Florida
Florida joins Texas in banning local heat protections for outdoor workers
Only five states offer statewide heat protections for outdoor workers. Some of the nation’s hottest states, including Texas, Arizona and now Florida, do not.
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Florida will become the second state to stop local governments from requiring heat protection for outdoor workers after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 433.
The law, which DeSantis signed last week, goes into effect on July 1 and establishes multiple restrictions for city and county governments, including the ability to set heat exposure requirements not already required under state or federal law.
Republican Rep. Tiffany Esposito of Fort Myers, who sponsored the House version of the bill, told reporters that her husband has worked in South Florida’s construction sector for two decades and that she knows the industry takes worker safety seriously.
“This is very much a people-centric bill,” Esposito said. “If we want to talk about Floridians thriving, they do that by having good job opportunities. And if you want to talk about health and wellness, and you want to talk about how we can make sure that all Floridians are healthy, you do that by making sure that they have a good job. And in order to provide good jobs, we need to not put businesses out of business.”
Around two million people in Florida work in outdoor jobs, from construction to agriculture, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. On average, the state’s summer can reach up to 95 degrees, with the humidity and blazing sun making it feel well over 100 at times.
What is HB 433?
House Bill 433, referred to as the Employment Regulations Bill, says it seeks to “prohibit political subdivisions (city and county governments) from maintaining a minimum wage other than a state or federal minimum wage; prohibit political subdivisions from controlling, affecting, or awarding preferences based on the wages or employment benefits of entities doing business with the political subdivision; revise and provide applicability.”
Regarding heat exposure protections, the bill’s summary details it will prohibit political subdivisions from:
- Requiring an employer, including an employer contracting with the political subdivision, to meet or provide heat exposure requirements not otherwise required under state or federal law.
- Giving preference, or considering or seeking information, in a competitive solicitation to an employer based on the employer’s heat exposure requirements.
The bill’s analysis dives deeper into the decision to regulate heat exposure protections, saying the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed the best practices over the years. It adds that recognizing that preventing heat-related illnesses “requires education and close collaboration between employers and employees.”
“Whereas local governments have started to adopt their own workplace heat exposure requirements, some of which apply only to specific industries, which ignore the individual responsibility of an employee to follow relevant guidelines and to protect himself or herself from heat-related illnesses, and rely on fines and penalties assessed on employers to fund the enforcement of such requirements,” according to the bill.
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What are Florida’s statewide heat exposure protections?
Despite outlining in its summary that counties and cities would have to adopt the state’s stances on heat exposure protection, Florida does not have any statewide standard. However, the bill’s text heavily supports OSHA’s guidelines regarding the subject.
Florida is under federal OSHA jurisdiction, which covers most private-sector workers within the state. State and local government workers are not covered by federal OSHA.
OSHA has a “general duty clause” that requires employers to provide workplaces “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” That includes heat-related hazards that are likely to cause death or serious bodily harm.
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What does HB 433 mean for workers in Florida cities and counties?
Overall, the legislation would make any local heat protection measures “void and prohibited,” within all 67 Florida counties.
In Miami-Dade County, this legislation would kill the county’s proposal to require 10-minute breaks in the shade every two hours for any outdoor construction or farm workers. After negotiating for years, county commissioners had the item on their agenda up until the law was signed.
In a Friday press conference, DeSantis addressed the bill, saying “there was a lot of concern out of one county, Miami-Dade.
“And I don’t think it was an issue in any other part of the state,” he said. “I think they were pursuing something that was going to cause a lot of problems down there.”
Luigi Guadarrama, political director of the Sierra Club Florida, said in a statement that the new law is the latest example of DeSantis failing the state’s environment, economy and workers.
“Instead of addressing the skyrocketing crisis of protecting our workforce, the governor chose to abandon millions of hard-working Floridians and leave our state more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,” Guadarrama said. “He has consistently ignored the real issues affecting Florida’s families to appease his donors and large corporations.”
How many heat-related deaths does Florida have a year?
From 2010 to 2020, the University of Florida recorded 215 heat-related deaths occurred in Florida, with the number of yearly deaths varying between 10 and 28.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average annual heat-related deaths have risen 95% from 2010 to 2022, with about 1,200 people in the U.S. dying every year from them.
Florida is projected to experience more days of extreme heat this summer (when temperatures are at least 95 degrees), compared to averages over the last 30 years, according to the Florida Climate Center at Florida State University.
What other state ended local heat protection ordinances?
Texas halted the ability of city and county governments to mandate protections for outside workers last year with House Bill 2127.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill on June 13 and it went into effect on Sept. 1. The law ended safeguards like the city of Austin’s 2010 ordinance mandating construction sites offer rest and water breaks for at least 10 minutes every four hours and the city of Dallas’ similar ordinance in 2015.
San Antonio was considering a similar measure ahead of HB 2127’s approval.
What states have heat protections in place?
Only five states offer statewide heat protections, with California being the first after four farm workers died of heat stroke in 2005.
The following states require employers to provide shade and water amidst soaring temperatures:
- California
- Colorado
- Minnesota
- Oregon
- Washington
Florida
Flying taxis? They could be coming to Florida by the end of the year
Hate driving in Florida traffic? A flying taxi can elevate that problem. Electric aircrafts could used in Florida’s skies in 2026.
Tired of the constant traffic and congestion clogging Florida’s roads?
In the words of the great Dr. Emmett Brown (Back to the Future fame), “Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads.”
Florida is on its way to be the nation’s first state to offer commercial Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Essentially, that means state officials are paving the (air)way for passengers to take flight taxis, including electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), from one city to another in record time.
