2025 FL Legislative Recap, May 5, 2025
Good Bills That Passed this Session:
1. HB 209 / SB 80 –Preserving Florida State Parks
In a significant victory for conservation and public lands, Florida lawmakers passed the State Park Preservation Act (HB 209/SB 80), reinforcing the state's commitment to safeguarding its natural treasures.
Spurred by widespread public opposition to the governor's 2024 proposals for commercial developments—such as golf courses, hotels, and pickleball courts—within state parks, this bipartisan legislation ensures that Florida's parks remain dedicated to conservation and nature-based recreation.
Key provisions of the act include mandatory public hearings for all updates to land management plans, enhanced transparency through timely public access to these plans, and explicit prohibitions against constructing lodging establishments within state parks.
The bill's unanimous passage in both legislative chambers reflects a unified commitment to preserving Florida's natural heritage for future generations.
2. HB 913: A Practical Path Forward for Condo Safety in the Wake of the Surfside Condo Collapse
After the devastating 2021 Surfside condominium collapse that claimed 98 lives, Florida lawmakers passed landmark legislation requiring stricter inspections and fully funded reserves for older condominium buildings. These reforms were essential for public safety, but they also posed a financial strain on many condo associations — and by extension, their residents.
This year, the Florida Legislature passed HB 913, a bipartisan-supported measure that gives condominium associations a critical financial lifeline: the ability to take out loans to fund required structural inspections and build up their reserve accounts. By allowing associations to borrow instead of issuing immediate, steep special assessments to unit owners, the bill helps communities meet safety standards without displacing residents or causing financial hardship.
HB 913 strikes a balance between upholding the safety reforms prompted by Surfside and providing a realistic mechanism for condo boards to comply. It’s a reminder that good governance means not only setting strong standards — but also giving communities the tools they need to meet them.
3. HB 180: Strengthening Hurricane Preparedness and Community Resilience
This year, Florida passed HB 180—real, practical legislation to help communities prepare for and recover from hurricanes. The bill makes it easier for local governments to get funding for emergency projects, helps farmers whose equipment is damaged by storms, and ensures public shelter money goes where it’s needed most. It also boosts medical response by allowing trained service members to assist during emergencies and requires cities and counties to have clear post-storm permitting plans. It’s a proactive step toward keeping Floridians safer during hurricane season.
If you haven't already, please sign the petition to hold Tallahassee accountable for the HOPE Scandal involving our Medicaid dollars:
More information here:
Substack article
The Florida Legislative Dirty Dozen 2025:
A follow up look at the bills of concern from this session that we were following closely. Thanks to everyone's efforts, many of these were defeated. Stay tuned as I continue to analyze the results an implications of legislation that passed and failed this session. We have to remain vigilant, too, as bills that didn't make it this year could reappear in one form or another in the near future.
π¨PASSED, signed by governor
1. HB 1205 / SB 7016 – Attack on Florida’s Citizen Initiative Process
This was arguably the worst bill of the 2025 legislative session — it passed its final hearing and was signed by the governor late Friday afternoon. This bill is a blatant attack on citizen-led constitutional amendments, and its passage marks a very sad day for Florida democracy.
This bill was pushed through because they were terrified by how close Amendments 3 and 4 came to passing last year — despite Gov. DeSantis’s immoral, and possibly illegal, propaganda campaign that was reportedly funded by dollars diverted from state Medicaid funds. They used the false narrative of “widespread voter fraud” to justify this power grab — yet their own report showed barely 100 cases. Even if some fraud exists, the ballot process already has safeguards. And here’s the truth: if voters don’t support an amendment, they simply won’t vote for it. That’s how democracy works — or how it should work.
To make matters worse, the final hearing and vote weren’t broadcast on the Florida Channel. That lack of transparency deserves serious scrutiny. The public deserves to know why. This isn't the end. We will keep fighting for the right of everyday Floridians to shape our Constitution — and to make our voices heard.}
π One Bright Spot: An amendment added to prohibit state funds from being used to oppose citizen initiatives.
DEFEATED
2. HB 541 / SB 676 – Loosening Minimum Wage Requirements
Would have allowed workers to “opt out” of state minimum wage laws by signing a waiver, undermining Florida voters' decision to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026 and opens the door to exploitation — especially of minors.
DEFEATED
3. HB 1225 / SB 918 – Loosening Child Labor Laws
Would have allowed minors to work overnight and more than 8 hours a day without parental consent, putting young workers at risk and exposing them to exploitation in unsafe working conditions.
DEFEATED
4. HB 1381 – Florida’s Version of the Federal SAVE Act
This bill threatened to disenfranchise countless voters, particularly students and people of color, and invited unnecessary government interference in voting rights by requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, narrowing the list of acceptable voter IDs (including student IDs) and making it harder to vote by mail.
π¨It's Complicated
5. HB 123 / SB 140 – Charter School Takeover Bill
Key provisions of this harmful bill were tucked into the massive education bill, HB 443, which is now awaiting the governor’s signature.
Among other things, HB 443 allows charter schools to operate with separate disciplinary standards — making it easier for them to exclude students they consider “problems.” It also makes it easier for public schools to convert into charter schools and forces school districts to sell unused public property to charter operators. These changes will shift taxpayer dollars to schools with less oversight, weaken local control, and further undermine our neighborhood public schools.
π¨PASSED, waiting for governor’s signature
6. HB 651 / SB 700 – Fluoride Ban & Anti-Science Farm Bill
Among other things, this bill bans fluoride in public water systems statewide.
This reckless legislation ignores decades of science-backed recommendations. It removes fluoride protections — hailed by the American Dental Association as one of modern medicine’s greatest achievements — and inserts dangerous pseudoscience into agricultural practice.
DEFEATED
7. HB 1505 / SB 1288 – Bans Teen Access to Birth Control Without Parental Consent
This bill would have blocked teens from accessing contraception and STI care without parental consent. This bill would have been especially harmful to vulnerable youth, especially those in unsafe home environments, and increases the risk of unintended pregnancies and untreated STIs.
DEFEATED
8. HB 1517 / SB 1284 – Civil Liability for the Wrongful Death of a Fetus
Would have created a legal framework for civil action for fetal death, pushing personhood language further and jeopardizing reproductive rights as well as lead to even more restrictions on access to abortion and related health care.
DEFEATED
9. HB 1539 / SB 1692 – Expanding Book Bans and Curriculum Censorship
Would have expanded the government’s ability to ban books and censor educational materials.
DEFEATED
10. HB 1157 / SB 1238 – Tougher Unemployment Eligibility
Would have raised the bar for eligibility for reemployment assistance and made it harder for Floridians who are struggling to get the support they need during tough times.DEFEATED
11. HB 173 / SB 498 – Undermining Legal Aid
Would have eroded funding for legal aid services and made it harder for low-income Floridians to get the legal help they need, effectively denying them access to justice.
DEFEATED
12. HB 1255 / SB 1618 – Defunding DEI in Public Education
Would have blocked public education spending on programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, making it harder for schools to address issues of race, gender, and history.
UNCLEAR, CHECK BACK SOON
BONUS 13. HB 585 / SB 832 - Phosphate Mining Shield Bill Endangers Public Health and Accountability
Would shield phosphate mining companies from strict liability for pollution and allowed radiation surveys on former mining sites without clear safety standards, making it harder for communities to hold responsible companies accountable.
HONORABLE MENTIONS, these bills were all defeated:
π« HB 759/SB 920 - Undoing Gun Safety Reforms
π« HB 75/SB 100 - Pride Flag Ban
π« HB 6033/SB 1672 - Ending Protections for Day Laborers and Temp Staffers
π« HB 1327/SB 1144 - Expansion and Codification of Hope Florida
π« HB 565/SB 1822, HB 1609 - Pre-emption on Local Restrictions of Single-use Plastics
π« HB 1217, HB 1387, SB 1328, SB 1766 - Additional Attempts at Union Busting
π« HB 1495/SB 440 - Don’t Say Gay or Trans at Work
π« HB 1571/SB 420 - Anti-Diversity In Local Government
π« HB 731/SB 1710 - Banning Diversity & Equity In State Agencies
π« HB 1185/SB 1694 - Anti-Diversity in State Contracting
π« HB 565/SB 1822 - the Bad Trash Bill - even sneaky efforts to tack it on as an amendment to another bill at the last minute failed.
HB 1255/SB 1618 - Defunding Advocacy in Public Schools - passed, but most of the harmful elements, including anti-abortion propaganda in classrooms, was neutralized.