Senate in Session — Closed Captions

>> President. >> Good morning. The Senate will be in order. Senators and guests in the gallery, I would, if I could have your attention, please. Senator Brodeur. You? Yes, sir. Thank you. We are going to have the opening prayer now that is going to be led by Senator Jones. >> Good morning, members, and thank you, Mr. President. Let's bow our heads this morning. Dear God, known by names, Adonai, HaShem, God of all creation. Before we ask you for anything this morning, we pause to simply say thank you. Thank you for life, thank you for health, thank you for strength, but most of all, thank you for allowing us to see another day. Lord, we haven't always been good, but you have always been good to us. And for that, we say thank you. Some of us may not feel our best in our bodies this morning, yet you still gave us the strength to rise to get here and to represent the people who sent us here. And for that, we say thank you. Some of us walked in here carrying burdens that nobody else can see, yet you carried us through another night, and for that, we say thank you. Some of us came here tired in our minds and weary in our spirits, but you woke us up with breathing our lungs and purpose in our hearts. And for that, we say thank you. And some of us are still trying to make sense of the journey we are on in life, but even in those moments, you have never left us nor forsaken us. And for that, Lord, we say thank you. Dear God, sometimes this work can be heavy, it weighs on our bodies, it weighs on our minds, and sometimes it even weighs on our hearts, but your word reminds us that you are the mender of the broken hearted. You are the lifter of our souls, and you are the lifter up of our heads. So today, Lord, I pray for my colleagues in this chamber. Give us wisdom in our decisions, humility in our disagreements and hearts that remain focused on serving the people who sent us here. I lift up the legislative aides and staff who make this work possible each day. The ones who answer the phones, meet with constituents and help solve problems for the people we serve. I also lift up the committee staff, the bill drafters, the attorneys who guide us through complex issues, and the secretaries and administrative staffs who keep this institution moving. Strengthen them when the days are long and remind them that their service matters too. Lord remind us today that before we are Democrats or Republicans, before we carry tigers or positions, we are first and foremost, your children. And while we may not know what each person in this room is carrying this morning, you do, so be comfort for the one who needs comfort peace for the one who is restless. Healing for those whose body is hurting, and strength for the one who feels weary. God, go lift up our families this morning, the spouses and partners who support us while we are away, holding things together so that we can serve here. The children who may not yet understand the weight that their mother or father carries in this room, but who will one day realize that the long nights, the missed dinners and the time apart were all part of trying to build a better world for them. And for the grandparents in this chamber, who may miss their grandchildren while they are here serving and the grandchildren who miss them right back, Lord, cover our families, protect them, strengthen them, and remind them that their sacrifice matters too. I pray for Governor Ron DeSantis, his wife, Casey, and their children. I pray for President Ben Albritton, Missy, and their entire family. Lord, we may not know the weight that rests on his shoulders today, but you do, and I ask that you lift up our president and strengthen him. I even pray for Speaker Perez and his family. Lord, we may not know the weight that he carries, but you do, so guide them and give them strength as well. And lastly, Lord, I pray for this country this morning. There is so much happening in our world, so much noise, so much division, and so many people searching of hope and searching for peace. But your word reminds us that you are not the author of confusion but of peace. So I ask that you give us wisdom today, wisdom, graded in our titles, graded in our politics, and greded in our personal opinions, help us remember that every vote we cast and every decision we make touches the lives of people across the state who may never walk these halls, who may never shake our hands, who trusts us to do right by them. I pray for the people we represent, the families, the workers, the children, the seniors and the communities across the state who are counting on us often quietly, but counting on us nonetheless. And when the moment comes for us to make decisions, remind us to choose what is right, what is just and what serves people well. Bind us together in love, O Lord, guide our hearts, order our steps, and as I end this prayer, the way we begin it, we simply say thank you. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve, it's an honor, Lord, it's a privilege, in your name, we pray, Amen. >> Great job, Shev. Amen. >> Amen. >> Please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance to be led by Senate Pages, John Edward Newsome from St. Petersburg, sponsored by Senator Rouson, Bleakley Shuttle, of Tallahassee, who is the daughter of Senate professional staffer John Shuttle, and is sponsored today by Senator Simon and Victoria Tarozzi of Miami, sponsored by Senator Berman. >> I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Doctor of the day is Dr. Michael Swartzon of Plantation, sponsored by Senator Rodriguez. He specializes in family medicine. Are there any senators who would like to make an introduction? Hello there. Welcome to the Florida Senate. Any senators wishing to make an introduction? Great. We'll get right to work. We'll now continue with the order of business. Are there any reports or committees? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Other motions relating to committee reference? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Other messages from the governor or executive communications? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there messages from the House of Representatives? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there matters on reconsideration? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Please take out the special order calendar and read the first bill. >> Senate Bill 6, a bill to be entitled and act for the relief of LE by the Department of Children and Families. >> F38, Senator Calatayud, you're recognized to explain the bill. >> Thank you, Mr. President. This is a settled claim with DCF, which the department has agreed not to oppose to award $3.8 million to the irrevocable trust that has already been created for the exclusive use and benefit of Layla Istrada Sapphire Williams. Layla was born on July 29, 2019, to biological parents who got into a fight in the hospital, generating two abuse hotline complaints. While Layla was still in the hospital, DCF learned the mother had extensive criminal history, including a prior federally child abuse and both parents with over 20 prior abuse reports. Despite this overwhelming evidence that the child was unsafe, DCS closed this investigation and returned Layla to her parents. At three months old, she was hospitalized with life threatening injuries and diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. Layla's diagnosis were result of child abuse, causing traumatic brain injury, seizures, and cerebral palsy. Experts have testified that Layla was subject to repeated and severe child abuse. And this under the consent judgment, DCF has paid the statutory sovereign immunity limits, and the remaining $3.8 million is contingent on the passage of this bill. That is the bill, Mr. Chair. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions on the bill? Senator, the House Bill is here, if there are any differences, please explain if you plan to substitute. >> The bills are identical. Senator 38, Senator Calatayud moves to HB 60507 be substituted for SB6. Is there objection? Seeing none, show that motion adopted. Read the House Bill, please. >> House Bill 60507, a bill to be entitled an act for the relief of LE by the Department of Children and Families. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions of the House Bill? Senator Calatayud moves the bill be read a third time. All those in favor signify by saying yea. All those opposed. Show the motion adopted, please read the bill a third time. >> House Bill 60507 a bill to be entitled an act for the relief of LE by the Department of Children and Families. >> Is there debate? Senator Calatayud to close. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I ask for this chamber support so Layla can receive the constant care that she requires. >> Secretary will unlock the board and senators will proceed to vote. Have all senators voted? Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. >> Thirty-four yeas zero nays Mr. President. >> Show the bill passes. Please read the next bill. >> Senate Bill 26, a bill to be entitled an act for the relief of the Estate of Mark Lagatta. >> Senator of Ninth, Senator McClain, you are recognized to explain the bill. >> Thank you, Mr. President, Senate. Senators Senate Bill 26 is a claims bill that provides $2.2 million in relief for the estate of Mark Lagatta for catastrophic injuries linked to negligence by the Florida Department of Transportation. The underlying judgment was for $2.32 million, but $120,000 of that was payable under Florida Sovereign Immunity Cap. The bill includes standard guard rails, including a 25% cap on attorney's fees. That is the bill, Mr. President. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions? Senators, the House Bill is here, please explain any differences if you plan to substitute. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I do plan to substitute. The difference between the two bills is that the amount has been reduced from $2.2 to $1.2. And that is the difference. >> Senator of the Ninth, Senator McClain move CS/CS/House Bill 6509 be substituted for Senate Bill 26. Is there objection? Seeing none. Show that motion adopted. Please read the House Bill. >> Committee Substitute for House Bill 6509, a bill to be entitled and act for the relief of the Estate of Mark Lagatta. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions? Senator McClain move the bill be read a third time. All those in favor signify by saying yea. All those opposed. Show the motion is adopted. Please read the bill a third time. >> Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for House Bill 6509, a bill to be entitled and act for the relief of the Estate of Mark lagatta. >> Is there a debate? Senator McClain to close. >> I'll waive close Mr. President. >> Secretary will unlock the board, and senators will proceed to vote. Have all senators voted? Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. >> Thirty-five yeas, zero nays, Mr. President. >> Show the bill passes, please, read the next bill. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 42, a bill to be entitled an act relating to Specific Medical Diagnosis and Child Protective Investigations. >> Senator of the 35th, Senator Sharief, you are recognized to explain the bill. >> Good morning, Mr. President, and thank you. CS/CS/SB 42 Specific Medical Diagnosis and Child Protective Investigations ensures that when children enter Florida's child protective system, decisions are guided by accurate and complete medical information. Under current law, when allegations of abuse are reported, the Department of Children and Families and Child Protective teams must quickly determine whether a child is safe and whether further action is needed. This bill strengthens that process by ensuring that certain medically recognized conditions are properly considered during investigations. Legislation requires child protective investigators and child protection teams to consider and rule out for four specific medical conditions Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Osteogenesis imperfecta and vitamin D deficiency before moving forward in cases where those conditions may explain injuries that could otherwise be mistaken for abuse. Today, 118 individuals who have experienced this situation firsthand have formally expressed their support for CS/CS/SB 42, and assigned letter has been sent to all members. This bill is also supported by the Florida Nurses Association, the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel Disability Rights of Florida, the Florida Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, the Florida Justice Association, and additional medical legal and child advocacy organizations across the States. These are legitimate medical conditions that in some cases can present symptoms that resemble physical abuse. This bill ensures that if a parent informs the department that a child has one of these diagnosis or requests an examination, that information is appropriately evaluated as part of the investigation. And that is the bill. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions of the sponsor? Senator, the House Bill is here, please explain any differences if he plans to substitute for the Senate Bill. >> The House Bill is identical. >> The Senator of the 35th, Senator Sharief move CS/CS/House Bill 47 be substituted for CS/CS/Senate Bill 42. Is there objection? Seeing none, show that motion adopted. Please read the House Bill. >> Committee Substitute for House Bill 47, a bill to be entitled an act relating to Specific Medical Diagnosis and Child Protective Investigations. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions of the sponsor? Seeing none, Senator Sharief moves the bill be read a third time. All those in favor signify by saying yea. All those opposed. Show the motion adopted. Please read the bill a third time. >> Committee Substitute for House Bill 47, a bill to be entitled an act relating to Specific Medical Diagnosis and Child Protective Investigations. >> Is there a debate? Senator Garcia in debate. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Senator Sharief, I am so proud of you. I know how much work you put into this bill and thank you. Appreciate you. That's it, sir. >> Additional debate. Senator Sharief, you are recognized to close. >> Mr. President, this bill has been a labor of love for me because when I came here to the Florida Senate, the parent who was affected by this came to me, and I want to let you know that I have experience with dealing with DCF and with Child Protective Investigations. And I started my career 34 years ago, and I was one of those people that they sent in to assess and evaluate families to make sure that kids were safe to return. When the parent approached me, she said, "You can help us." You can help us with this and I turned her away because I did not feel at that time that I wanted to go back into working with cases of child abuse. But once I read her file and once I reviewed the medical records, which took me about four months to review, I saw a pattern, and I saw something that was glaringly obvious to me, and that was that this was not child abuse injuries, that this was probably something else. And those are the things that scream to us when we look at these cases and when we see them. And I believe this bill will do something and fix something in our system that is broken and not right. And I'm just humbled that God gave me the opportunity to help her and humbled that he has tasked me with this. And with that, I will ask for your favorable support. >> Secretary will unlock the board and senators will proceed to vote. Have all senators voted? Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. >> Thirty-four yeas, zero nays, Mr. President. >> Show the bill passes. Before we go on, Senator DiCeglie, you have a recognition. You are recognized, sir. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I certainly do in the East Gallery, I've got some two individuals who I met down in Pinellas County, they're with Florida Veterans Coalition. We've got the President CEO Robbie Groover, who is a US Army vet. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan, combat wounded Purple Heart veteran. And then we have the vice President of Operations, Beau Blouin, who is a United States Marine Corps veteran. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's the vice president of operations. And I just want to say, senators that I had the privilege of meeting Robbie over the summer, and what his nonprofit organization does is that he helps vets who are ready to go into civilian life have the ability to hit the ground running. Making sure that they have the services available to be successful. That means education, that means workforce development. And so Robbie and his team have spent many weeks here in Tallahassee to get to know this process, get to know many of our colleagues, not only here in the Senate, but also in the Florida House. So with that, I want to welcome them both to the Florida Senate. Thank you. >> [APPLAUSE] >> Welcome to the Florida Senate. Please read the next bill. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 206, a bill to be entitled an act relating to students with autism spectrum disorder. >> Senator the 31st, Senator Harrell, you are recognized to explain the bill. >> Thank you so very much, Mr. President. And Senators, as you know, we've spent a lot of time talking about autism in this chamber. And last year, thank you to President Albritton, we really made a true effort to address autism in younger children expanding the Early Steps Program. And I was very pleased to be part of that endeavor. This is a continuation of the same work we are doing to really make sure all our students are getting the appropriate education when they are somewhere on the autism spectrum. We want to make sure that we are giving appropriate education to students in a manner in which they can learn. As you know, we have a significant increase in the number of students. Actually, there's been a 40% increase in the number of students who are somewhere on the spectrum of autism in our schools. We have approximately 1 in 36 children right now in our school district that suffer from autism. So we need teachers who are prepared to teach these students. And what this bill does, it's taking us now the next step in making sure our education preparation programs are teaching our students appropriately. And it requires that an education preparation program participant, who is certified in exceptional student education, must complete the autism microcredential. When we created this University of Florida Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, we charged them with creating this microcredential. So all participants in the exceptional education program will be required to have that. By August 21st, 2027, as a condition of continued approval for these education preparation programs, each one must offer instruction and training and evidence-based practices for teaching students on the autism spectrum, Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities, as well as emotional and behavioral disabilities. And this must be consistent with the uniform core curriculum developed by the Department of Education. We also are creating the Autism Education Loan Forgiveness Program for the completion of a master's degree or autism spectrum disorder endorsement, and this will provide significant resources for teachers to receive loan reimbursement for their education, up to five annual payments of $3,500 with the maximum amount of 17,500. Also, in order to make sure we have adequate teachers in the classroom, we're going to require salary supplements, additional payments to teachers who complete the autism endorsement and removes from collective bargaining incentives for ESE teachers who hold that endorsement and teach students with autism. This is a major step forward in making sure our teachers have the ability to address the needs of all students with autism, and that is the bill. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Questions to the sponsor? >> Senator, the House Bill is here. Please explain any differences if you plan to substitute. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Mr. President. The House Bill is very, very limited. All it does is require each district professional learning system to offer at least one autism-specific professional development opportunity each year for instructional personnel and school-based administrators, and this is from the District Center for Autism and your local card center. This is very small part of the bill, and what we want to do is substitute our bill, which really addresses the problem and send it back. >> Senator the 31st, Senator Harrell moves CS/House Bill 851 be substituted for CS/Senate Bill 206. Is there objection? Seeing none, show that motion adopted. Please read the House Bill. >> Committee Substitute for House Bill 851, a bill to be entitled An Act Relating to Professional Learning for Instructional and School Administrative Personnel. >> Are there amendments? >> On the desk, Mr. President. >> Please read the first amendment. >> Amendment Barcode 354086 by Senator Harrell, delete everything after the enacting clause and insert amendment. >> Senator Harrell, you are recognized to explain the amendment. >> Thank you. This is the Senate Bill that I just described, and we are going to substitute it and send it back. >> Super. Are there questions? Is there a debate? Senator Harrell to close. >> Thank you so very much, Mr. President, and I want to thank President Albritton for his endeavors over these last years in really addressing the needs of students with autism. This is the next step. We are now moving from preK all the way through high school in addressing the needs of students with autism, and I would ask for your favorable vote. >> All those in favor of the amendment, signify by saying yea. All those opposed? Show the amendment adopted. Please read the next amendment. >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Back on the bill, are there questions on the bill as amended? Seeing none, Senator Harrell moves the bill be read a third time. All those in favor of the motion, signify by saying yea. All those opposed? Show the motion adopted. Please read the bill the third time. >> Committee Substitute for House Bill 851, a bill to be entitled An Act Relating to Professional Learning for Instructional and School Administrative Personnel. >> Is there debate? Senator Sharief in debate. You're recognized. >> Senator Harrell, I just wanted to say that I think we're connected somehow. You must be my sister from another mister, But every time you bring a bill, it's always something that is really meaningful to my profession and to what I believe in. And I just want to say that I wholeheartedly support this, and I just thank you for being you. And I'm going to be supporting this today, of course, but I love you. Thank you very much. >> Additional debate? Senator Harrell to close. >> Thank you. I think I've said it all , appreciate everybody's vote. >> Secretary will unlock the board, and senators will proceed to vote. Have all senators voted? Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. >> Thirty-five yeas, zero nays, Mr. President. >> Show the bill passes. Senator Burgess, I understand you have a recognition. You are recognized. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Senators up into my left in a place that I cannot see, I know that St. Leo University's student government is above me watching over us as we govern and legislate. There they are. Thanks for standing up. Welcome to the Florida Senate. St. Leo University is an amazing, amazing institution in our district and go, Lions. >> Welcome to the Florida Senate. Please read the next bill. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 218, a bill to be entitled an act relating to land use regulations. >> Senator the 1st, President Gaetz, you are recognized to explain the bill. >> Thank you very much, Mr. President. Last session, the legislature passed Senate Bill 180, which was designed to help communities recover from Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton. That bill ensured that property owners damaged by hurricanes would be able to rebuild and not be slowed down or restricted by local government moratoria or new zoning rules. Senate Bill 180 applied to every county in Florida, those that were affected by the storms, as well as those counties that we now know were not affected at all. Working with Senator DiCeglie, Senate Bill 218 maintains all the provisions of Senate Bill 180 in all of the counties who sustained hurricane damage. But the bill exempts from Senate Bill 180 those counties which had no damage and therefore did not qualify for or receive individual or public assistance from FEMA. This bill will leave the restrictions in place for those areas most affected by the 2024 hurricanes. Meanwhile, beginning July 1st, 2026, the restrictions will be lifted for the communities that were unaffected by the storms, and that is the bill. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions to the sponsor? Senator Gaetz moves the bill be read a third time. All those in favor, signify by saying yea. All those opposed? Show the motion is adopted. Please read the bill a third time. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 218, a bill to be entitled an act relating to land use regulations. >> Is there a debate? Senator Di DiCeglie on debate. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to say thank you to President Gaetz for your leadership. You and I spoke, I want to say it was midsummer, and we had a good conversation, and it was one of those things where I knew it was going to be a hands-on deck to deal with this unintended consequence, if you will. So I just want to thank you for your leadership and your friendship on this issue. >> Additional debate? President Gaetz, you are recognized to close on the bill. >> With gratitude to Senator DiCeglie for helping us work our way out of the issue, I am very grateful to him and to others who assisted, and I ask for your favorable support. >> Secretary will unlock the board, and senators will proceed to vote. Have all senators voted? Has Senator Martin voted? Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. >> Thirty-six yeas, zero nays, Mr. President. >> Show the bill passes. Please read the next bill. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 326, a bill to be entitled an act relating to curators of estates. >> Senator 23rd, Senator Burgess, you are recognized to explain the bill. >> Thank you, Mr. President. A curator is a person that can be appointed by the court for a limited time to protect the interests of a decedent's estate when a personal representative has not been appointed or must be replaced. This helps preserve inheritance rights, increase tax revenues, and prevent unnecessary financial losses for families and localities alike. This bill, why do we have it, is because this bill updates and modernizes Florida's probate code by clarifying when a curator may be appointed, redefining the definition of a curator, and what a curator can do and what oversight a curator may take into their own hands. That is the bill. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions? Senator, the House Bill is here. Please indicate any differences if you plan to substitute. >> Mr. President, these bills are identico, which is Italian for identical for those who don't think that I'm worthy of the Italian Caucus. >> The Senator of the 23rd, Senator Burgess, moves CS/House Bill 131 to be substituted for CS/Senate Bill 326. Is there objection? Seeing none, show that motion adopted. Please read the House Bill. >> Committee Substitute for House Bill 131, a bill to be entitled an act relating to curators of estates. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions? Senator Burgess moves the House Bill be read a third time. All those in favor, signify by saying yea. All those opposed? Show the motion carries. Please read the House Bill a third time. >> Committee Substitute for House Bill 131, a bill to be entitled, an act relating to curators of estates. >> Is there debate? Senator Burgess to close. >> I'm going to waive close, Mr. President. >> Nice. Secretary will unlock the board. Senators will proceed to vote. Have all senators voted? Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. >> Thirty-six yeas, zero nays, Mr. President. >> Show the bill passes. Please read the next bill. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 354, a bill to be entitled an act relating to Blue Ribbon Projects. >> Senator the 9th, Senator McClain, you are recognized to explain the bill. