The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: SB 144
INTRODUCER: Senator Berman
SUBJECT: Lactation Spaces
DATE: March 8, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Collazo Cibula JU Favorable
2. Collazo Yeatman FP Favorable
I. Summary:
SB 144 requires each county courthouse to provide at least one dedicated lactation space, outside
of the confines of a restroom, for members of the public to express breast milk or breastfeed in
private.
The bill requires the lactation space to be provided no later than January 1, 2024. It must be
hygienic, shielded from public view, free from intrusion while occupied, and contain an
electrical outlet.
These requirements do not apply to a courthouse if the person responsible for the operation of the
courthouse determines that:
The courthouse does not contain a lactation space for employees which may be used by the
members of the public, and the courthouse does not have:
o A space that could be repurposed as a lactation space open to the public; or
o A space that could be made private at a reasonable cost using portable materials,
contingent upon private funding being made available for those costs.
New construction would be required to create the lactation space.
The bill also authorizes the person responsible for the operation of the facility housing each
district court of appeal to use state-appropriated funds or private funding to provide a lactation
space.
The bill contains a legislative finding that the bill fulfills an important state interest.
The bill takes effect on July 1, 2023.
BILL: SB 144 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Breastfeeding in Florida
Florida was one of the first states to pass legislation specifically authorizing women to breastfeed
in any public or private location.1 State law provides that the breastfeeding of a baby is an
“important and basic act of nurture which must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and
child health and family values.”2 Accordingly, “[a] mother may breastfeed her baby in any
location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of
whether the nipple of the mother’s breast is uncovered during or incidental to the
breastfeeding.”3 And any facility lawfully providing maternity services or newborn infant care
may use the designation “baby-friendly” if it establishes a breast-feeding policy in accordance
with certain Department of Health standards.4
Lactation Spaces in Florida Courthouses
Judicial Circuits
According to the Florida Association of Women Lawyers (FAWL), 32 judicial circuit
courthouses currently provide dedicated lactation spaces.5 They include:
1st Judicial Circuit Court (Okaloosa County Courthouse and Courthouse Annex Extension);
2nd Judicial Circuit Court (Leon County Courthouse);
4th Judicial Circuit Court (Duval County Courthouse);
6th Judicial Circuit Court (St. Petersburg Judicial Center);
8th Judicial Circuit Court (Alachua County Criminal Justice Center and Family and Civil
Justice Center);
9th Judicial Circuit Court (Orange County Courthouse);
10th Judicial Circuit Court (Polk County Courthouse);
11th Judicial Circuit Courts (including the Coral Gables Branch, Dade County Courthouse,
Joseph Caleb Center, Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse, Miami-Dade Children’s Courthouse,
Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, and the South Dade Justice Center);6
12th Judicial Circuit Court (Sarasota County Justice Center – Judge Lynn N. Silvertooth
Judicial Center and Manatee County Judicial Center);
13th Judicial Circuit Court (Edgecomb Courthouse and Criminal Courthouse Annex);
15th Judicial Circuit Court (Main Courthouse, West County Courthouse, and South County
Courthouse);
1
See National Conference of State Legislatures, Breastfeeding State Laws, https://www.ncsl.org/health/breastfeeding-state-
laws (last visited Jan. 19, 2023) (providing the passage dates of relevant legislation state-by-state and noting that Florida
enacted s. 383.015, F.S., in 1993).
2
Section 383.015, F.S.
3
Section 383.015(1), F.S.
4
Section 383.015(2), F.S.; see also s. 383.016, F.S. (providing that “[a] facility lawfully providing maternity services or
newborn infant care may use the designation “baby-friendly” on its promotional materials if the facility has complied with at
least 80 percent of the requirements developed by the Department of Health in accordance with UNICEF and World Health
Organization baby-friendly hospital initiatives”).
5
Fla. Ass’n of Women Lawyers, Florida Courthouse Lactation Room Directory (posted Jan. 31, 2023), available at
https://fawl.org/page/lactation_space.
