Rep. Jim Mooney

Areas of Critical State Concern; Provides exemption from specified payment & performance bond requirements for specified entities; extends specific Florida Forever appropriations to be used for purchase of lands in Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern.

Search Warrants; Authorizes search warrant to be issued to recover deceased body; revises time within which certain search warrants must be returned to court; specifies time period within which search warrant issued for certain devices is considered timely executed; specifies that law enforcement agency may review data or information contained in certain devices after specified periods if devices were timely seized; provides that judge may authorize law enforcement officer applying for search warrant to appear remotely; provides that judge may authorize law enforcement officer applying for search warrant or court order to appear remotely; defines "audio-video communication technology"; authorizes law enforcement agency to obtain search warrant to use drone to conduct search in certain circumstances.

Maddy summaryHB 253 clarifies eligibility for Florida's Veterans Dental Care Grant Program, which provides dental care to veterans residing in the state. The bill specifies that veterans must have incomes at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level to qualify for the program. Administered by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the program ensures access to oral health care for eligible veterans. This clarification takes effect on July 1, 2026.

Specific Medical Diagnoses in Child Protective Investigations ; Providing an exception to the requirement that the Department of Children and Families immediately forward certain allegations to a law enforcement agency; requiring such allegations to be immediately forwarded to a law enforcement agency upon completion of the department's investigation; requiring a child protective investigator to inform the subject of an investigation of a certain duty; requiring Child Protection Teams to consult with a licensed physician or advanced practice registered nurse with certain experience when evaluating certain reports; requiring the physician or advanced practice registered nurse who performed certain medical examinations to submit a written report to the department and certain persons within a specified timeframe, etc.

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances; Prohibits, beginning on specified date, certain use & sale, purchase, or distribution of aqueous film-forming foam; requires, beginning on specified date, certain entities to submit aqueous film-forming foam inventories & disposal plans to DEP; prohibits, beginning on specified date, possession & use of aqueous film-forming foam; authorizes DEP to administer certain grants or cost share programs; provides penalties & injunctive relief; requires certain public entities disposing of domestic wastewater biosolids and treated effluent to quarterly conduct specified samplings & submit results to DEP; limits purpose such samplings until specified standards are established by EPA & adopted by DEP.

Lewd or Lascivious Acts; Removes s. 800.02, F.S., relating to unnatural & lascivious acts; prohibits person from intentionally exposing or exhibiting his or her sexual organs in lewd or lascivious manner while observing child under 16 years of age or performing specified sexual acts while observing child under 16 years of age for specified purpose; provides criminal penalty; prohibits certain defense from being raised; provides exceptions.

Maddy summaryHB 477 revises Florida's definition of "drug paraphernalia" to exclude specific testing products like fentanyl test strips and reagent kits. These products, which identify dangerous substances such as fentanyl, xylazine, cocaine, or amphetamines, are now explicitly exempt from being classified as drug paraphernalia. The bill excludes only products used solely to detect presence - not quantity or potency - and aims to support harm reduction by enabling users to avoid lethal substances. This change directly affects Floridians who use these testing tools to prevent overdoses, aligning with legislative findings on the opioid crisis.

Agency for Persons with Disabilities ; Revises definition of term "developmental disability"; defines "Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome"; requires level 2 employment screening for all employees of residential facilities & adult day training programs; requires agency to contract with state university to develop & administer certain surveys; provides requirements for such surveys; requires state university to submit certain report to agency by specified date; requires agency to conduct public hearings on specified information; conduct or contract for gap analysis for specified purposes; identify core competencies & performance metrics & make recommendations for standardizing assessments; & submit certain report to Governor & Legislature by specified date.

Veterans Affairs; Revises admissions process for veterans treatment court programs; authorizes court, in consultation with multidisciplinary team, to determine eligibility for veterans treatment court programs; requires court to consider recommendation of state attorney when making eligibility determination; authorizes sentencing courts to divert defendants to veterans treatment court programs under certain circumstances; requires certain notice be provided to defendants; provides for disposition of probation or community control violations by program participants.

Maddy summaryHB 327 requires Florida's Department of Health to add uterine fibroids to a state-maintained list of diseases used for research. This creates a new database to collect anonymized health data about uterine fibroids, specifically for research purposes, while prohibiting the inclusion of any personal identifying information about patients. The database will support studies on uterine fibroids, a condition affecting many women, without compromising individual privacy. The law takes effect on July 1, 2026.