TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Legislative session is coming to an end with more than 1,900 bills filed in the House and Senate over the past two months.
Some moved through both chambers while others died in committee hearings.
Now, it’s crunch time for lawmakers to get their bills passed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk or they will have to try again next year.
Here’s a list of what passed and what didn’t:
Bills headed to DeSantis:
SB 1698: Food and Hemp Products
This bill would ban delta-8 products, including gummies and vapes, and regulate CBD, which are derived from hemp extract. While marijuana is illegal under Florida law, differences in the products have allowed delta 8 THD and CBD to be sold.
While hemp and marijuana are varieties of the same plant species, hemp contains less THC, which is the compound that produces a “high” feeling.
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, and was passed unanimously in the Senate and 64-48 in the House. Rep. Tommy Gregory, who represents part of Manatee County sponsored the House version.
If the bill is signed, it would reverse the 2018 farm bill allowing for the production of hemp and hemp-derived products if they have less than 0.3% delta-9 THC.
HB 7073: Tax holidays
This bill has a tax package amended onto it including provisions aimed to reduce insurance premium taxes and sales taxes during specific tax holidays.
Some holidays include back-to-schools starting at the end of July and a disaster preparedness holiday around the beginning of June and in mid-September. Other holidays revolve around recreational purposes such as buying event tickets.
Another part of the bill reduces the Hillsborough County sales tax until the state pays the county $165 million after a transportation surtax was in effect for two years before being ruled unconstitutional.
Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, sponsored the bill and said it would benefit many Floridians.
“There are a wide variety of things that will help everyday Floridians, from back-to-school tax holidays, storm preparedness holidays to giving basically what is effectively rebates on your insurance policies. It touches a lot of people,” he said during a House meeting.
The tax package would cut state and local revenue by $440 million in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
HB 3: Online Protections for Minors
This bill will require social media platforms to prohibit children under 14 from creating accounts. It will allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds.
It passed in the House 109-4 on Thursday and in the Senate 30-5 on Monday. Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, has voiced his support for the bill and said it will protect children.
“The addiction issues exist among our children,” he said at a Senate meeting. “Their mental health is at stake, and to do nothing is not reasonable.”
Opponents argue courts could rule the bill is unconstitutional since judges have blocked similar laws in other states.
Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, was one of the five senators who voted against the bill.
“Parenting is very difficult, but that doesn’t mean that the government needs to step in. There are good features to social media,” Polsky said.
DeSantis vetoed a social media ban less than a week ago but said he supported the concept.
SB 676: Food delivery
The House and Senate both voted unanimously to regulate food delivery platforms, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats.
It will prohibit platforms from taking or arranging delivery or pickup orders from establishments without their consent. Platforms will also have to remove restaurants within 10 days of a request.
The bill, sponsored by Jennifer Bradly, R-Flemming Island, will prevent platforms from intentionally inflating or deflating prices and provide itemized costs starting in July 2025 if DeSantis signs it into law.
Failed bills
SB 34: Protecting women obtaining abortions
A bill sponsored by Sen. Lauren Book, D-Davie, would have amended Florida law to clarify that pregnant women seeking abortions wouldn’t be penalized.
Currently, state law states anyone who “actively participates” in illegal pregnancy termination is committing a third-degree felony, including the woman receiving the procedure.
Neither the House nor Senate bill received a hearing.
SB 204/HB 177: Concert tickets
One failed bill would have lowered concert ticket prices for fans. It was filed by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, and would prohibit live venues from selling or transferring tickets at prices higher than originally listed.
It would also prevent live venues from selling tickets through just one company and allow performers to sell tickets.
This comes after Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation, which controls 70% of the ticketing and live event venues market, was sued for monopolistic practices in federal court.
Brodeur pulled his bill, and the House bill filed by Rep. Alexander Andrade, R-Pensacola, never made it to a hearing.
HB 1223: Lowering rifle age
A bill that would lower the age of buying a rifle from 21 to 18 died in the Senate after passing 76-35 in the House.
The Republican-sponsored legislation would’ve reversed state law that increased the age limit in 2018 following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The gun control law also includes a three-day waiting period for most gun purchases, which the proposed House bill did not address.
SB 1122: Historic monument protections
Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, proposed a bill protecting historic monuments including military memorials. But, many legislators saw it as a bill to preserve Confederate monuments.
Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said in a meeting that it was “weaponized” by both parties.
“That’s not how we run our chamber, that’s not how we pass our legislation,” she said.
Ultimately, the bill never made it out of committee hearings.