News - April 2017 RSS Feed

HB 101 (Cortes, B.) received final passage in the Senate and will go to the governor for his signature. The bill allows parents whose pregnancies result in miscarriage after the 9th week but before completion of the 20th week of gestation to request nonviable birth certificates from the Department of Health. Currently, certificates of birth are available for stillborn children after 20 weeks gestational age. FCCB supports this legislation that will allow parents who previously had no official record of children lost before the 20-week threshold to formally memorialize them. SB 672 (Bean) was the companion measure in the Senate.

So called "sanctuary" bill, HB 697 (Metz), was passed by its final committee of reference on Monday, followed by passage in the full House on Friday. The bill requires local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration policy without accompanying funding. As a result, local resources for preventing crime and protecting the public will be redirected to immigration enforcement. In a letter to the bill's sponsor, Executive Director Michael Sheedy outlined FCCB's concerns with the measure. The Senate companion, SB 786 (Bean), has not been heard by any of its committees of reference, indicating the measure is likely dead for the session.

HB 301 (White) was taken up by the full Senate and amended with the provisions of SB 196 (Flores) on second reading. The measure would ensure that all children in Florida receive equal access to civil citations, rather than arrest, when committing certain first-time, nonviolent misdemeanors. Juvenile civil citations serve as an alternative to criminal arrest and provide a second chance to youth who make mistakes while still holding them accountable for their actions. Such diversion programs also benefit society by reducing crime, saving the state money and helping build a productive citizenry. The bill also allows for data collection regarding the transfer of juveniles to the adult justice system, a provision supported by the FCCB. If the Senate passes the amended bill as expected it must return to the House for further consideration and final passage.

Late last week, the House and Senate passed their respective budgets for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2017. Lawmakers will spend much of the remaining two weeks of the Session hammering out the differences between the two spending plans. As legislators prepare for budget negotiations, the FCCB outlined recommendations on several priorities in a letter to House Appropriations Chairman Carlos Trujillo:

On Wednesday, the Florida House unanimously passed legislation that would strengthen two existing school choice programs. HB 15 by Rep. Jennifer Sullivan (R-Mount Dora) increases the per-student scholarship amount for high school students from low-income families served by the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program.

SB 1130, sponsored by Sen. Aaron Bean (R-Jacksonville), was scheduled to be heard on Tuesday by its second committee of reference. However, time ran out before the bill was taken up by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. While this endangers its passage this session, the program is funded at current levels in proposed House and Senate budgets for the coming year.

HB 205 (Ahern) was passed by its final committee of reference on Thursday. The proposal would provide for automatic expungement of a juvenile's first-time misdemeanor after the offender completes a diversion program. The bill was amended to also include discretionary use of civil citations for adults. FCCB staff expressed support for the measure during the committee hearing.

FCCB supports identical measures, SB 474 (Grimsley) and HB 539 (Harrell), which delete the requirement of a spouse or legal representative to obtain a court order to access a medical record after a patient's death. Additionally, the bills allow for safer disposal of controlled substances after a patient's death and align state and federal quality measures for data gathering, analysis and public reporting. Both bills were passed by committees of reference this week and are advancing through the legislative process.

SB 196 by Sen. Anitere Flores (R-Miami) would ensure that all children in Florida receive equal access to civil citations, rather than arrest, when committing certain first-time, nonviolent misdemeanors. The bill was amended to allow data collection about the transfer of juveniles to the adult justice system, a provision supported by the FCCB. Ingrid Delgado, FCCB associate for social concerns/respect life, indicated support for the bill prior to its passage by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.

SB 302 by Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) prohibits the suspension of driver licenses for failure to pay fees related to traffic citations if the person demonstrates the inability to pay. This FCCB supported measure requires that a payment plan option be included on a notice of driving privilege suspension due to nonpayment of a fine. If the violator is unable to pay the citation in full, he or she may avoid a suspension by agreeing to a payment plan, based on his or her ability to pay. On Thursday, the bill was passed by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice, its second of three committees of reference.

The bishops of Florida also stayed busy during their time in Tallahassee. On Wednesday morning, the bishops enjoyed a breakfast meeting with Governor Rick Scott at the Governor's Mansion. The bishops were able to discuss issues of importance to the Church with the governor. Areas addressed included pro-life concerns, parental empowerment in education, immigration, and juvenile justice.

While Catholic Days participants looked on, HB 969 (Toledo) was debated and passed (78-38) by the full House on Wednesday. The measure places the Florida Pregnancy Care Network (FPCN) in Florida statutes. The program has been operating since 2005, with funding in the state budget provided on an annual basis. FPCN is a network of pregnancy help centers that provide services such as counseling, referrals, material support, training, and pregnancy and childbirth education to pregnant mothers as they prepare to parent or place their babies for adoption. For state fiscal year 2015-2016, the program served 24,184 clients.

On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed SB 458 (Brandes). This Catholic Days at the Capitol supported measure, creates a criminal justice reform task force that will conduct a comprehensive review of the state's criminal justice system, court system, and corrections system. The 28-member task force will be composed of members of the Florida House, Senate and executive branch designees, judges, county commissioners, a victim's advocate, a representative of the Florida State University Project on Accountable Justice, two representatives of the faith community, members of criminal defense and law enforcement associations, and a formerly incarcerated individual who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to rehabilitation and community improvement.

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer for the State of Florida, was honored on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 with the Thomas A. Horkan, Jr. Distinguished Catholic Leader Award. The award was presented at the annual Catholic Days at the Capitol luncheon attended by the Catholic bishops of Florida, several state lawmakers and more than 300 Catholic faithful from across the state.