Florida HB 999: Medical Billing

Bill Text

CS/HB 999 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb999-01-c1
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to refrigerant safety and agricultural 2
continuity; creating s. 604.74, F.S.; providing a 3
short title; providing legislative findings; defining 4
the terms "A2L refrigerant" and "department"; 5
requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 6
Services to provide an annual report to the 7
Legislature by a specified date; providing 8
requirements for the annual report; authorizing the 9
department to coordinate with certain entities for a 10
specified purpose; providing an effective date. 11
12
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
14
Section 1. Section 604.74, Florida Statutes, is created to 15
read: 16
604.74 Refrigerant safety and agricultural continuity.— 17
(1) This section may be cited as the "Refrigerant Safety 18
and Agricultural Continuity Act." 19
(2) The Legislature finds that this state's agricultural 20
food processing and cold chain industries rely upon refrigerant 21
systems that ensure product safety, temperature stability, and 22
export reliability. The United States Environmental Protection 23
Agency's Technology Transition Rule requires replacement of R-24
410A refrigerants with A2L refrigerants, including R-454B 25

CS/HB 999 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb999-01-c1
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

refrigerants, beginning in calendar years 2025 and 2026. R-454B 26
refrigerant is classified as a mildly flammable refrigerant and 27
has not been fully tested or certified for all commercial 28
agricultural refrigerant applications, creating potential risk 29
of fire, equipment failure, and insurance exclusion. A rapid 30
transition to A2L refrigerants may impose substantial costs on 31
this state's agricultural food processing and cold chain 32
industries with statewide economic impacts estimated in the 33
billions of dollars. 34
(3) As used in this section, the term: 35
(a) "A2L refrigerant" means any refrigerant classified as 36
lower toxicity and mildly flammable under American Society of 37
Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 38
34. 39
(b) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and 40
Consumer Services. 41
(4) By January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the 42
department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental 43
Protection and the State Fire Marshal, shall provide a report to 44
the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 45
Representatives on: 46
(a) Safety performance data for A2L refrigerants, 47
including R-454B refrigerants. 48
(b) Availability of compliant equipment and certified 49
technicians for statewide transition to A2L refrigerants. 50

CS/HB 999 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb999-01-c1
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

(c) Insurance and liability standards applicable to A2L 51
refrigerant systems. 52
(d) Recommendations regarding readiness for statewide 53
transition to A2L refrigerants. 54
(e) The status of and any updates to the United States 55
Environmental Protection Agency's Technology Transition Rule as 56
set forth in 40 C.F.R. part 84. 57
(5) The department may coordinate with Florida College 58
System institutions, career centers, and industry trade 59
associations to expand training and certification programs for 60
the safe handling, installation, and servicing of A2L 61
refrigerants. 62
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 63