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2021 1st Committee Week Update: Prepared by Converge Government Affairs

The first committee week has come to an end. There will be 4 more committee

weeks preceding the 2021 Session, which begins March 2nd. This week the House

Civil Justice and Property Rights Subcommittee passed the closely-watched measure

(HB 7) seeking to limit lawsuits arising out of the COVID pandemic. The committee

passed HB 7 with 11 Yeas and 6 Nays, no amendments to the bill were approved.

The bill is a priority for House Speaker Chris Sprowls. HB 7 will be next heard in the

Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee.

In Wednesday’s House Appropriations meeting, Chair Jay Trumbull said "We will be

squeezing blood out of turnips. We have to systematically change the way we build

this budget." The state is predicting a revenue shortfall of $2.75 billion in the

coming budget, and deficits for two years thereafter. Budget cuts will be a shadow

over everything as we move through session. 

Key Bills:

HB 7, SB 72  - Civil Liability for Damages Relating to COVID-19

HB 7:  01/13/21, Favorable by Civil Justice & Property Rights

Subcommittee; 11 Yeas, 6 Nays

These bills provides several COVID-19-related liability protections for businesses,

educational institutions, government entities, religious organizations, and other

entities. Under the bill, a covered entity that makes a good faith effort to

substantially comply with applicable COVID-19 guidance is immune from civil

liability from a COVID-19-related civil action. The bill also provides that for any

COVID-19-related civil action against a covered entity, a plaintiff must:

·Plead his or her complaint with particularity.

·Submit, at the time of filing suit, a physician's affidavit confirming the

physician's belief that the plaintiff's COVID-19-related injury occurred

because of the defendant's conduct.

·Prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant was at least

grossly negligent.

The bill's liability protections do not apply to a health care provider, such as a

hospital, nursing home, assisted living facility, or other health care-related entity.

The bill provides a one-year statute of limitations for COVID19-related claims. For a

plaintiff whose cause of action has already accrued, the one-year period does not

begin to run until the bill becomes effective.

SB 124 - Residential Swimming Pool Safety

No movement

Requiring that new residential swimming pools meet 2 safety requirements, rather

than just 1, in order to pass final inspection and receive a certificate of completion.

Prohibiting a property owner from transferring ownership of a parcel that includes a

swimming pool unless certain the new requirements are met.

SB 332 - Unlicensed Contracting

No movement

Revising the criminal penalties for persons who engage in contracting or advertise

themselves as contractors without proper registration or certification.

SB 338 - Specialty Contracting Services

No movement

Allows swimming pool contractors to use individuals who will work under the

supervision and scope of the contractor’s license. Similar to the Jim Walters

exemption, safety, and quality will be ensured by requiring oversight of these

individuals by a licensed swimming pool contractor.

SB 344 - Legislative Review of Occupational Regulations

No movement

Establishing a schedule for the systematic review of occupational regulatory

programs.

SB 358 - Water Safety

No movement

Requiring district school boards and the governing authorities of private schools to

require children going into kindergarten to present a water safety and swimming

certificate beginning in a certain school year. Providing an exemption from certain

water safety and swimming certifications for a child whose parent follows a

specified procedure. Takes effect beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.

SB 366 - Apprenticeship and Pre Apprenticeship Training

No movement

Revising the general duties of the Department of Education with regard to

apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs; revising the membership of the

State Apprenticeship Advisory Council; providing that apprenticeship or pre

apprenticeship program sponsors are responsible for the selection and training of

certain personnel, as approved by the department.

SB 378 - Payment for Construction Services

No movement

Increasing the interest rate for certain payments for purchases of construction

services; specifying that a person, firm, or corporation who fails to make certain

payments relating to public projects commits a misapplication of constructions

funds and is subject to criminal penalties; increasing the interest rate for overdue

payments for the purchase of construction services.

The House and Senate are taking precautions to limit the possibility

of COVID spread:

Senate: (from President Simpson's memo)

Committee Blocks

As we have previously discussed, you will notice that committee blocks have been

reduced so no more than three committees are meeting at one time. This schedule

will allow us to utilize the committee rooms with the largest seating area for

Senators, 412 Knott, 110 SB, and 37 SB, to accommodate appropriate social

distancing.

Required Testing

The Senate will utilize the same COVID-19 testing procedure for interim committee

weeks that we had for the Organization Session. Senators and all Senate

Professional Staff, as well as district staff based in or traveling to Tallahassee, will

test prior to each interim committee week.

Remote Committee Viewing/Public Testimony

Input from various stakeholders and members of the public is critical to the

legislative process and the Senate will work diligently to ensure Floridians have

access to their elected officials as we consider important legislation for our state.

The Senate worked in partnership with Florida State University to reserve three

remote viewing rooms at the Leon County Civic Center, which will provide the

opportunity for members of the public to view meetings and virtually address

Senate committees in a safe, socially distant manner.

Committee Viewing

In-person committee viewing will be limited to those invited to present information

before the committee as well as members of the media. As determined by the

Committee Chair, in advance of each meeting, committee staff will contact those

with subject matter expertise (for example, agency staff), who would typically

attend a committee meeting within their jurisdiction, to determine whether based

on the specific agenda, they should attend the meeting in person in order to answer

questions that may arise.

