Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 888
By
Senator Martin
33-00430-26 2026888__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to professional services contracts;
3 amending s. 725.08, F.S.; providing that a
4 professional services contract between a design
5 professional and a contracting party, rather than
6 between a design professional and a public agency, may
7 require the design professional to indemnify and hold
8 harmless the contracting party, and its officers and
9 employees, only against certain liability and damages;
10 providing that all professional services contracts,
11 rather than professional services contracts entered
12 into with a public agency, may not require the design
13 professional to defend, indemnify, or hold harmless
14 the contracting party or its employees, officers,
15 directors, or agents; declaring that such a contract
16 provision is void as against public policy; specifying
17 that a professional services contract must require a
18 design professional to perform to a certain level of
19 professional skill and care; prohibiting a
20 professional services contract from subjecting a
21 design professional to a different standard of care;
22 providing applicability; prohibiting a professional
23 services contract from requiring a design professional
24 to list additional insureds on its policy; providing
25 an effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Present subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
30 725.08, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5),
31 (6), and (7), respectively, new subsections (3) and (4) are
32 added to that section, and subsections (1) and (2) and present
33 subsection (5) of that section are amended, to read:
34 725.08 Design professional contracts; limitation in
35 indemnification.—
36 (1) Notwithstanding
the provisions of
s. 725.06, if a
37 design professional provides professional services to or for a
38
contracting party
public agency
, the
contracting party
agency
39 may require
in a professional services contract with the design
40
professional
that the design professional indemnify and hold
41 harmless the
contracting party
agency
, and its officers and
42 employees, from liabilities, damages, losses, and costs,
43 including, but not limited to, reasonable
attorney
attorneys
’
44 fees,
only
to the extent caused by the negligence, recklessness,
45 or intentionally wrongful conduct of the design professional and
46 other persons employed or
used
utilized
by the design
47 professional in the performance of the contract.
48 (2) Except as specifically provided in subsection (1), a
49 professional services contract
entered into with a public agency
50 may not require that the design professional defend, indemnify,
51 or hold harmless the
contracting party or
agency
,
its employees,
52 officers, directors, or agents from any liability, damage, loss,
53 claim, action, or proceeding, and any such contract provision
is
54
shall be
void as against the public policy of this state.
55
(3)(a) A professional services contract must require the
56
design professional to perform the services with the
level of
57
professional skill and care ordinarily provided by a competent
58
design professional practicing under the same or similar
59
circumstances and professional licenses as expeditiously as is
60
prudent.
61
(b)
A professional services contract may not subject a
62
design professional to a standard of care different than that
63
provided in paragraph (
a
).
64
(
c
) If the standard of care in a professional services
65
contract differs from the professional skill and care as
66
described in paragraph (a), paragraph (a) applies.
67
(4) A professional services contract may not require a
68
design professional to list a contracting party or any other
69
person or entity as an additional insured on the design
70
professional’s policy of professional liability insurance.
71
(7)
(5)
This section does not affect contracts or agreements
72 entered into before
July 1, 2026
the effective date of this
73
section
.
74 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.