Tallahassee – State lawmakers ended their annual legislative session Sine Die today at 11:00 a.m., 13-hours early but only after casting final votes on the one task they are mandated to complete each year; passing a balanced state budget for the next fiscal year. In addition to giving their approval to the record $117-billion spending plan for 2023-24, Republican super majorities in both chambers delivered a long list of priorities advanced by Gov. DeSantis as he continues his march towards a likely announcement he will formally enter the race for president.

In addition to their work on the budget, legislators tackled top DeSantis priorities including a ban on gender-affirming care for minors; further abortion restrictions; an expansion of restrictions on sexual education; additional election reforms; a crackdown on illegal immigrants; new bans on “woke” investing; yet another swipe at Disney, together with a strike against big tech by imposing new data privacy restrictions.

It was likewise a busy session for healthcare and following you’ll find a quick look at the main issues of interest to the profession seeing action this year. At this writing, most all are still subject to the Governor’s final action so watch for our future updates. Once the dust settles, a detailed discussion of these and other bills of interest will be published in upcoming bulletins and in our final legislative report. Be sure to stay tuned.

Tallahassee – With exactly one week until the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment on next Friday, May 5^th, Senate and House leaders announced yesterday they believe they are on schedule to agree on a budget and finish this year’s 60-day lawmaking sojourn on time. With budget conference committees just announcing they have completed their negotiations, that confirms lawmakers' primary focus now shifts to debating and taking final votes on the scores of bills that successfully navigated their committee assignment and are now before them in each chamber on the floor. Following, is a closer look at the action this week on those issues most important to the profession.

Tallahassee – Legislative committees spent much of this session’s seventh week considering their final bill agendas, tying-up loose ends as they shut down for this year. With just two weeks remaining in the year’s regular legislative session, lawmakers will devote more and more time on the floor debating and voting on those bills that remain having successfully navigated the committee process. Meanwhile, House and Senate joint budget conference committees are gearing up to meet early next week to hammer out the remaining differences between each chamber’s state government spending plan.

Proposals aimed at repealing Florida’s current No-fault/PIP auto insurance system remained stalled this week as the clock continues to run. While anything is still possible until the final gavel falls on this year’s sojourn on May 5th, it is increasingly likely this issue is dead for yet another year. Nevertheless, several other issues of interest to the profession saw action this week in your capital as detailed below.

Tallahassee – While Senators and Reps spent last week debating and passing each chamber’s respective state budget plan for FY 2023-24, this week lawmakers turned their attention to several other high-profile issues. Next week they will likely return to budget negotiations as joint Senate-House conference committees are appointed to begin their work on hammering out the differences between the two spending plans.

Heading the list of top priorities of the governor and legislative leaders this week was a controversial, shortened six-week abortion ban. Previously approved by the Senate on April 3rd by a 26-13, the House considered the proposal on Thursday. Following over five hours of debate on the floor, including public protests in the House gallery leading to its clearing and closing, members finally approved the bill by a 70-40 largely partisan vote. Within hours the bill was presented to and immediately signed into law by, Gov. DeSantis.

A number of other issues important to the profession also saw committee action this week as detailed below -- but with just one exception: Bills proposing to repeal PIP/No-fault remain stalled. While committees continue their work on individual bills next week, most legislative action will move to budget conference committees, and to the floors of the House and Senate, during their last two weeks of work prior to the legislature’s scheduled adjournment on May 5th.

Tallahassee – Wednesday of this week marked the halfway-point of state lawmakers’ 60-day session and while a number of high-profile bills have already been passed and sent to the Governor’s desk, a large majority of issues remain unresolved with only four weeks to go. Chief among them is the state’s FY 2023-24 government spending plan. This week both the House and Senate approved their separate plans setting into motion the conference committee process could begin as early as next week following their short break for Easter and Passover.

Regular committees continued to meet this week to continue to pare down the mound of over 1,800 individual member bills filed for consideration this session. While committees will continue to meet up until their April 25th deadline, any bill that hasn’t had at least one public hearing by this time is likely in jeopardy.

Several bills of interest to the profession saw action this week -- together with others still at a standstill -- as detailed below. Be sure to stay closely tuned to our weekly e-reports and video updates as the already frenetic pace of the legislature heads into overdrive during the closing weeks.

