February 28, 2022
Volume 29, Number 8
Dear Seminole Family,
Thank you for taking a few moments to read this week’s Legisletter. As we begin the next to last week of the 2022 Legislative Session, the House and Senate continue to work toward agreement on a joint budget allocation. Following that agreement, the chambers will appoint conferees and begin the formal budget negotiation process. All of the negotiations and debate must occur in time for the mandatory 72-hour “cooling off” period prior to Sine Die.
Substantive bills also continue to move through the committee process and are also being heard on the floors of the respective chambers.
Below you will find updates on some of the bills that we are tracking related to the work of the University. Please reach out to me or Toni Moore if you have any questions about these bills or anything related to the legislative process.
I wish you all the best and am grateful for your interest in keeping FSU and the state university system in Florida the best in the country as we continue to educate the next generation of elite students.
Yours in Seminole Spirit,
Clay Ingram
HB 173- Care of Students with Epilepsy or Seizure Disorders, by Representative Nicholas Duran (D- Miami), passed the House floor with a vote of 106 Yeas, 0 Nays, and has been received by the Senate. The bill creates an Individualized Seizure Action Plan (ISAP) which informs school personnel of the unique health care services required by the student and how to respond in emergency situations. The bill requires a school to implement an ISAP once a parent submits it to the school principal and school nurse. The similar bill in the Senate, SB 340- Care of Students with Epilepsy or Seizure Disorders, by Senator Ileana Garcia (R- Miami), has been reported favorably by all its committees of reference and is waiting to be taken up on the Senate floor.
HB 1053- Parental Leave, by Representative Vance Aloupis (R- Miami), was reported favorably out of its final committee of reference, the House State Affairs Committee. The bill authorizes employees participating in their agency’s paid sick leave pool, to use pooled leave for paid parental leave. Employees may use leave from the pool for paid parental leave, if they have exhausted all personally accrued sick, annual, and compensatory leave, for up to four consecutive weeks. Parental leave may only be used within the first 12 weeks of the birth or adoption of the child. A similar bill in the Senate, SB 1388- Parental Leave, by Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R- Doral), has been referred to the Senate committees on Governmental Oversight and Accountability, Community Affairs, and Rules.
SB 514- Substitution of Work Experience for Postsecondary Educational Requirements, by Senator Danny Burgess (R- Zephyrhills), passed the Senate floor with a vote of 38 Yeas, 0 Nays, and is in messages to the House. The bill allows governmental agencies, during the employee hiring process, to substitute equivalent work experience as an alternative to a postsecondary education, if the applicant is otherwise qualified for the position. The identical bill in the House, HB 317- Substitution of Work Experience for Postsecondary Education Requirements, by Representative Nick DiCeglie (R- Largo), has been reported favorably out of all its committees of reference and is waiting to be taken up on the House floor.
UPDATE ON BILLS
SB 974- Sovereign Immunity, by Senator Joe Gruters (R- Sarasota, FSU Alum), was amended last week in the Senate Rules Committee. The committee substitute changed the limits of the waiver of sovereign immunity from a fixed amount applicable to all sovereign entities to a scaled level based on the type of entity; removes from the bill a restriction on claims bill requirements in insurance policies; removes future CPI increases; and adds that the bill only applies to claims accruing on or after October 1, 2022. A similar bill in the house, HB 985- Sovereign Immunity, by Representative Mike Beltran (R- Valrico), is on the House Judiciary Committee agenda, today, February 28th. The committee will take up a proposed committee substitute which doubles the limits of the waiver of sovereign immunity for both individual and group claims.
SB 7044- Postsecondary Education, by the Senate Education Committee, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee last week. The bill contains provisions related to postsecondary fee increases, textbook and instructional material transparency, articulation of credit, and accreditation. The House companion, HB 7051- Postsecondary Education, by the House Post-Secondary Education & Lifelong Learning Subcommittee, is on the agenda for the House Education & Employment Committee. The committee will take up three amendments sponsored by the Chairwoman of the House Post-Secondary Education & Lifelong Learning Subcommittee, Representative Amber Mariano (R- Hudson). The proposed amendments include:
- Amending the section of the bill relating to textbook and course transparency by specifying that course syllabi for general education core courses and upper-level courses must also be posted based on the schedule specified in the bill; and
- Amending the provision relating to accreditation by instructing the Board of Governors (BOG) to identify an accrediting body best suited for the State University System (SUS) institutions. Universities will have to seek and obtain accreditation from the agency or association identified by the BOG in the year following reaffirmation or fifth-year review, before its next reaffirmation date.