Virtual Meetings

For the month of January, Senators are asked to avoid in person meetings and to

utilize available platforms to schedule meetings virtually. Likewise, when feasible,

committees are asked to facilitate remote presentations. Senators and staff who

require assistance in facilitating remote meetings or committee meeting

presentations should contact Senate IT. We will monitor the status of the COVID-19

Pandemic and adjust this policy as appropriate for our February Committee Weeks.

As a reminder, I asked the Secretary of the Senate and Senate Administration to

temporarily postpone bringing on board any Senate pages, Senate interns, or

Senate volunteers for work at the Capitol during the 2021 Regular Session.

House: (from Speaker Sprowl's memo)

Our goal has been to tailor our protocols to match the specific circumstances of the

moment. I am pleased to share with you an outline of Phase II of our safety

protocols, which will apply to the January and February committee weeks.

Any changes to the public health guidelines that result from the progress of the

vaccination efforts will be considered in the development of protocols for Phase III.

In late February, we will share our protocols for the regular legislative session that

begins on March 2, 2021.

Protocol #1: Alternating Schedule / Shorter Committee Week

The intensity of activity in and around committee weeks creates challenges for

guarding against the spread of the novel coronavirus. The House will mitigate that

risk by splitting our committee blocks in two and implementing an alternating

meeting schedule, which will result in a more condensed committee schedule by

reducing the number of days Members will need to be in Tallahassee.

During the January 11 committee week, half the committees and subcommittees

will meet over two days (rather than all the committees meeting over the traditional

four days). During the January 25 committee week, the remaining committees and

subcommittees will meet for two days. For the week of February 1, the committees

and subcommittees that met during the January 11 committee week will meet

again, and so on through February.

Protocol #2: Room Sanitation

We will have one-hour breaks between committee meetings to clean and disinfect

the meeting rooms, and replace microphone shields. Medical grade HEPA filters will

be running in all committee rooms.

Protocol #3: Smart Space Management

The House will limit committee meetings to Webster Hall, Morris Hall, Reed Hall and

Sumner Hall. All committee meetings will be live-streamed on https://thefloridachannel.org/.

Audience seating in committee rooms will be socially distanced and limited to

meetings where committees are discussing bills or potential legislation. The House

will use an online registration system for the public (including lobbyists and

advocates) wishing to provide substantive testimony and for the press. Seating will

be available on a first-come, first-served basis. There will also be an opportunity for

the public to provide written testimony to committee members should they not be

able to provide testimony in person. On certain issues of great public significance

and when scheduling allows, we will also have expanded seating capacity for on-site

virtual testimony. More details will be available on the House website the week of

January 4.

Protocol #4: Responsible Access to House Spaces

Visitors, including lobbyists, are required to observe social distancing and wear a

face-covering when in the company of another person. Visitors exhibiting COVID-19

symptoms, who are in quarantine, or who were recently diagnosed with COVID-19

may not enter House spaces and should reschedule their visit to a different time.

Members and House employees are encouraged to use conference calls or virtual

meetings as alternatives to in-person meetings. If in-person meetings are

necessary, every effort should be made to limit the maximum number of guests

who can safely socially distance. As a reference, standard Member offices generally

accommodate two (2) guests and standard employee offices generally

accommodate no more than one (1) guest. In-person meetings should be by

appointment only with sufficient time in between appointments to avoid crowding in

common areas.

Protocol #5: Precautions for Members

No Member of the House wishes to put themselves, their colleagues or our staff at

risk. Therefore we are asking that you take full advantage of the available safety

precautions.

The same COVID-19 molecular diagnostic testing offered during the Organization

Session will be available on-site to Members and legislative employees. Members

and district legislative assistants should plan to arrive to Tallahassee the day before

their first commitment at the Capitol to allow for testing and delivery of results. A

negative COVID-19 test from the on-site testing service will be a prerequisite for

access to House spaces. Testing information will be emailed on Tuesday, January 5,

2021.

We would also ask you to wear a mask when around other Members, legislative

employees, and visitors. Some exceptions may apply based on individual

circumstances.

Protocol #6: Precautions for Staff

District legislative assistants are authorized to travel to Tallahassee for the January

and February committee weeks and will be the only staff approved to work in each

Member’s Capitol office. Members are not authorized to hire OPS staff or to recruit

volunteers to share the space with their district legislative assistant in their Capitol

office.

District legislative assistants diagnosed with COVID-19, who are exhibiting COVID-

19 symptoms or who are in quarantine are not authorized to travel to Tallahassee.

District staff must return to their district immediately if they are not cleared with a

negative COVID-19 diagnostic test from our on-site testing service.

Public-facing desks in committees and administrative offices will be retrofitted with

plexiglass. Members may request to have their district legislative assistant's desk in

the Capitol retrofitted with plexiglass by emailing COVIDQuestions@myfloridahouse.gov.

All House employees will be required to wear a mask when interacting with others in

the legislative process as well as undergo testing at the on-site testing center.