Allows police officers to
issue civil citations to young people who have already committed a
nonviolent offense. (SB 378)
DEATH PENALTY (FAILED): Abolishes capital punishment in Florida.
(SB 1322/HB 4003)
‘GROVELAND FOUR’ (FAILED): Apologizes to families of four unarmed
black men and boys killed by white sheriffs’ deputies in Groveland in
1949. (SB 1332)
PRISONS (FAILED): Increases oversight of state prisons and
creates penalties for guards who abuse inmates. (SB 7020)
TICKET QUOTAS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Prohibits police departments
from using ticket quotas to generate revenue. (SB 264)
SEXUAL OFFENSES (SIGNED INTO LAW): Extends statute of limitations
for rape cases. (HB 133)
BODY CAMERAS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Shields video taken by police
body cameras on private property from disclosure under public record
laws. (SB 248)
Economy
ECONOMIC INCENTIVES (FAILED): Limits use of state money for
incentives to attract jobs and prohibits incentive payments until goals
are met. (SB 1214/HB 5401)
AMERICAN FLAGS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Requires state, counties and
cities to buy only American-made U.S. flags by 2016. (HB 225)
BEER GROWLERS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Allows Florida craft breweries
to sell beer in 64-ounce “growlers.” (SB 186)
EQUAL PAY (FAILED): Requires that women get equal pay with men on
state contracts. (SB 98/HB 25)
ENTERPRISE ZONES (FAILED): Extends program of tax incentives to
businesses that create jobs in areas with high unemployment, poverty and
crime. (HB 903/SB 392)
FILM INCENTIVES (FAILED): Restructures tax credits for movie and
TV productions and eliminates the first-come, first-served system in
place now. (HB 451/SB 1046)
Education
CAMPUS GUNS (FAILED): Repeals an existing law banning concealed
weapons from college campuses. (HB 4005/SB 176)
CHARTER SCHOOLS (FAILED): Requires school districts to share
construction and maintenance money with charter schools. (HB 7037)
CHOICE (FAILED): Allows students to attend any school in the
state that has space. (HB 1145/SB 1552)
CLASS SIZE (FAILED): Gives school districts flexibility to meet
the constitutionally mandated limits on class size. (HB 665/SB 818)
COLLEGE PRESIDENTS (FAILED): Creates public records exemption for
state college and university presidential searches. (SB 182/HB 223)
COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY (FAILED): Eliminates the sales tax on
textbooks; requires colleges and universities to publish the price of
each class before the semester begins. (HB 7125/SB 938)
COACHES (FAILED): Requires the immediate termination of any coach
who is ejected from an organized athletic event involving children 12 or
under. (HB 479/SB 238)
CONSERVATIVE MOVIE (FAILED): Requiring all middle schools and
high schools to show students the film "America: Imagine the World
Without Her." (HB 77/SB 96)
DIGITAL CLASSROOMS (FAILED): Requires the development of a
five-year plan to address technology needs in public schools. (HB
1264/SB 7050)
K-12 GUNS (FAILED): Allows designated schools employees to carry
concealed weapons on school grounds. (HB 19/SB 180)
PRINCIPAL AUTONOMY (FAILED): Creates a pilot program giving
certain principals more freedom over budget and hiring decisions. (HB
357/SB 1552)
TESTING (SIGNED INTO LAW): Scales back testing in public schools,
puts school grades on hold until the new Florida Standards Assessments
are deemed valid, enables districts to start school as early as Aug. 10.
(HB 7069)
UNIFORMS (FAILED): Encourages school districts to adopt mandatory
school uniform policies for grades K-8 by providing a cash incentive. (HB
7043/SB 1474)
TEACHER SALARIES (FAILED): Sets $50,000 minimum salary for new
teachers. (SB 280/HB 261)
COLLEGE NAMES (FAILED): Changes names of some Florida colleges by
dropping the word “state” from their titles. (SB 1252)
Elections
ONLINE REGISTRATION (SIGNED INTO LAW): Requires state to create online
voter registration system by October 2017. (SB 228)
MAIL BALLOTS (FAILED): Allows cities to hold elections in which
all ballots are cast by mail. (SB 7064/HB 1161)
CIVIL RIGHTS (FAILED): Allows constitutional amendment so that
convicted felons can automatically regain the right to vote. (SB 208)
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (SIGNED INTO LAW): Sets March 15, 2016 as
date of next presidential preference primary in Florida. (HB 7035)
WRITE-IN CANDIDATES (FAILED): Repeals requirement that write-in
candidate reside within the district represented by office sought at
time of qualification. (SB 840/HB 4043)
General government
IMMIGRANT DRIVERS (FAILED): Allows undocumented immigrants to
obtain Florida driver licenses. (SB 300)
SEXUAL ORIENTATION (FAILED): Prohibits state-licensed counselors
from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation. (SB 204/HB 83)
PLANNING COUNCILS (FAILED): Reduces regional planning councils
from 11 to 10 and abolishes Withlacoochee council in Ocala. (SB 484/HB
873)
MELON HAULERS (FAILED): Exempts operators of melon hauling
vehicles from having to obtain commercial driver licenses. (SB 1072/HB
831)
TUPELO HONEY (FAILED): Designates tupelo honey as official state
honey. (SB 556)
PUBLIC UTILITIES (SIGNED INTO LAW): Reforms Public Service
Commission, including setting term limits. (HB 7109)
TAX CUTS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Cuts about $400 million in taxes,
including through sales tax holidays. (HB 33A)
TAXPAYERS’ EMAILS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Keeps confidential the email
addresses of taxpayers who receive electronic tax notices from county
tax collectors. (SB 200)
INSPECTORS GENERAL (SIGNED INTO LAW): Requires national searches
to replace vacant inspector general positions in agencies under control
of governor. (HB 371)
Guns
BACKYARD GUNS (FAILED): Prohibits backyard recreational gun use.
