By Christine Hunschofsky, Member of the Florida House of Representatives
While there were several controversial bills during the 2023 Legislative session, I am honored to have sponsored/co-prime sponsored nine pieces of legislation that passed unanimously. All but one have been signed by the Governor so far.
HB 33: Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact. This bill allows Florida to become a compact state for psychologists which will give psychologists in the State of Florida the ability to continue to care for their patients (remotely or up to 30 days in person) who move or travel to a compact state. This licensure reciprocation will allow for a continuum of care for our students, seniors, and all Floridians. To see a list of the other PsyPact states, please visit www.psypact.org/mpage/psypactmap
HB 35: Public Records and Meetings /Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact – companion bill to HB 33.
HB 111: Flooding and Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Studies. This bill requires that any publicly financed infrastructure projects located in an area at risk due to sea level rise undergo a SLIP study to take the effects of sea level rise into account before construction. The bill also expands the Resilient Florida Grant Program to provide funding to municipalities and counties for feasibility studies and permitting costs for nature-based solutions that reduce the impact of flooding and sea level rise.
HB 165: Controlled Substance Testing. This bill will decriminalize the purchase and sale of fentanyl testing strips allowing them to be purchased and used in the State of Florida. These test strips are a harm reduction tool that will help save lives.
HB 199: Ethics Requirements for Officers and Employees of Special Tax Districts This bill clarifies that certain conduct is still prohibited regardless of the exemption, and requires elected local officers of independent special districts to undergo four hours of annual ethics training. The amount of training, content, and schedule for the training is the same as current law for constitutional officer’s and municipal officers.
HB 655: Suicide Prevention This bill adds to the bill I sponsored in 2020 that established the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. The bill extends the life of the Commission to September 1, 2026, and broadens the scope of the Commission to analyze the current capacity of Florida’s National Suicide Prevention hotline (988 system) and make recommendations to improve crisis response services in the state.
HB 845: Collegiate Purple Star Campuses This bill sets guidelines for a Florida College System institution, state university, or career center to join the Collegiate Purple Star Campuses program to help military families acclimate to a new educational environment. At a minimum, the program requires a participating FCS, SUS, or career center to designate a staff member as a military liaison, and maintain a student-led transition program that assists military students in transitioning to the institution.
HB 1125: Interstate Education Compacts. This bill creates an Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact (ITMC) which authorizes teachers licensed in one-member state to become licensed in another member state. Once the ITMC is ratified by 10 states, it becomes effective; at which time the designated commissioner of each member state will coordinate implementation of the policies and procedures necessary to effectuate the ITMC.
HB 1127: Public Records and Meetings/Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact – companion bill to HB 1125.
Several tax holidays were also approved this 2023 Legislative Session. To view them all and see the effective dates, please visit www.floridarevenue.com/pages/salestaxholidays.aspx.
As always, my staff and I are here to help in any way we can. Please feel free to reach out to my office at 954-956-5600 or HDist095@myfloridahouse.gov if we can ever be of assistance.