Current law protects donors who give food to a charitable organization from civil and criminal liability related to injury caused by such donated food.  HB 23 adds public schools to the definition of "donors" protected by the law.

Last Action:  Passed HOUSE and SENATE. 4/24/14 Enrolled.

CS/HB 85 requires the Office of Early Learning (OEL) to establish a five-year Literacy Jump Start Pilot Project in St. Lucie County to assist low-income, at-risk children develop emergent literacy skills.  The bill requires OEL to select a local organization to implement the pilot project and, in consultation with the Early Learning Coalition of St. Lucie County, to select one or more municipalities to participate in the project.

A 2012 study by AllClear ID found, based on a review of the credit files of 27,000 American children, that more than 10 percent of children are victims of identity theft.  Similarly, a 2011 study estimated that 140,000 instances of identity fraud are perpetrated on minors in the United States each year.  A recent, Florida-specific analysis of identity theft against minors estimated that approximately 52,000 children in Florida will be victims of identity theft.

CS/SB 260 establishes the legal authority for an unaccompanied youth who is also a certified homeless youth, to consent to certain medical procedures and care or consent to a forensic medical examination without a parent's permission.
 

The unaccompanied youth must be at least 16 years old and determined by a school district's liaison for homeless children and youths to be an unaccompanied homeless youth.  Once so identified, the youth may consent to medical, dental, psychological, substance abuse, and surgical diagnosis and treatment, including preventative care.

The youth may consent for himself or herself or his or her child if the youth is unmarried, the parent of the child, and has actual custody of the child.
 
Last Action:  Passed HOUSE. 4/22/14 SENATE Enrolled.

CS/SB 358 expands the current background screening requirements for coaches of youth athletic teams to also cover assistant coaches and referees.

Last Action:  Passed SENATE. 4/23/14 HOUSE In Messages.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, use of a booster seat reduces the risk for serious injury by 45 percent for children aged 4 - 8 years when compared with seat belt use alone.  A recent study of five states that increased the age requirement to 7 or 8 years for car seat/booster seat use found that the rate of children using car seats and booster seats increased nearly three times and the rate of children who sustained fatal or incapacitating injuries decreased by 17 percent.

CS/HB 587 allows property owned by a tax exempt organization to receive an exemption from ad valorem taxes for educational, literary, scientific, religious or charitable purposes if the institution has taken "affirmative steps" to prepare the property for a charitable purpose.  If the property is not in actual use for an exempt purpose within five years, the property owner must pay back taxes owed plus 15 percent interest.

Last Action:  4/21/14 HOUSE Favorable by Appropriations Committee.

Newborn screening is a preventive public health program that is provided in every state in the United States to identify, diagnose, and manage newborns at risk for selected disorders that, without detection and treatment, can lead to permanent developmental and physical damage or death.  The Department of Health (DOH) is responsible for administering the statewide Newborn Screening Program, which conducts screenings for 37 disorders.

Last summer, the Tampa Bay Times ran a series of investigative articles about America's Worst Charities, charities that annually receive more than $1 billion dollars in contributions from unsuspecting contributors.

CS/CS/SB 700 amends juvenile justice statutes to enhance the state's focus on serious juvenile offenders, adopt measures to reduce recidivism, and increase care of juvenile offenders in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).

SB 856 amends the Florida Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act to expand the protection against a creditor's clawback action for charitable contributions received in good faith by qualified religious or charitable organizations.  The bill protects charitable contributions made by a debtor who makes such a contribution without receiving equivalent value in exchange for the contribution while the debtor was insolvent or became insolvent as a result of making the contribution.  The bill aligns this exemption with similar provisions in the Federal Bankruptcy Code.

Last Action:  Passed SENATE. 4/23/14 HOUSE In Messages.

CS/HB 1017 amends a variety of statutes to prevent human trafficking, enhances penalties related to human trafficking, and provides protections to human trafficking victims.  Specifically, the bill:

• prohibits minors from working in adult theaters;
• requires an adult theater to verify the age of each of its employees or independent contractors, and maintain such records;
• removes the statute of limitations for human trafficking violations;
• increases penalties relating to the trafficking of children;
• creates a new penalty if traffickers permanently brand their victims;
• increases penalties for those who derive support from the proceeds of prostitution; and
• expands provisions relating to expunction of criminal history records for victims of human trafficking.

Last Action:  Passed HOUSE. 4/23/14 SENATE In Messages.