Mid-session update on the key bills Common Cause is watching during Florida’s 2026 Legislative Session: 

Voting & Fair Representation

Bad Bills:

• Voter Purge Bills (HB 991 / SB 1334): Would remove thousands of eligible U.S. citizens from the voter rolls and prevent eligible U.S. citizens from being registered to vote. Read more here.
  • Current Status: Both the House and Senate version have passed their first committees.
  • ACTION: Call your House and Senate representatives and ask them to vote NO on these bills. If you don’t have access to official documents to prove your citizenship (like a passport or certified copy of your birth certificate and official name change documents): share your story!
• Mid-Decade Redistricting: Drawing voting maps to benefit a political party is illegal under Florida’s Constitution. We will oppose any efforts to redraw Florida’s maps for partisan gain.
  • Current Status: No bills or maps introduced yet. It looks like this issue may not be addressed during regular session in either chamber. The Governor has called for a special session on redistricting in April, and pushed back the qualifying date for congressional candidates. His ability to move the qualifying date is now being challenged in court.
  • ACTION: Call your House and Senate representatives and tell them to reject any attempt to redraw Florida’s voting maps before the 2030 census!

Good Bills:

• The Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act (HB 1419/SB 1598): Provides stronger tools to fight voter suppression, repeals bad elections laws, and expands access to the ballot for all eligible Florida voters.
  • Current Status: The House version was heard in committee when it was filed as a strike-all amendment to replace the bad elections bill HB 991. Representatives had to go on the record voting for or against voting rights.
  • ACTION: Ask your House and Senate representatives to co-sponsor the Florida VRA!
• Elections During Emergencies (HB 1191/SB 1416): Provides critical flexibility for Supervisors of Elections to ensure rapid and effective support for disaster-affected voters in their counties.
  • Current Status: No movement.
  • ACTION: Call your representatives and ask them to support these good bills to support disaster-affected voters.
• Restoration of Rights Voting Database (HB 73/SB 132): Fulfills the promise of rights restoration for Floridians with prior felony convictions by enable returning citizens to know if their right to vote has been restored or not.
  • Current Status: The Senate version has successfully passed two committees with bipartisan support.
• Special Elections (SB 460/HB 597): Requires the Governor to call special elections in a timely manner to fill vacancies.
  • Current Status: The Senate version has successfully passed two committees with bipartisan support.
• State Reapportionment (HJR 619/SJR 728): Proposes an amendment to the State Constitution to create an independent redistricting commission.
  • Current Status: No movement.
• Student Volunteers at Polling Locations (SB 564/HB 461): This bill would allow high school students to volunteer at polling locations, correcting a problem created by earlier legislation that prevents election offices from accepting outside support.
  • Current Status: Both the House and Senate versions have passed all committee and are ready to be heard on the floor.
• Agreement Among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote (HB 57/SB 232): Makes Florida part of the solution to the problem of the Electoral College!
  • Current Status: No movement.

Civil Rights & Civil Liberties

Bad Bills:

• Outlawing Activism Bills (SB 1632/HB 1471): Would give the Governor and Cabinet the power to secretly designate advocacy and civil rights organizations as “domestic terrorists,” based on a process that is vague and discretionary. Floridians who support these organizations would then be subject to felony penalties and expulsion from public universities.
  • ACTION: Call your representatives and tell them to vote no. These bills violate constitutional rights to free speech, free association and due process.
  • Current Status: The House version has passed two committees and the Senate version has passed one committee.
• Anti-Diversity in Local Governments (SB 1134/HB 1001): Prohibits counties and municipalities from adopting or operating diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and would prevent local governments from supporting community events like Pride and Black History Month.
  • ACTION: Call your representatives and tell them to vote no.
  • Current Status: Both the House and Senate versions have passed two committees and have one more stop.
• Political Activity on Public Institutions of Higher Education (HB 725/SB 1736): Empowers the Board of Governors to set limits on campaign involvement on campus, potentially chilling students’ free speech.
  • Current status: House version passed its first committee.
• Materials Harmful to Minors (SB 1692/HB 1119): Expands book bans in Florida schools.
  • Current status: Passed the House and sent to the Senate.
• Protection of Confederate Monuments (HB 455/SB 496): Prohibits local governments from removing historical monuments, including monuments that glorify the confederacy that the community does not want in its midst.
  • Current Status: House version has passed one committee.

Good Bills:

• VISIBLE Act (SB 316/HB 419): Requires immigration officers to wear visible identification and prohibits them from wearing face coverings.
  • Current Status: No movement.
• Florida Economic Prosperity and Immigration Act (HB 315/SB 328): Would help stop discrimination based on immigration status.
  • Current Status: No movement.

Anti-Corruption & Accountability

Bad Bills:

• Secret Designation Process (HB 1473/SB 1634): Would allow the state to declare advocacy and civil rights organizations as “domestic terrorists” through a secretive process that hides the reasons from the public.
  • Current Status: Both the House and Senate version have passed their first committees.
• Publication of Public Notices (HB 1009 / SB 380): Will make it even harder for Floridians to find and track public and legal notices by removing requirements for publication in centralized locations.
  • Current Status: Both the House and Senate versions have passed two committees and only have one more stop.

Good Bills:

• Whistleblower Protections (SB 92 / HB 139): Prohibits adverse actions against employees or independent contractors for disclosing information to the Commission on Ethics.
  • Current Status: The Senate version has passed two committees and the House version has passed one committee.
• Access to Public Records (HB 437/SB 770): Helps address the issue of state, county, and local government agencies delaying, denying, or outright ignoring public records requests from Floridians.
  • Current Status: The House version has passed two committees.
• Candidate Qualification (SB 62/HB 91): Requires candidates to be registered with their party for 365 days before qualifying, helping to close a loophole that enables election manipulation.
  • Current Status: Both the House and Senate versions have passed all committees and now head to the floor.

Media & Technology

Needs Improvement:

• Artificial Intelligence Regulation (SB 482/HB 1395): Creates some measures to regulate AI (which is good), but fails to actually protect Floridians from key harms of AI and related technology (which is bad).
  • Current Status: The Senate version has passed one committee.