Apollo Beach Republican Rep. Michael Owen is pushing legislation that would more clearly separate treatment providers from recovery housing in Florida, limiting when mental health providers can use certified recovery residences to house patients and changing how those facilities are licensed and inspected.

HB 923 would update state laws governing recovery residences and licensed mental health and substance abuse providers, with changes affecting housing rules, licensing, inspections and record-keeping.

The bill aims to separate treatment from housing, spelling out when providers can use recovery residences, also known as sober living homes, to house patients and when they must operate fully licensed facilities instead. It also seeks to make it easier for existing providers to expand services or change ownership.

Under the proposal, most licensed mental health treatment providers would no longer be allowed to house their patients in recovery residences. Those patients would instead have to live in housing licensed specifically as a mental health facility.

An exception would allow certain higher-level providers to use certified recovery residences to house people receiving outpatient mental health treatment, as long as residents are separated based on their primary diagnosis.

The bill, filed Monday, would also change how licenses are handled, allowing both probationary and regular licenses to be transferred to new owners and narrowing what qualifies as a license transfer.

HB 923 would require the Department of Children and Families to issue a regular license within 30 days to an existing provider seeking to add services or expand to new locations, as long as the provider remains in good standing.

The measure would also tie treatment room size and group occupancy limits to statewide building and fire codes, rather than separate agency rules.

Other provisions allow credentialing entities to conduct inspections of recovery residences but limit their access to clinical and medical records when considering disciplinary action. The bill would also adjust notification timelines for certain personnel issues, remove a requirement that some executives be immediately removed following an arrest, and make certain recovery residence records confidential.

HB 923 has not yet been referred to committee. If approved, it would take effect July 1.

As 2025 comes to a close, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor says the city is entering the new year with momentum built on economic growth, major infrastructure investments and continued recovery from last year’s hurricanes.

Castor outlined the city’s progress in her year-end remarks, pointing to national recognition for Tampa’s economy and a slate of public works projects completed or launched over the past year.

Tampa ranked second among mid-sized U.S. cities for economic growth, with the local economy expanding 43% and paychecks rising 38%, according to a national study. The city also earned the top ranking for U.S. Cities for Foreign Businesses by the Financial Times, climbing from No. 26 in just one year.

“As we close out 2025, I am raising a toast to a year full of big wins and even bigger plans for our city in the year ahead,” Castor wrote in her newsletter.

Castor highlighted several projects as examples of the city’s success, including the October groundbreaking of the $57 million West Riverwalk expansion. Once completed, the project will create 12.2 miles of continuous waterfront trail connecting West Tampa, Tampa Heights, downtown and surrounding areas.

The city also completed a $17 million upgrade to the Bayshore Wastewater Pumping Station through its PIPES program, part of an ongoing effort to strengthen long-term infrastructure.

Tampa’s Mobility Department resurfaced 76 miles of roadways in 2025 with the addition of a second paving machine and crew. City officials reported a record 21 miles paved in November.

Castor also pointed to continued rebuilding efforts following last year’s hurricanes, including the reopening of community centers and the restoration of parks across the city.

Castor’s newsletter also highlights end-of-year events that continue this week, with the ReliaQuest Bowl Parade returning to Ybor City on Tuesday ahead of the Dec. 31 college football matchup between the University of Iowa and Vanderbilt University at Raymond James Stadium.

To promote safe travel during New Year’s Eve, the Farah & Farah law firm is offering $50 Uber credits through its 10th annual Safe Ride Home Program. Credits are available from 6 p.m. Dec. 31 through 6 a.m. Jan. 1.

City offices will be closed Thursday, Jan. 1, in observance of New Year’s Day. Free Christmas tree collection begins Jan. 2. Residents are asked to remove all decorations, cut limbs to 4 feet or less and place trees at the curb on their regular yard waste collection day. Plain paper, cardboard and paper cards can be recycled in green carts, while foil paper, ribbons, bows and string lights should be placed in the trash and sent to the McKay Bay Waste-to-Energy Facility.

Additional seasonal events include the city’s fourth annual Three Kings Day Celebration on Jan. 3 at Al Lopez Park and Winter Village at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, which runs through Jan. 4. The Sulphur Springs Neighborhood Action Plan survey remains open through Jan. 5, and residents can register for free composting workshops through the city.

Upcoming community opportunities also include a Saturday Session focused on neighborhood trees on Jan. 17 and the annual Point-in-Time Homeless Count on Feb. 26.

“The City of Tampa is heading into 2026 with big plans and even bigger gratitude for this community,” Castor said. “Here is to a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year.”

Former acting Attorney General John Guard’s bid to serve on the Florida Supreme Court is moving ahead without questions about his role in money moving from a Medicaid settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation.

But that doesn’t mean the issue isn’t affecting his path forward.

Guard interviewed with the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission as one of several candidates to potentially replace Justice Charles T. Canady.

Guard, who is the chief deputy AG for the state, had faced questions over the optics of the unorthodox $10 million appropriation that ultimately was used for political advertising in 2024 before being selected for a U.S. District Court judgeship by President Donald Trump.

The White House reportedly didn’t want a “nasty confirmation fight” while the issue was in suspense, sources said in October while explaining a pause in the nomination moving forward since June.

While Guard said he doesn’t know why his bid has been slow-walked, he is willing to walk away if that helps assure the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission that he wants this job.

“I don’t know why it has not gone through confirmation. It’s not something other than to tell me that they still fully support me and await my confirmation. I don’t have any details of when that will occur,” Guard said.

“My understanding is that the Governor’s Office is going to consider whatever list this Commission produces first, and then proceed to the 2nd DCA (Second District Court of Appeals) list. And so, I have presumed from the beginning that if I’m selected for any of these spots where if my confirmation all of a sudden goes warp speed, whichever occurs first is where I’m going to end up and likely be. If that means that I need to call the White House Counsel’s Office and tell them that I would request the President to withdraw my nomination, that’s what I will do.”

Guard was among those subpoenaed over his role in the Hope Florida scandal. He signed the controversial settlement with Medicaid insurer Centene, but not before privately raising concerns, according to the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times, which obtained emails documenting the conversations.

The emails show Guard removed references to his office in drafts of the settlement in a series of back-and-forth conversations over the course of 22 days. 

Guard said there was nothing in his background that could embarrass the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration should he ultimately be appointed to replace Canady, who left the court to become a director and a tenured professor at the University of Florida’s Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education.

Guard also said his first choice was the one he interviewed for Monday.

“I think the best legal job is probably to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. And I say that because you’re the head of the judicial branch. You’re kind of responsible for helping with the legitimacy of our core system and maintaining the rule of law,” Guard said.

“If I were to rank them … I would say Supreme Court Justice, District Court Judge, and District Court of Appeals Judge. But I think between the District Court and the District Court of Appeals, there’s not that much difference,” he added.

Guard also said irate citizens were the biggest problem the judiciary faces, though he said the Florida Supreme Court itself does a “pretty good job” of mitigating the threat.

“I’ve heard from the Chief Justice that threats are up at the Florida Supreme Court. I’ve heard that there are threats at courthouses around the state, and so I think that is probably the biggest kind of threat, which is a threat to the legitimacy and the role of courts,” he said.

Much of the interview focused on Guard’s admiration for the late SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia, though Guard did break with the conservative icon on certain First Amendment cases, in which Scalia sided with “more liberal” colleagues.

___

Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics contributed to this report.