HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF FINAL BILL ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 1B COVID-19 Mandates
SPONSOR(S): Grall, Massullo and others
TIED BILLS: CS/HB 3B IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 2-B
FINAL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION: 78 Y’s 39 N’s GOVERNOR’S ACTION: Approved
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
HB 1B passed the House on November 17, 2021, and subsequently passed the Senate on November 17, 2021.
Beginning in late 2019, a coronavirus, identified as SARS-CoV-2, caused a pandemic of respiratory illness, called COVID-
19, to spread worldwide. COVID-19 can be severe, and has caused millions of deaths around the world, with over
750,000 in the United States (US). It can be spread from person to person and has caused lasting health problems in
some who have survived the illness. Vaccinations are now approved for use to prevent COVID-19 infection and
vaccination programs are in progress across the US and in many parts of the world.
The states are split on whether the vaccination should be mandated by employers, state and local governments, or
schools. Some states and private employers are implementing policies mandating COVID-19 vaccination for employees.
Other states are banning vaccination mandates. The Biden administration released the Path Out of the Pandemic COVID -
19 Action Plan in September 2021. The plan required several federal agencies to adopt rules requiring certain employers
to implement vaccination mandates or to adopt certain other mitigation strategies.
The bill:
Prohibits private employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccination without providing qualifying employees the
ability to opt out of the mandate.
Allows employees to opt out of an employer’s vaccination mandate if they are exempt based on medical,
pregnancy, or anticipated pregnancy reasons, religious reasons, COVID-19 immunity, periodic testing or use of
employer-provided personal protective equipment. Such exemptions must be submitted to the employer on forms
adopted by the Department of Health (DOH).
Authorizes the Attorney General to receive complaints and impose administrative fines up to $50,000 per
violation, if the employee was terminated for refusing vaccination and the employer failed to follow procedures.
Prohibits public educational institutions or governmental entities from requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a
condition of employment and authorizes DOH to impose a fine not to exceed $5,000 per violation.
Specifies that employees improperly terminated on the basis of COVID-19 vaccination refusal may be eligible for
reemployment benefits and establishes that reemployment benefits to such employees may not be denied or
discontinued based on new job offers that require COVID-19 vaccination.
Prohibits educational institutions or elected or appointed local officials from mandating COVID-19 vaccination for
students, allows parents to bring an action against educational institutions for a declaratory judgement and
injunctive relief, and allows prevailing parents to collect attorney fees and court costs.
Prohibits school boards, school board employees or local officials from requiring students to wear a face mask,
face shield, or other face covering; however, maintains a parent’s right to allow their child to wear a face covering
at school.
Establishes limitations on quarantining of asymptomatic students and teachers for COVID-19.
Transfers $5 million from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Legal Affairs Operating Trust Fund,
and appropriates such funds to investigate complaints and to take legal action to stop the enforcement of
vaccination mandates imposed by the federal government.
Sunsets the above provisions on June 1, 2023.
The fiscal impact of the bill is indeterminate. See FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT.
The bill was approved by the Governor on November 18, 2021, ch. 2021-272, L.O.F., and became effective on that date.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
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I. SUBSTANTIVE INFORMATION
A. EFFECT OF CHANGES:
Background
Florida Governmental Agencies
The following Florida agencies have direct roles in the implementation of the bill:
DOH – DOH is established under s. 20.43, F.S., to “protect and promote the health of all
residents and visitors in the state through organized state and community efforts, including
cooperative agreements with counties”. The head of DOH is the Surgeon General, also
designated as the State Health Officer.1 DOH also administers state epidemiology functions,
and is required to identify, diagnose, and conduct surveillance of diseases and health conditions
in the state and accumulate the health statistics necessary to establish trends. As part of those
functions, DOH maintains vital statistics and other health data, including vaccination
information. Current law also requires DOH to conduct a communicable disease prevention and
control program as part of fulfilling its public health mission. 2
The Attorney General (AG) and the Department of Legal Affairs (DLA) –The AG, as the state's
chief legal officer, is the head of the Office of the Attorney General (AG’s Office), an executive
branch agency.3 The AG is tasked with duties prescribed by the state Constitution and those
duties appropriate to her office as may be required by law. 4 The AG is also responsible for
overseeing the various prosecutorial and enforcement functions of the Department of Legal
Affairs (DLA) within the AG’s Office.5
The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) – DEO is the agency responsible for
administering the Reemployment Assistance (RA) program in Florida.6
The Administrative Procedure Act
Each state department, including the AG’s Office and its subunits, is an agency subject to the Florida
Administrative Procedure Act (APA),7 which is codified in ch. 120, F.S., and provides comprehensive,
standardized procedures for executive branch agency action. 8 Such agency action may include
promulgation of a rule or issuance of an order; a denial of a petition to adopt a rule or issue an order; a
denial of a request for the minimum public information the APA requires to be available; and final
agency action, which is also subject to judicial review. 9
COVID-19 Vaccination
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic President Trump declared COVID-19 a National Emergency,10
and later released a Vaccine Distribution Plan by the US Department of Health and Human Services
1 S. 20.43, F.S.
2 S. 381.003, F.S. A communicable disease is any disease caused by transmission of a specific infectious agent, or its toxic products,
from an infected person, an infected animal, or the environment to a susceptible host, either directly or indirectly.