Tallahassee – Lawmakers released the earliest drafts of their state government spending plans this week as they near the halfway point of their 60-day annual legislative session next week. Agreeing on, and passing a balanced state government spending plan, is the only task the constitution requires the legislature to complete each year.

Both FY2023-24 budget plans set a record for state government spending for FY 2023-24. The Senate plan calls for a total of $113.7-billion in spending, while the House comes in approximately $700-million less at just under $113-billion. After each chamber passes its plan joint Senate-House conference committees will be appointed to work out the differences between the two spending plans.

While committees continue to meet for the next several weeks, they will start to wind down their hearings as more time is devoted in both the House and Senate on the floor debating bills and moving them to final passage, while at the same time finalizing the budget. Though anything is still possible, member bills that have not started their trek through the committee process will soon litter the landscape losing their chance for a final blessing. Nevertheless, here’s the latest on the issues still very much alive based on lawmakers actions this last week.

Since the February 14^th announcement by Gov. DeSantis, Senate President Passidomo, and House Speaker Renner they intend to tackle challenges in the litigation environment during this Spring’s legislative session, a fair amount of confusion and misinformation soon followed. Consider these answers to the questions we are hearing most often from our members to give you a more accurate picture of the different issues being considered in Tallahassee right now.

 Q: I’m hearing from the attorneys that PIP/No-fault, together with AOBs and LOP could all go away. Is that really what is happening?

A: Not really. Regretfully several separate and distinct bills are being grouped together and reported by some in an attempt to stoke fear largely in the provider community. True, the proposal to repeal PIP and replace it with an MBI insurance requirement is being offered again, much as it has been the last eight years (SB 586 and HB 429), but it is a stand-alone issue (see more below). The question of AOBs is likewise in a separate measure (HB 541), a supposedly flawed draft of a bill with the intent of curbing litigation abuses relating mainly to windshield glass replacements. On the other hand, LOPs are addressed in the main tort bills (HB 837 & SB 236) and while not eliminated, their value and use could be negatively impacted moving forward.

 Q: So, if tort reform is the real target, why should I be concerned?

A: While advocates couch the bills as efforts to quash attorney abuses including frivolous lawsuits, in many ways they will have negative consequences for injured Floridians, largely to the benefit of big business interests. If passed in their current form the bills include changes to recoveries under both PIP and PI cases that would prove problematic to healthcare providers as well. Two issues are of primary concern: First, the repeal of a patient’s or provider’s right to prevailing party attorney’s fees in PIP cases; and second, limitations on provider reimbursements for balances owed in personal injury cases.

Q: Regarding the change in payment of attorney’s fees, how will it affect me?

A: Without any pressure on the auto carriers to pay attorney’s fees for denied or reduced payments, and without any PIP lawyers willing to take the cases, the auto insurers will be free (and will) reduce and deny your treatment bills. Because the PIP lawyers will no longer have a

right to get paid in statute, providers will not hire them on an hourly basis to file a lawsuit to recover $500, $1,000, or more. While it does not sound that bad, when you take the total amount reduced or denied over a year, that will add up to a lot of money with the provider’s hands tied and no ability to rectify the denials.

Q: Okay, so if LOPs are not going away how will my ability to get paid change?

A: Almost any type of agreement/promise to pay after settlement will be considered a LOP and will be captured in this bill. So, in PI cases the doctors and lawyers would now have to disclose: The LOP to the insurer; all medical expenses in an itemized billing statement (AMA’s CPT or HCPS coding); the patient’s health insurance; your referral source for treatment under the LOP; and in the Senate bill, any financial relationship between a law firm and a medical provider. With these big disclosures, LOPs may become nonexistent. Lawyers will not want the insurance companies to collect them and use them in a trial. Without LOPs, you will be increasingly at the whim of the settlements -- and the lawyers -- for getting paid.

Q: Now that I better understand the repeal of PIP/No-fault is a completely separate issue, what is the latest on that front?

A: In early February Senate Bill 586 was pre-filed, followed by House Bill 429. Though not identical, both bills yet again propose to repeal Florida’s 50-plus-year-old automobile insurance system replacing it with a requirement that drivers instead must carry mandatory bodily insurance coverage in varying amounts. Both bills were assigned to three committees each and are currently awaiting hearings in their first committees of reference. This is at least the eighth attempt at a change-over pushed by the Florida Justice Association. Last year’s effort passed the House but died in committee in the Senate. The 2021 attempt successfully passed both houses but was later vetoed by Gov. DeSantis in the shadow of an OIR-commissioned study suggesting the change-over would raise premiums. It remains to be seen if this year’s attempt will end any differently in light of the proposed tort reform measure.