(HB 623)
EVACUATIONS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Allows people to carry concealed
weapons without a license during emergency evacuations. (SB 290)
Health
ABORTIONS (SIGNED INTO LAW): Requires 24-hour waiting period and
at least one in-person doctor appointment before an abortion. (HB 633)
KIDCARE (FAILED): Eliminates five-year waiting period for
lawfully residing immigrant children seeking to enroll in Florida's
subsidized health insurance program. (SB 294/HB 829)
MEDICAID EXPANSION (FAILED): Creates a state-run marketplace for
private health insurance available to low-income Floridians who work and
pay small monthly premiums. (SB 2A)
NEEDLE EXCHANGES (FAILED): Allows the University of Miami to run
a needle exchange pilot program in Miami-Dade County. (SB 1040/HB 475)
NURSES (FAILED): Allows advanced registered nurse practitioners
to prescribe and dispense medications. (HB 27A)
RIGHT MEDICINE (FAILED): Creates a commission to review insurance
plans that limit therapies and pharmaceuticals. (SB 784/HB 863)
RIGHT TO TRY (SIGNED INTO LAW): Allows terminally ill patients to
try experimental treatments. (HB 269)
TELEMEDICINE (FAILED): Creates standards for telemedicine and
using web and videoconferencing technology to treat patients. (HB 545/SB
478)
TRANSGENDER BATHROOMS (FAILED): Prohibits transgender people from
using restrooms aligned with their gender identity. (SB 1464 /HB 583)
Miami-Dade
DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT (SIGNED INTO LAW): Clarifies that the Miami
Downtown Development Authority can collect property taxes. (SB 278)
EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITIES (FAILED): Reshapes the Miami-Dade
Expressway Authority. (HB 989/SB 1276)
VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARDS (FAILED): Eliminates a loophole in state
law allowing third-party companies to challenge property values. (HB
695/SB 972)
Other
CUBA (PASSED): Memorial to rebuke President Barack Obama’s
decision to open diplomatic relations with Cuba, opposes the potential
opening of a Cuban consulate in Florida. (SM 866)
DRONES (SIGNED INTO LAW): Bans surveillance of private property
using unmanned flying drones. (SB 766)
GUARDIAN ROTATION (SIGNED INTO LAW): Encourages courts to use a
rotation system to appoint guardians to manage the affairs of
incapacitated senior citizens. (SB 318)
GUARDIAN RULES (FAILED): Establishes a new Office of Public &
Professional Guardians to review allegations of fraud and abuse
involving guardians who manage the affairs of incapacitated senior
citizens. (HB 1225/SB 1226)
PLASTIC BAGS (FAILED): Allows coastal communities with fewer than
100,000 residents to develop pilot programs to limit the use of plastic
bags. (HB 661/SB 966)
POOL SAFETY (FAILED): Establishes a commission to study potential
electrical hazards around swimming pools. (HB 795/SB 926)
TEXTING (FAILED): Makes texting while driving a primary offense,
allowing officers to pull people over for doing so. (HB 1/SB 192)
RENTAL CARS (FAILED): Requires non-residents who rent cars in
Florida to buy liability insurance. (SB 976/HB 819)
ADOPTION (SIGNED INTO LAW): Allows gay people to adopt children.
(HB 7013)
RELIGIOUS PROTECTIONS (FAILED): Allows adoption agencies to
refuse service based on religious convictions. (HB 7111)
WATER (FAILED): Changes regulations for water pollution and
springs. (HB 7003)
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