3 Art. IV, s. 4, Fla. Const.; Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, State of Florida Organizational Chart,
https://oppaga.fl.gov/ProgramSummary/OrgChart (last visited Nov. 8, 2021).
4 Id.; s. 16.01(2), F.S.
5 S. 16.015, F.S.
6 Ss. 20.60(5)(c)(3) and 443.171, F.S.
7 S. 120.52(1), F.S.
8 The Joint Administrative Procedures Committee, A Primer on Florida’s Administrative Procedures Act,
https://www.japc.state.fl.us/Documents/Publications/PocketGuideFloridaAPA.pdf (last visited Nov. 8, 2021).
9 Id.; see s. 120.52(2), F.S.; s. 120.68, F.S. (judicial review).
10 American Journal of Managed Care, A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020, https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-
covid19-developments-in-2020 (last visited Nov. 6, 2021).
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(HHS) and the US Department of Defense (DOD) that planned to make COVID-19 vaccination free for
all Americans.11
Vaccines contain weakened or inactive parts of a particular organism (antigen) that triggers an immune
response within the body. Newer vaccines contain the blueprint for producing antigens rather than the
antigen itself. Neither the antigen nor the blueprint infects the person receiving the vaccine; rather, they
teach the immune system to respond much as it would have on its first reaction to the actual
pathogen.12 Sufficient vaccination rates achieve population immunity and eventually can end a
pandemic.13
In 2020, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization
(EUA)14 for COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna;15 the EUA for the J&J/Janssen
vaccine was issued in 2021.16 The FDA issued full approval for the Pfizer vaccine in August, 2021. 17
Moderna completed approval submissions in August, 2021, and is still pending full approval.
In the US, approximately 58 percent of the population are fully vaccinated; approximately 60 percent of
Floridians are fully vaccinated.18
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) makes non-mandatory immunization
recommendations for both adults and children. The CDC has added COVID-19 vaccinations to the
recommended immunization schedule for adults; it has not added them to the recommended schedule
for children.19
Current Florida law requires children to receive certain vaccinations prior to school entry or attendance,
in accord with the CDC recommendations for childhood vaccinations. 20 Florida also requires
meningococcal meningitis and hepatitis B vaccinations for students residing in on-campus housing of a
postsecondary educational institution.21 Other than this, current Florida law does not require any
vaccination for an adult, or mandatory vaccination in any other setting.
11 US Department of Defense, Trump Administration Releases COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Strategy, Sep. 16, 2020,
https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2349357/trump -administration-releases-covid-19-vaccine-d istribution-
strategy/ (last visited Nov. 10, 2021).
12 World Health Organization, How Do Vaccines Work? (Dec. 8, 2020), https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/how-
do-vaccines-work (last visited Nov. 8, 2021).
13 Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease
from person to person unlikely. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/why-
vaccinate/index.html (last visited Nov. 8, 2021).
14 US Food and Drug Administration, Emergency Use Authorization, https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-
response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/emergency-use-authorization (last visited Nov. 8, 2021). Medical
countermeasures are FDA-regulated products (biologics, drugs, and devices) that may be used in the event of a public health
emergency. A determination that a public health emergency exists is insufficient to enable the FDA to issue EUAs ; See 21 U.S.C. §
360bbb-3; EUA allows the FDA to facilitate the availability and use of medical countermeasures during public health emergencies.
15 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, How CDC Is Making COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations | CDC (last visited
Nov. 11, 2021)
16 US Food and Drug Administration, Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine | FDA (last visited Nov. 11, 2021).
17 US Food and Drug Administration, FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine | FDA (last visited Nov. 11, 2021).
18 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID Data Tracker, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home
(last visited on Nov. 6, 2021).
19 US Centers from Disease Control and Prevention, Vaccines for COVID-19, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-
ncov/vaccines/index.html (last visited Nov. 1, 2021). Only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for children, and only for children age 5 and
over. CDC, COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and Teens, COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and Teens | CDC (last visited Nov. 11,
2021).
20 S. 1003.22, F.S. Parents have the ability to opt out of child vaccination for documented medical reasons, for religious reaso ns, or for
other good cause.
