Employers Receiving Economic Development Incentives from State Agencies

Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 1236

By
Senator Massullo

11-01266-26 20261236__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to employers receiving economic
3 development incentives from state agencies; creating
4 s. 447.18, F.S.; defining terms; requiring an employer
5 to sign an agreement with a state agency that is
6 awarding an economic development incentive before
7 becoming eligible for the economic development
8 incentive; specifying the provisions of the agreement;
9 providing applicability; authorizing persons and
10 entities to report a suspected violation to the
11 Attorney General within a specified timeframe;
12 requiring the Attorney General to determine whether a
13 violation has occurred; requiring the Attorney General
14 to request certain information from the employer
15 alleged to be in violation; providing that refusal of
16 such employer to provide such information is in
17 violation of the agreement; requiring the Attorney
18 General to deliver his or her findings to such
19 employer within a specified timeframe; requiring the
20 Attorney General to initiate proceedings to recover
21 funds awarded to the employer if the employer is found
22 to have violated the agreement; providing that the
23 Attorney General’s findings are final; requiring a
24 state agency to execute a separate written agreement
25 with the recipient of the economic development
26 incentive before the state agency awards the economic
27 development incentive; specifying the contents of the
28 separate agreement; providing the effective periods of
29 the separate agreement; providing applicability;
30 defining the term “agreement”; providing an effective
31 date.
32
33 WHEREAS, the state, as part of its economic development
34 policy, has the right to set terms and conditions in connection
35 with the awarding of economic development incentives, and
36 WHEREAS, the state, as part of its economic development
37 policy, seeks to play an integral role in the formation of
38 economic opportunities, conditions of grants, and general
39 management of compliance with such awards for moneys, and
40 WHEREAS, the state will frequent, as part of awarding
41 economic development incentives, require a private business to
42 hire a certain number of new full-time employees, require a
43 specific amount of company investment, and ensure workers obtain
44 certain skills and knowledge, and
45 WHEREAS, the state, as part of its economic development
46 policy, has a vested interest in seeking to advance and preserve
47 its own interest in projects receiving economic development
48 incentives as a financer of projects contributing to this
49 state’s overall economic health, and
50 WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature, as part of
51 its economic development policy, that whenever state funds or
52 benefits are sought by a private business, such benefits are
53 conditioned on the private business ensuring its employees’
54 right to a secret ballot election when recognizing a labor
55 organization as a bargaining unit, or requiring subcontractors
56 to waive their employees’ right to a secret ballot election, and
57 WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature that whenever
58 state funds or benefits are provided or awarded to a private
59 business, the private business working on a project receiving
60 state funds or benefits may not voluntarily disclose an
61 employee’s personal contact information to a labor organization
62 without the employee’s consent, waive its right to speak to its
63 employees or require subcontractors to voluntarily disclose an
64 employee’s personal contact information to a labor organization
65 without the employee’s consent, or waive the subcontractor’s
66 right to speak to the subcontractor’s employees, NOW, THEREFORE,
67
68 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
69
70 Section 1. Section 447.18, Florida Statutes, is created and
71 incorporated into part I of chapter 447, Florida Statutes, to
72 read:
73
447.18

Employers receiving state-awarded economic

74
development incentives; prohibited acts related to labor

75
organizations
.—

76
(1) As used in this section, the term:

77
(a) “Contract” means
an agreement
:

78
1.
B
etween an employer and the state;
or

79
2.
B
etween an employer and a labor organization.

80
(
b) “Economic development incentive” means a state economic

81
development incentive program or an economic development grant

82
authorized by any
state
agency for
the purpose of
economic

83
development
, the purpose of which

is
to attract or retain
an

84
employer’s physical presence in this state.

85
(c) “Employee” means an individual who performs services

86
for an employer for wages that are subject to withholding

87
requirements under 26 U.S.C.
s.
3402.

88
(d) “Employer” means a business entity
that
voluntarily

89
pursues economic development incentives authorized under this

90
section or enters into an agreement with
a
state
agency
for the

91
purpose of receiving
economic development incentive
s.

92
(e) “Labor organization” has the same meaning as in s.

93
447.02(1).

94
(f) “Neutrality agreement” means an agreement signed
by an

95
employer and
a union in
which
the employer agrees to conditions

96
including, but not limited to, committing not
to
speak to

97
employees about union issues.

98
(g) “Personal contact information” means an employee’s home

99
address, personal phone number, or personal e-mail address.

100
(h) “Secret ballot election” means a process conducted by

101
the National Labor Relations Board in which an employee casts a

102
secret ballot for or against labor organization representation.

103
(i) “Subcontractor” has the same meaning as in s. 448.095.

104
(2)(a) To be eligible for an
economic development

105
incentive
, an employer must sign an agreement with
the
state

106
agency awarding the
economic development incentive stating
that

107
it will not do any of the following:

108
1. Grant
union
recognition rights for employees solely on

109
the basis of signed union authorization cards if the selection

110
of a bargaining representative may instead be conducted through

111
a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor

112
Relations Board.

113
2. Voluntarily disclose an employee’s personal contact

114
information to a labor organization, or third party acting on

115
behalf of a labor organization, without the employee’s written

116
consent, unless otherwise required by state or federal law.

117
3. Sign a neutrality agreement with a labor organization.

118
4. Require a subcontractor performing work for or providing

119
services to the employer to engage in activities prohibited in

120
this paragraph.

121
(b) The prohibitions in paragraph (a) apply to any work or

122
service
provided to
the employer on the project for which the

123
economic development incentive
is
awarded
.

124
(3)(a) A person or
an
entity may report, based upon a

125
reasonable belief, a violation of paragraph (2)(a) to the

126
Attorney General, provided that such report is made during the

127
term of the separate agreement entered into by and between the

128
government agency awarding the
economic development incentive

129
and the employer
in subsection (5)
.

130
(b) Upon receiving
the
report, the Attorney General shall

131
determine whether a violation has occurred. The Attorney General

132
shall request from the employer a copy of the written agreement

133
signed pursuant to
paragraph (2)(a). If the employer refuses to

134
provide the Attorney General with the written agreement, the

135
employer is in
violation
of the agreement entered into between

136
the
employer and the
state agency
that awarded
the
economic

137
development incentive
.
T
he Attorney General must deliver
in

138
writing
his or her findings to the

employer
alleged to be in

139
violation within 60 days.
If the Attorney General finds that an

140
employer has violated the written agreement
signed pursuant to

141
paragraph (2)(a),
he or she shall
initiate proceedings to

142
recover funds awarded to the employer.
The Attorney General’s

143
findings are final.

144
(
4
) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, before

145
contracting to award an
economic development incentive
, the

146
state agency
must
execute a separate
written
agreement with the

147
recipient of the
economic development incentive
which reserves

148
the right of the state agency to recover the amount of money,

149
grants, funds, or other incentives disbursed by the state agency

150
if the recipient benefiting from such money, grants, funds, or

151
other incentives fails to comply with this section.

Th
is

152
agreement is effective for either:

153
(a) The duration
of the project, to be determined by
the

154
state agency
,
for an
economic development incentive award
of

155
less than $5 million; or

156
(b) No longer
than
20 years, for an
economic development

157
incentive award
of $5 million or more.

158
(
5
) This section applies to any agreement entered into,

159
renewed, or modified after July 1, 2026. As used in this

160
subsection,
the term
“agreement” includes a memorandum of

161
understanding mutually accepted by the state agency awarding

162
economic development incentives and an employer before July 1,

163
2026, including a legally binding agreement subsequent and

164
subject to the memorandum of understanding.

165 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.