2023 Legislative Agenda
Give Black and Brown Communities Housing Justice
Address skyrocketing housing costs:
Create a security deposit cap on what a landlord can charge to new tenants.
- Florida was recently ranked the least affordable state in the US. We are in an out of control rental market with no ability for local governments to stabilize prices, and security deposits with no cap or payment plan.
- Allowing new tenants to pay down a security deposit over several months would get them shelter faster.
- Excessive security deposits are mostly found in low income Black and Brown communities.
- Authorizes landlord to offer tenant option to pay fee in lieu of security deposit.
- House Sponsored by Mooney and Senate Sponsored by DiCeglie
- Latest Event: Passed its House Second Committee on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 2:00 PM & Passed its Senate Second Committee on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 11:00 AM
- Deleting the authority of local governments to adopt or maintain laws, ordinances, rules, or other measures that would have the effect of imposing controls on rents.
- House Sponsored by State Affairs Committee and Senate Sponsored by Calatayud and Rouson
- Latest Event: Passed its House Second Committee on Monday, March 20, 2023 2:30 PM & Passed the Senate Chambers on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 6:00 PM
- Preempts regulation of residential tenancies & landlord-tenant relationship to state; specifies that act supersedes certain local regulations; revises how much notice is required to terminate certain tenancies.
- House Sponsored by Esposito and Senate Sponsored by Trumbull
- Latest Event: Passed its House Second Committee on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 3:00 PM & Passed its Senate First Committee on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 12:00 PM
- Creates Department of Housing & Tenant Rights; provides for secretary be appointed by Governor & confirmed by Senate; revises provisions relating to residential tenancies, landlords, & tenants, including requirements for rental agreements, security deposits, notices, evictions, rights to purchase, rent control, impact fees, & documentary stamp taxes.
- House Sponsored by Eskamani and senate Sponsored by Torres
- Latest Event: Introduced
Protect our families’ health and homes with Reproductive Justice:
Give pregnant tenants and tenants with children (under 18) 90 days to relocate after eviction.
- Evictions during pregnancy cause higher infant death rates, lower birth weight, and premature labor.
- Mothers who are evicted are more likely to report poor health for themselves and their children, an effect that remains two years after the eviction.
- Chicago Journal of Community Health found in a 2020 study that
- Households with children were at far greater risk for eviction.
- Having children made families more vulnerable to eviction than race or gender.
- Poor housing conditions are related to poor health outcomes.
- Black and brown families are more likely to experience eviction, dangerously low infant birth rates, and higher infant mortality rates.
- Provides that each person has certain fundamental rights relating to reproductive health care and repeals the 15 week abortion ban.
- House Sponsored by Harris and Senate Sponsored by Berman
- Latest Event: Introduced
- Requires landlords to provide certain tenants specified amount of time to vacate premises after delivery of notice to terminate rental agreement before bring specified action.
- Sponsored by Gantt
- Latest Event: Introduced
- Prohibits physician from knowingly performing or inducing termination of pregnancy after six weeks and the use of state funds for person to travel to another state to receive services to support abortion.
- House Sponsored by Persons-Mulicka and Senate Sponsored by Grall
- Latest Event: Passed its House Second Committee on Thursday, March 30, 2023 8:00 AM & Passed its Senate Second Committee on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 8:30 AM
Protect and Expand Democracy
Make it simple and accessible for every eligible voter to register:
Make registration eligibility clear and do not penalize organizations that help to register voters.
- In recent Legislative Sessions, SB 90 and SB 524 have increased fines on non-profit organizations trying to help people who are interested in registering to vote.
- Returning Citizens are unsure of their eligibility status and risk arrest, even though it is the state’s job to verify eligibility.
- Florida’s Registration website frequently shuts down, unable to handle the quantity of traffic, especially when there is an upcoming voter registration deadline.
- Increases threshold for Ballot Initiatives to pass from 60% to 66.7%.
- House Sponsored by Roth and Senate Sponsored by Gruters
- Latest Event: Passed its Second Committee on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 3:00 PM
- Requires a county to suspend enforcement of an ordinance that is the subject of a certain legal action if certain conditions are met.
- House Sponsored by Brackett and Senate Sponsored by Trumbull and Perry
- Latest Event: Passed its House Second Committee on Thursday, March 23, 2023 8:00 AM & Passed the Senate Chambers on Wednesday, March 8, 2023
- Authorizes Office of Statewide Prosecution to investigate & prosecute election-related specified crimes.
- House Sponsored by Andrade and Senate Sponsored by Martin
- Latest Event: Enrolled on Thursday, February 9, 2023 4:53 PM
Fight for Climate Justice in low-income, Black and Brown communities:
We can't breathe.
Improve the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s ability to monitor air quality, and restrict particulate matter near residential areas.
- Florida is currently the country’s waste incineration capital, with 10 facilities combusting over 4 million tons in 2020.
- Poor Department of Environmental Protection data and non-functional air quality monitors means air quality is worsening
- Low-income, Black and Brown communities are at higher risk of premature death from inhalation of particulate matter (particles in the air caused by air pollution)
- Solid waste incinerators and cane burning stink, pollute the air, and are placed close to historically marginalized communities, where there is a higher rate of asthma, respiratory illness, and breathing problems.
- Prohibits local governmental entities from requiring or prohibiting certain building materials, vehicles, or home heating elements.
- House Sponsored by Melo and Senate Sponsored by Rodriguez
- Latest Event: Introduced
Undo years of racial discrimination in Florida’s Criminal Justice System through sentencing reform:
Remove sentencing enhancements and allow for retroactive application of new sentencing guidelines and points reduction.
- 17% of Florida citizens are Black, while the Florida Department of Corrections reports that 47% people in state prison are Black.
- Florida has the largest racial disparity in long prison sentences in the US.
- Florida sentencing “enhancements” mean low-level offenses can still mean life in prison.
- Provides sentencing points expire 10 years after time served & cannot be used in calculations; provides for petitions to recalculate sentences due to changes in law in certain circumstances.
- House Sponsored by Rayner-Goolsby and Senate Sponsored by Torres
- Latest Event: Introduced
- Provides for jury recommendations concerning death sentences, rather than jury determinations of sentences; specifies that jury recommends death sentence if at least eight jurors recommend death sentence; specifies that jury recommends sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole if fewer than eight jurors recommend death sentence; requires sentencing court to set forth in writing specified findings if it imposes death sentence.
- House Sponsored by Jacques et al. and Senate Sponsored by Ingoglia
- Latest Event: Passed its House Third Committee on Friday, March 31, 2023 8:00 AM & Passed its Senate Second Committee on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 8:30 AM
- Increases sentencing for controlled substances.
- House Sponsored by Plakon and Senate Sponsored by Brodeur
- Latest Event: Passed its House Second Committee on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 8:00 AM & Passed its Senate Second Committee on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 11:00 AM