21 S. 1006.69, F.S. A student or the parent of a minor who is required to have such vaccines, may refuse by signing a waiver for each
vaccine.
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Vaccination Requirements by Businesses for Employees
Since the FDA’s full approval of COVID-19 vaccinations, some employers have begun to mandate
vaccination.22 A recent survey23 of over 1,000 large employers indicates that 59 percent of businesses
track vaccination status and 52 percent say they plan to require vaccination by the end of the year
(2021). Twenty-one percent now require vaccinations. Thus, a majority of businesses surveyed have
indicated that they plan to implement a vaccination mandate. 24 In another survey, 47 percent would
prefer a government entity to make the decision for them by either mandating employee vaccination or
prohibiting vaccine documentation for employment.25
Many state and local governments and businesses that have COVID-19 vaccination mandates in place
provide opt-outs for people who agree to testing instead. These mandates require workers who remain
unvaccinated to regularly produce a negative test result in order to work and provide paid time off to
workers who decide to be vaccinated so they can recover from short-term side effects from the
vaccination. In addition, some of these policies provide limited exceptions for disability and religious
reasons.26 For example, the COVID-19 vaccination agreement between Walt Disney World and
members of the service Trades Council Union, which represents 30,000 workers at the Florida theme
park resort, establishes “a process to address requests for an accommodation related to the required
COVID-19 vaccination due to a disability or medical condition or a sincerely held religious belief,
practice or observance.”27
Nine states have passed laws that ban certain employers from mandating vaccines for workers. Some
of these states only ban state entities from requiring state employees to be vaccinated.28 For example,
Arizona’s ban applies to all employers except healthcare. The governor’s executive order allows, but
does not mandate, healthcare institutions to require vaccinations. However, they must provide
“reasonable accommodation” for any who are unvaccinated. The executive order also bans vaccine
passports.29
Montana’s ban applies to all employers except healthcare. Montana permits healthcare institutions to
ask employees to voluntarily share their status or assume that anyone who does not share their status
is unvaccinated, and requires “reasonable accommodation” be provided for anyone who is
unvaccinated. Montana also bans vaccine passports.30
Florida COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates
22 Scott Horsley, With FDA Approval Of Pfizer, More Employers May Require COVID Vaccinations, NPR (Aug. 23, 2021)
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/23/1030430485/with-the-fda-approval-employers-can-now-require-vaccination-against-covid (last
visited Nov. 9, 2021); Aldo Svaldi, Employers’ vaccine mandates strengthened by full FDA approval , Denver Post (Aug. 24, 2021)
https://www.denverpost.com/2021/08/24/fda-approval-covid-19-vaccination-mandates/ (last visited Nov. 8, 2021).
23 Littler Mendelson Workforce Policy Institute, Littler Survey: Employers Increasingly Consider Vaccine Mandates as COVID-19
Delta Variant Spreads, Press Release (Aug. 23, 2021), https://www.littler.com/publication-press/press/littler-survey-employers-
increasingly-consider-vaccine-mandates-covid-19 (last visited Nov. 8, 2021).
24 Catherine Thorbecke, Majority of companies plan to have COVID-19 vaccine mandate, survey finds, ABC NEWS (Sep. 1, 2021),
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/majority-companies-plan-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-survey/story?id=79765288 (last visited Nov. 8,
2021). 80 percent of such employers require employees to be masked.
25 Littler, Littler COVID-19 Vaccine Employer Survey Report, (Feb. 2021), https://aboutblaw.com/VwA (last visited Oct. 29, 2021).
26 National Academy for State Health Policy, State Efforts to Ban or Enforce COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates and Passports,
https://www.nashp.org/state-lawmakers-submit-bills-to-ban-employer-vaccine-mandates/ (last visited Nov. 8, 2021).
27 Walt Disney World Parks & Resorts and Service Trades Council Union, Memorandum of Understanding 2021 Walt Disney Parks &
Resorts US and Service Trades Council Union Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations, https://www.uniteherelocal362.org/wp-
content/uploads/Executed-Final-STCU-MOU-Mandatory-COVID-19-Vaccinations-8.23.21.pdf (last visited Oct. 29, 2021).
28 NASHP, supra note 26.
29 Arizona Governor Douglas A. Doucey, Executive Order No. 2021-18, Aug. 16, 2021,
https://azgovernor.gov/sites/default/files/eo_2021-18.pdf (last visited Oct. 29, 2021).
30 US News & World Report, The Latest: Governor Bans Vaccine Passports for Montana,
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-04-13/the-latest-britain-meets-target-on-jabs-for-over-50s (last visited Nov. 1,
2021).
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On April 2, 2021, Governor DeSantis issued an executive order prohibiting businesses in Florida from
requiring patrons or customers to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery as a condition to
receiving services from the business.31
In addition, on July 1, 2021, the Governor approved S