Editor’s Observe: Reporter Michelle Vecerina contributed to this report.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The 2025 legislative session started Tuesday with speeches from Senate President Ben Albritton, Home Speaker Daniel Perez, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, adopted by committee conferences that continued all through the day.
Right here’s a recap of a few of the payments that had been taken up in Florida legislative committee conferences on March 4.
State Parks Preservation
- What it does: HB 209 goals to prioritize conservation in Florida’s state parks, permits for the development of tenting cabins in state parks beneath sure guidelines, and makes new guidelines to make sure the general public is notified about conferences on park administration plans.
- The sponsors: Republican Reps. John Snyder and Peggy Gossett-Seidman filed the invoice. Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell filed the same model of the invoice, SB 80, within the Senate.
- Subsequent steps: The invoice handed favorably by the Home Pure Sources and Disasters Subcommittee and heads to the State Affairs Committee subsequent. The Senate model beforehand handed by the Atmosphere and Pure Sources Committee and now heads to the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Atmosphere, and Basic Authorities, together with the Fiscal Coverage Committee.
“Tristin Murphy Act” – Psychological Well being
- What it does: SB 168 goals so as to add various pathways to prosecuting defendants with psychological diseases.
- The sponsors: Sen. Jennifer Bradley is carrying the Senate model. The equivalent Home model, HB 107, is being carried by Rep. Nan Cobb.
- Subsequent steps: The invoice handed by the Legal Justice Committee and heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The Home invoice has but to be assigned to a committee cease.
WATCH: Cynthia Murphy, mom of Tristin Murphy, who killed himself with a chainsaw in jail, reads assertion on behalf of his 17-year-old son to lawmakers in assist of the “Tristin Murphy Act” (SB 168)
“What he did was flawed – however he wanted treatment – not punishment.” pic.twitter.com/Yizwv9h6QA
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 4, 2025
Hid Carry Licensing Necessities
- What it does: Beneath SB 490, regulation enforcement officers, correctional officers, or servicemembers of america Armed Forces are exempt from the obligatory three-day ready interval for firearm purchases.
- The sponsors: Sen. Jay Collins is carrying the invoice within the Senate, whereas the equivalent invoice, HB 383, is being carried by Rep. Jeff Holcomb within the Home.
- Subsequent steps: The Senate invoice handed by the Legal Justice Committee and heads to the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Atmosphere, and Basic Authorities, together with the Fiscal Coverage Committee. The Home invoice has been assigned to the Legal Justice Subcommittee and Judiciary Committee.
“Lucy’s Legislation” – Boating security
- What it does: SB 628 goals to strengthen boating security laws in Florida. It was named in honor of Lucy Fernandez, a 17-year-old in Miami who was killed in a tragic boating accident in 2022.
- The sponsors: Sen. Jonathan Martin is carrying the Senate invoice whereas the same invoice, HB 289 is being carried within the Home by Reps. Vanessa Oliver and Vicki Lopez.
- Subsequent steps: The invoice handed by the Legal Justice Committee and heads to the Senate Transportation Committee and Senate Fiscal Coverage Committee. The Home model has been referred to 3 committees however has not been taken up but.
WATCH: Andy Fernandez discusses the lack of his daughter in a tragic boating accident, and the way this has impressed him and his spouse to pursue boat security laws within the state of Florida by “Lucy’s Legislation” pic.twitter.com/0WtOvQtu3s
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 4, 2025
Advance Directives for Opioid Refusal
- What it does: SB 714 allows people to formally doc their refusal of opioid drugs upfront, ought to they develop into incapacitated, whereas defending healthcare suppliers who administer opioids in emergency conditions.
- The sponsors: Republican Sen. Colleen Burton is carrying the Senate invoice. Republican Rep. Randy Maggard filed the same model, HB 1081, within the Home.
- Subsequent steps: The invoice handed favorably by the Senate Committee on Well being Coverage and can head to the Appropriations Committee on Well being and Human Companies and Fiscal Coverage Committee. The Home model has but to be assigned to a committee.
Fentanyl Consciousness
- What it does: HB 259 designates August 21 as “Fentanyl Consciousness and Schooling Day” in Florida to boost public consciousness concerning the risks of fentanyl.
- The sponsors: Republican Rep. Anne Gerwig filed the invoice. The equivalent Senate model, SB 214, is being carried by Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky.
- Subsequent steps: The invoice handed by the Human Companies Subcommittee and heads to the Authorities Operations Subcommittee and Well being & Human Companies Committee subsequent. The Senate model has been referred to the Governmental Oversight and Accountability, Well being Coverage, and Guidelines committees.
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