Legislation Session 2026 Feburary Report
- May 19
- 7 min read
Hi everyone,
Updates for February! There’s still a lot of bills out there trying to vie for time in the House and Senate. Our 2026 legislative session is scheduled to run from 01/13/26 to 03/13/26. There will be a LOT of movement and chaos during this time, so be sure to keep an eye on when this document was last updated and pay attention to multiple sources to see where bills are currently at and going. I will be putting to light bills that are currently being looked at/possibly being introduced into the legislative, ranging from mental health specific stuff to general health and client-oriented stuff. This list will not be all encompassing. Do your own research when you can!
LAST UPDATE: 02/13/26
Mental Health Specific Bills
H0013
Status: Added to Second Reading Calendar for House 01/21
This is the Social Worker Licensure State Compact bill. Similar to the Counseling Compact, this sets the framework for Florida to engage in the Social Work Compact, which does work differently from the Counseling Compact. This was attempted last year and failed; we will see how it does this year.
SB1036
Status: On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/17/26, 12:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
This bill would exempt school counselors from certain certification requirements, given that the school district they are employed by does not require them. The requirements appear to be around getting certified for general education teaching in addition to being a school counselor.
SB1030
Status: 02/12- CS/CS by Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; YEAS 9 NAYS 0
This bill would prohibit providers licensed for primary inpatient or outpatient MH services from using certified recovery residences to provide housing for patients. It will require specific Level IV certification from DCF in order to use recovery residences as housing for patients in outpatient MH programs. This, my GUESS, is to curtail the amount of facilities/programs using recovery houses to house patients who are getting MH services using state granted money that was allocated for substance abuse treatment.
SB1752
Status: Introduced to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Fiscal Policy 01/22
This bill creates the Drug Overdose Death Review Committee and the Suicide Death Review Committee, both with the purposes of researching and creating reports to present to the state on the various socioenvironmental factors around drug overdose and suicide deaths in the state. It will be run by the Dept of Health
SB1652
Status: Introduced to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Fiscal Policy 01/22
This bill redefines the term “autism” and "autism spectrum disorder" to basically be based on what the most updated edition of the DSM says, rather than a static definition. It will mean the definition does not need legislature votes to be changed and will be based on what medical professionals think it should be defined as.
HB473
Status: Withdrawn prior to introduction on Thursday, January 8, 2026 7:17 PM
This bill augments the current ban on gender affirming medical care to minors to also include the ability to go after healthcare providers who assist minor clients in receiving care out of state legally. It gives authority to the AG to investigate possible suspicions of “aiding and abetting” and further stigmatizes gender affirming care in the state.
SB1010/HB 743
Status: Now in Health Policy CS by Children, Families, and Elder Affairs read 1st time 01/22
This bill, similar to HB473, does the same “aiding and abetting” thing to healthcare providers helping trans or non-binary minors obtain medical transitioning through puberty blockers, hormones, and surgical procedures as a crime, just within the state instead of sending them out of state. It gives AG the authority to investigate and allows “hurt individuals” who “were hurt by the transitioning procedures” to privately sue healthcare providers to “recover all noneconomic and economic damages.” It has a 2 year statute of limitations. Again, as a reminder, medical transitioning is currently illegal in this state for minors, so the messaging here is just to repress.
General Healthcare Bills
SB1044
Status: Introduced to Health Policy; Judiciary; Rules Committees 01/13
This bill introduces more red-tape and informed consent paperwork/measures to a couple attempting to undergo IVF treatments. It prohibits healthcare providers from discarding embryos for non-payment without certain conditions being met, and requiring that couples seeking out IVF services get informed consent done in their primary or native language, at the cost of the facility or medical provider.
SB478
Status: Introduced to Health Policy; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Fiscal Policy 01/13
This bill introduces the creation of statutes, a license, and a licensing board around the practice of Music Therapy. It would mean that engaging in anything that the statute defines as “music therapy” would be prohibited without the license, nor would one be able to call themselves a “music therapist” without it. This is similar to a bill that came up over the last 1-2 years regarding art therapists and a separate licensure designation, but this one is going to be its own distinct board, it looks like.
H0133
Status: PASSED IN HOUSE. Now referred to Senate Judiciary committee 01/22
This bill lowers the age to be able to purchase a firearm from age 21 to age 18.
SB1130
Status: Introduced to Banking and Insurance, Appropriations Committee, Fiscal Policy 01/13
This bill puts barriers and safeguards against insurance providers improperly downcoding CPT codes submitted by healthcare providers for reimbursement. It requires health insurers to provide information and notice when they are intending to downcode, the justification and parts of the contract that allows it, and puts in place procedures to work with pre-authorization denials.
