Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
CS for SB 828
By
the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Leek
596-02688-26 2026828c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to sovereign immunity for public
3 transit contractors; amending s. 768.28, F.S.;
4 providing that contractors providing public transit
5 services and their employees or agents are deemed
6 agents of the state for purposes of sovereign
7 immunity; defining the term “public transit”; amending
8 s. 766.1115, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference;
9 providing an effective date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Present paragraphs (f) through (l) of subsection
14 (10) of section 768.28, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
15 paragraphs (g) through (m), respectively, a new paragraph (f) is
16 added to that subsection, and paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of
17 that section is amended, to read:
18 768.28 Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;
19 recovery limits; civil liability for damages caused during a
20 riot; limitation on attorney fees; statute of limitations;
21 exclusions; indemnification; risk management programs.—
22 (9)
23 (b) As used in this subsection, the term:
24 1. “Employee” includes any volunteer firefighter.
25 2. “Officer, employee, or agent” includes, but is not
26 limited to, any health care provider when providing services
27 pursuant to s. 766.1115; any nonprofit independent college or
28 university located and chartered in this state which owns or
29 operates an accredited medical school, and its employees or
30 agents, when providing patient services pursuant to paragraph
31
(10)(g)
(
10)(f)
; any public defender or her or his employee or
32 agent, including an assistant public defender or an
33 investigator; and any member of a Child Protection Team, as
34 defined in s. 39.01, or any member of a threat management team,
35 as described in s. 1006.07(7), when carrying out her or his
36 duties as a team member under the control, direction, and
37 supervision of the state or any of its agencies or subdivisions.
38 (10)
39
(f) For purposes of this section, a contractor or any of
40
its employees or agents providing public transit services under
41
a contract with a state agency or subdivision is considered an
42
agent of the state while acting within the scope of and pursuant
43
to guidelines established in such contract or by rule. For
44
purposes of this paragraph, the term “public transit” has the
45
same meaning as in s. 341.031(6).
46 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (12) of section
47 766.1115, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
48 766.1115 Health care providers; creation of agency
49 relationship with governmental contractors.—
50 (12) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to incidents
51 occurring on or after April 17, 1992. This section does not:
52 (b) Apply to any affiliation agreement or other contract
53 that is subject to
s. 768.28(10)(g)
s. 768.28(10)(f)
.
54 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.