Florida SB 184: Homestead Exemption for First Responders

Bill Text

184 
Seaport Security 
2025-10-14T09:24:29Z 
Requiring seaports to maintain an onsite fire station that is staffed and operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; requiring fire stations to have a certified hazardous materials response team with specified capabilities; requiring seaports to maintain a specified number of operational fireboats able to respond to fires and hazardous materials incidents in specified areas, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 184 

 By Senator Garcia 

 36-00393-26 2026184__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to seaport security; amending s. 
 3 311.12, F.S.; requiring seaports to maintain an onsite 
 4 fire station that is staffed and operational 24 hours 
 5 a day, 7 days a week; requiring fire stations to have 
 6 a certified hazardous materials response team with 
 7 specified capabilities; requiring seaports to maintain 
 8 a specified number of operational fireboats able to 
 9 respond to fires and hazardous materials incidents in 
 10 specified areas; requiring the Division of State Fire 
 11 Marshal, in consultation with the Florida Ports 
 12 Council, to adopt certain rules; providing fines and 
 13 penalties; providing an effective date. 
 14 
 15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 16 
 17 Section 1. Present subsections (5) and (6) of section 
 18 311.12, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6) 
 19 and (7), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added to that 
 20 section, to read: 
 21 311.12 Seaport security.— 
 22 (5) FIRE SAFETY.— 
 23 (a) Each seaport subject to this section shall maintain an 
 24 onsite fire station under the authority of a fire department 
 25 recognized by the State Fire Marshal. 
 26 (b) A fire department station must be staffed, equipped, 
 27 and operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 
 28 (c) A fire station must have a certified hazardous 
 29 materials response team capable of immediate deployment to any 
 30 incident on seaport property. 
 31 (d) Each seaport subject to this section shall maintain a 
 32 minimum of two operational fireboats, equipped and staffed to 
 33 respond to fires and hazardous materials incidents occurring on 
 34 or adjacent to navigable waters of the seaport. 
 35 (e) The Division of State Fire Marshal, in consultation 
 36 with the Florida Ports Council, shall adopt rules establishing 
 37 minimum standards for all of the following: 
 38 1. Staffing levels and qualifications. 
 39 2. Equipment and apparatus requirements, including 
 40 fireboats. 
 41 3. Training, including hazardous materials certification. 
 42 4. Mutual aid coordination with adjacent jurisdictions and 
 43 regional response teams. 
 44 (f) A seaport’s failure to comply with this subsection may 
 45 result in fines imposed by the Department of Financial Services, 
 46 ineligibility for state port funding, or suspension of port 
 47 operations, as determined by the department. 
 48 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.