SB 524 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Department of Law Enforcement

Summary

Department of Law Enforcement; Authorizing the Department of Law Enforcement to adopt rules relating to the Florida Medal of Valor and the Florida Blue/Red Heart Medal; specifying the circumstances under which an appointment or reappointment to the Medical Examiners Commission is considered in force; requiring the commission, rather than the Governor, to appoint district medical examiners for each medical examiner district; requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to accept and process fingerprints taken of natural persons who are control persons of a licensee or are applicants for licensure, etc.

Issues: ✓ Veterans

Bill status died 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 524 c1 → S 524 e1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to shift authority over district medical examiners from the Governor to the Medical Examiners Commission and to clarify the appointment process. Additionally, the fingerprinting requirements for insurance industry applicants were significantly expanded to include a broader range of roles and entities, while the definition of 'control person' was updated to reflect modern corporate structures. The effective date for the act was also adjusted from February to March 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a wider array of insurance industry roles and entities subject to fingerprinting and background checks, and the authority for appointing district medical examiners was transferred from the executive branch to an independent commission.

ENFORCEMENT

Authority to appoint district medical examiners was transferred from the Governor to the Medical Examiners Commission, and the commission now has the power to approve appointments and remove examiners.

ELIGIBILITY

Fingerprinting requirements for insurance applicants were expanded to cover more specific roles (e.g., chief risk officer, chief compliance officer) and additional entity types, including multiple-employer welfare arrangements and viatical settlement providers.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'control person' was updated to include key managerial personnel with authority over financial and operational decisions and to list specific executive titles relevant to modern insurance companies.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the legislation was changed from February 24, 2026, to March 4, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2026 · House Mar 11, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 40

Mar 4, 2026

D Democratic11

10 Yea 1

90% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican28

27 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 13, 2026

Introduced

Insisted on amendment, and requested the Senate to concur

lower

Mar 13, 2026

Introduced

Insisted on amendment 222029

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

CS passed as amended; YEAS 111, NAYS 0

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Amendment 222029 adopted

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Bill referred to House Calendar

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

CS passed as amended; YEAS 37 NAYS 0

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Amendment(s) adopted (712722)

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Fiscal Policy, 02/24/26, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Fiscal Policy, 02/05/26, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building --Temporarily Postponed

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; YEAS 8 NAYS 0

upper

Jan 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, 01/21/26, 1:30 pm, 37 Senate Building

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

upper

Jan 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice

upper

Jan 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Criminal Justice; YEAS 8 NAYS 0

upper

Jan 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Criminal Justice, 01/12/26, 1:30 pm, 37 Senate Building

upper

Dec 1, 2025

Committee

Referred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Fiscal Policy

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors