Department of Commerce

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Department of Commerce; 2
amending s. 253.025, F.S.; exempting federal agencies 3
from a requirement that a conveyance at less than 4
appraised value must state that the land will revert 5
to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement 6
Trust Fund if the land is not used for its intended 7
purposes as a military installation buffer or if the 8
military installation closes; amending s. 288.0656, 9
F.S.; revising the definition of the term "rural 10
community"; repealing ss. 290.0401, 290.0411, 290.042, 11
290.0455, 290.046, 290.047, 290.0475, and 290.048, 12
F.S., relating to the Florida Small Cities Community 13
Development Block Grant Program Act, legislative 14
intent and purpose, definitions, the Florida Small 15
Cities Community Development Block Grant Loan 16
Guarantee Program, applications for grants, 17
establishment of grant ceilings and maximum 18
administrative cost percentages and the elimination of 19
population bias, rejection of grant applications and 20
penalties for failure to meet application conditions, 21
and general powers of the department, respectively; 22
amending s. 290.043, F.S.; renaming the "Florida Small 23
Cities Community Development Block Grant Program" as 24
the "Community Development Block Grant Program"; 25

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amending s. 290.044, F.S.; revising provisions 26
relating to the Florida Small Cities Community 27
Development Block Grant Program Fund; renaming the 28
fund as the "Community Development Block Grant Program 29
Fund"; providing definitions; designating the 30
department as the state agency to receive federal 31
funding from the United States Department of Housing 32
and Urban Development to administer the program; 33
providing that the department shall administer 34
additional federal funding in accordance with federal 35
law and guidance from the Department of Housing and 36
Urban Development; authorizing the Department of 37
Commerce to adopt rules; amending s. 448.095, F.S.; 38
defining the terms "employer" and "noncompliance"; 39
providing that an employer must maintain an E-Verify 40
case for each employee; providing that an employer's 41
failure to provide requested documentation within a 42
specified time period constitutes noncompliance; 43
requiring the department to issue a notification of 44
noncompliance containing specified information; 45
providing that if the employer fails to cure the 46
noncompliance, the department shall issue a final 47
determination of noncompliance; providing requirements 48
for specified hearings for employers under certain 49
circumstances; providing penalties; providing 50

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requirements for an employer to cure specified 51
noncompliance with the E-Verify system; authorizing 52
the department to adopt rules; providing that the 53
department may recover specified costs; requiring such 54
funds to be deposited into the State Economic 55
Enhancement and Development Trust Fund; revising 56
construction and expiration; amending s. 448.09, F.S.; 57
providing that an employer knowingly employs an 58
unauthorized alien if specified conditions are met; 59
requiring the department to provide an employer with a 60
written determination that an employer has knowingly 61
employed an unauthorized alien; providing that if an 62
employer requests a hearing, the administrative law 63
judge's final order is appealable; requiring an 64
employer to report quarterly to the department to 65
demonstrate compliance; authorizing the department to 66
adopt rules; amending s. 163.3184, F.S.; conforming 67
provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 68
effective date. 69
70
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 71
72
Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (21) of 73
section 253.025, Florida Statutes, to read: 74
253.025 Acquisition of state lands.— 75

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(21) 76
(e) Federal agencies, including the United States 77
Department of Defense, are exempt from paragraph (d) if the land 78
continues to serve the general purpose of acting as a buffer for 79
a military installation, even if the specific military mission, 80
use, or function of the land is modified or changed. 81
Section 2. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 82
288.0656, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 83
288.0656 Rural Economic Development Initiative.— 84
(2) As used in this section, the term: 85
(e) "Rural community" means: 86
1. A county with a population of 75,000 or fewer. 87
2. A county with a population of 125,000 or fewer which is 88
contiguous to a county with a population of 75,000 or fewer. 89
3. A municipality within a county described in 90
subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. 91
4. An unincorporated area federal enterprise community or 92
an incorporated rural city that has with a population of 25,000 93
or fewer and that meets an employment base focused on 94
traditional agricultural or resource-based industries, located 95
in a county not defined as rural, which has at least three or 96
more of the economic distress factors identified in paragraph 97
(c) and verified by the department. 98
99
For purposes of this paragraph, population shall be determined 100

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in accordance with the most recent official estimate pursuant to 101
s. 186.901. 102
Section 3. Sections 290.0401, 290.0411, 290.042, 290.0455, 103
290.046, 290.047, 290.0475, and 290.048, Florida Statutes, are 104
repealed. 105
Section 4. Section 290.043, Florida Statutes, is amended 106
to read: 107
290.043 Florida Small Cities Community Development Block 108
Grant Program; administration.—There is created the Florida 109
Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program. The 110
department shall administer the program as authorized and 111
described in Title I of the Housing and Community Development 112
Act of 1974, as amended; Pub. L. No. 93-383, as amended by Pub. 113
L. No. 96-399 and Pub. L. No. 97-35; 42 U.S.C. ss. 5301 et seq. 114
Section 5. Section 290.044, Florida Statutes, is amended 115
to read: 116
(Substantial rewording of section. See 117
s. 290.044, F.S., for present text.) 118
290.044 Community Development Block Grant Program Fund; 119
administration; distribution.— 120
(1) The Community Development Block Grant Program Fund is 121
created. 122
(2) For the purpose of this section, the term: 123
(a) "Act" means the Housing and Community Development Act 124
of 1974, as amended, and applicable federal regulations. 125

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(b) "Program" means the Community Development Block Grant 126
Program. 127
(3) The department is designated as the state agency to 128
receive federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban 129
Development and to administer the program. The department may 130
award grants under the program consistent with the purposes and 131
requirements of the act. The department may expend funds 132
received from Department of Housing and Urban Development 133
consistent with the act. 134
(4) If, in any year, the department receives additional 135
federal funding through the Department of Housing and Urban 136
Development for necessary expenses related to disaster recovery, 137
long-term recovery, and restoration of infrastructure in 138
impacted and distressed areas arising from the consequences of a 139
federally declared disaster, the department shall administer 140
such funding in accordance with the federal law authorizing such 141
funding, including any implementing guidance or regulations 142
adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 143
(5) If, in any year, the department receives additional 144
federal funding through the Department of Housing and Urban 145
Development for any purpose not specifically provided in this 146
section, the department shall administer such funding in 147
accordance with the law authorizing such funding, including any 148
implementing guidance or regulations adopted by the Department 149
of Housing and Urban Development. 150

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(6) The department may adopt rules to administer this 151
section. 152
Section 6. Paragraph (c) and paragraphs (d) through (f) of 153
subsection (1) of section 448.095, Florida Statutes, are 154
redesignated as paragraph (d) and paragraphs (f) through (h), 155
respectively, paragraph (b) of subsection (2), subsection (6), 156
and paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (7) are amended, new 157
paragraphs (c) and (e) are added to subsection (1), and 158
paragraph (c) is added to subsection (3) of that section, to 159
read: 160
448.095 Employment eligibility.— 161
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 162
(c) "Employer" means any person, firm, company, 163
corporation, association, joint stock company, partnership, 164
organization, or other legal entity, or any agent thereof, which 165
engages one or more individuals to perform labor or services in 166
this state in exchange for salary, wages, or other remuneration. 167
The term does not include: 168
1. An occupant or owner of a private residence with 169
respect to an individual hired for casual labor, as defined in 170
s. 443.036, which is to be performed entirely within that 171
private residence. 172
2. A person or entity solely with respect to its 173
engagement of an independent contractor, as defined in federal 174
laws or regulations. 175

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(e) "Noncompliance" means: 176
1. The failure of an employer to verify a new employee's 177
employment eligibility through the E-Verify system. 178
2. An employer's failure to timely provide, upon request 179
by an entity or person listed in paragraph (3)(a), copies of the 180
documentation the employer relied upon to verify a new 181
employee's employment eligibility. 182
(2) EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION.— 183
(b)1. A public agency shall use the E-Verify system to 184
verify a new employee's employment eligibility as required under 185
paragraph (a). 186
2. Beginning on July 1, 2023, a private employer with 25 187
or more employees shall use the E-Verify system to verify a new 188
employee's employment eligibility as required under paragraph 189
(a). The employer must maintain an E-Verify case for each 190
employee which verifies the employee's employment eligibility. 191
3. Each employer required to use the E-Verify system under 192
this paragraph must certify on its first return each calendar 193
year to the tax service provider that it is in compliance with 194
this section when making contributions to or reimbursing the 195
state's unemployment compensation or reemployment assistance 196
system. An employer that voluntarily uses the E-Verify system 197
may also make such a certification on its first return each 198
calendar year in order to document such use. 199
(3) ENFORCEMENT.— 200