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Senators, I know that currently it's unpopular to talk about growth now or in the future. The simple fact of the matter is that we all agree that the way we have been growing is unsustainable. Most of the growth we've witnessed over the last several years has been in response to demand in which some of that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Senators, Senate Bill 354 is fourth method of how large tracts of land should be developed. Originally, we had the mixed use quality development. Then we went to the DRI process, which no longer exist, and now we have sector planning. None of those ever required any set aside as part of the approval process. Senate Bill 354 would require 60% conservation set aside. Chapter 163 tells us that the legislature should recognize the need for innovative planning and development strategies to promote a diverse economy, a vibrant rural and urban communities, while protecting environmentally sensitive areas. The legislature further recognizes the substantial advantages of innovative approaches to development directed to meet the needs of urban, rural, and suburban areas. To that end, I am presenting Senate Bill 354. The bill creates a framework for a new type of planned community referred to as a Blue Ribbon Project that is intended to balance environmental stewardship with the need for development to provide for future growth. It establishes requirements for proposed development to qualify as a Blue Ribbon Project. This would also go before the local government for approval, contains at least 15,000 acres of contiguous land. At least 60% of the land must be set aside as reserve area, 70% of the set aside has to be contiguous. If there was any land that was in reserve already as of July 1st, 2026, that would not count toward the 60% threshold. In other words, you can't double dip on a reserve area that's already set aside. The bill requires each Blue Ribbon Project to be developed in accordance with the Blue Ribbon master plan that adopts a longer planning period. Each application to the proposed plan is submitted to the applicable local government to review. Blue Ribbon Projects may be located in all future land use and zoning designations. And that is the bill, Mr. President. >> Are there amendments? >> On the desk, Mr. President. >> Please read the first amendment. >> Late filed Amendment Barcode 688738 by Senator McClain, delete Line 94 and insert amendment. >> That objection showed the late filed amendment introduced. Senator McClain, you are recognized to explain the amendment. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Senators, this would also not allow for data centers in the commercial area of a Blue Ribbon plan. >> Are there questions of the sponsor? Is there debate? Senator McClain to close on the amendment. >> Wave. >> All those in favor of the adoption of the amendment, signify by saying yea. All those opposed? Show the amendment adopted. Please read the next amendment. >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions of the sponsor? Senator Garcia in questions. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Just a quick question. We have an issue with certain entities wanting to push the UDB line, and I'm wondering, considering the amount of land and perhaps authority that these entities would have, would they be able to push the UDB line in the future should this pass? >> Senator McClain. >> No. >> Additional questions? Senator McClain moves the bill be read a third time. All those in favor of the motion, signify by saying yea. All those opposed? Show the motion adopted. Please read the bill a third time. >> Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 354, a bill to be entitled Act Relating to Blue Ribbon Projects. >> Is there debate? Senator McClain, Rules Chair Passidomo, you're recognized in debate. >> Thank you, Mr. President. And I don't really debate often on the floor, but all those of you who heard my debate in rules, I'm not going to reread it because it was pretty long. I didn't realize how long it was. This is a bill that really troubles me. And I'm going to spend some time on it because, I'm not going to be here when the S hits the fan five, or six, or 10 years from now. So let's go through the actual bill itself. First of all, it's really important to recognize that the Blue Ribbon concept is not a bad concept, but it is not fleshed out in this bill. And if it becomes law, then we're going to be in a world of herd. It talks about that the intent of the legislature is to balance the protection of our state resources at the same time to provide longer term, well planned communities and job opportunities. That is a wonderful legislative intent, but the language of the bill doesn't really match the intent. First of all, the definition of applicant, it basically means the owner of land in which a Blue Ribbon Project is proposed. So an individual or a company can start collecting property and cobble together 15,000 acres, which is the benchmark in here. And now they can file for a Blue Ribbon Project. And that's we don't even know who these people are. So the way the bill works is if an applicant applies for a Blue Ribbon Project and complies with this bill, the local government really has no right to object to it, because all they can say is it complies or it doesn't comply. And the problem with the bill, it's so loose and broad that it would be impossible to deny it. So what happens is there's some language in there about, Oh, then it becomes part of the comprehensive plan. The thing about it is a local government's comprehensive plan is something that they have created over time. This bill says, If the Blue Ribbon Project is proposed and approved, according to this very broad language, the comp plan has to be changed to match it. It's not the other way around. They don't have to go to the local government and say, we're going to apply for this project, and it comports with your comprehensive plan. That's not how it works. It's the other way around. And I find that really troublesome. The other thing is one of the definitions, and it talks about, there's a lot of buzzwords in here, and they're geared to some of us sitting on this floor. They use the word missing middle housing. That's important to me. That was Live local. But you know what? Missing middle housing in live local is related to income qualification. Missing middle housing in this definition is everything. They talk about rural areas. That's important to our president. But rural areas are going to be sucked up in this. There's something in here for everybody, but it doesn't work. The thing that bothers me the most is that and I like the concepts, and everybody's been saying, This is great. We get 60% of the project's going to be a reserve area. But the thing about that we don't know where it's going to be. The word conceptual, propose is everywhere. And it talks about conservation easements for conservation, but it doesn't say they have to be recorded. It just says they're going to enter into them. We don't even know what they're going to be or where they're going to be. And I know it's a 50 year thing, and it's going to develop over time, but at least have some concrete areas right now. The thing that bothers me the most is that they talk about the reserve area. And when I think of conservation area , we all do. We think of walking trails and kayaking and passive recreation. We don't think of utility sites, and it's in the definition that you can put a utility site in the reservoir area. Then they stick in something about, no more than 15%. But what about a nuclear power plant can be built in the reserve area, and that's not what we think of as reserve or conservation. The other thing is, there is nothing in this bill that says that the development area, infrastructure, utilities, everything to serve a development community. They don't really say where it's going to be. It could be in the reserve area. And I get and I've talked to Senator McClain. He's been wonderful. You want to have some connectivity, maybe some arterial roads or whatever in the reserve area, but not utilities and not, facilities. Every single facility and infrastructure to serve the development area must be, should be in the development area, but it's not in the bill. So we don't really know. The other thing about the language, it's got some really nice language about the mix of residential and commercial mixed use. But it's not definitive. It kind of says, If you put