A unique law in Florida that bars adult children over 25 and their parents from pursuing medical malpractice claims is close to repeal, following an overwhelming vote to do so on the House floor.

Members of the chamber voted 104-6 for HB 6017, which would delete from Florida Statutes the provision, known derisively as “free kill,” after 35 years on the books.

“It’s taken a long time to get here, but I’m so glad that we’ve made it,” said Fort Pierce Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy, who filed the measure with Orlando Democratic Rep. Johanna López.

“We have a wonderful health care system in Florida, (but) mistakes happen. Malpractice happens, (and) nobody should lose a family member due to medical malpractice and lose the ability to access the courts just because they were the age of 25, unmarried with no dependents.”

Trabulsy noted that lawmakers passed the existing restriction in 1990 to reduce insurance rates.

“Lo and behold, insurance rates did not come down,” she said. “It’s about time that we change this law and put the courts back in the hands of Floridians.”

HB 6017 and its Senate analog (SB 734) by Jacksonville Republican Sen. Clay Yarborough encountered ample pushback in committee from medical and insurance organizations, including the American College of Physicians, Florida Hospital Association, Florida Insurance Council, Florida Medical Association, ProAssurance Corp., The Doctors Company and Florida Osteopathic Medical Association.

Retired OBG/YN Miriam Ramirez said she had to stop delivering babies due to the cost of medical malpractice insurance. Daniel Daube, a physician and surgeon who has worked in Panama City for more than 30 years, said Florida needs to attract more practitioners in the state for better care — something HB 6017 and SB 734 would counteract.

Kathryn Magar, Vice President of Claims and Insurance at hospital operator Health First, said the legislation would make her company’s four medical facilities all but uninsurable.

“I’ve yet to meet a clinician who got into the medical profession to cause harm,” she said. “The ‘free kill’ term is, quite frankly, offensive.”

They and others called the legislation “compassionate but misdirected” and argued it would lead to an influx of wrongful death lawsuits and even higher insurance and health care costs.

But that opposition was met with testimonies from dozens of Floridians who lost loved ones and then had no recourse to hold those responsible accountable.

Ethan Perez described maltreatment of his grandfather that included injection with hydrogen peroxide, which an autopsy deemed to be “homicide.” Darcy McGill, who buried her mother, called “free kill” Florida’s “dirty little secret.”

Cindy Jenkins, whose daughter died two years ago due to what she described as “horrific negligence” at a hospital in St. Johns County, said medical malpractice premiums are high in Florida because Florida has a lot of medical malpractice.

“The way you decrease medical malpractice premiums is to stop medical malpractice,” she said. “My child is a free kill. I have no justice.”

Lauren Korniyenko’s 70-year-old mother died in a hospital two days after what she called an “uncomplicated surgery to repair a fractured hip.” Brevard County law enforcement cordoned off the room as a possible homicide scene, she said, and the autopsy revealed staff ignored at least 10 “critical signs of a surgical site infection” that led to her death.

“In an era focused on greater scrutiny of government spending, this law enables the waste and abuse of taxpayer money,” she said.

They and many other family members attended Wednesday’s House floor vote, sitting in the East Gallery. Trabulsy and López recited their lost loved ones’ names.

AARP Florida and the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans backed the bills.

Ocoee Democratic Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis, a lawyer, said HB 6017 would help to wipe away “a stain on our state’s moral conscience.”

“Grief does not expire at 25. The bond between a parent and child does not dissolve with age, and the right to seek justice should never be determined by a birthday,” she said. “This legislation is more than legal reform; it’s a declaration of humanity.”

All six “no” votes came from Republicans: Reps. James Buchanan of Sarasota, Wyman Duggan of Jacksonville, Tom Fabricio of Miami Springs, Karen Gonzalez Pittman of Tampa, Toby Overdorf of Palm City and Will Robinson of Bradenton.

None asked questions about, or argued against, the bill before it passed.

HB 6017 will now go to the Senate, where Yarborough’s bill awaits a floor vote after clearing all three committees to which it was referred.

