House Appropriations Committee advances six bills including midwife licensure and tenant protections

The House Appropriations Committee advanced six bills and referred them to the full House after a meeting that included brief staff summaries and a mix of voice and roll-call votes.

Committee Chair Chairman Harris opened the meeting and asked the clerk to call the roll before staff reviewed the agenda. The committee executive director summarized the measures under consideration, noting items that affect school athletics, tenant protections, school counseling requirements and health-care licensure. The executive director said SB 507 "provides licensure of certified midwives and allows licensed midwives to prescribe medications, including medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder." (Committee executive director)

Votes at a glance - House Bill 41: Allows separate playoffs for boundary and non-boundary schools (as summarized by the committee executive director). No discussion was recorded; the chair announced the bill would "pass the committee unanimously." (Passed; committee action announced by Chairman Harris.)

- House Bill 72: Enables victims of domestic violence to terminate a lease or change locks. A committee member requested a roll-call vote; the clerk conducted the roll call and the chair announced that the ayes had it and HB 72 would be referred to the House floor. (Passed; roll-call vote requested.)

- House Bill 344: Increases transparency and parking fees for tenants (per the executive director). Committee members indicated support and the chair announced the bill would pass unanimously. (Passed; voice vote announced.)

- House Bill 830: Requires school entities to notify parents of both the target and the aggressor in bullying incidents. The committee conducted a roll-call vote; the chair announced the ayes had it and said the bill would be referred to the Florida House. (Passed; roll-call vote requested.)

- House Bill 2218: Requires school entities to develop and implement a comprehensive school counseling plan. A committee member noted party-line voting intentions during discussion, and the chair announced that the ayes had it and the bill would be referred to the House. (Passed; recorded as referred to the House.)

- Senate Bill 507: Creates licensure for certified midwives and allows licensed midwives to prescribe medications, including for opioid use disorder. The executive director provided the synopsis above; the chair announced the bill would pass the committee unanimously. (Passed; voice vote announced.)

The meeting included multiple instances where members recorded proxy responses as "designation" during roll call; where the transcript recorded only group statements (for example, "all Republicans will be voting in the affirmative"), individual vote tallies were not consistently provided in the record. Chairman Harris closed the meeting, saying there was no further business, and adjourned the committee.

Quotes used in this report are from the committee transcript and are attributed to the speakers who made them in committee remarks.