Sen. Carlos Smith

Law Enforcement Officer Interactions with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder; Requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to establish a program to improve communication between individuals with autism spectrum disorder and law enforcement officers under certain circumstances; requiring the department to develop and make available to individuals with autism spectrum disorder a certain envelope and card by a specified date; defining the terms “agency” and “autism spectrum disorder”; requiring the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission within the Department of Law Enforcement to establish an employment training component relating to individuals with autism spectrum disorder, etc.

Firefighter Cancer Benefits; Requiring a former employer to provide death benefits to certain beneficiaries for a specified time period under certain circumstances, etc.

Victims of Domestic Violence and Dating Violence; Requiring the Division of Telecommunications within the Department of Management Services to consult with certain entities to conduct a feasibility study regarding a specified alert system; providing requirements for such alert system; authorizing victims of dating violence to apply to participate in the Attorney General’s address confidentiality program; requiring the Attorney General to designate certain entities to assist victims of dating violence applying to be address confidentiality program participants, etc.

Maddy summarySB 428 revises Florida's Swimming Lesson Voucher Program to lower the maximum age for eligible children from 7 to 4 years old. The bill directly affects low-income families (at or below 200% of the federal poverty level) with children aged 1 through 4 who qualify for free swimming lessons. It updates the program's eligibility criteria in statute, requiring children to be between 1 and 4 years old (instead of 1-7) to receive a voucher. The program aims to increase water safety by removing barriers for younger children in qualifying families.

Offenses Evidencing Prejudice; Expanding grounds for the reclassification of offenses to include acts based on the gender or gender identity of any person; requiring that the reclassification occur if the offense was based in whole or in part on specified characteristics of any person; replacing the term “mental or physical disability” with the term “disability” and revising the definition; requiring that the reclassification of a certain offense occur if the offense was based in whole or in part on a disability of any person, etc.

Medicaid Dental Pilot Program for Persons with Disabilities; Defining the term “persons with disabilities”; requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration to establish and operate a Medicaid dental pilot program in a specified region to provide enhanced dental services to persons with disabilities; specifying dental services covered by the pilot program; requiring the agency to reimburse dental providers under the pilot program at a specified rate; requiring the agency to collect certain data on the pilot program, etc.

Medical Coverage Assistance Program for Working Individuals with Disabilities; Citing this act as the "Economic Self-Sufficiency for Working Individuals with Disabilities Act"; contingent upon federal approval, requiring the Agency for Health Care Administration to implement and administer a Medicaid buy-in program for specified individuals with disabilities under certain circumstances; requiring the agency to determine the income eligibility level for the program; specifying requirements for the program; requiring the agency to seek federal approval through a Medicaid waiver or state plan amendment by a specified date, etc.

Newborn Screenings; Citing this act as “Mattie’s Law”; requiring that newborns, beginning on a specified date, be screened for biliary atresia; requiring the Department of Health to consult with the Genetics and Newborn Screening Advisory Council before adopting certain rules; requiring hospitals that provide birthing services to screen for biliary atresia in a specified manner, etc.

Residential Utility Disconnections; Prohibiting an electric utility, a public utility, or a water utility from disconnecting service to residential customers for nonpayment of bills or fees under specified circumstances; requiring such utilities to waive reconnection fees and late fees in certain circumstances; prohibiting such utilities from recovering from customers any fee or expense incurred in complying with the act; requiring that all notices of nonpayment of bills and fees provide an offer of bill payment assistance or provide certain information, etc.

Optional Retirement Programs; Requiring that the employer contribution rate for certain optional retirement programs be equal to the employer contribution rate for the Florida Retirement System Investment Plan, etc.