Sen. Kristen Arrington

Local Housing Assistance Plans; Authorizing counties and eligible municipalities to expend certain funds on lot rental assistance for mobile home owners for a specified time period; requiring each county and eligible municipality to include in its local housing assistance plan certain strategies; authorizing counties and eligible municipalities to provide certain funds to mobile home owners for rehabilitation and emergency repairs, etc.

Community Development Districts; Providing that specified provisions regarding synthetic turf do not apply to community development districts enforcing deed restrictions; authorizing the removal of certain members of the board of supervisors of a community development district by recall; specifying requirements for a recall referendum; providing that certain board members of community development districts are subject to specified election recall provisions, etc.

Homestead Exemptions; Revising the circumstances under which a person may be deemed to have legal or beneficial and equitable title to certain property for homestead exemption purposes, etc.

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

Domestic Animals; Requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to post on its website specified information relating to each individual convicted of specified animal cruelty offenses; extending the timeframe for which a consumer may pursue remedies for the sale of an animal certifiably unfit for purchase; requiring a pet dealer to provide copies of specified medical records to a consumer; requiring the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to develop a list of best management practices for adoption and implementation, etc.

Elections; Requiring that the Secretary of State be elected, rather than appointed, and serve a specified term; requiring the Florida Commission on Offender Review to develop and maintain a database for a specified purpose; authorizing a person who meets certain requirements to register to vote for the early voting period or election day at an early voting site or his or her polling place and cast a ballot immediately thereafter; authorizing the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to preregister certain individuals to vote; revising the information a third-party voter registration organization is required to provide to the Division of Elections of the Department of State, etc.

Recess Requirements for Middle School Students; Requiring district school boards to provide a specified amount of free-play recess each week to students in grades 6 through 8, 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.

Tax Credits for Contributions to Assist Homebuyers; Authorizing certain taxpayers to receive a tax credit for contributions made to certain employees for specified expenses related to buying a home; providing a maximum credit authorized in certain circumstances; authorizing a taxpayer to receive a tax credit for contributions made to certain programs; authorizing the taxpayer to submit an application for the tax credit; authorizing the tax credit to be used against certain taxes; requiring the Department of Revenue to approve applications on a first-come, first-served basis, etc.

Recording of Instruments Conveying Real Property; Requiring that electronic signatures for certain notarial acts include specified information as a watermark to prevent copying; prohibiting the recording of certain instruments without specified identification; defining the term “valid and unredacted identification document”; authorizing a clerk of the circuit court to return instruments for correction in specified circumstances, etc.