in housing, it's got to look like this. But it doesn't say how much. This project could be 100% or 99.9% industrial, because it talks about just like, you could have one house. And not that that would happen, but it's just so broad. It just doesn't work. Let's see what else. There's so much. I'mma go crazy. I don't want to keep going on and on. But I'm so distressed by this bill. If you don't believe me, go and look at our staff analysis. Technical deficiencies are a page and a half. How often does that happen in a staff analysis? The bill lacks technical details and does not specify mechanisms by which the reserve areas restrictions are going to be maintained, concurrency, mobility, all these things, there is nothing definite in here. And we're talking about 15,000 acres. And I absolutely disagree with Senator McClain that the urban boundary cannot be moot, because it's 15,000 acres. So, I could go on and on. I do want to say, and I'll say 1 million times, I like the concept, but it has to be part of a larger discussion. And Senator McClain have talked about this, and I think he's the perfect guy to do it because he understands these things. We need to look at land development in this state on a whole scale effort, not like this. And honestly, there's nothing in here that is permanent. And the other thing that I think is really odd is that there's no state involvement. We're always meddling all the time. In this case, we're just saying, taking the state out, Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, the Department of Economic Opportunity, all the state agencies that we're going to be relying on. They don't even have a say in this bill. And that bothers me. So I really like Senator McClain, and of his bills are really wonderful. We passed a bunch of them. We've worked on them. This one's not ready for prime time. So I'm asking you, members, please don't vote for this bill, not because it's Senator McClain's or whatever. It's just not ready. And I know and one thing I am going to say, there's a lot of lobbyists that have been working on this bill, and I know they've been telling you a lot of things, but it's wrong. And I'm going to vote against the bill, and I'm going to ask everyone else, to. Thank you, Mr. President. >> Additional debate, Gruters, boy. >> Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Senator McClain, for bringing this bill. I stand in support of it today. I've listened. I've watched. I've heard in committee. I've seen you collaborate with a lot of the parties that are affected or interested in this. And you've adjusted. You've talked to your partners in the House and you've adjusted. And I believe this bill is ready for prime time. I think it's the right thing to do. I've talked to some folks in rural communities that said, "Bring whatever you can that represents growth and development for our area. We need it." This is one of those things. I don't often do this, but I find it a little bit ironic in some of the comments that were made. Some of these same issues that you're dealing with problems, apparently in your bill, were okay in a bill that we passed several years ago. So I find that a little bit curious. But that said, I think this is the right time for this. I know you're a man of your word. If there's ways down the road that this thing needs to be adjusted or made better in other ways, I know you'll take that on, but thank you for bringing this day. I think it's the right thing to do and the right time to do it. >> Additional debate, Senator Simon. >> Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for the comments. Rules Chair, Passidomo. Someone who represents 12 of my counties are rural. Rarely do my rule folks reach out to me about bills because many of them are too busy working. They really want us to stay out of their business and out of their bedrooms and out of their pockets so that they can live their lives. But I will tell you, my phone has been blowing up. My emails have been blowing up because of this bill. This is one of two that I've really heard a lot from my local people. It's not the folks that get on the chain letters and they send out the chain letters to all of us in their emails. All these are personal. The largest concern that my rural communities, like I said, I've got 12. I've got roughly 30% of the fiscally constrained counties in this state. This bill affects my communities, probably more than anybody else in this room. Their biggest concern is the continued expansion into their communities, removing their way of life. They moved to these communities because they were running away from the places like Orlando and Miami and Broward County. They live in this part of the state for a reason. And it's not for overdevelopment, and it's not for golf courses or whatever else can be built in this 60% areas that we are setting aside for these reserves. It's not. They don't want it. They're not interested. The great thing about our rural Renaissance bill is it was an a la carte of things that they can pick and choose from that fit the needs of their communities. It wasn't a state overreach. It wasn't driven by any lobby corps. It was driven by the people that live in these communities; third, fourth, fifth, sixth generation farmers. This bill isn't ready. I rarely come up and debate against our counterparts or our Republican members. Rarely do I debate. But I feel strongly that this is the wrong course of action, and it takes away local control of being able to determine how they build moving forward. And so with that, I ask that you vote down on this bill. >> Additional debate. Senator Bradley and debate. >> Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for the comments that I've heard so far on the floor today. And Senator Simon, I represent seven counties across North Florida, a large swath of rural North Florida, and it's an incredible privilege to be able to do that. And it's been an incredible privilege for the last few years to be able to share the message of the Florida legislature with my rural communities. To be able to tell them, we see you, we hear you, we want to lift you up. We want to give you the tools to grow. And one of the things we highlighted. In fact, I debated twice on your bill, Senator Simon, on this issue. And the substance of my debate was what I appreciated most about the policy that we have been fighting for is that it lets local governments grow as they see fit. It keeps the future, their vision, their character in the control of the local community. And this bill up ends that message that we've been sharing. And instead of calls saying, Hey, do you think this grant program qualifies? What can we do? Now, I am inundated with county commissioners. I have 35 county commissioners through my district. I have heard from most. I have talked to the county attorneys. How are we going to deal with a litany of issues that are going to arise? And folks are understandably dumbfounded that in this atmosphere, we are presenting an option that says, for the largest landowners, you get to make your own rules and create your own playing field, literally create your own zoning, your own industrial, your own uses. The lack of specifics, the lack of certainty, the lack of clarity about major issues in this bill have been brought up consistently through committees. What happens when it spans multiple jurisdictions? What if the reserve areas in one county, all the developments in the other county, what happens to the tax