Senate Bill 884 (2025) — Florida State Guard
SB 884
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 884 By Senator Martin 33-01178-25 2025884__ Page 1 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Florida State Guard; amending 2 s. 115.07, F.S.; authorizing leaves of absence for 3 members of the Florida State Guard when they are 4 engaged in certain ordered training; revising 5 legislative intent; amending s. 258.0145, F.S.; 6 providing a discount on annual entrance passes to 7 state parks for current members of the Florida State 8 Guard; amending s. 379.354, F.S.; creating and 9 specifying the annual fee for the Florida State Guard 10 gold sportsman’s license for hunting and fishing; 11 specifying application requirements for the license; 12 providing construction; creating s. 1009.8959, F.S.; 13 creating the Florida State Guard Scholarship Program 14 for a specified purpose; requiring the Department of 15 Education to administer the program according to rules 16 and procedures established by the State Board of 17 Education; specifying eligibility requirements for 18 initial and recurring funding under the program; 19 providing for the issuance of awards under the 20 program; requiring the Department of Education to 21 issue the awards annually, subject to legislative 22 appropriation; specifying requirements if appropriated 23 funds are not sufficient to fully fund awards; 24 requiring the State Board of Education and the Board 25 of Governors to adopt rules and regulations, 26 respectively; providing an effective date. 27 28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29
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Section 1. Subsections (1) and (4) of
section 115.07, 31 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 32 115.07 Officers and employees’ leaves of absence for 33 reserve or guard training.— 34
(1) All officers or employees of the state, of the several 35 counties of the state, and of the municipalities or political 36 subdivisions of the state who are commissioned reserve officers 37 or reserve enlisted personnel in the United States military or 38 naval service, or members of the National Guard, or members of 39 the Florida State Guard are entitled to leaves of absence from 40 their respective duties, without loss of vacation leave, pay, 41 time, or efficiency rating, on all days during which they are 42 engaged in training ordered under the provisions of the United 43 States military or naval training regulations for such personnel 44 when assigned to active or inactive duty or training ordered by 45 the Florida State Guard, as applicable. 46
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state, its 47 several counties, and its municipalities and political 48 subdivisions shall grant leaves of absence for active or 49 inactive training to all employees who are members of the United 50 States Reserve Forces or the National Guard or members of the 51 Florida State Guard, to ensure the state and national security 52 at all times through a strong armed force of qualified and 53 mobilization-ready personnel. 54
Section
Section 258.0145, Florida Statutes, is amended 55 to read: 56 258.0145 Military, Florida State Guard, law enforcement, 57 and firefighter state park fee discounts.—The Division of 58
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 884 33-01178-25 2025884__ Page 3 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Recreation and Parks shall provide the following discounts on 59 park fees to persons who present written documentation 60 satisfactory to the division which evidences their eligibility 61 for the discounts: 62
(1) Active duty members and honorably discharged veterans 63 of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or reserve 64 components thereof shall receive a 25-percent discount on annual 65 entrance passes. 66
(2) Current members of the Florida State Guard shall 67 receive a 15-percent discount on annual entrance passes. 68
(3) Honorably discharged veterans who have service-69 connected disabilities shall receive lifetime family annual 70 entrance passes at no charge. 71 (4)
(3) Surviving spouses and parents of deceased members of 72 the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or reserve 73 components thereof who have fallen in combat shall receive 74 lifetime family annual entrance passes at no charge. 75 (5)
(4) The surviving spouse and parents of a law 76 enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(1), or a 77 firefighter, as defined in s. 633.102, who has died in the line 78 of duty shall receive lifetime family annual entrance passes at 79 no charge. 80
Section 3. Present paragraph (
k) of subsection (4) of 81
section 379.354, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph 82 (l), and a new paragraph (
k) is added to that subsection, to 83 read: 84 379.354 Recreational licenses, permits, and authorization 85 numbers; fees established.— 86
(4) RESIDENT HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES.—The licenses and 87
Florida Senate - 2025 SB 884 33-01178-25 2025884__ Page 4 of 6 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. fees for residents participating in hunting and fishing 88 activities in this state are as follows: 89 (
k) Annual Florida State Guard gold sportsman’s license, 90 $34.48. A resident who is a current member of the Florida State 91 Guard may purchase the Florida State Guard gold sportsman’s 92 license upon presenting a current Florida State Guard 93 identification card. The annual Florida State Guard gold 94 sportsman’s license authorizes the same activities as the annual 95 gold sportsman’s license. 96
Section
Section 1009.8959, Florida Statutes, is created 97 to read: 98 1009.8959 The Florida State Guard Scholarship Program.— 99
(1) The Florida State Guard Scholarship Program is created 100 to reward members of the Florida State Guard enrolled in 101 eligible Florida public or independent postsecondary educational 102 institutions who meet the eligibility criteria established in 103 subsection (2). The Department of Education shall administer the 104 program according to rules and procedures established by the 105 State Board of Education. 106
(2) To be eligible to receive a scholarship under the 107 program, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: 108 (
a) Have completed 4 years of active service with the 109 Florida State Guard. 110 (
b) Have graduated with a standard high school diploma or 111 its equivalent. 112 (
c) Be a current or former member the Florida State Guard 113 in good standing as determined by rules adopted by the director 114 of the Florida State Guard. 115 (
d) Have not yet earned a baccalaureate degree. 116
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e) Be enrolled in a career certificate or an associate or 117 a baccalaureate degree program at a state university, a Florida 118 College System institution, or an independent Florida college or 119 university that is eligible to participate in the William L. 120 Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education Grant Program 121 under s. 1009.89. 122
(3) To be eligible for continued scholarship funding under 123 the program, an individual must: 124 (
a) Enroll in at least 6 credit hours per semester; and 125 (
b) Earn at least 24 semester credit hours in the last 126 academic year or the academic year in which the student earned 127 the scholarship, if the student was enrolled full time; or a 128 prorated number of credit hours as determined by the Department 129 of Education if the student was enrolled for less than full time 130 for any part of the academic year. 131
(4) The Department of Education shall issue awards as 132 follows: 133 (
a) Students enrolled in a state university or a Florida 134 College System institution are eligible for an award equal to 135 100 percent of tuition and fees. 136 (
b) Students enrolled in an eligible independent Florida 137 college or university are eligible for a fixed award calculated 138 by using the average tuition and fee calculation as prescribed 139 by the Department of Education for full-time attendance at a 140 public postsecondary education institution at the comparable 141 level. 142 (
c) A stipend for textbooks may be granted if the 143 Legislature appropriates sufficient funding to cover the cost of 144 such stipends. 145
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d) Students may receive an award for a maximum of 100 146 percent of the number of credits required to complete a 147 baccalaureate degree program. 148
(5) The Department of Education shall issue awards from the 149 scholarship program annually, subject to the appropriation of 150 funds by the Legislature. If funds appropriated are not adequate 151 to provide the maximum allowable award to each eligible 152 applicant, awards in all components of the program must be 153 prorated using the same percentage reduction. 154
(6) The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors 155 shall adopt rules and regulations, respectively, to implement 156 this program. 157