SB 1280 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Military Affairs

Summary

Military Affairs; Redesignating the official state flagship as the S.S. American Victory; updating a reference to federal law relating to the designation of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs as the state approving agency for veterans’ education and training; renaming the Veterans Employment and Training Services Program administered by Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., as the Veterans Florida Opportunity Program; requiring Florida is for Veterans, Inc., and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to enter into a grant agreement, etc. APPROPRIATION: $2,500,000

Issues: ✓ Veterans

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 10, 2025 Last action Jun 16, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 1280 Filed → S 1280 c1 · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Florida statutes to update veterans-related programs, including renaming the Veterans Employment and Training Services Program to the Veterans Florida Opportunity Program, adjusting board membership requirements for Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., and clarifying funding limits and eligibility criteria for training grants. It also adds provisions for disabled veteran license plates, veteran filing fee exemptions, and updates references to federal law regarding the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope by adding a new section on veterans exempt from certain filing fees and modifying the scope of the Veterans Florida Opportunity Program to include educational stipends at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

FISCAL

Increased grant reimbursement limits from $5,000 to $8,000 per eligible trainee per fiscal year for the Veterans Florida Opportunity Program.

REQUIREMENT

Changed board membership from 12 members to 11 members for Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., with adjusted appointment requirements for state officials.

Added requirement for Florida Is For Veterans, Inc. to enter into a grant agreement with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for educational stipends.

ELIGIBILITY

Added new eligibility criteria for disabled veterans to receive free motor vehicle license plates, including requirements for continuous residency and service-connected disability ratings.

SCOPE

Created new Section 295.25 exempting veterans residing in Florida from certain filing fees for business organization documents.

Added provisions allowing military or specialty license plates with 'DV' embossing for disabled veterans, with specific protections and limitations.

DEFINITION

Added definitions for 'secondary industry business' and 'target market' to clarify program eligibility and scope.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date of the act to July 1, 2025.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security, 03/25/25, 1:30 pm, 301 Senate Building

upper

Mar 10, 2025

Introduced

upper

Mar 6, 2025

Committee

Referred to Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Appropriations

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors