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Archive's
for:
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Bill Title |
HB/SB# - author Action Needed |
Summary |
| Right To Organize Resolution | HB-Chestnut SB-Meek # n/a
yet SUPPORT |
This bill proclaims the week of June 24th, 1999 as "Workers Right to Organize Week" in Florida. |
| Fair Pay Act of 1999 | HB-not assign yet SB-Dawson-White SUPPORT |
Creates the Fair Pay Act of 1999; provides definitions; Provides additional duty of the Florida Commission on Human Relations; clarifies provisions regarding discrimination against individuals in compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment which constitutes unlawful employment practice; provides administrative and civil remedies; provides for specified wage disclosure, record keeping and reporting requirements. |
| Campaign Finance Reform (several bills) | HB 171 Turnbull HB 559 Detert HB 565 Logan SB 92 by Lee SB 314 by Latvala WATCH |
All of these bills listed deal with aspects of campaign finance reform. Most seek to place restrictions on the amount of money that can be contributed to candidates and to political parties and to designate the source of funding. There are proposals to limit the kind of advertising that can be made. Registration and reporting requirements for political committees (PC) and committee of continuous existence (CCE) are addressed. |
| Florida Universal Health Access Bills | ||
| Premium Assistance Program/ACHA | HB 905 Bainter SB 310 Forman WATCH |
Creates the Premium Assistance Program within the Agency for Health Care Administration to assist small businesses in paying the cost of health insurance premiums for employees. Requires that to be eligible for the program, a business must have 4 or less employees and must not have offered health insurance for its employees for the previous 6 months. Provides that the premium subsidy applies to standard and basic benefit plans. |
| Florida Health Endowment Association | HB 1035 Green WATCH |
An act relating to health insurance. Creating the Florida Health Endowment Association as a non-profit entity to provide insurance coverage to individuals whose health insurance has been involuntarily terminated for reasons other than non-payment of premiums. |
| Rationale:
Universal health care can only be achieved through major systematic change. The ideal system would be universal access, single payer and cost containment. These changes would save enough money in administrative costs alone to cover all the uninsured and eliminate co-payments and deductibles. Access to health care is a problem which continues to grow dramatically. The latest figures indicate that the percentage of uninsured working people has increased over the last year or two, even though unemployment figures remain low. If government is to work for its citizens, the federal and state governments must act to make health care available and affordable. Florida has an opportunity to be in the forefront of this effort and should do so without further delay. Several bills have been filed that are designed to help small business owners and uninsured individuals obtain health insurance. These proposals, even though they are not the optimum in health care provisions, at least make a small dent in the growing problem. The fiscal impact of the bills has not been determined at this point. HB 905 proposes using money from the tobacco settlement, while HB 1035 requests general revenue funds. We will watch for the bill analyses in order to better determine the effect on Florida's budget. Although there are committee referrals, not one of these bills has been scheduled for a hearing. Universal quality health care is an emergency. This is the time to demand quality and work for it. |
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| Unemployment Compensation Alternative Base | HB 665 Logan SB 1366 Forman SUPPORT |
Provides for use of an alternative base period whenever an individual is not monetarily eligible in a base period to receive benefits. |
| Unemployment Compensation Domestic Violence | HB 935 Frankel SB 1340 Mitchell WATCH |
Specified domestic violence as an additional criterion of "good cause" for purposes of an exception from disqualification from unemployment benefits for separating from employment. Provides grounds for separating from employment due to domestic violence and provides for confidentiality of evidence of domestic violence. |
| Workers Compensation-Several Bills Filed | ||
| Fla. No Fault W/C | SB 106 Campbell |
