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THE BILL ITSELF

SB 1236

Employers Receiving Economic Development Incentives from State Agencies

VERSION S 1236 Filed · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

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.
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,
68 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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. Between an employer and the state; or
79 2. Between 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 incentives.
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. The 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. This
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.