February 2020 Policy Snapshot: Senate Bills

10 Feb 2020 6:00 AM | Administrator (Administrator)

The 2020 Florida Legislative session convened on January 14th. The last day for regularly scheduled committee meetings will be on March 3rd, and the last day of the Regular Session will be on March 13th.  

Below are some of the food-related legislation movement we have seen in the Senate. Visit The Florida Senate official website for full bill descriptions and actions.


SB 40 — Prohibition of Plastic Carryout Bags and Straws

This bill was introduced on 1/14.

Prohibiting a store or food service business from providing to a customer a carryout bag made of plastic film; prohibiting a food service business from selling or providing to a customer a single-use plastic straw, etc.


SB 42 — Donor Human Milk Bank Services

This bill was introduced on 1/14.

Authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration to pay for donor human milk bank services as an optional Medicaid service if certain conditions are met; adding donor human milk bank services to the list of Medicaid services authorized for reimbursement on a fee-for-service basis; adding donor human milk bank services to the list of minimum benefits required to be covered by managed care plans, etc.


SB 50 — Beverage Container Deposits

This bill was introduced on 1/14.

“Designating the “Florida Beverage Container Deposit Act”; establishing refund values for specified beverage containers; requiring dealers and consumers in this state to pay a deposit fee for specified beverage containers; prohibiting the establishment or operation of a redemption center unless it is registered with the Department of Environmental Protection; providing that distributors and dealers are not obligated to accept or take containers not originally sold in this state or to pay the refund value and handling fees for them, etc.


SB 138 — Beverage Law

This bill was introduced on 1/14.

“Repealing provisions relating to limitations on the size of individual wine containers and individual cider containers; revising provisions that authorize a restaurant to allow patrons to remove partially consumed bottles of wine from a restaurant for off-premises consumption; revising the requirements for the sale of branded products by a licensed craft distillery to consumers, etc.


SB 168 — Drinking Water in Public Schools

This bill was voted favorable by the Education Committee on 11/12. The bill was read for the 1st time on 1/14.

“Subject to legislative appropriation, requiring district boards to coordinate with district school boards to identify certain schools and to provide funding to such schools; requiring certain school districts to install filters that meet certain specifications on drinking water sources; authorizing district boards to request additional funding to compensate school district staff for the installation or replacement of filters, etc. APPROPRIATION: $3,000,000”


SB 182 — Preemption of Recyclable and Polystyrene Materials

This bill was introduced on 1/14.

Deleting preemptions of local law relating to the regulation of auxiliary containers, wrappings, or disposable plastic bags; repealing the preemption of local laws regarding the use or sale of polystyrene products to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, etc.


SB 300 — Food Pantries in Public Schools

This bill was introduced on 1/14.

Authorizing school districts to adopt a policy to allow schools to create food pantry programs in collaboration with nonprofit organizations; authorizing school districts to provide food from the pantry at no cost to students under specified circumstances; authorizing school employees to prepare and distribute donated food, etc.


SB 326 — Environmental Regulation

This bill was voted favorable by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee on 11/4, the Community Affairs Committee on 12/9, and Rules on 2/5. The bill is now on Calendar for a 2nd reading.

“Specifying requirements for contracts between residential recycling collectors or recovered materials processing facilities and counties or municipalities for the collection or processing of residential recycling material; providing that a residential recycling collector or recovered materials processing facility is not required to collect, transport, or process contaminated recyclable material except pursuant to specified contractual requirements after a contract is executed; prohibiting local governments from requiring further verification from the Department of Environmental Protection for certain projects, etc.


SB 456 — Minimum Wage

This bill was introduced on 1/14.

Revising the formula for the adjusted state minimum wage, etc.


SB 680 — Shark Fins

This bill was voted favorable by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee on 2/3. The bill is now in Commerce and Tourism.

“Prohibiting the import and export of shark fins, etc.”


SB 724 — Local Government Recycling Programs

This bill was voted favorable by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee on 12/9. The bill is now on the Community Affairs Committee agenda.

“Creating the Florida Recycling Working Group; requiring the working group to submit a report to the Legislature by a specified date; providing an expiration date for the working group; providing an exemption for fiscally constrained counties from recycling requirements, etc.”


SB 786 — Public Records/Aquaculture Records/Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

This bill was voted favorable by the Agriculture Committee on 1/14 and favorable on 2/3 by the Governmental Oversight and Accountability. The bill is now in Rules.

Providing a public records exemption for certain aquaculture records held by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; providing for future legislative review and repeal under the Open Government Sunset Review Act; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.


SB 1096 — Bottled Water

This bill is temporarily postponed.

“Requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor certain consumptive use permits; providing penalties for nonpayment of fees; directing the department to adopt rules, etc.”


SB 1098 — Fees/Bottled Water Companies/Department of Environmental Protection

This bill is temporarily postponed.

“Requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to charge bottled water companies a specified fee per gallon extracted; requiring the fees to be deposited into the Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund, etc.”


SB 1112 — Bottled Water Excise Tax

The amendments for this bill were adopted on 1/21. This bill is temporarily postponed.

“Imposing an excise tax upon bottled water operators; specifying the rate of the tax and the trust fund where tax proceeds are to be deposited; specifying requirements for bottled water operators in filing monthly returns and declarations of estimated tax with, and remitting estimated taxes to, the Department of Revenue; specifying the department’s authority to inspect, examine, and audit bottled water operator books and records, issue subpoenas, require testimony under oath or affirmation of certain persons, and apply for certain judicial orders, etc.”


SB 1130 — Young Farmers and Ranchers

This bill was voted favorable by the Agriculture Committee on 1/14. This bill is now in Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government.

Creating the Florida Young Farmer and Rancher Matching Grant Program within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; requiring the department to select grant recipients based on specified criteria; requiring the department to give preference to veterans, etc.”


SB 1276 — Department of Citrus

This bill was voted favorable by the Agriculture Committee on 1/14 and favorable on 1/21 by the Governmental Oversight and Accountability. The bill is now in Appropriations.

“Establishing the Friends of Florida Citrus Program within the Department of Citrus; creating the Friends of Florida Citrus Advisory Council adjunct to the department; authorizing the Department of Citrus to loan department employees to or share department employees with specified state and federal entities, etc.”


SB 1384 — Florida Farm to School Program

This bill was introduced.

“Requiring vendors selling or delivering agricultural commodities to school districts in the Florida Farm to School Program to provide the school districts with an invoice that meets certain requirements, beginning on a specified date; requiring each participating district school board to submit the information monthly to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, etc.”


SB 1414 — Fish and Wildlife Activities

This bill was voted favorable by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee on 2/3. The bill is now in Agriculture.

“Prohibiting certain harassment of hunters, trappers, and fishers within or on public lands or publicly or privately owned wildlife and fish management areas, or in or on public waters; authorizing the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to designate additional annual free freshwater and saltwater fishing days; prohibiting the keeping, possessing, importing, selling, bartering, trading, or breeding of certain species except for educational or research purposes; including green iguanas and species of the genera Salvator and Tupinambis in such prohibition, etc.”


SB 1526 — Food Donation Programs

This bill was introduced.

“Creating an agricultural commodity donation tax credit; authorizing the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt rules; revising the department's powers and duties relating to school food and other nutrition programs; deleting a provision authorizing district school boards to opt out of implementing universal school breakfast programs; requiring the department to annually allocate to participating sponsors a reimbursement in addition to the sum appropriated for the Florida Farm to School Program if certain conditions are met; requiring the department to develop the Florida Gleaning Support Grant Program, etc. APPROPRIATION: $1,650,000”


SB 1706 — Water Testing for Pollution

This bill is on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee agenda.

“Authorizing specified persons or businesses that suspect contamination of their private water systems, multifamily water systems, or certain public water systems to request that the Department of Health or its agents test such source for pollution, under certain circumstances; requiring such testing to be done within a specified timeframe and follow certain procedures; revising the specified purposes that funds in a County Health Department Trust Fund may be used for to include the costs and expenditures related to certain water testing provisions, etc.”


SB 1720 — Florida Safe Drinking Water Act

This bill was voted favorable by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee on 2/3. The bill is now in Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government.

Requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt and implement rules for statewide maximum contaminant levels for specified pollutants by a date certain, etc.”


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