Meg Weinberger focuses on animals, no-fault repeal, Donald Trump airport

West Palm Beach Republican Rep. Meg Weinberger is heading into the 2026 Session with an ambitious slate of bills with varying aims.

All focus on issues close to her heart, impactful for her district, or both.

Atop the list is HB 921, which would impose a “duty to report” instances of animal cruelty by treatment providers.

Under the bill and its upper-chamber analog (SB 468) by Port Orange Republican Sen. Tom Wright, veterinarians, vet technicians and related provider employees would have to report suspected past or ongoing animal cruelty to law enforcement or certified animal control officers. Failure to do so could lead to professional discipline.

Those who report in good faith would be shielded from liability, retaliation or disciplinary action.

Weinberger, who owns and leads an animal rescue nonprofit, said the measure is a response to a disturbing case in Brevard County, where a vet tech was arrested last year on multiple animal cruelty counts.

Weinberger said Sheriff Wayne Ivey asked her to run the bill, of which Merritt Island Republican Rep. Tyler Sirois is a co-prime sponsor. Last year, she passed legislation steepening penalties for animal abusers and creating an online registry of them.

“Animal cruelty is a public safety concern,” she said.

A related bill Weinberger is filing would fortify consumer protections in dealings with dog breeding and puppy mill companies by adding to Florida’s Pet Lemon Law, particularly in cases involving sick or misrepresented animals. Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia is carrying its companion (SB 1356).

The bill would, among other things, require pet sale financing agreements to be terminated at no cost if an animal is returned, remove a current cap limiting veterinary reimbursements to the purchase price, tighten disclosure and documentation requirements, and allow buyers to recover damages, court costs and attorneys fees through civil action.

It would also create new civil penalties for deceptive or unfair business practices in pet sales, responding to the growing use of financing arrangements and persistent complaints about unhealthy animals being sold.

Weinberger said she and Garcia collaborated with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office on the legislation, which they may update with additional language to better regulate animal shelters. Right now, there isn’t a single, comprehensive statewide code that spells out detailed housing and care standards for animal shelters.

The changes the legislation would contemplate, Weinberger said, would include standards for animal containment, food, water, temperature and general care.

“There’s no guidelines now,” she said, adding that the bill would institute “a lot of what would be common sense to me or you and prevent animals from living in conditions that no living creature should suffer.”

Weinberger is also reviving her effort to repeal Florida’s no-fault auto insurance policy and replace it with a fault-based model. Her bill to do so last year advanced through two of three House committees before stalling out due, at least in part, to its Senate companion gaining no traction.

The legislation (SB 522, HB 769) she and Fort Pierce Republican Sen. Erin Grall refiled for this year has the same objective. It would overhaul dozens of statutes to institute a mandatory bodily injury and property damage liability framework, significantly increasing required coverage levels beginning in 2027.

Overall, it represents a wholesale restructuring of Florida’s auto insurance system away from no-fault coverage, rewriting dozens of statutes to conform to the new framework, adjusting insurance requirements, and strengthening financial responsibility and fraud enforcement provisions.

“Insurance isn’t my field, but I’ve read a lot about it,” Weinberger said. “It hasn’t changed since the ’70s. What are you going to do with $10,000 if you get into a car accident? That doesn’t cover anything nowadays, sadly. So, this is common sense, but I don’t know if it’s going to go anywhere.”

Another proposal (SB 706, HB 919) Weinberger is sponsoring with Melbourne Republican Sen. Debbie Mayfield and St. Augustine Republican Rep. Kim Kendall is in keeping with her nickname “MAGA Meg” by renaming Palm Beach International Airport as “Donald J. Trump International Airport.”

The measure would also define “major commercial service airports” in state statutes and preempt the naming of those airports to the state, removing local authority to rename them.

Trump, who resides at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, lives “about five miles” from the hub, Weinberger said, and he deserves an honor many other Presidents have enjoyed.

“I think it’s only appropriate,” she said. “It’s an honor to recognize President Trump. He definitely has left a lasting impact on our country, and I truly believe he made promises, and he’s kept his promises. I feel like this is a tribute to his leadership, his legacy. You know how much he loves our country, and it’s his hometown.”

It would break with precedent, however. While airports have been renamed after U.S. Presidents while they were still alive — including Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton — there has never been a case where a major airport was rechristened to honor a sitting President.

It has happened outside of America, however, like in Nigeria, which renamed an airport in Minna after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2024.

A fifth priority bill for Weinberger (HB 575) addresses the perennial issue of single-use, nonbiodegradable cups, to-go boxes and similar products that many coastal localities have banned in recent years.

The measure and its Senate twin (SB 240) by Garcia would preempt regulation of those “auxiliary containers” to the state, barring local governments from adopting new bans, restrictions or taxes.

Local restrictions enacted before Jan. 1, 2026, or that limit the use, sale or distribution of single-use plastic containers on public property would be exempt.

HB 575, if approved, would direct the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop a uniform, statewide ordinance governing nonrecyclable containers, which local governments could then adopt and enforce.

DEP would have to begin stakeholder engagement and public workshops on the issue by Oct. 1, 2026, with the new rules due within a year of that time.

“We don’t want to negatively impact cities that have been doing a good job on this,” she said. “But cities like Miami and many other areas have had issues with cleaning up their beaches, and unfortunately, I think it’ll be a problem until the state addresses the issue.”

The 2026 Legislative Session begins Tuesday.