Q: A lawyer I work with is asking me to donate funds to help defend against the tort reform changes. Should I?

A: This is not so much a political decision as it is a business decision for you alone. Please understand any contribution you make to, or through, an attorney -- whether it be to a political committee or a legal fund -- will be put to work to further the PIP lawyer’s agenda, an agenda which might not necessarily be in the best interests of the chiropractic profession. Any contribution you make may be put to use on a singular issue like protecting attorney’s fees -- but perhaps not on caps on medical bills, and certainly not on the many other bills your FCA Lobby Team is working on for the profession this session. As always, we suggest the very best return on your investment rests in supporting chiropractic political action specifically by supporting the FCA’s long-standing political committee ChiroPAC. (For more information, and to make your secure online donation, please visit www.ChiroPAC.org.)

Q: What is the FCA doing -- and what can I do to help?

A: The FCA Lobby Team is closely monitoring and engaging in the tort reform debate, both behind the scenes and in the front row at all public hearings. We are also actively working with the other healthcare professions on amendments to remove and/or improve the bills to minimize any negative impacts as they relate to providers. We ask you to please stay closely tuned to our updates and be prepared to act when WE urge you to act. At this early stage of the debate, we are not calling you into action, but that could quickly change.            

 Given the high profile of the tort reform issue, together with the strong support publicly pledged by the Governor together with legislative leaders in both chambers, we need to remain cognizant that we have a significant number of other issues on deck critical to chiropractic this session. Remaining reasonable and civil in this debate helps ensure a seat at the table when other key priorities for the chiropractic profession are up for discussion, debate, and negotiation.

This special FCA-FAQ briefing was prepared by FCA General Counsel Kim Driggers and Government Affairs Director Jack Hebert and was last updated on March 7, 2023. For your latest weekly FCA Frontline Tallahassee report check your e-mail or log into the member’s-only section of the FCA website at www.FCAChiro.org.

Tallahassee – State legislators spent the second week of their nine-week regular session primarily focused on holding committee hearings on individual member bills. State budget planning also began -- largely in the background -- as leadership in both chambers began their early work developing a plan to fund state government, the only exercise the constitution mandates the legislature complete each year.

Bills proposing major civil litigation reforms relating to tort actions, including the removal of PIP attorney’s fees, continued to advance in both chambers this week. The House version was considered, amended, and debated on the floor of the full House on Thursday afternoon with the final vote expected to be taken late today. The Senate version successfully cleared its last two of three committee references, now ready for consideration by the full Senate. (More details on these important issues appear below.)

Following, you will also find a summary of some of the many bills and issues your Lobby Team is following which saw action this week. Your FCA Lobby Team will be providing you with the very latest action on these issues, together with other key issues of primary interest to the profession, each and every week until the final gavel falls in early May.

Tallahassee – Tuesday of this week marked the launch of Florida’s annual 60-day legislative session amid the traditional fanfare of opening day. Speeches, spouses, flowers and VIP’s all filled the House chamber as all three branches of state government came together to listen to the Governor’s annual State-of-the-State address as tradition dictates.

The newly-reelected DeSantis wasted little time in reeling off a litany of why Florida is better than other states, continuing to advance his “Free Florida” agenda, while promising a list of even more good things to come. “We did it our way, and the result is Florida is the No. 1 destination for Americans looking for a better way of life,” he said before offering his closing promise: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Tallahassee – State lawmakers returned to Tallahassee this week for their last week of committee meetings in preparation for their annual 60-day session scheduled to launch on Tuesday, March 7th. Individual member bills continue to be filed daily as most committees begin to turn their attention to these earliest entries -- though not at quite the speed most members would prefer.

This week also saw the first public airing of a tort reform package touted by the Governor and legislative leaders as among their top priorities. The full-frontal assault on issues near and dear to Florida’s trial lawyers faced its first public hearing in a House committee meeting room to a packed audience early this morning.

This busy, final week of pre-session meetings also saw action on several other issues of interest to the profession. Highlights appear below, but for a deeper dive FCA members can access the Members-Only area of FCA’s site by clicking here.