Yarborough can either substitute HB 6017 for his bill, amend his to match it, or send it back to the House to be amended to match his bill.

That third option is unlikely to happen; except for some organizational difference, the bills are identical.

If passed, the legislation will take effect July 1.

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A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics contributed to this report.

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Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

House Speaker Daniel Perez wants Florida to become the only state in the nation to permanently reduce its sales tax, proposing a 0.75% cut on Wednesday to bring the state sales tax from its current 6% to 5.25%. 

“This will not be a temporary measure, a stunt or a tax holiday. This will be a permanent, recurring tax reduction,” Perez said.

Perez said it would be the most significant tax cut in state history, projecting that Floridians would save $5 billion annually. 

“We have forgotten a fundamental truth — this money isn’t ours. Tax dollars don’t belong to the government, they belong to the people,” Perez said. 

He noted that while the Legislature in recent history has “justifiably called out local governments for misspending and mismanagement,” lawmakers “have been reluctant to turn our gaze on ourselves and hold state government to those same standards.” 

Pointedly, he said the state has a spending problem.

“More importantly, we have a recurring spending problem,” Perez added, noting that while member projects — often referred to as budget turkeys — “gain the most attention” because of vetoes, they don’t impact the state’s overall budget growth. He called such projects “irrelevant and incidental” to the state’s overall budget process in the long term. 

Perez applauded the work of the Subcommittee Chairs to “find real savings” and said the results will be published Friday in the proposed House General Appropriations Act, which he said will likewise be historic.

“Our budget will not only be lower than the Governor’s proposed budget, it will also be lower than the budget passed by the Legislature last term. For the first time since the Great Recession, we will roll out a budget that actually spends less money than we did in the prior fiscal year,” Perez said. 

Read more on Florida Politics.

Evening Reads

—“Here’s what Mike Waltz won’t tell you” via Chris Cillizza of So What?

—”Here are the attack plans that Donald Trump’s advisers shared on Signal” via Jeffrey Goldberg and Shane Harris of The Atlantic

—”The Atlantic editor who broke ‘Signalgate’ did nothing wrong. He could be prosecuted anyway.” via Mark Rasch of SLATE

—”How the Signal transcript undermines key Trump administration claims” via Aaron Blake of The Washington Post

—”Hegseth’s leak would have warned the enemy. The White House is using semantics to obscure that.” via David E. Sanger of The New York Times

—”Corporate America’s euphoria over Trump’s ‘Golden Age’ is giving way to distress” via Nick Timiraos, Alex Leary and Chip Cutter of The Wall Street Journal

—”‘Is Waltz Jonah from Veep?’: Team Trump fumes over its most idiotic scandal yet.” via Asawin Suebsaeng, Ryan Bort and Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone

—”Florida bill opens door to firing squads, lethal gas for executions” via Romy Ellenbogen of the Tampa Bay Times

—”Sheriff’s office: ICE has deportation orders for 10,000 people in Orange County” via Stephen Hudak of the Orlando Sentinel

—”Say hello to FSU Health” via Christine Sexton of the Florida Phoenix

—”TMH calls for community action as Mayor, City Manager address ‘secret meetings’ backlash” via William L. Hatfield and Elena Barrera of the Tallahassee Democrat

Quote of the Day

“We have forgotten a fundamental truth – this money isn’t ours. Tax dollars don’t belong to the government, they belong to the people.”

— House Speaker Daniel Perez, proposing a permanent cut to the state sales tax.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

House Speaker Daniel Perez gets a Tax Relief for proposing a first-ever reduction to the state sales tax.

You can’t run a bar without orange juice, and Senate President Ben Albritton is doing his part to keep Florida groves running, so he gets his pick of the best orange juice-based cocktails.

Pour a Smoke on the Water for Sen. Tracie Davis, whose legislation to protect medical professionals from surgical smoke moved through another Committee.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Djokovic, Pagula featured tonight at Miami Open

Novak Djokovic and Jessica Pagula highlight tonight’s schedule at the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium (7 p.m. ET, Tennis Channel).

Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam singles champion, continues to play at a high level at 37. He is ranked fifth in the ATP Rankings and came into the tournament as the number four seed on the men’s side. In his career, he has won 99 titles and has earned a record $186 million in prize money in singles and doubles combined.

Djokovic is scheduled to face 25th-ranked Sebastian Korda this evening. The son of 1998 Australian Open Petr Korda has faced Djokovic only once before. Djokovic beat Korda in three sets in Adelaide, Australia, in 2023. 

Pegula, the fourth seed in the women’s singles draw, faces 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu in a quarterfinal match. Pegula, who lost in the finals of the U.S. Open last year, briefly rose to become the top-ranked women’s tennis player in the world in 2023. She is currently ranked fourth in the WTA Rankings.

The tournament is the last hard-court event in the United States until July, when the tours return to Washington D.C.

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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.

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Florida’s food banks could be set to feast on additional funding courtesy of the Senate’s proposed budget.

Senate appropriators are offering $38 million to set up a grant program for charities that produce fresh food products in Florida. Another $12 million would fund grants to expand the state’s food banks.

“Florida’s farmers, growers, and ranchers produce hundreds of different commodities every year. Fresh from Florida is more than just a slogan – it’s a way of life for those who feed our state and nation,” said Senate President Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican, in a release highlighting the allocation. “No matter how prosperous our state is, unexpected and unplanned things happen that can cause food insecurity for families.

“I don’t want any Floridian, especially children, to go to bed hungry every night, not knowing where their next meal will come from. That’s not something I’m willing to live with. Florida does a lot to help struggling folks back onto their feet and food is a part of that effort. We’re running to this fight to connect hungry families across our state with Florida farmers who produce fresh, wholesome food. This is a much-needed hand-up for families and farmers across our state. As I travel the state, attacking food insecurity unites Floridians like nothing else can. Food matters.”

The Senate’s proposed budget begins the process that will likely run until near the end of the 60-day Session. Alongside Wednesday’s announcement on food bank funding, the Senate is also offering $200 million to aid the state’s citrus industry.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) would administer the $38 million as part of a competitive grant program to promote food grown or produced in Florida.

To be eligible, recipients must submit monthly reports to FDACS detailing “the amount of food purchased by commodity type, purchase location, purchase date, delivery date, and distribution location,” per a Wednesday release summarizing the budget allocations.

Wednesday’s Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget proposal comes from the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government, which Senate President Pro Tempore Jason Brodeur chairs.

“Food insecurity is without a doubt a real problem that some families in our state face,” Brodeur said in a statement.

“This funding will help expand food bank and pantry infrastructure to make fresh, healthy food available to families in need. I can’t think of a more conservative, more compassionate way to help these struggling families. This funding will be a win for Florida families and a win for Florida agriculture.”

The $12 million pool of money would be part of a joint effort between FDACS and Feeding Florida to better serve areas in need, with an emphasis on rural communities.

“The funds may be used to equip new locations, expand distribution routes, purchase transportation equipment, or provide necessary training to onboard pantry staff,” Wednesday’s release said.

When asked, Robin Safley, the Executive Director of Feeding Florida, said, “We applaud the Commissioner Simpson, the Senate President, Senator Brodeur and House leadership for recognizing the importance of food security and the role it plays in keeping Floridians healthy —especially when that fresh food comes from our state’s own bountiful harvests.”

Feeding Florida is the association representing Florida’s nine largest foodbanks which work closely with the Florida agriculture community and local farmers to bring Florida-grown food from the fields and into to the hands of those in need. Additionally, the networks work closely with Hope Florida and the Florida Department of Commerce to help families get job training and other resources they need to thrive.

“Florida’s farmers have a deep connection to our state and its people, going back in many cases for generations. Rain or shine, they are responsible for putting food on grocery shelves across the state and are our first and best line of defense against food insecurity,” said Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson.

“Expanding our food bank infrastructure will help connect more families across Florida with fresh, healthy, seasonal crops and produce grown right here in the Sunshine State.”

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