No. SB 998
Filed under Environment & Water.
Department of Commerce; Repealing provisions relating to the Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program Act; providing an exemption for certain conveyances of state lands to certain federal agencies which revert to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund if such land is not used for its intended purposes as a military installation buffer or if the military installation closes; requiring employers who are required to use the E-Verify system to verify a new employee’s employment eligibility to maintain an E-Verify case result for each employee which shows that the employee is authorized to work; requiring the department to provide an employer knowingly employing an unauthorized alien with a written determination, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDEmployers now count as knowingly employing an unauthorized worker if they ignore reasonable warning signs, not just when they have direct proof, and violators must repay economic development incentives and face escalating license suspension.
A civil fine of $1,000 per unverified employee can follow a single uncured notice of noncompliance, replacing a rule that required three violations in two years, and covered employers must now keep E-Verify proof for each hire.
The bill repeals nine sections detailing the Florida Small Cities block grant program and replaces them with a shorter law letting the Department of Commerce award that federal housing money in any manner and any amount.
Federal agencies conveyed state land as a military buffer keep it even if the specific mission changes, and rural-area eligibility for economic development aid now depends on the department's recommendation and the Governor's designation.
AIAn employer now counts as knowingly employing an unauthorized worker if it fails to take reasonable steps to check eligibility after being warned of a possible violation, even without direct proof it knew of the worker's status.
AINine detailed sections governing the Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program are repealed outright, and the remaining section lets the Department of Commerce award HUD grant funds in any manner and any amount it chooses.
AIA flat $1,000-per-employee fine can now follow one notice of noncompliance that goes uncured, replacing a rule that required three separate E-Verify violations within 24 months before an accumulating daily fine applied.
AICovered employers must keep an E-Verify case result on file for every employee showing the person is authorized to work, a documentation duty that did not previously exist in the statute.
AIBeyond the per-employee fine, the department can bill a violating employer for its investigation and prosecution costs, including staff time and attorney costs, and pursue collection or a civil action to recover them.
AILand conveyed below appraised value to federal agencies like the Department of Defense or Coast Guard no longer reverts to the state merely because the land's specific military use changes, so long as it still functions as a military buffer.
AIThe Department of Commerce is now barred from opening an unauthorized-employment investigation when a complaint is based solely on someone's race, color, or national origin.
AIAn unincorporated area no longer qualifies as a 'rural community' by meeting a fixed population and agricultural-employment test; instead it must be recommended by the department and designated by the Governor.