base? I'm glad for the amendment today that says that data centers cannot be in the development area. Just one issue if you were to sit and brainstorm, how could you drive a Mack truck through this bill? How could property owners cobble together 15,000 acres, sell it to a developer, if I could assure that these properties would be developed by certain developers that we know are high integrity with the intention of the community at mind? That is not how a bill works. This bill could cobble together 15,000 acres. They could sell it to someone that I assure you, none of us want developing 15,000 acres with no rules in their community. And where are these properties? These properties are in my area. My folks are livid. They feel betrayed. And I am not going to turn over the quality of life, the future of my communities to a hedge fund. I am down. I beg y'all to vote down on this bill. This is a problem. Let's come back next year and fix the growth management issues. This is not reform. This is surrender. And I am vehemently opposed. >> Senator Wright and debate. >> Thank you very much, Mr. President. You're all surprised that I'm debating, because I rarely debate. But look at what happened with SB 180, and not to take anything away from Senator DiCeglie. His bill got hijacked and it made my life miserable last year with all of the phone calls. And thank God we were able to do something, and Senator Gaetz is moving his forward to help clean that mess up. It's not his fault that Senator DiCeglie what happened, I'm not blaming him at all, but I don't want to go through that again. And this bill is going to cause my phones to burn up this year, and there's not going to be a summer off. I have been always a local control person, and in my statements to my communities, and I speak to a lot of groups. You just don't know how many speaking assignments I have every week. I tell them you can count on me to protect our local control. And I usually say people live in Naples because they like Naples. People live in Tampa because they like Tampa. People live in Jacksonville because they like Jacksonville. Who are we to say you're all going to be the same vanilla color? That's why we have local control. And so thank God for the 218 today because that's going to give me a little relief there. And some of my locals are going to not be calling me. I can't even go to social events without them coming into my face. Going, what are you going to do about 180? I think we got that handled. So please don't vote on this and give away any local control to anyone. Last thing, as you probably all are aware, Senator Passidomo, appointed me to be the chair of the Florida Defense Support Commission. We protect the sanctity of the 21 bases that we have in Florida. Time and time again, we find money that we don't want to have from China trying to buy land adjacent to our bases, and we kill those deals. What's to protect us once this gets approved from perhaps something like that happening? So I'm asking you all too to vote no on this bill. >> Additional debate. >> Senator Pizzo. >> Thank you, Mr. President. And the purpose for me to debate today is because I have consistently been a yes on this bill through committees. And I think objectively, I made myself available to work on this. I don't seek to join a chorus of vilifying lobbyists. There have been some incredibly diligent lobbyists who have been as advocates for the idea and the concept because I like, as President Passidomo does in aspiration and theory of what it seeks to do. So I have nothing ill to say of anyone who's advocated for this bill at all. And I think Senator McClain has to appreciate and agree that I try to make myself available. And I think it was President Simpson, but it might have been Ben Albritton who said back in 2022, before any of you go and make any kind of statement or take any kind of position about a rural area of Florida, should you would do well to check in with some senators who represent those rural areas. I remember that. And what I also remember is Senator Bradley has probably given up 2,000 hours, got into her own pocket to come down to my district, which looks nothing like her district at all. Next week, she's coming down to my district again to sit there with five, 600 people in a condo forum. She doesn't have any condos in her district. And what she wouldn't do when I was promised that, of course, where 98 people die in my district, surely I should be the one that carries the condo bill. No, politics wouldn't allow it. Senator Bradley did. My goodness, the grace and compassion that you had for people that you don't represent and can't vote for you. Probably most definitely at the expense and sacrifice of not being able to tend to your district. And I got to tell you something. You never once said anything to me about this bill. Never once. Never tried to cloud my judgment, never tried to change my mind, never once until the last couple of days, we had an actual conversation. We had dinner the other night, and you and I got into it. And you left angry and upset, and you never said what it was. And Maggie reminded me, she's there all the time for you, everything that you need, trying to make your input in application, work legislatively, politically, and publicly. She's not telling you to vote no, she's just trying to tell you what her position is and what matters to her. The reason why I love the bill is because I don't know how many times as a kid, people used to say, "We don't want that guinea and his Jew lawyer coming into our town." I don't care if it's a hedge fund. I don't care the form of ownership. I just remember my childhood. I used to get sent home from Montessori School with papers pinned in my chest saying, Stop Pizzo. True. So I don't begrudge, you know, who the owner is. And I also believe this. This might be not popular. I believe if you own one share of stock, you get to yell at the annual meeting. If you own 10% of the company, you get a seat at the table. So I'm not opposed to someone, especially those who take a huge financial risk to go ahead and do development. But when you go 10,000-15,000, now we're picking winners and losers. Now we're playing Billionaire Bingo. And the fabric of a community cannot be represented if you don't have the input of those who represent and were elected to represent the fabric of that community. I'm happy to keep working on this bill. I think it's a great idea in concept and in theory. But all I said to you the other day, and just so there's no surprise, I said, "In rules, I have voted for this bill, each and every single stop. I have made myself available to help work on this. And a fix would have been, should it be voted in, is to put the entirety of the concessions and amenities given to this concept within a developers agreement. And even as late as last night in my office, I said, "What are we doing?" And you had to go. So today, I'm a no. >> Additional debate. >. Senator Gaetz in debate. