STATE NEWS BRIEFS

Inside the Florida State Capitol. [Photo courtesy dos.myflorida.com]

Bill could aid drivers with disabilities

Drivers with disabilities who use specially equipped vehicles could get additional protections when parking, under part of a transportation bill approved Jan. 21 by a House committee.

The proposal would prohibit vehicles with “permanently installed mobility access equipment” from being towed or ticketed if they take up more than one parking spot. The plan would allow people who use such vehicles to double park “when reasonably necessary,” including when no designated parking spots are available.

The measure was included in a broad transportation bill (HB 543) approved by the House Commerce Committee. Rep. Rachel Plakon, a Lake Mary Republican who sponsored the proposal about drivers with disabilities, told the panel that Sylvia Longmore, a constituent whose car was towed from an Orlando airport, inspired the idea. Longmire said she double parked before traveling because no spaces that accommodate her vehicle were available, adding that a “ramp is not a convenience” for someone who uses a wheelchair.

Olivia Keller, a disability rights advocate, said Plakon’s effort won’t fix a larger problem facing people using accessible vehicles: an inadequate number of designated parking spaces.

Keller pointed to a Florida law requiring the number of parking spaces for people with disabilities to be increased “on the basis of demonstrated and documented need.”

The number of designated parking spaces for people with disabilities is about 2 percent but should be boosted to 7 to 10 percent, Keller said.

“This has been demonstrated. This has been documented. This has not been changed in over a decade,” she argued. “This is a symptom of a much, much bigger problem that is not being addressed.”

Keller is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging a 2025 law allowing pregnant women to use parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities. The lawsuit alleges the law violates federal protections.

Citrus forecast leads to revenue bump

The Florida Citrus Commission could see a $1 million increase in revenue after a new forecast about this season’s citrus crop.

The commission, which oversees the Florida Department of Citrus, increased revenue estimates Jan. 21 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its first forecast for the growing season, which started in September.

The commission’s budget is based, in part, on what is known as a “box tax” on growers. When the commission approved a $23.4 million budget in October, it based box tax revenue projections on the industry producing 11.6 million boxes of oranges, 1.2 million boxes of grapefruit and 350,000 boxes of specialty fruits. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast, released this month, put orange production at 12 million boxes, grapefruit production at 1.2 million boxes and specialty fruits at 400,000 boxes.

The increases in the forecast over the numbers used in the commission-approved budget is expected to lead to $1.049 million in additional revenue, which will be initially directed into reserves.

E-Verify expansion OK’d in House

The Florida House on Jan. 15 passed a bill that would require all private employers to use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of new workers.

The bill (HB 197), sponsored by Rep. Berny Jacques, R-Seminole, and Rep. Kiyan Michael, R-Jacksonville, would expand a current law that requires public employers and private employers with 25 or more workers to use E-Verify.

Rep. Yvonne Hinson, D-Gainesville, raised concerns about the bill placing an additional burden on small businesses. But Jacques said it would help prevent employment of undocumented immigrants.

“If this bill passes, it will expose a lot of law breakers that are harming Floridians, harming law-abiding people who want to get into the workforce,” Jacques said.

The Republican-controlled House passed the bill 80-37 along almost straight party lines. Rep. Jose Alvarez, D-Kissimmee, and Rep. Mitch Rosenwald, D-Oakland Park, joined Republicans in supporting the bill, while Rep. J.J. Grow, R-Inverness, and Rep. Susan Plasencia, R-Orlando, opposed it.

Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, has filed an identical Senate bill (SB 1278).