Florida SB 170: Public Records/Lottery Winners

Bill Text

170 
Emergency Relief 
2025-10-14T06:22:29Z 
Creating the People’s Relief Program within the Department of Children and Families; providing a purpose for the program; requiring the program to provide assistance in the form of grants to certain residents under specified conditions; providing program eligibility requirements for individuals, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 170 

 By Senator Jones 

 34-00410-26 2026170__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to emergency relief; creating s. 
 3 409.14512, F.S.; creating the People’s Relief Program 
 4 within the Department of Children and Families; 
 5 providing a purpose for the program; providing 
 6 legislative intent; requiring the program to provide 
 7 assistance in the form of grants to certain residents 
 8 under specified conditions; providing program 
 9 eligibility requirements for individuals; requiring 
 10 the department to adopt specified rules; providing an 
 11 effective date. 
 12 
 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 14 
 15 Section 1. Section 409.14512, Florida Statutes, is created 
 16 to read: 
 17 409.14512 People’s Relief Program.— 
 18 (1) The People’s Relief Program is created within the 
 19 department. The purpose of the program is to provide residents 
 20 of this state who are experiencing economic hardship with 
 21 assistance for everyday expenses, such as housing, childcare, 
 22 and health care. 
 23 (2) It is the intent of the Legislature that this program 
 24 ensure long-term financial stability for individuals and 
 25 families who reside in this state by offering grants to assist 
 26 residents experiencing economic hardship. 
 27 (3) Subject to appropriation by the Legislature, the 
 28 program shall provide assistance in the form of grants to 
 29 residents experiencing economic hardship. Such grants must be 
 30 available to residents if any of the following occurs: 
 31 (a) Utility costs rise above a specified percentage of 
 32 average household income. 
 33 (b) Property insurance premiums rise above a specified 
 34 threshold. 
 35 (c) Statewide unemployment rises above a specified 
 36 percentage. 
 37 (d) An economic decline causes widespread hardship. 
 38 (e) A natural disaster leads to the declaration of a state 
 39 of emergency. 
 40 (4) To be eligible for assistance under the program, an 
 41 individual must: 
 42 (a) Have been a resident of this state for at least 1 year 
 43 before applying; 
 44 (b) Provide evidence of a change in circumstances which 
 45 hinders or prohibits the individual from being able to fulfill 
 46 pending financial obligations related to utility, property 
 47 insurance, childcare, or health care expenses; and 
 48 (c) Provide documentation of utility costs, property 
 49 insurance premiums, childcare expenses, or health care expenses. 
 50 (5) The department shall adopt rules to implement this 
 51 section. The rules must, at a minimum, include all of the 
 52 following: 
 53 (a) An application that must be available on the 
 54 department’s website. 
 55 (b) The specified thresholds for the conditions in 
 56 paragraphs (3)(a)-(d). 
 57 (c) The procedures for awarding and disbursing the grants. 
 58 (d) Restrictions on the use of grant funds. 
 59 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.