Department of Financial Services

A new section was added specifying that amendments to the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program (s. 215.55871) apply only to inspection and grant applications submitted by a condominium association on or after July 1, 2026.

The amendment to s. 215.93(5) was removed from the bill. That provision would have required that public records requests for documents or accounting records be made to the state entity where the record is kept, rather than to the functional owner of the financial management subsystem.

A new provision was added (reflected in the long title) ratifying specified rules relating to legal tender for the sole and exclusive purpose of satisfying conditions on effectiveness pursuant to chapter 2025-100, Laws of Florida, and repealing s. 18 of that chapter which had repealed specified provisions relating to legal tender.

New section (s. 112.3135(2)(c)) allows public officials to appoint or employ relatives as firefighters if the process is part of a competitive process in a collective bargaining agreement, creating an exception to the general prohibition on employing relatives.

New section (s. 215.55871 amendments) establishes eligibility rules for the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program: at least 80% of occupied units must be owned or occupied by households at or below 80% of area median income; structures must be 3+ stories with at least 2 single-family dwellings; mixed-income condominiums qualify if the 80% threshold is met; board approval and 75% unit-owner approval required for unit-level grants.

New section (s. 553.80(11)) provides that single-family or two-family dwellings used by tax-exempt charitable organizations for people with mental health disorders (2-4 bedrooms, max 6 adults, max 2 per bedroom) or as residential migrant housing with a DOH permit do not have a change of occupancy under the Florida Building Code.

New section (s. 633.208(11)) prohibits reclassifying single-family or two-family dwellings for fire prevention code enforcement solely because they are used as certified recovery residences, mental health disorder group homes, or residential migrant housing.

Condominium pilot program grant funds are limited to improvements to common elements that produce a mitigation credit, discount, or rate differential; associations must complete 100% of recommended opening protection improvements to common elements as a condition of receiving the grant.

New subsection (4) to s. 215.5586 requires the department to notify My Safe Florida Home applicants at least 5 business days before an application is deemed abandoned, and allows applicants to demonstrate good cause to prevent abandonment or submit a subsequent application.

New section (s. 560.405(3)) requires that redemption of deferred presentment checks in cash or through a debit card transaction be treated the same, and prohibits payment by personal check or credit card transaction.

New sections (s. 560.309(10) and s. 560.406(2)) require check cashers and deferred presentment providers to comply with the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act when collecting worthless checks, and make violations a deceptive and unfair trade practice under DUTPA.

Section 440.13(7) now includes a new paragraph (b) requiring carriers to submit documentation substantiating their disallowance or adjustment within 45 days of receiving the petition; failure to do so constitutes a waiver of all objections. The health care provider petition deadline remains at 45 days.

The My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program now defines 'area median income' as the HUD-published median household income for the county where the condominium is located, and defines 'service area' as 15 miles inward of a coastline as defined in s. 376.031.

New sections added amending ss. 215.93, 215.94, 215.89, 215.985, 216.102, and 216.141 to reorganize the Florida Financial Management Information System: the Department of Financial Services becomes functional owner of the 'Financial Management Subsystem' (previously called the Florida Accounting Information Resource Subsystem), the CFO becomes functional owner of a separate 'Financial Management Subsystem,' and public records requests for accounting records must be directed to the state entity that recorded them rather than the subsystem's functional owner.

The amendments to ss. 284.08 and 284.33 (authorizing the Department of Financial Services to determine necessary property insurance coverage, purchase excess insurance, and contract with insurance or reinsurance brokers) were removed entirely from the bill.

The amendment to s. 215.422(15) granting the CFO rulemaking authority for advance payments (e.g., prepaid multiyear software licenses) was removed from the bill.

New section amending s. 110.113(1) deletes the Department of Financial Services' authority to make semimonthly salary payments, leaving only monthly or biweekly payment options for state employees.

New section amending s. 215.422(16) requires agencies to pay interest from the appropriation charged for the goods or services, and if insufficient funds exist in that appropriation, from a similar or appropriate appropriation category.

The summary of changes to s. 717.123 no longer includes provisions about revising the amount the department must retain from certain funds received or revising a required transfer of funds to the State School Fund, indicating those specific financial changes were dropped.

New section amending s. 17.13 changes the language from 'duplicate' to 'replace' when a state warrant is lost or destroyed, clarifying that a new warrant replaces the original rather than creating a duplicate.

Conforming cross-reference changes added for ss. 1001.281 and 1001.282 to reflect the renamed subsystems throughout the bill.

New provision in s. 626.0428(3) prohibits an employee or authorized representative at a designated branch of an agent or agency from initiating contact with any person to solicit title insurance unless that person is licensed as a title insurance agent or exempt under the new s. 626.8417(4) and (5).

New s. 626.8417(4) exempts title insurers acting through designated corporate officers, and attorneys admitted to practice in Florida and in good standing with The Florida Bar, from title insurance licensing and appointment requirements.

New s. 626.8417(5) allows an insurer to designate a corporate officer to occasionally issue and countersign binders, commitments, and policies of title insurance, with that officer exempt from licensing requirements while acting within the scope of the designation.

Section 627.797, which provided a separate exemption for certain agents from title insurance licensing, is repealed and replaced by the new exemptions in s. 626.8417.

In s. 626.611(1)(c), the word 'published' was changed to 'delivered' when describing how test center or examination procedures are communicated at the test site by authorized representatives of the examination program administrator.

Provisions requiring specific reporting structures for charts of accounts relating to the use of public funds by governmental entities were deleted.

The bill status was updated from 'Second Engrossed' to 'Enrolled', and the associated metadata dates were updated to reflect the final legislative action.