At least 14 bills have been filed to date relating to workers' compensation. The bill numbers and titles listed above give some idea of the wide range of issues addressed. Some bills provide offsets to employee benefits, Social Security, etc. Some implement more stringent requirements for eligibility, and propose other changes that would make it more difficult for workers to receive adequate medical treatment and lost wages. Other proposals increase access to chiropractic care, address employer exemptions, claims review, medical testimony limitations and transfer of duties within state government. Only 2 bills have passed committees. PCB IN 99-02 passed the House Insurance Committee. However Chairman Bainter stated that labor, business and claimants' attorneys needed to reach consensus on the issues in dispute before the bill moved further. A broad range of issues are included in the legislation, some of which further diminish the rights and benefits to injured workers. Also included is the requirement that contractors performing state construction work implement drug-free workplaces. HB 215, which allows law enforcement and corrections officers to be covered under workers' compensation if an injury occurs while going to or from work in an official law enforcement or corrections vehicle, has also passed one committee. Other W/C bills have committee referrals, but show no indication of being placed on agendas. |
| W/C Law/Compensability | HB 215 Fasano SB 1202 Grant |
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| Compensation/ Chiropractic |
HB 859 Rojas: SB 1420 Silver SB 1508 Gutman |
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| Coordination of W/C |
SB 1166 Saunders |
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| W/C Employer Exemption |
SB 2168 Clary | |
| W/C Claims Review |
SB 2196 Thomas | |
| Public Employee Impasse | HB 615 Hill SB 1522 Holzendorf SUPPORT |
Revises procedure for resolving collective bargaining impasses between a public employer and a bargaining agent; provides that upon request of the formal declaration of an impasse the Public Employees Relation Commission (PERC) shall require both parties to submit to the commission, in writing, immediately, the last, best offers made during collective bargaining, with regard to each unresolved issue and provides that upon receipt of the offers, the commission shall transmit the offers to the respective opposing parties. The bill requires the commission to appoint a special master acceptable to both parties with 30 calendar days after receipt of both parties' last best offers; authorizes the special master to set the hearings within 30 calendar days after receiving the last and best offers in order to render a binding decision on each unresolved issue by selecting the last and best offer of the employer or the certified bargaining agent on each issue; provides within 15 days after transmittal of the special master's decision to the parties, the issues resolved by the special master, together with issues agreed to during the collective bargaining, shall be stated in writing and signed by the chief executive officer and the representative for the certified bargaining agent and submitted to the public employer and employees who are members of the bargaining unit for ratification. If either party fails to ratify, the issues which were submitted for ratification will be imposed on the parties for the remainder of that fiscal year. |
| Labor History | HB 277 Bush SB 1194 Mitchell SUPPORT |
This bill authorizes school districts to provide instruction in the history of labor in the United States and Florida. |
| Journeyman Licensing and Enforcement | HB 955 Lacasa; SB 1344 Campbell SUPPORT |
Redefines the term
"contracting" and defines the term "field work"; provides for
journeyman certification; provides for fees; provides for disipline by a
county or municipality for certain misconduct or negligence; provides penalty for
certain fraudulent representations. |
| Drug-Free Workplace/ Construction |
House PCB INS 9902
Insurance; SB 1710 Campbell SUPPORT |
Provides that in order for
a business to be given preference in the award of contracts for having a drug-free
workplace program, the business must notify its employees that remaining free of drugs and
alcohol is a condition of employment and that an injured employee forfeits eligibility for
medical and indemnity benefits if the employee refuses to submit to a test for drugs or
alcohol. Requires that employers in the construction industry implement a drug-free
workplace program for certain state-funded construction contracts. |
| Florida Building Code | HB Constantine SB 1148 Clary WATCH |
This bill makes many
technical corrections to the provisions passed in 1998 in HB 4181, which was known
as the Uniform Building Code Act. This bill clarifies many terms and provides for
the means to deal with unforeseen systemic problems created by the 1998 law. |
| Uniform Construction Contractor Licensing | PCB BRCA 9904 by House
Business Regulation WATCH |
This bill provides for a uniform, statewide contractor licensing system which discontinues the practice of local licensing; allows for local licenced contractors to continue in business in their local jurisdiction or be grandfathered to the state system; establishes minimum grandfathering standards; and provides for uniformity between the scope of work of state certified contractors and local registered contractors. |
| 1999
Legislative Summary March 4, 1999 update March 19, 1999 update April 2, 1999 update |
Contact
the Florida House or Senate |
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