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(c) Failure by an employer to provide the requested 201
documentation within 30 days after a request made under 202
paragraph (a) constitutes noncompliance. Each failure to timely 203
provide the documentation constitutes a noncompliance event for 204
the application of fines under paragraph (6)(b). 205
(6) COMPLIANCE.— 206
(a) In addition to the requirements under s. 288.061(6), 207
beginning on July 1, 2024, if the Department of Commerce has a 208
reasonable basis to believe determines that an employer failed 209
to use the E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility 210
of employees as required under this section, the department 211
must, before the imposition of a fine or suspension of licenses, 212
issue an initial notification of noncompliance to the employer. 213
An employer's failure to provide copies of any documentation 214
relied upon by the employer for the verification of a new 215
employee's employment eligibility to a person or entity listed 216
in paragraph (3)(a) constitutes a reasonable basis that an 217
employer failed to use the E-Verify system. The department must 218
notify the employer that it must cure the noncompliance within 219
30 days after the date of the department's initial notification. 220
The department, for good cause shown by the employer, may grant 221
the employer an additional 30 days to cure the noncompliance. If 222
the employer does not timely cure the noncompliance, the 223
department shall issue a final determination of noncompliance to 224
the employer, which is subject to chapter 120. If the employer 225

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requests a hearing, the hearing shall be held pursuant to ss. 226
120.569 and 120.57(1), except that the order of an 227
administrative law judge is a final order and reviewable under 228
s. 120.68 notify the employer of the department's determination 229
of noncompliance and provide the employer with 30 days to cure 230
the noncompliance. 231
(b) If the Department of Commerce determines that an 232
employer failed to use the E-Verify system as required under 233
this section and the employer failed to cure the noncompliance 234
in accordance with paragraph (a) three times in any 24-month 235
period, the department must impose a fine of $1,000 for each 236
employee not verified pursuant to this section. Any subsequent 237
noncompliance by the employer after the final determination of 238
per day until the employer provides sufficient proof to the 239
department that the noncompliance is cured. noncompliance 240
constitutes grounds for the suspension of all licenses issued by 241
a licensing agency subject to chapter 120 until the 242
noncompliance is cured. 243
(c) To cure noncompliance, the employer must: 244
1. Register with the E-Verify system if the employer is 245
not already registered. 246
2. Use the E-Verify system or the Employment Eligibility 247
Verification form (Form I-9) as provided in paragraph (2)(c) to 248
properly verify the employment eligibility of each employee. 249
3. Provide an E-Verify case result for each employee which 250

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verifies the employee's employment eligibility. 251
4. Provide an affidavit to the Department of Commerce, 252
under penalty of perjury, that all instances of noncompliance 253
have been corrected and that the employer is now in full 254
compliance with this section. 255
(d)(c) Fines collected under this subsection must be 256
deposited into the State Economic Enhancement and Development 257
Trust Fund for use by the department for employer outreach and 258
public notice of the state's employment verification laws. 259
(e) The Department of Commerce may adopt rules necessary 260
to implement this section. The department may establish 261
procedures for reporting, enforcement, compliance, 262
noncompliance, license suspension, and the application of fines, 263
as well as any other rules required for effective enforcement 264
and administration of this section. 265
(f) In addition to any penalties imposed under this 266
section, the Department of Commerce is entitled to recover the 267
reasonable costs of investigation and prosecution if the 268
employer is found to have violated this section. The court shall 269
determine the amount of costs to be assessed after its 270
consideration of an affidavit of itemized costs and any written 271
objections thereto. If the assessed costs are not paid within 60 272
days after assessment, the department may contract for the 273
collection of such costs, in which case any fees charged by the 274
collection agent may be added to the amount recovered from the 275

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employer, or may bring a civil action to recover such costs, in 276
which case the department is also entitled to recover reasonable 277
attorney fees and court costs incurred in such action. All 278
recovered costs, including additional amounts recovered for 279
collection efforts, shall be deposited into the State Economic 280
Enhancement and Development Trust Fund. 281
(7) CONSTRUCTION.— 282
(a) This section must be enforced without regard to race, 283
color, or national origin and must be construed in a manner so 284
as to be fully consistent with any applicable federal laws or 285
regulations. The Department of Commerce may not investigate a 286
complaint that is based solely on race, color, or national 287
origin. 288
(c) This section shall expire 60 days after the E-Verify 289
system is no longer provided or maintained by the Federal 290
Government, or when a pilot program, and the Federal Government 291
requires the use of the E-Verify system by all employers in the 292
United States. 293
Section 7. Section 448.09, Florida Statutes, is amended to 294
read: 295
448.09 Unauthorized aliens; employment prohibited.— 296
(1) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly employ, 297
hire, recruit, or refer, either for herself or himself or on 298
behalf of another, for private or public employment within this 299
state, an alien who is not duly authorized to work by the 300

