Florida's Latest News

House Committee advances Fiona McFarland’s child care access proposal

A proposal by Sarasota Republican Rep. Fiona McFarland to expand before- and after-school child care access, shield in-home providers from insurance cancellations and create a new state-supported early learning fund cleared its latest House Committee.

HB 765 aims to expand access to early learning, ease regulatory burdens on providers and create new funding streams to help families struggling with rising child care costs. It does so by revising statutory definitions, adjusting licensing standards for family and large-family child care homes, and strengthening insurance protections for in-home providers. 

The bill goes further by creating the “Brighter Futures Program” to help fund early learning and child care needs statewide. McFarland told House Budget Committee members on Monday that the bill is meant to ease the financial strain facing Florida families. 

“Until your child is old enough to go to a VPK or Kindergarten program, you have to pay out of pocket,” she said. “If you are a working family, usually that means, depending on your income, you have to stay home because child care tuition is $16,000 a year.”

House Subcommittee OKs measure to enhance cybersecurity at Florida financial institutions

A House bill designed to increase cybersecurity among financial institutions in Florida earned unanimous approval in its second of three committee stops.

The measure (HB 381) would require loan originators, mortgage brokers and lenders, and money services businesses to “develop, implement and maintain comprehensive written information security programs for protections of information systems and nonpublic personal information and to establish written incident response plans.”

The bill’s sponsor, DeLand Republican Rep. Webster Barnaby, said it’s designed to help prevent breaches of online information, such as personal financial details, driver’s license and passport numbers, military identification numbers, books and records of current and proposed financial institutions, and business plans of those companies. The measure also calls for reports to be filed with the Office of Financial Regulation.

While the House information Technology Budget & Policy Subcommittee endorsed the measure, Rep. Fiona McFarland, a Sarasota Republican and Chair of the panel, said the bill is still a work in progress and she would like to see amendments to make sure it’s not imposing too much regulation.

House panel advances bill to create a safety net for domestic violence victims

A bill that would create stronger penalties for domestic violence abusers is one Committee stop away from reaching the House floor.

The House Justice Budget Subcommittee advanced HB 277 with a unanimous 14-0 vote following an emotional discussion where women — including Rep. Debra Tendrich, the bill’s co-sponsor — shared their own stories of abuse and said the legislation would create a safety net to help victims.

“Thirteen years ago, I left my abuser with just a suitcase and my child,” said Tendrich, a Lake Worth Democrat who sponsored the bill with Port Charlotte Republican Rep. Danny Nix. “It also brought me to turn pain into policy.”

Under HB 277, repeat domestic violence abuse would qualify as a penalty enhancement for defendants.

“HB 277 matters because it strengthens how courts recognize and respond to domestic violence,” said Yolanda Cope, who testified about the abuse she faced at the hands of her now ex-husband.

House Committee OKs bill promoting development of space industry

A bill designed to support the space industry in Florida got a boost from a second House panel.

The House Transportation Economic Development Budget Subcommittee unanimously approved the measure (HB 1177) following a presentation from its sponsor, Merritt Island Republican Rep. Tyler Sirois. The hearing featured no debate, a change of pace from last week when some legislators raised questions about proposed tax exemptions.

The measure aims to provide more autonomy at each installation in the state to promote growth of space development.

The bill language says contracting authority over the spaceports in Florida “shall be vested in the spaceport director or commander for that facility.” Development and program expansion plans for each spaceport facility in Florida would need to be submitted to Space Florida for review, but those plans are “not subject for approval by Space Florida,” per the legislation.