2021 Florida Legislature

The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority may disappear next year if a bill proposed by a local legislator passes.

The measure passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee would give hospitals, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, doctors and other providers protections from COVID-related liability claims.

The bill would allow babies up to 30 days old to be placed in a “newborn infant safety device” located on exterior walls of fire stations, emergency medical-services stations or hospitals.

Chief among the differences are how long legal protections should be in effect, types of COVID-related lawsuits that would be limited and whether to require physician affidavits when lawsuits are filed.

Florida lawmakers will deal with the pandemic’s impact on education when they reconvene in Tallahassee in March. Among the issues: a steep drop in student attendance, growing concerns about learning losses and a Republican effort to consolidate the state’s school choice programs.

The lawsuit contends that a Miami Beach deli worker was infected in late March by another employee who came to work with COVID-19.

The proposal would require future employees in the Florida retirement system to enroll in a 401(k)-style "investment" plan, and not a pension plan.

The measure, which has broad support from business organizations, would make it harder to file coronavirus-related lawsuits against businesses and to win such lawsuits.

The legislation would give hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, doctors and other providers protections from COVID-related liability claims. A House companion bill is expected shortly.

Sen. Jeff Brandes made no promises the Senate would make changes to ensure front-line health care workers and teachers can tap into workers’ compensation benefits.

The decision came after advocacy groups asked state officials to delay what’s known as the ACCESS test, an in-person evaluation that measures English-language learners’ proficiency, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure is receiving pushback from those who believe it targets Black Lives Matter.