The country’s first aerial test site should be operational within the first part of 2026. It’s at Florida Department of Transportation’s SunTrax testing facility in Polk Couty between Tampa and Orlando along the almost-always congested Interstate-4.
“Florida is at the forefront of emerging flight technology, leading the nation in bringing highways to the skies with Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), an entirely new mode of transportation,” according to a press release from the Florida Department of Transportation. “FDOT’s strategic investments in infrastructure to support AAM will help us become the first state with commercial AAM services.”
When will flight taxis be available in Florida?
Sometime in early 2026, the new Florida AAM Headquarters at the SunTrax Campus will be operational. By the end of the year, it will be fully activated and ready to deploy profitable commercial services for passenger travel.
Air taxi company Archer Aviation announced in Dec. 2025 that it will provide flights between Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Miami international airports possibly as early as this year.
The company also plans to pick up and drop off passengers at the Boca Raton Airport, the Witham Field airport in Stuart, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport and Miami Executive Airport.
Phase one of Florida air taxis: Four sections of the state
- Part A: I-4 corridor, Orlando to Tampa, Orlando to the Space Coast, Orlando to Suntrax and Tampa to Suntrax.
- Part B: Port St. Lucie to Miami
- Part C: Tampa to Naples/Miami to Key West
- Part D: Pensacola to Tallahassee
Phase two of Florida air taxis: Four more sections
- Part A: Daytona Beach to Jacksonville
- Part B: Sebring out east and west
- Part C: Orlando to Lake City/Tampa to Tallahassee
- Part D: Jacksonville to Tallahassee
What Florida airports are interested in commercial flight taxis
- Boca Raton Airport (BCT)
- Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB)
- Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
- Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL)
- Miami Executive Airport (TMB)
- Miami International Airport (MIA)
- Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (OPF)
- Orlando Executive Airport (ORL)
- Orlando International Airport (MCO)
- Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
- Peter O Knight Airport (TPF)
- Sebring Regional Airport (SEF)
- Tallahassee International Airport (TLH)
- Tampa International Airport (TPA)
- Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB)
Michelle Spitzeris a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the network’s Rapid Response reporter, she covers Florida’s breaking news. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
Florida
Officials withheld evidence on Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ funding, environmental groups say
ORLANDO, Fla. — Federal and state officials withheld evidence that the Department of Homeland Security had agreed to reimburse Florida for some of the costs of constructing an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” according to environmental groups suing to shut down the facility.
The Everglades facility remains open, still holding detainees, because an appellate court in early September relied on arguments by Florida and the Trump administration that the state hadn’t yet applied for federal reimbursement, and therefore wasn’t required to follow federal environmental law.
The new evidence — emails and documents obtained through a public records request — shows that officials had discussed federal reimbursement in June, and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed in early August that it had received from state officials a grant application. Florida was notified in late September that FEMA had approved $608 million in federal funding to support the center’s construction and operation.
“We now know that the federal and state government had records confirming that they closely partnered on this facility from the beginning but failed to disclose them to the district court,” said Tania Galloni, one of the attorneys for the environmental groups.
An appellate panel in Atlanta put a temporary hold on a lower court judge’s ruling that would have closed the state-built facility. The new evidence should now be considered as the judges decide the facility’s permanent fate, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, said in court papers on Wednesday.
A federal judge in Miami in mid-August ordered the facility to wind down operations over two months because officials had failed to do a review of the detention center’s environmental impact according to federal law. That judge concluded that a reimbursement decision already had been made.
The Florida Department of Emergency Management, which led the efforts to build the Everglades facility, didn’t respond to an emailed inquiry on Thursday.
Florida has led other states in constructing facilities to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Besides the Everglades facility, which received its first detainees in July, Florida has opened an immigration detention center in northeast Florida and is looking at opening a third facility in the Florida Panhandle.
The environmental lawsuit is one of three federal court challenges to the Everglades facility. In the others, detainees said Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state have no authority to operate the center under federal law. They’re also seeking a ruling ensuring access to confidential communications with their attorneys.
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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social
Florida
Florida lawmaker files hands-free driving bill ahead of 2026 legislative session
TALLAHASSEE – Florida lawmakers are once again trying to crack down on distracted driving, this time with a proposal that goes further than the state’s current law.
Senate Bill 1152, filed ahead of the upcoming legislative session, would make it illegal for drivers to hold a phone while operating a motor vehicle. Drivers could still use GPS, make phone calls, or use navigation apps, but only through hands-free technology such as Bluetooth or built-in vehicle systems.
That restriction would apply even when a vehicle is stopped at a red light or in traffic. The bill defines “handheld” use broadly, including holding a phone in one or both hands or bracing it against the body.
Supporters say Florida’s existing law, which primarily targets texting while driving, doesn’t fully address the many ways drivers use their phones behind the wheel and can be difficult for law enforcement to enforce consistently.
The bill also includes privacy protections. Law enforcement officers would not be allowed to search or confiscate a driver’s phone without a warrant.
State officials say distracted driving remains a serious and persistent problem across Florida.
By the numbers:
The most recent available data for a single year shows nearly 300 people were killed and more than 2,200 others suffered serious injuries in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2024. A crash happens in Florida about every 44 seconds, and roughly one in seven crashes involves a distracted driver, according to state data.
Advocates point to other states with hands-free laws, saying those states have seen declines in deadly crashes after similar measures were adopted.
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What’s next:
The bill will be taken up during the 2026 legislative session, which begins Tuesday, Jan. 13. It must pass committee hearings and full votes in both chambers before going to the governor.
If approved, the law would take effect Oct. 1, 2026.
The Source: This story is based on the filed text of Senate Bill 1152 and data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
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