Defeated

SB 1272 is an antisemitism redefinition bill that directs public K-20 educational institutions to apply a distorted definition of antisemitism when addressing discrimination claims. The definition includes the following as examples of antisemitism related to Israel: “[d]emonizing Israel,” “[a]pplying a double standard to Israel,” including by “focusing peace or human rights investigations only on Israel,” or “[d]elegitimizing Israel by denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination and denying Israel the right to exist.” Related Bills: HB 741, HB 371, HB 839.

HB 839 is an antisemitism redefinition bill that directs public postsecondary educational institutions to apply a distorted definition of antisemitism when addressing discrimination claims. The definition includes the following as examples of antisemitism related to Israel: “[d]emonizing Israel,” “[a]pplying a double standard to Israel,” including by “focusing peace or human rights investigations only on Israel,” or “[d]elegitimizing Israel by denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination and denying Israel the right to exist.” The introduced version of the bill did not include the definition; it was introduced and adopted as a subsequent amendment to the bill. The bill also requires the Florida College System to annually assess intellectual freedom and “viewpoint diversity.” Related Bills: HB 371, HB 741, SB 1272.

HB 987 is an anti-boycott bill related to vacation rentals and specifically targeted AirBnB following the company’s decision to delist certain rental properties located in illegal Israeli settlements. The bill preempts local regulations of vacation rentals; a subsequent amendment prevents vacation rentals on the state’s anti-boycott blacklist from benefiting from the bill. Florida had added AirBnB to its blacklist of entities prohibited from benefiting from state investment over the company’s settlement delisting decision. AirBnB reversed its delisting decision in April 2019 and was removed from Florida’s blacklist.

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state agencies from contracting with or investing in any person or business that promotes or engages in boycotts of “allied nations,” including Israel and territories it occupies.

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state contracts with entities that boycott Israel. Contractors must provide a written certification that they are not and will not engage in boycotts for the duration of the contract. It excludes contracts worth less than $15,000 or contractors who bid at least 20% less than other bidders. Lawmakers passed the companion bill SB 81. 

This non-binding resolution calls for the US to continue to oppose future UN Security Council resolutions that “seek to impose solutions to final status issues, or are one-sided and anti-Israel.” UN Security Council Resolution 2334 reaffirmed that Israel’s illegal settlements constitute a flagrant violation of international law. The US broke from its practice of blocking UN accountability measures focused on Israel and abstained rather than vetoing the resolution, causing consternation among pro-Israel groups. HRes 23 also states that the US “steadfastly opposes boycotts, divestment campaigns and sanctions targeting the State of Israel.” 

This anti-boycott bill prohibits state investments in entities that boycott Israel or companies based in Israel or territories controlled by Israel. The bill calls for the creation of a blacklist of companies that boycott Israel and requires public retirement systems to divest from these companies. The bill does not require divestment if investments in companies on the blacklist are less than 0.5% of the value of a retirement system’s holdings.