Legislation Session 2026 Preliminary Report
- Jan 4
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 22
Hi everyone,
Now that we are in January we are starting our state legislative session soon. 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: 01/19/26
Mental Health Specific Bills
H0013
Status: Added to Health & Human Services Committee agenda 01/16
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: Referred to Education Committee 01/07
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: Referred to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee 01/07
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: Referred to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Fiscal Policy 01/16
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: Referred to Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services; Fiscal Policy 01/16
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.
General Healthcare Bills
SB1044
Status: Referred to Health Policy; Judiciary; Rules Committees 01/07
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: Filed 01/07
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: Added to Special Order Calendar 1/15
This bill lowers the age to be able to purchase a firearm from age 21 to age 18.
SB1130
Status: Referred to Banking and Insurance, Appropriations Committee, Fiscal Policy 01/12
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: Filed 01/13
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: Filed 01/13
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: Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations; Rules 01/16
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: Referred to Health Policy; Banking and Insurance; Rules 01/16/26
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.
Civil Rights Measures
SB1326
Status: Referred to Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Rules 01/16
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: Added to Govt. Operations Subcommittee Agenda 01/16
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
Status: Referred to Governmental Oversight and Accountability; Judiciary; Rules 01/16
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: Referred to Health Policy; Judiciary; Rules 01/16
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: Referred to Commerce and Tourism, Appropriations Committee, Fiscal Policy 01/07
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: Referred to Commerce and Tourism; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Rules
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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