‘It’s a great opportunity for young people to learn skills, to learn a trade and go forward,’ said Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville.

A controversial bill that would have allowed teenagers to work as roofers was amended to limit 16- and 17-year-olds to residential construction projects lower than 6 feet, a change softening a measure that critics called child exploitation.

At a Senate Education PreK-12 meeting Wednesday morning, the bill’s sponsor rejected critics’ claims that the bill was a way to make up for any loss in Florida’s workforce after last year’s immigration crackdown law and said it would help teens learn construction and technical education skills.

“If we’re cutting them off because of political conversations, instead of giving them and showing them opportunities, then we’re missing the boat on what our responsibility should be as parents, as neighbors, as legislators,” said Sen. Corey Simon, R-Quincy.

What’s called a “strike-all” amendment, usually a near-total rewrite of a bill, says roofs and scaffolding would still be off limits. Teens would also only be allowed to work on residential construction sites, not commercial, Simon said. Minors would still be able to work on ladders, but no taller than 6 feet.

The career and technical education (CTE) legislation is among bills filed this year that critics say will wrongly roll back the state’s child labor laws.

But the bill, which is backed by the construction industry and co-introduced by roofing company owner Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, passed through the committee with nine yeas and two nays.

Forty-seven years ago, Perry began roofing at 16 and started his company at 17, he said.

“We’re not talking about taking a kid and saying ‘we’re going to direct you because you’re going into one of these trades,’ that’s what you can do the whole life,” said Perry. “It’s a great opportunity for young people to learn skills, to learn a trade and go forward.”

What is HB 49? GOP seeks to roll back child labor laws, let employers work kids longer

A related bill by Rep. Linda Chaney, R-St. Pete Beach, was met with protests Tuesday. It would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work six days a week, for more than eight hours a day and more than 30 hours a week.

A group of around 10 Gen Z protesters piled into her office suite in the Capitol wanting to speak with her but ended up sharing their concerns with a staffer.

“This was never about allowing kids to work more,” said 19-year-old Cameron Driggers, executive director of the Youth Action Fund, which organized the demonstration. “(This is about) donors and large corporations that just want to exploit and take advantage of youth labor.”

Democratic committee members on Wednesday were concerned Simon’s bill would be in violation of federal labor law that generally does not allow children under 18 from working in roofing occupations. But Simon said the strike-all removed provisions to let teens on roofs and scaffolding.

Currently in Florida, only a teen enrolled in a CTE program at a school is allowed to work an apprenticeship, Simon said. His measure would let Florida teens work on construction sites regardless of whether they are enrolled in a CTE program.

Rich Templin, director of politics and public policy for the Florida AFL-CIO, said the statewide labor union had serious concerns with the bill. The supervisory requirements aren’t strong enough, according to apprenticeship directors he’s spoken to.

“As I was filling out my card, I really wish you guys would add a third box, because it’s ‘oppose,’ it’s ‘support,’ and there needs to be one where it’s like ‘it’s complicated,’ right?” Templin said. He wound up opposing the bill.

More: Florida education bills to watch: Mandatory computer classes, parents’ rights and more

Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.