Sen. Bobby Powell

Upgrades to Education Facilities as Emergency Shelters; Exempting costs of less than $2 million associated with certain upgrades to education facilities from being included in certain cost per student station calculations; requiring costs associated with certain upgrades to be consistent with prevailing market costs in the area where the education facility is located, etc.

Energy Equity Task Force; Creating the task force adjunct to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for a specified purpose; providing for the membership and duties of the task force; requiring the department to provide staffing and administrative support to the task force; requiring the task force to submit a report to certain officials by a specified date, etc,

Criminal Sentencing; Prohibiting points from being assessed for violations of community sanctions which are resolved under an alternative sanctioning program for purposes of calculations under the Criminal Punishment Code; providing for the resolution of low-risk violations of probation through an alternative sanctioning program in certain circumstances; providing time periods for hearing and release of a probationer or offender concerning alleged violations that are criminal traffic offenses or low-risk violations, etc.

Payments to Prisoners Upon Release; Providing that Florida releasees and county and municipal prisoners who receive funds in the form of payment instruments upon their release may not be charged a fee for cashing the instruments at specified businesses, etc.

Revising Penalties for Nonviolent Offenses; Authorizing the issuance of civil citations for the possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis and the possession of drug paraphernalia used in connection with the consumption of cannabis; providing for civil fines; providing for community service in lieu of civil fines; revising a principle of the Criminal Punishment Code relating to a prisoner’s required minimum term of imprisonment, etc.

Duties of the Inspector General of the Department of Corrections; Transferring the law enforcement functions of the inspector general of the Department of Corrections to the Department of Law Enforcement; deleting provisions relating to law enforcement certification and powers of inspector general personnel; transferring by a type two transfer the powers, duties, functions, records, offices, personnel, property, investigations, and unexpended balances relating to specified law enforcement functions from the inspector general to the Department of Law Enforcement, etc.

Family Caregiver Certified Nursing Assistant Program; Requiring the Board of Nursing, in consultation with the Agency for Health Care Administration, to develop a program to train and certify family caregivers as certified nursing assistants for a specified purpose; authorizing family caregivers who complete the program to take the nursing assistant competency examination; providing that such caregivers who pass the examination are eligible for certification as a nursing assistant, etc.

Mental Health of Minors; Requiring that transportation plans include options for transporting minors which do not involve marked police vehicles or uniformed law enforcement officers; specifying the conditions that must be met for a minor to be taken to a receiving facility for involuntary examination; requiring that court orders for involuntary examinations be made a part of the minor’s clinical record; requiring facilities to notify minors and their parents or guardians of the minor’s right to counsel and to provide minors with the opportunity to immediately consult and be represented by counsel; requiring minors to be immediately released if a parent or guardian revokes consent for the minor’s admission, etc.

Pet Protection; Creating the "Florida Pet Protection Act"; requiring the licensure of retail pet stores; limiting the sources from which retail pet stores may acquire household pets for specified purposes; requiring the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to conduct periodic inspections of retail pet stores and to audit sales records; requiring the department to deny a retail pet store license under certain circumstances; prohibiting county and municipal ordinances and regulations from prohibiting or regulating the breeding, purchase, or sale of certain working dogs, etc.

Summer Youth Service Learning Program; Citing this act as the "Youth Service Learning and Employment Assistance Initiative Act"; creating the program within the Department of Education; providing eligibility requirements for students and employers to participate in the program; requiring the department to create a statewide employment hub for the program; requiring participating employers to post employment opportunities to the employment hub; requiring school districts and public postsecondary institutions to notify students of the employment hub, etc.