No. HB 1129
Filed under Insurance.
First Responders; Adds newly employed firefighters to Florida Law Enforcement Officer & Firefighter Recruitment Bonus Payment Program; requires Department of Commerce to consult with Division of State Fire Marshal to verify certain information; requires division to define firefighter misconduct by rule; revises date program expires; authorizes CFO to appoint review panel to assist in reviewing certain grants; provides for review panel membership; provides duties & responsibilities of each review panel; provides for general program support grants & specific fire program grants; requires CFO to review panel's recommendations and, beginning on specified date, include approved grant applicants in DFS' legislative budget request; requires certain projects to be funded until all appropriated funds are depleted; creates, subject to appropriation, Institute for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder within DFS for specified purpose; provides duties & responsibilities of institute; authorizes institute to collaborate with other entities to enhance program development & service delivery.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDFlorida's Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program now also covers newly employed firefighters, extending the same one-time bonus of up to $5,000, subject to appropriation, to firefighters hired on or after July 1, 2026.
Firefighters who leave before completing two years generally must repay the bonus, unless discharged for a reason other than misconduct, and the Division of State Fire Marshal has not yet defined what counts as firefighter misconduct.
The program's automatic expiration is pushed back two years, from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2028, keeping both the officer and firefighter bonus tracks alive through that date.
Separately, the bill lets the Chief Financial Officer appoint a fire-industry review panel to score and recommend fire-service grants, and creates a Department of Financial Services institute focused on first-responder mental health, subject to funding.
AIThe Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program is renamed to include firefighters, and its one-time payment of up to $5,000 now goes to newly employed firefighters as well as newly employed officers.
AIWhether a firefighter who leaves early must repay the bonus turns on whether the discharge was for misconduct, and the Division of State Fire Marshal must now write the rule defining what that term covers.
AIStarting January 1, 2027, the Chief Financial Officer must submit the panel's approved applicants for the department's legislative budget request, and those projects must be funded in score order until the appropriated funds are gone.
AISubject to appropriation, this creates the Institute for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder inside the Department of Financial Services to coordinate statewide research, training, outreach, and policy work on first-responder behavioral health.
AIA firefighter must obtain certification as a firefighter under s. 633.408, gain full-time employment with a fire service provider, and maintain that employment for at least two years to receive and retain the bonus.
AIThe program, including the new firefighter track, was set to expire automatically on July 1, 2026; this bill pushes that expiration back to July 1, 2028.
AIThe Chief Financial Officer may, at his or her discretion, appoint a five-member review panel drawn from the fire service industry to score and recommend fire-related grant applications.
AIEach review panel must sort eligible grant applicants into two separate recommendation lists, one for general program support grants and one for specific fire project grants, before sending them to the Chief Financial Officer.