Staff Reports
The big news in deregulation Thursday was in the House, where Rep. Blaise Ingoglia introduced a strike-all amendment that brought his bill in line with the Senate version.
HB 1193 with the amendments addresses many of the concerns expressed in House committees ahead of this stop, and last year’s bill.
When asked if it was “de-reg lite,” Ingoglia said it was still “substantive,” the most ambitious occupational deregulation package in state history.
Interior designers, who previously opposed the bill, spoke in favor of the strike all, which eliminated concerns. Also in support: Associated Industries of Florida.
Of the two bills, the Senate version has had a smoother glide path.
SB 474, sponsored by Bartow Republican Sen. Ben Albritton, retains more state requirements than Ingoglia’s original bill for cosmetologist training and replaces licensing with a registration process for higher-qualified interior designers.
It was agendaed in the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday morning also, its final stop ahead of the chamber floor.
In a previous committee, professionals in those same occupations and others criticized the Ingoglia bill for going too far, jeopardizing student financial aid for people attending technical schools and creating some unresolved concerns about how interior designers might work on government contracts.
Both bills move forward the professional deregulation effort begun last year and championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis under the general conclusion that Florida over-regulates far too many professions, essentially requiring people to get state permission to get jobs. But after complexities piled up, Albritton pulled the plug on his bill last year and the matter died.
Both bills this year either reduce education requirements for a wide array of professions, such as auctioneers, barbers, and geologists, eliminate some licensing requirements altogether for such professions as hair braiding, nutritionists, and boxing announcers, and address other regulatory matters, while still trying to preserve requirements to protect public health and safety.
The omnibus nature of the deregulation bogged down throughout the 2019 Legislative Session in battles over what amount of training is too little, and what is onerous, creating financial and time-consuming challenges for people trying to find new occupations.
However, the bill appears likely to make it in 2020.
Ingoglia was visibly pleased by the amount of people waiving in support, something he never expected.
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A.G. Gancarski and Scott Powers contributed to this post.
