Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant HB 589, legislation expanding MyFloridaRx, the state Internet site allowing consumers to compare prices for prescription drugs, should soon go to Governor Rick Scott. The Senate on May 4 substituted the House bill (HB 589) for its bill (SB 888). HB 589 comes up again on the Senate floor for…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate created a healthcare train on May 3, 2017 on HB 7117 by adding multiple bills to HB 7117. HB 7117 initially only dealt with Medicaid managed care and was sent by the House to the Senate as a Medicaid managed care bill, but the bill was expanded…
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant 709986 strike-all by Bradley271310 – Galvano The Senate wants to make sure there are not “pot shops on every corner” and it intends to impose a $2.3 million sales tax on medical marijuana. The House wants no caps on the number of dispensing centers or storefronts, and medical marijuana to…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On May 4, 2017, the Senate moved the insurance omnibus bill, HB 359, into position to send it back to the House for consideration of changes made to the bill on the Senate floor. The Senate adopted a delete everything amendment on the Senate floor to the House…
By: Sam Miller, FIC ConsultantHB 925 (e1) The House voted 118-0 on May 4 to complete legislative approval of the Department of Financial Services’ annual clean-up package, so this will go to Governor Scott soon. The Senate had approved the bill on May 3. This is the DFS “agency bill.” An agency bill is a…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House direct primary care bill (HB 161) was taken up by the Senate on May 4, 2017. The Senate added numerous other bad health care bills to the direct primary care bill. Thus, the bill will bounce back to the House for consideration of the new provisions.…
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant The Legislature has approved the 2017 flood insurance package which includes a six-year extension in deregulation of rates for flood coverage from private insurers. The House on May 4 on a 117-0 concurred in Senate amendments, which had been approved a day earlier, to the House flood bill (HB 813…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On May 4, 2017, the Senate added changes to the building code adoption process to HB 1021, a bill passed by the House on April 19, 2017 that dealt with construction but that did not contain building code changes. Thus, it appears HB 1021 is now the vehicle for…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On May 4, 2017, the Senate added changes to the building code adoption process to HB 1021, a bill passed by the House on April 19, 2017 that dealt with construction but that did not contain building code changes. Thus, it appears HB 1021 is now the vehicle for…
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant Sen. Kathleen Passidomo was concerned about one remaining issue involving punch lists, but that apparently will be put off for another time, and the Senate May 4 prepared to give final approval to a House-passed bill clarifying when the statute of limitation and statute of repose begin for construction defect…