6
Id.; see also Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Courthouse Amenities – Lactations Rooms, available at https://www.
jud11.flcourts.org/About-the-Court/Courthouse-Amenities/Lactation-Rooms, (last visited Jan. 20, 2023).
BILL: SB 144 Page 3
17th Judicial Circuit Court (Central Courthouse);
18th Judicial Circuit Court (Brevard County Moore Justice Center, and Seminole County
Civil Courthouse and Criminal Justice Center);
19th Judicial Circuit Court (Martin County Courthouse and Okeechobee County Judicial
Complex); and
20th Judicial Circuit Court (Lee Justice Center, Collier County Courthouse, and Collier
County Health Department Building).
Additionally, two courthouses in the 11th Judicial Circuit (the Hialeah Branch Courthouse and
the North Dade Justice Center), one in the 20th Judicial Circuit (the Lee Government Center), and
two in the 4th Judicial Circuit (Green Cove Springs – Headquarters and the Robert M. Foster
Justice Center) either intend to soon open, or have recently opened, lactation spaces.7 There
remain 108 courthouses in Florida that do not offer dedicated lactation spaces.8
District Courts of Appeal
According to FAWL, none of the district courts of appeal currently offer dedicated lactation
spaces.9
Courthouse Lactation Room Handbook
FAWL has published a Lactation Space Handbook (Handbook)10 intended to promote women’s
(i.e. women lawyers, jurors, witnesses, and others who participate in the legal process) access to
lactation rooms in courthouses throughout the state.11 The Handbook includes, among other
things, a discussion regarding why women need dedicated lactation spaces; the law regarding
lactation breaks and spaces; and best practices for establishing lactation spaces (including room
access, naming, specifications, amenities, and funding).12
According to The Florida Bar, 38 percent of Florida attorneys are women,13 and 39 percent of
Florida judges are women.14 The percentage of women attorneys in the state is expected to rise
over the coming years due to women accounting for almost 50 percent of the total number of law
school students in Florida.15
7
Fla. Ass’n of Women Lawyers, supra note 5.
8
Id.
9
See id. (addressing District Courts of Appeal, but not addressing branches); see also s. 35.05(1), F.S. (identifying the
headquarters for the six District Courts of Appeal). At this time it is unknown whether the new Sixth District Court of
Appeal, whose operations began on January 1, 2023, or the Second District Court of Appeal, which is being relocated from
Lakeland to St. Petersburg to facilitate creation of the Sixth District Court of Appeal, have plans to offer dedicated lactation
spaces. See Florida Second District of Appeal, Home, https://2dca.flcourts.gov/ (last visited Jan. 20, 2023).
10
Fla. Ass’n of Women Lawyers, Courthouse Lactation Space Handbook (posted Jan. 20, 2023),
https://fawl.org/page/lactation_space.
11
Id. at 5.
12
Id. at 7-15.
13
The Florida Bar, Women in the Law/Gender Bias (rev. Feb. 13, 2017), https://www.floridabar.org/about/diversity/
diversity003/issue-04/.
14
Id.
15
See id. (stating that the number is currently at 48.7% and has risen over the last few years).
BILL: SB 144 Page 4
Funding Requirements for Court-Related Functions
Article V, section 14 of the Florida Constitution requires counties to fund the cost of
“communications services, existing radio systems, existing multi-agency criminal justice
information systems, and the cost of construction or lease, maintenance, utilities, and security of
facilities for the trial courts, public defenders’ offices, state attorneys’ offices, and the offices of
the clerks of the circuit and county courts performing court-related functions.”16
In this context, the term “facility” means “reasonable and necessary buildings and office space
and appurtenant equipment and furnishings, structures, real estate, easements, and related
interests in real estate[.]”17 Consequently, counties are responsible for the funding of physical
modifications and improvements to all facilities in order to comply with the Americans with
Disabilities Act.18
State law also provides that the construction or lease of facilities, maintenance, utilities, and
security for the district courts of appeal and the Supreme Court are funded through state revenues
in the General Appropriations Act.19
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The bill creates s. 29.24, F.S., to require each county courthouse to provide at least one dedicated
lactation space outside the confines of a restroom for members of the public to express breast
milk or breastfeed in private by January 1, 2024. The dedicated space must be hygienic, shielded
from public view, and free from intrusion while occupied. The lactation space must also contain
an electrical outlet.
