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Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 854
By
Senator DiCeglie
18-00468-26 2026854__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to small independent special fire
3 control districts; amending s. 110.1228, F.S.;
4 defining the term “small independent special fire
5 control district”; authorizing the governing body of a
6 small independent special fire control district to
7 apply for participation in the state group health
8 insurance and prescription drug programs; revising
9 eligibility requirements to include such districts;
10 requiring the Department of Management Services to
11 conduct a certain actuarial analysis; requiring that
12 such analysis be paid for by the small independent
13 special fire control district; providing that if such
14 a district issued a request for proposals within a
15 specified timeframe, such request satisfies specified
16 requirements; requiring the department to conduct an
17 actuarial analysis by a specified date under certain
18 conditions; providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Section 110.1228, Florida Statutes, is amended
23 to read:
24 110.1228 Participation by small counties, small
25 municipalities,
and
district school boards located in small
26 counties
, and small independent special fire control districts
.—
27 (1) As used in this section, the term:
28 (a) “District school board” means a district school board
29 located in a small county or a district school board that
30 receives funding pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(f).
31 (b)
“Small county” means a county that has a population of
32
100,000 or fewer according to the most recent decennial census.
33
(c)
“Small independent special fire control district” means
34
an independent special fire control district as defined in s.
35
191.003 which has fewer than 100 employees and is located within
36
a county in which there is a countywide emergency medical
37
services authority created by special act.
38
(d)
“Small municipality” means an incorporated municipality
39 that has a population of 12,500 or fewer according to the most
40 recent decennial census.
41
(c) “Small county” means a county that has a population of
42
100,000 or fewer according to the most recent decennial census.
43 (2) The governing body of a small county
,
or
small
44 municipality
,
or
a district school board
, or small independent
45
special fire control district
may apply for participation in the
46 state group health insurance program authorized in s. 110.123
47 and the prescription drug coverage program authorized by s.
48 110.12315 by submitting an application along with a $500
49 nonrefundable fee to the department.
50 (3) Any costs or savings to the state group health
51 insurance program or the prescription drug coverage program
52 resulting from such participation
must
shall
be passed on to the
53 local government participants and their employees. Such costs or
54 savings
must
shall
be delineated based on the impact to the
55 state, state officers and employees, and local government
56 employers and their employees.
57 (4) As a prerequisite to the adoption of an ordinance or
58 resolution for participation in the state group health insurance
59 program and prescription drug coverage program, a small county,
60 small municipality,
or
district school board
, or small
61
independent special fire control district
shall issue a request
62 for proposals to provide health insurance and prescription drug
63 coverage. Such request for proposals
must
shall
seek coverages
64 equivalent to those offered currently by the small county, small
65 municipality,
or
district school board
, or small independent
66
special fire control district
and coverages equivalent to the
67 state group health insurance program and prescription drug
68 coverage program. Such request for proposals must provide an
69 opportunity for the receipt of competitive proposals from all
70 interested parties without restriction. The small county, small
71 municipality,
and
district school board
, and small independent
72
special fire control district
shall review and consider all
73 responsive proposals
before
prior to
the adoption of any
74 ordinance or resolution for participation in the state group
75 health insurance program and prescription drug coverage program.
76 (5) If the department determines that a small county, small
77 municipality,
or
district school board
, or small independent
78
special fire control district
is eligible to enroll, the small
79 county, small municipality,
or
district school board
, or small
80
independent special fire control district
must agree to the
81 following terms and conditions:
82 (a) The minimum enrollment or contractual period will be 3
83 years.
84 (b) The small county, small municipality,
or
district
85 school board
, or small independent special fire control district
86 must pay to the department an initial administrative fee of not
87 less than $2.61 per enrollee per month, or such other amount
88 established annually to fully reimburse the department for its
89 costs.
90 (c) Termination of participation of a small county, small
91 municipality,
or
district school board
, or small independent
92
special fire control district
requires written notice 1 year
93 before the termination date.
94 (d) If participation is terminated, a small county, small
95 municipality,
or
district school board
, or small independent
96
special fire control district
may not reapply for participation
97 for a period of 2 years.
98 (e) Small counties, small municipalities,
and
district
99 school boards
, and small independent special fire control
100
districts
shall reimburse the state for 100 percent of its
101 costs, including administrative costs.
102 (f) If a small county, small municipality,
or
district
103 school board
, or small independent special fire control district
104 employer fails to make the payments required by this section to
105 fully reimburse the state, the Department of Revenue or the
106 Department of Financial Services shall, upon the request of the
107 Department of Management Services, deduct the amount owed by the
108 employer from any funds not pledged to bond debt service
109 satisfaction that are to be distributed by it to the small
110 county, small municipality,
or
district school board
, or small
111
independent special fire control district
. The amounts so
112 deducted
must
shall
be transferred to the Department of
113 Management Services for further distribution to the trust funds
114 in accordance with this chapter.
115 (g) The small county, small municipality,
or
district
116 school board
, or small independent special fire control district
117 shall furnish the department any information requested by the
118 department which the department considers necessary to
119 administer the state group health insurance program and the
120 prescription drug coverage program.
121 (h) The small county, small municipality,
or
district
122 school board
, or small independent special fire control district
123 shall adopt the state’s eligibility rules.
124 (i) The small county, small municipality,
or
district
125 school board
, or small independent special fire control district
126 may not participate in the state’s cafeteria plan that allows
127 for pretax treatment of premium contributions. If pretax
128 treatment is desirable for employees of these participating
129 employers, each employee of a participating employer shall
130 execute a salary reduction agreement with that employer, and
131 each participating employer shall establish its own cafeteria
132 plan.
133 (j) The small county, small municipality,
or
district
134 school board
, or small independent special fire control district
135 shall pay monthly premiums in amounts sufficient to cover claims
136 costs, department administrative costs, and third-party
137 administrative costs and provide for adequate reserves and cash
138 flow by contributing 3 months’ premiums and costs in advance of
139 the coverage effective date.
140 (6)
If a small independent special fire control district
141
elects to participate in the state group health insurance
142
program authorized in s. 110.123 and the prescription drug
143
program authorized by s. 110.12315, the department must conduct
144
an actuarial analysis to determine the small independent special
145
fire control district’s health insurance premiums. Such analysis
146
must be paid for by the small independent special fire control
147
district.
148
(7)
The provisions of ss. 624.436-624.446 do not apply to
149 the State Group Insurance Program or to this section.
150 Section 2.
Due to the potential cost savings to small
151
independent special fire control districts which may be realized
152
if such districts participate in open enrollment for the 2026
153
2027 fiscal year for the state group health insurance and
154
prescription drug programs, a request for proposals to provide
155
health insurance and prescription drug coverage issued by such
156
district no more than 1 year before the effective date of this
157
act, satisfies the requirements of s. 110.1228(4), Florida
158
Statutes, for such district.
159 Section 3.
To allow small independent special fire control
160
districts to participate in the 2026-2027 fiscal year open
161
enrollment for the state group health insurance program and
162
prescription drug program, the Department of Management Services
163
must conduct the applicable actuarial analysis for an eligible
164
small independent special fire control district no later than
165
June 1, 2026, if such district notifies the department of its
166
choice to participate in the programs no later than May 5, 2026.
167 Section 4. This act shall take effect May 1, 2026.