Friday, January 15, 2021, Tallahassee – State lawmakers assembled at Florida’s sparsely-occupied capitol this week for their first round of committee weeks in preparation for their 2021 Session scheduled to convene on March 2nd. The ongoing pandemic has forced a continued virtual shuttering of the capitol complex buildings to the public, as new safety protocols are now in place for those elected members and the key staff privileged to enter.
DC’s and other specified health care providers will no longer be required to have a Home Medical Equipment (HME) license to sell, rent or distribute TENS units under a bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this week, on June 23rd. The legislative initiative was introduced at the request of the FCA and passed both the full House and Senate earlier this year during the Legislature’s 2020 Session, taking effect on July 1, 2020.
Monday, March 16, 2020, Tallahassee – State lawmakers, scheduled to end their 60-day legislative session on Friday, worked up until their midnight deadline before finally acknowledging they would need to extend to complete the one task they are mandated to complete each year: Passing a state budget for the next fiscal year. Budget work continued into the weekend as leaders in both the House and Senate worked behind the scenes to hammer out their differences. Their final conference report was “published” on Sunday, triggering a 72-hour “cooling off” period before a final vote can be taken. Current plans call for lawmakers to return to the capitol on Thursday afternoon to vote on their record $93.2-billion budget plan.
Friday, March 6, 2020, Tallahassee – With just one week remaining in this year’s annual lawmaking session, questions continue to mount as legislative leaders suggest they may not be able to complete their work by their scheduled adjournment on March 13th. While budget negotiations between the House and Senate leaders are supposedly taking place behind-the-scenes, neither body has moved forward to appoint the usual assemblage of conferees to formally accomplish the goal of hammering out a state government spending plan in the sunshine. Passing a balanced budget is the only chore the legislature must accomplish before adjourning, the likelihood of which now appears improbable without the possible overtime extension suggested yesterday by both the Speaker and President.
Legislative Updates 