HB 433, passed in 2024, preempts any local protections for workers laboring in extreme heat. Credit: Shutterstock

This year saw another hectic state legislative session, where Florida lawmakers dragged themselves up to Tallahassee to deliberate over proposed changes to Florida statutes.

State lawmakers filed 1,902 bills, memorials or resolutions for consideration this year, including duplicate proposals filed by the House and Senate. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed just 299 of those into law; he vetoed 14.

There were fewer red-meat culture-war bills that sailed through the Legislature this year, but the highlights for everyday working people in the state were just a faint glimmer. These laws offered no real solutions, for instance, to Florida’s unaffordable property insurance market, high rents or steep condo costs, all of which are pricing Floridians out of “paradise.”

In case you missed any of these — we wouldn’t blame you — we put together a review of the best and worst laws that Gov. DeSantis gave his final OK to this year. One list was easier to put together than the other.

Buckle up, because here we go (in no particular order):

WORST LAWS APPROVED IN 2024:

1. HB 433: No local protections for workers laboring in extreme heat

After another year of setting new heat records in Florida (but sure, the climate crisis is a hoax …), Florida Republicans who control the state Legislature approved a new law that bars cities and counties from passing any local laws to require employers to offer basic protections for their employees from heat.

The bill was strongly backed by trade groups representing employers in the agricultural and construction industries as well as the usual business groups like the Chamber of Commerce. The bill also preemptively bars local governments from enacting so-called fair scheduling laws (requiring employers to give hourly workers a consistent schedule, instead of unilaterally changing their shifts). Effective Sept. 30, 2026 it will also gut local laws passed in some municipalities that require employers to pay a minimum wage above Florida’s current wage floor of $13 an hour (or $15 an hour, by the time it takes effect).

2. HB 1365: Ban homeless people from sleeping on public property

In a grand celebration of Florida’s increasingly affordable cost of living (if only), Florida lawmakers approved a new state law this year that not only doesn’t provide housing for people who have been priced out of their homes, but actually bans people with nowhere else to go from sleeping on public property, such as a park bench or sidewalk. Housing advocates in many communities, including Orlando, have argued that based on numbers alone, there aren’t enough shelter beds for those who lack shelter. Supporters of the law, however, argued it would force homeless people into … well, apparently, some imaginary space that doesn’t exist.

Public records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel show that key elements of the law came from the Cicero Institute, a Texas-based conservative think tank that’s been peddling similar legislation around the country. The law officially took effect Oct. 1, 2024. But, beginning Jan. 1, 2025, private individuals who see local governments slacking on their new duty to criminalize homelessness can sue their local city or county over it.

3. HB 49: Weakening child labor law for teens 16 and up

At the urging of a billionaire-backed think tank (yes, another one!), Florida lawmakers approved a bill (actually, two — see below) that weakens the state’s child labor laws for minors over 16. House Bill 49 does a few things: It specifically carves home-schooled teens aged 16 and older out of child labor laws entirely (meaning they can be scheduled for overnight or late-night shifts); it also allows bosses to schedule teens 16 and older more than six consecutive days in a week, and it allows them to work more than 30 hours per week while school is in session, provided they get a parent’s or guardian’s permission and obtain a waiver.

This push to weaken child labor laws was part of a coordinated effort by largely the same group of actors in other GOP-led states across the country, including the Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability and trade groups representing employers in the restaurant, hospitality, construction and retail industries who are desperate for cheap labor.

4. HB 917: Gutting child labor protections on home construction sites for teens 16 and up

This child labor rollback is sneakier. Why? It’s a pretty broad education-related bill that, in part, aims to strengthen the state’s career and technical education programs, which offer hands-on job training and education for students. Cool. However, a small section of the bill also takes an ax to a part of a (now-former) child labor law that is meant to protect children from working dangerous jobs that could put their health and safety at risk.

It specifically permits teenagers aged 16 or older to work on residential construction sites, where previously, such work was barred. Can’t imagine why. Based on federal workplace fatality data, Florida’s private construction industry is the deadliest industry in the state. The bill was watered down from its original version which, records show, was written by two trade groups that represent construction contractors — the Associated Builders and Contractors and the Florida Home Builders Association.

The law includes some “guardrails” — i.e., some safety requirements around allowing teens to work on construction sites — but child labor laws are poorly enforced in Florida, anyway. Just ask the exactly eight state employees in all of Florida (up from seven in January) who are tasked with making sure employers follow the law.

BEST LAWS APPROVED IN 2024:

1. HB 159: Bolstering access to HIV/AIDS prevention treatment

We’ll admit: It’s rare we get to report on a new law that might actually do more good for Florida’s LGBTQ+ community than harm. While still a small win, House Bill 159 strengthens HIV/AIDS prevention by allowing licensed pharmacists to screen adults for HIV exposure and provide the results of the screening to the adult. It also allows pharmacists who enter into collaborative agreements with physicians (and meet some other requirements) to dispense anti-HIV post-exposure prophylaxis drugs. These are medications that can help prevent HIV after an accidental exposure. The idea is to expedite the process of getting hold of PEP as well as broaden access to it. According to Florida Politics, the law was titled the “John W. Rheay Act” in honor of Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy’s brother, who died of AIDS.

2. HB 21: Compensation for victims of child abuse at the Dozier School for Boys

House Bill 21 created a victims compensation program for men who were subjected to physical, mental or sexual abuse for decades while confined by the state to the now-defunct Dozier School for Boys and the Okeechobee School. According to a bill analysis, there were reports of boys being chained to walls of the Dozier School and whipped as early as 1901. Yet it remained open from 1900 to 2011. The bill appropriates $20 million in nonrecurring funds for the compensation program.

Those eligible to apply for compensation include living men who were committed to the school by the state as boys from 1940 to 1975 and who suffered abuse at the hands of school personnel. The bill also allows the state’s education commissioner to award a standard high-school diploma to individuals compensated under the program.

3. HB 7085: Funds for sickle-cell treatment

In a similar vein of objectively good funding allocations, House Bill 7085 creates a new state grant program for projects “that improve the quality and accessibility of health care available for persons living with sickle cell disease (SCD) in the state and advance the collection and analysis of comprehensive data to support SCD research.” Grants must be awarded to community-based research and treatment centers for sickle-cell disease.

Sickle cell is an inherited blood disorder that disproportionately affects Black people. According to the National Institutes of Health, nine in 10 people with sickle-cell disease are Black or have African ancestry. The disorder can cause serious health complications such as chronic pain, kidney disease, eye problems and more — but symptoms can be managed with specialized treatment.

4. SB 644: Supporting rural hospitals

This is a pretty basic, if sort of tentative, win for rural communities that addresses a logistical hurdle. Senate Bill 644 makes rural hospitals eligible to receive additional federal funding. Hospitals in rural communities (not just in Florida) have been struggling to keep their doors open, leaving those who live there with fewer options for emergency medical care. The bill specifically creates a new hospital designation type, “rural emergency hospital,” and allows hospitals that meet certain requirements to ask the state Agency for Health Care Administration for that designation. This then allows those hospitals to apply for additional government funds through a federal grant program that is specifically created for such hospitals.

See? It wasn’t all bad. If you have ideas for what you’d like to see state lawmakers tackle next year, contact your state representative and senator to share your pitch.


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This article appears in Dec 25-31, 2024.