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immigration laws of the United States, the Attorney General of 301
the United States, or the United States Secretary of the 302
Department of Homeland Security. An employer knowingly employs 303
an unauthorized alien if the employer is aware of the 304
unauthorized alien's unauthorized status or fails to take 305
reasonable steps to verify the unauthorized alien's employment 306
eligibility after being made aware of potential violations. 307
(2) If the Department of Commerce finds or is notified by 308
an entity specified in s. 448.095(3)(a) that an employer has 309
knowingly employed an unauthorized alien, the department must 310
provide the employer with a written determination subject to 311
chapter 120. If the employer requests a hearing, the hearing 312
shall be held pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57(1), except that 313
the order of an administrative law judge is a final order and 314
reviewable under s. 120.68 without verifying the employment 315
eligibility of such person, the department must enter an order 316
pursuant to chapter 120 making such determination and require 317
repayment of any economic development incentive pursuant to s. 318
288.061(6). 319
(3) For a violation of this section, the department shall 320
place the employer on probation for a 1-year period and require 321
that the employer report quarterly to the department to 322
demonstrate compliance with the requirements of subsection (1) 323
and s. 448.095. On or before the last day of each quarter, the 324
employer must submit an affidavit that affirms the employer is 325

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not employing any unauthorized aliens and is in compliance with 326
s. 448.095. The first quarter will commence from the issuance 327
date of the final order. Each subsequent quarter commences 90 328
days after the previous quarter. The department may enforce 329
compliance with this subsection by filing a petition for 330
enforcement with the circuit court in and for Leon County. Venue 331
for all actions under this subsection is in Leon County. 332
(4) Any violation of this section which takes place within 333
24 months after a previous violation constitutes grounds for the 334
suspension or revocation of all licenses issued by a licensing 335
agency subject to chapter 120. The Department of Commerce must 336
provide the employer with a written determination subject to 337
chapter 120. The hearing shall be held pursuant to ss. 120.569 338
and 120.57(1), except that the order of the administrative law 339
judge is a final order and appealable pursuant to s. 120.68. The 340
department shall take the following actions for a violation 341
involving: 342
(a) One to ten unauthorized aliens, suspension of all 343
applicable licenses held by a private employer for up to 30 days 344
by the respective agencies that issued them. 345
(b) Eleven to fifty unauthorized aliens, suspension of all 346
applicable licenses held by a private employer for up to 60 days 347
by the respective agencies that issued them. 348
(c) More than fifty unauthorized aliens, revocation of all 349
applicable licenses held by a private employer by the respective 350

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agencies that issued them. 351
(5) An alien who is not duly authorized to work by the 352
immigration laws of the United States, the Attorney General of 353
the United States, or the United States Secretary of the 354
Department of Homeland Security and who knowingly uses a false 355
identification document or who fraudulently uses an 356
identification document of another person for the purpose of 357
obtaining employment commits a felony of the third degree, 358
punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 359
(6) The Department of Commerce may adopt rules to 360
implement this section. 361
Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section 362
163.3184, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 363
163.3184 Process for adoption of comprehensive plan or 364
plan amendment.— 365
(8) ADMINISTRATION COMMISSION.— 366
(b) The commission may specify the sanctions provided in 367
subparagraphs 1. and 2. to which the local government will be 368
subject if it elects to make the amendment effective 369
notwithstanding the determination of noncompliance. 370
1. The commission may direct state agencies not to provide 371
funds to increase the capacity of roads, bridges, or water and 372
sewer systems within the boundaries of those local governmental 373
entities which have comprehensive plans or plan elements that 374
are determined not to be in compliance. The commission order may 375

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also specify that the local government is not eligible for 376
grants administered under the following programs: 377
a. The Florida Small Cities Community Development Block 378
Grant Program, as authorized by ss. 290.043-290.044 ss. 379
290.0401-290.048. 380
b. The Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program, 381
as authorized by chapter 375. 382
c. Revenue sharing pursuant to ss. 206.60, 210.20, and 383
218.61 and chapter 212, to the extent not pledged to pay back 384
bonds. 385
2. If the local government is one which is required to 386
include a coastal management element in its comprehensive plan 387
pursuant to s. 163.3177(6)(g), the commission order may also 388
specify that the local government is not eligible for funding 389
pursuant to s. 161.091. The commission order may also specify 390
that the fact that the coastal management element has been 391
determined to be not in compliance shall be a consideration when 392
the department considers permits under s. 161.053 and when the 393
Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund 394
considers whether to sell, convey any interest in, or lease any 395
sovereignty lands or submerged lands until the element is 396
brought into compliance. 397
3. The sanctions provided by subparagraphs 1. and 2. do 398
not apply to a local government regarding any plan amendment, 399
except for plan amendments that amend plans that have not been 400

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finally determined to be in compliance with this part, and 401
except as provided in this paragraph. 402
Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 403