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I hope and I wish that the actual physical results of this bill would be as the sponsor has explained them and as he has envisioned them. His description of what could be possible with inside these blue ribbon large track projects. His description is persuasive. And the words as President Passidomo has explained, the words of the bill are aspirational. The problem is that there's nothing in the bill that actually says, "You have to do anything specific." And as we've seen in Florida before, people can start out with dreams that are wonderful dreams and good dreams and well financed dreams, and the bank's happy, and everybody thinks it's a good deal. And as Senator Pizzo indicated, the risk of developers should not be just sort of discounted. Developers put everything in the middle of the table sometimes to make something work. But we've seen in Florida where when we don't know and we can't predict and we've not had any specifics about what's going to really happen, the dreams can turn into fields where there are sewer taps sticking up and not much else. And I have that in my area, and we have that in other parts of the state. And unfortunately, this bill does not provide the specifics necessary to earn my vote. As President Passidomo has indicated, you could have 15,000 acres and hardly any houses at all. It could all be warehouses. It could all be something else. And the area that is explained in this bill as being for conservation is not really for conservation. It can be for almost anything. And in fact, it could be clear cut, not a single tree in the so called conservation area. There's no prohibition against clear cutting. But the other thing about the bill that people in my area have talked to me about is that I got a call late last night from a county commissioner who said, Don, in all the committee meetings that you've had about this bill, have you seen any communities come forward and say they like it? Because we don't I said, Well, gee, I haven't been at every committee meeting this bill has faced, but I was in the rules committee, and it was a long discussion, and no, there was no testimony from anybody who said, I want this in my area. No local leaders, no ordinary citizens, no local government people said, This is a great idea. We hope you bring it to our area. 15,000 acres. You got to have 15,000 acres to play. There are just a very small handful of people who could cobble together 15,000 acres. So if I would like to imagine this bill would result in the kind of big sector development that we have in some places in Northwest Florida that the Sancho paper company has done. They done an extraordinary job, but they did it in the way that Senator Pizzo has described with a development agreement that could be enforced. Not too many people have 15,000 acres. This bill is not for people who want more houses that will be affordable. The bill is not for people who want more conservation area. The bill is not for people who want more growth and jobs and small communities. This bill is for a very few people. Nothing wrong with that. This is America. Rockefellers and people like that. They were very few, and they accomplished a lot. But this bill is for the few and the very few. And consequently, because it is not for the many and the many have not asked for it, and there is no benefit that I can see that is certain in this bill for the many, I have to respectfully decline to support it, but I just wish I wish that the bill provided all that this sponsor believes will happen because if it did, I would vote for it, but because it doesn't can't. And so I'm a no on the bill. >> We show the bill temporarily postponed. Please read the next bill. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 530, a bill to be entitled An Act relating to state lotteries. >> Senator of what? Are you the third? Senator the third. Senator Simon, you are recognized to explain the bill. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Senate Bill 530 amends Chapter 24 of the Florida State statute relating to the Department of Lottery. It makes updates to operations, security and enforcement frameworks for the state's lottery system. The bill introduces a formal definition of ball machines and refines the definition for retailers by allowing the lottery to become an authorized entity that can sell lottery tickets and major procurement by removing obsolete references to the startup of a lottery. The bill also makes other revisions that removes provisions dealing with the first year of ticket sales. The bill removes the requirements that all lottery drawings and ticket validations be monitored and require that all drawings where ball machines are used to select winning numbers be monitored. The bill removes the requirements that the lottery must least all vending machines and removes the requirement that the lottery requires a performance bond for the duration of the contract with the retailer. The bill increases the maximum bond amount for the lottery retailer and further authorizes the lottery to maintain any interest bearing accounts to secure retail deposits. That is the bill. >> Are there amendments? >> None on the desk, Mr. President. >> Are there questions of the sponsor? Senator Simon moves the bill be read a third time. All those in favor signify by saying yes. All those opposed? Show the motion carries. Please read the bill a third time. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 530, a bill to be entitled an Act relating to state lotteries. >> Is there debate? Senator Pizzo in debate. >> Thank you. Sometimes we get questions and public records requests, which I'm always happy to comply with. I always tell counsel. Just go ahead and releas whatever you have in mind, just just go ahead and release it. Just a little bit of procedure and how it works in the Senate and the House, especially in the Senate. If you're a co-sponsor of bill, sometimes you're a co-sponsor of a bill because the bill sponsor is not available to present the bill and is in another meeting, or out of town, or as an emergency. So you throw yourself on as a co-sponsor so you're able to present the bill on their behalf. Not that I'm not voting for the bill, but this is an example of where Senator Simon was not available. I was actually tending to family, and I put myself on as a co sponsor. I did the same thing to help out Senator Mayfield on an airport bill that got a little spicy at the end. So I just wanted the public to know that if you see a co-sponsor, sometimes it's as a matter of convenience to assist our colleagues in presenting a bill in a committee. >> Thank you very much. Debate further? Seeing none, Senator Simon to close. >> Thank you, [LAUGHTER] Mr. President. And thank you, Senator Pizzo, for not cosponsoring my bill. [LAUGHTER] With that, I ask for your favorable support. >> The Secretary will unlock the board, and senators will proceed to vote. Have all senators voted. Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. >> Thirty-six yeas, 0 nays. Mr. President. >> Show the bill passes. Please read the next bill. >> Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 556, a bill to be entitled Act relating to requirements for a standard high school diploma. >> Senator of the 26 Leader Berman, you are recognized to present the bill. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Members, the purpose of this bill is to allow students with special needs to fulfill their PE requirements by actively participating in special Olympic programs. Current law already allows students to satisfy their one credit PE requirement through substitutions like two full seasons of interscholastic sports or two years of marching band. This bill extends the same flexibility to students with disabilities by allowing them to participate in the Special Olympics as a course substitution for PE. The bill also fixes a glitch from last year's bill relating to marching band, clarifying th