Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1540
By Senator Torres
25-00895-24 20241540__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to workforce retention; creating s.
3 559.953, F.S.; providing a short title; creating s.
4 559.9531, F.S.; defining the terms “department” and
5 “employer”; creating s. 559.9532, F.S.; requiring
6 employers that intend to relocate out of state or
7 cease operation to notify the Department of Business
8 and Professional Regulation within a specified
9 timeframe before taking such action; requiring the
10 department to compile and publish a semiannual list of
11 employers that relocate out of state or cease
12 operation; creating s. 559.9533, F.S.; providing that
13 such employers are ineligible for state grants, loans,
14 or tax benefits for a specified timeframe; requiring
15 such employers to remit certain funds to the
16 department under certain circumstances; providing
17 exceptions; creating s. 559.9534, F.S.; requiring the
18 head of each state agency to ensure that certain
19 services are performed by state contractors within the
20 state; requiring compliance by certain contractors by
21 a specified date; requiring that certain customer
22 service employees immediately be employed within the
23 state; creating s. 559.9535, F.S.; providing
24 construction; providing a directive to the Division of
25 Law Revision; providing an effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Section 559.953, Florida Statutes, is created to
30 read:
31 559.953 Short title.—Sections 559.953-559.9535 may be cited
32 as the “Florida Jobs Retention Act of 2024.”
33 Section 2. Section 559.9531, Florida Statutes, is created
34 to read:
35 559.9531 Definitions.—As used in this act, the term:
36 (1) “Department” means the Department of Business and
37 Professional Regulation.
38 (2) “Employer” means a business enterprise that:
39 (a) Has been in operation in this state for at least 6
40 months;
41 (b) Employs 75 or more individuals who, in the aggregate,
42 work at least 1,500 hours per week, not including hours of
43 overtime, for the purpose of providing customer service or
44 conducting back-office operations; and
45 (c) Receives any direct or indirect state grant, state
46 guaranteed loan, or state tax benefit.
47 Section 3. Section 559.9532, Florida Statutes, is created
48 to read:
49 559.9532 Employers intending to relocate out of state or
50 cease operation.—
51 (1) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—An employer that intends to:
52 (a) Relocate a Florida business, or one or more facilities
53 or operating units within such business comprising at least 30
54 percent of the business’s or operating unit’s total volume when
55 measured against the previous 12-month average volume of
56 operations, out of the state; or
57 (b) Cease operation of such business, facilities, or
58 operating units
59
60 must notify the department at least 180 days before such
61 relocation or cessation.
62 (2) LIST COMPILATION.—The department shall compile and
63 publish on its website a semiannual list of all employers that
64 relocate or cease operation as described in subsection (1).
65 Section 4. Section 559.9533, Florida Statutes, is created
66 to read:
67 559.9533 Grants and guaranteed loans.—
68 (1) INELIGIBILITY.—Except as provided in subsection (3) and
69 notwithstanding any other law, an employer included on the list
70 described in s. 559.9532 is ineligible for any direct or
71 indirect state grant, state-guaranteed loan, or state tax
72 benefit for 5 years after the date such list is published.
73 (2) REVERSION.—Except as provided in subsection (3) and
74 notwithstanding any other law, an employer included on the list
75 described in s. 559.9532 shall remit to the department the
76 remaining prorated value of any state grant, state-guaranteed
77 loan, state tax benefit, or other state governmental support
78 received on or after the effective date of this act.
79 (3) EXCEPTIONS.—The department, in consultation with the
80 appropriate state agency providing a grant, loan, or tax
81 benefit, may waive the requirements of this section if the
82 employer applying for such grant, loan, or benefit demonstrates
83 that returning such grant, loan, or benefit would result in:
84 (a) Substantial job loss in this state; or
85 (b) Harm to the environment.
86 Section 5. Section 559.9534, Florida Statutes, is created
87 to read:
88 559.9534 In-state procurement.—The head of each state
89 agency shall ensure that all state-business-related customer
90 service work is performed by state contractors or their agents
91 or subcontractors entirely within the state. A state contractor
92 who currently performs state-business-related customer service
93 work outside the state must comply with this act within 2 years
94 after the effective date of this act. If such a contractor hires
95 additional customer service employees who will perform work on
96 state agency contracts, those new employees must immediately be
97 employed within the state.
98 Section 6. Section 559.9535, Florida Statutes, is created
99 to read:
100 559.9535 State benefits for workers.—This act may not be
101 construed to allow withholding or denial of payments,
102 compensation, or benefits under any other state law, including
103 state unemployment compensation, disability payments, or worker
104 retraining or readjustment funds, to workers employed by
105 employers that relocate out of this state or that cease
106 operation.
107 Section 7. The Division of Law Revision is directed to
108 replace the phrase “the effective date of this act” wherever it
109 occurs in this act with the date the act becomes effective.
110 Section 8. This act shall take effect 240 days after
111 becoming a law.