SB1760
Status: Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute) Now in Appropriations 02/12
This bill creates a commission called the “Joint Legislative Committee on Medicaid Oversight” to oversee what appears to be multiple runnings of the state Medicaid program. Much of the initial text appears to be related to the management of PBMs but the language appears to be more widely applicable if desired.
SB1758
Status: CS by Health Policy read 1st time 02/10
This bill authorized AHCA to conduct and receive audits and review reports regarding the Medicaid program for various things (likely in tandem with SB1760 and other already in place statutes). There is a lot to review here, but it appears various parts of the Medicaid program are subject to oversight, including individual claims filed by providers.
SB1756
Status: CS by Health Policy read 1st time 01/29
This bill requires that health care providers administering or prescribing vaccines for a minor patient go over with the parent several elements related to the vaccine, including the timing of multiple vaccines together as opposed to spacing them apart. It essentially is more red tape on top of a process that is likely already occurring to some extent. It also would allow the sale Ivermectin (the deworming medication famously advertised as a treatment for COVID [it is NOT]) OTC by pharmacists “until the FDA approves it for OTC sale.”
SB1524
Status: Introduced to Health Policy; Banking and Insurance; Rules 01/22
This bill expands the capabilities of chiropractors to prescribe and administer vitamins, epi-pens, homeopathic remedies, and dietary supplements. It will require board approval. It also allows pharmacists to compound medications prescribed by chiropractors. Yearly reminder that chiropractors are NOT physicians and do not get any medical school training despite being called “chiropractic physicians” in the state legislature.
SB772
Status: Favorable by Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; YEAS 10 NAYS 0 Now in Rules 02/13
This bill renames "portable electronics insurance" as "portable electronics or eyewear insurance" to include eyewear for purposes of insurance coverage and licenses, defines the term "eyewear"; revises the definition of the term "portable electronics", and would allow for more eye insurance coverage for what I presume will be smart glasses.
HB503
Status: Laid on House Table under Rule 7.18(a) 02/13
This bill requires DOH to develop educational materials on drowning prevention safety measures & safe bathing practices for specified purposes; provides requirements for such materials; requires hospitals, birth centers, & home birth providers to provide educational materials to new parents & caregivers as part of their postpartum education & care; requires childbirth educators to provide informational materials to parents or caregivers receiving childbirth education from them.
Bill text:
Civil Rights Measures
SB1326
Status: Remaining references corrected to Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Rules Now in Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice 02/04
This bill adjusts FL’s “insanity defense”, which admittedly was outdated. It in general practice remains similar, with main changes appearing to be requiring certain validated tools in administering the test of insanity vs malingering, and shaping up requirements for mental health treatment should someone be found incapable of standing trial due to their mental health.
HO603
Status: Now in Rules & Ethics Committee 01/21
This bill expanded the definition of the term “relative” for purposes of FL statutes to also mean foster parents and foster children.
Bill text: https://legiscan.com/FL/text/H0603/2026
SB 1642/HB 641
Status: Now in Judiciary CS by Governmental Oversight and Accountability read 1st time 02/04
This bill is one of the first anti-LGBTQIA+ bills introduced this session. It defines terms like “gender identity” and “gender ideology" to essentially be “wrong” and “incorrect ways to identify someone” to basically state that employers cannot mandate employees to respect other colleagues gender pronouns or otherwise punish employees who may discriminate or otherwise treat gender diverse colleagues differently, based on their political, religious, or moral beliefs.
SB1308
Status: Introduced to Health Policy; Judiciary; Rules 01/22
This bill enshrines reproductive health protections into state statutes, allowing people to make decisions based on their own autonomous will regarding their reproductive health or pregnancy. It revokes several other statutes that control various things about a person’s pregnancy and is focused on ensuring fair and equal access to reproductive health services, no matter what someone may decide regarding a pregnancy.
Other Measures
SB994
Status: On Committee agenda-- Commerce and Tourism, 01/21/26, 8:30 am, 110 Senate Building --Temporarily Postponed
This bill would put more restrictions and regulation on the production and sale of kratom products. This would require a manufacturer of kratom products to hold special permits issued by the state and that they follow other guidelines.
SB1344
Status: Introduced to Commerce and Tourism; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Rules 01/22
This will would require operators of AI Chatbot companion apps/websites to verify the age of their users and to ensure safeguards in place to prevent minors from accessing. This also includes people using AI Chatbots as “therapists”. It would require an account to use, and for minors, that a parental account approve interactions between their child and the chatbot.
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This document will evolve over time, and I will be attempting to make updates to it weekly. Keep an eye in the meantime for any other updates from other places, and feel free to let me know if you see any other bills floating around that would be helpful to keep an eye on.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them here. 🙂
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