Starting Friday, state employees will get a 5.4% pay raise, and some workers, such as state attorneys, public defenders, prison guards and law enforcement officers of the order, will see even higher salary increases.

It is part of the $109 billion budget which takes effect on Friday, the start of the new fiscal year. It includes $24.3 billion for K-12 schools, $1.7 billion more than last year, or $8,143 per student, or about $385 more. This includes $800 million to increase teachers’ salaries, an increase of $250 million.

Here’s part 2 of our look at the new laws that come into effect on Friday (find part 1 here):

—SB 454: Increases the daily pay for former or retired commissioners assigned to temporary duties by the Florida Commission on Offender Review from $100 to $200.

—SB 459: defines the term “step therapy protocol” as the sequence of using medications and other treatments to treat a health condition and requires a process to be exempt from the protocol to be offered by an insurer or HMO.

— HB 469: Expands the scope of tasks Certified Practical Nurses (CPNs) can perform in assisted living facilities, including helping with transdermal patches, insulin syringes, and insulin pens.

—SB 474: Changes the definition of “off-road recreational vehicle” to one that weighs 3,500 pounds or less, an increase of 1,000 from the current law.

— HB 481: Prevents local governments from preventing a utility from installing a temporary underground electrical panel.

—HB 513: Requires the South Florida Water Management District to publish an annual report on the status of the U.S. Army Corps of Central and South Florida Project Infrastructure Resilience Study. Engineers to the Governor, Legislature, Department of Environmental Protection and State Economists, beginning Oct. 1. 1, 2023.

—SB 514: State agencies can substitute work experience for post-secondary education requirements in hiring decisions.

—SB 518: Clarifies that a property owner may cut down a tree on their property without prior approval from a local government if they obtain an assessment by an arborist that the tree poses an unacceptable risk.

—SB 534: Allows patients to receive a prescription for a drug to treat schizophrenia without obtaining prior authorization to be exempt from step therapy protocols, if prior authorization was given within the last 12 months.

—HB 539: Requires care homes to report actual verified financial experience to the Agency for Healthcare Administration.

—SB 542: A person who provided services to a company during a public health emergency but was not classified as a full-time employee cannot use company actions to protect employee health, provide benefits, or pay compensation in a civil action to obtain compensation because they were not classified as “employees”.

— HB 543: Requires the Department of Health to create and maintain a database of cases of uterine febroids – a non-cancerous growth of the uterus occurring during the childbearing years.

—SB 544: allows pharmacists to order drugs such as naxalone used to prevent opioid overdose deaths.

—SB 562: Demands that the Department of Business and Professional Regulation expedite applications for professional licenses from U.S. military spouses.

—HB 593: Requires 911 operators to receive biennial cardiopulmonary resuscitation training to recertify.

—SB 596: The requirement of eight hours of guardianship training for the Office of Criminal Disputes and Regional Civil Council is waived.

—SB 758: Allows a legislator to visit any public school in his district; sets up the Charter School Review Board to review applications from charter schools.

—SB 898: Named “Miya’s law”, after Miya Marcano, an Orlando student who was murdered in her apartment by a maintenance worker who had access to it via a master key, the new law requires employees of apartment buildings to submit to background checks. Another provision of the bill prohibits hotels from charging hourly rates.

—SB 921: After a judge struck down the Legislature’s attempt to limit campaign contributions to political committees gathering petitions to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot, lawmakers changed the measure so that the 3 $000 on contributions only applies to non-residents of Florida.

— SB 1006: Strawberry shortcake is designated as the official dessert of the state of Florida.

—SB 1048: Ends the Florida State Assessment year-end test and implements a “progress tracker” that reviews student progress three times during the year.

— HB 1119: creates a presumption in the courts to grant visitation rights to paternal or maternal grandparents, if a court finds that one parent is held criminally or civilly responsible for the death of the other parent.

— HB 1209: Allows state-registered pharmacy technicians to vaccinate adults under the supervision of a pharmacist, after completing at least six hours of state-approved training.

— SB 2510: Removes the requirement that each of the five Gaming Control Commission commissioners must be from an appeals court district, allows a state agency lobbyist to be appointed to the Commission, and requires Commission to recommend slot license fee amount by January 2026.

— HB 5001, HB 5003: The main budget bill, known as the general budget law, and the budget implementation bill also come into force on Friday. The $109 billion spending makes it the largest in state history, with a 5.4% pay rise for state employees, targeted increases for teachers, prison guards, public defenders, prosecutors and law enforcement officers on top of that and increases for K-12 schools and other parts of the budget, thanks in large part to federal COVID-19 stimulus payments and a strong rebound of the state’s economy after the coronavirus pandemic.

— HB 5301: Places responsibility for placing monuments in the Capitol complex in the hands of the Governor, Cabinet, Speaker of the House and President of the Senate and requires the Department of Management Services (DMS) to publish an annual report on the maintenance of the Capitol complex, starting December 1. 1, 2022. Additionally, the DMS must consult with the governor and legislative leaders before closing or reopening the Capitol to the public during a state of emergency.

—SB 7044: Authorizes the Board of Governors of the State University System to adopt a rule requiring tenured professors to be reviewed every five years.

—HB 7071: The tax reduction package is mainly composed of sales tax exemptions for various items throughout the year. Some of the provisions are already in effect, including a sales tax exemption on children‘s books from May 14 to August 1. 14. Sales taxes on children’s diapers, baby clothes, EnergyStar appliances and impact-resistant windows are exempt for one year starting Friday. Sales tax holidays for back-to-school items (July 25-August 7); tools (Sept. 3-7); and sporting, cultural and leisure equipment events (from July 1 to 7) are also disseminated throughout the year. The main element of the tax cuts, however, is a one-month elimination of the gas tax, starting in October.

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