The bill authorizes the person responsible for the operation of the facility housing each district
court of appeal to use state-appropriated funds or private funding to provide a dedicated lactation
space.
The bill establishes that the requirements to provide a dedicated lactation space do not apply to a
county courthouse if the person who is responsible for the operation of the courthouse
determines that:
The courthouse does not contain a lactation space for employees which may be used by the
members of the public, and the courthouse does not have:
o A space that could be repurposed as a lactation space open to the public; or
o A space that could be made private at a reasonable cost using portable materials,
contingent upon private funding being made available for those costs.
16
FLA. CONST. art. V, s. 14(c); see also s. 29.008(1), F.S. (citing the Florida Constitution as requiring counties to fund the
cost of “communications services, existing radio systems, existing multiagency criminal justice information systems, and the
cost of construction or lease, maintenance, utilities, and security of facilities for the circuit and county courts, public
defenders’ offices, state attorneys’ offices, guardian ad litem offices, and the offices of the clerks of the circuit and county
courts performing court-related functions”). On the other hand, counties are not required to fund “the state courts system,
state attorneys’ offices, public defenders’ offices, court-appointed counsel or the offices of the clerks of the circuit and county
courts performing court-related functions.” See FLA. CONST. art. V, s. 14(c).
17
Section 29.008(1)(a), F.S.
18
Id.
19
Section 29.004(4), F.S.
BILL: SB 144 Page 5
New construction would be required to create the lactation space.
The bill contains a legislative finding that the bill fulfills an important state interest.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
Article VII, section 18(a) of the Florida Constitution provides that:
No county or municipality shall be bound by any general law
requiring such county or municipality to spend funds ... unless the
legislature has determined that such law fulfills an important state
interest and unless: ... the law requiring such expenditure is
approved by two-thirds of the membership of each house of the
legislature ….
Counties will incur costs in complying with the lactation space requirements set forth in
the bill, unless the person responsible for the operation of the courthouse determines that
the lactation space requirements do not apply based upon the criteria in the bill. As
drafted, the bill contains a finding that the bill fulfills an important state interest.
The mandate requirements do not apply to laws having an insignificant impact20 which,
for Fiscal Year 2022-2023, would include laws having a statewide impact that is less than
$2,256,827.21 The fiscal impact of this bill on counties is indeterminate. If costs imposed
by the bill do not exceed $2,256,827, then the mandate requirements (i.e. the legislative
finding and 2/3 vote) do not apply and the bill will be binding on the counties.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
20
FLA. CONST. art. VII, s. 18(d). An insignificant fiscal impact is “an amount not greater than the average statewide
population for the applicable fiscal year times ten cents.” See Florida Senate Committee on Community Affairs, Interim
Report 2012-115: Insignificant Impact (Sept. 2011), available at http://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Session/2012/
InterimReports/2012-115ca.pdf .
21
Based upon the Demographic Estimating Conference, the population forecast for Florida in 2023 is 22,568,268. See
Economic and Demographic Research, Demographic Estimating Conference, Executive Summary (Jul. 18, 2022),
http://edr.state.fl.us/content/conferences/population/demographicsummary.pdf .
BILL: SB 144 Page 6
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
The bill authorizes private entities to contribute funds for lactation spaces in county
courthouses and in district courts of appeal.
C. Government Sector Impact:
Each county will incur costs associated with providing a dedicated lactation space in its
county courthouses. Also, the state may incur costs associated with providing a dedicated
lactation space within district courts of appeal.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
29.24
This bill creates section 29.24 of the Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.