Florida SB 1226: Sentencing for Sexual Offenders and Sexual Predators

Bill Text

1226 
Refrigerant Safety and Agricultural Continuity 
2026-01-06T09:29:23Z 
Creating the “Refrigerant Safety and Agricultural Continuity Act”; authorizing commercial and agricultural food processing and cold chain industries to continue to purchase, install, and service equipment utilizing R-410A refrigerants through a specified date; requiring the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to maintain certain records; providing immunity from liability for certain persons and business entities, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1226 

 By Senator Burgess 

 23-01543B-26 20261226__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to refrigerant safety and agricultural 
 3 continuity; creating s. 604.74, F.S.; providing a 
 4 short title; providing legislative findings and 
 5 intent; defining terms; authorizing commercial and 
 6 agricultural food processing and cold chain industries 
 7 to continue to purchase, install, and service 
 8 equipment utilizing R-410A refrigerants through a 
 9 specified date; requiring the Department of 
 10 Agriculture and Consumer Services to maintain certain 
 11 records; requiring the department to provide an annual 
 12 report to the Legislature by a specified date; 
 13 providing requirements for the annual report; 
 14 providing immunity from liability for certain persons 
 15 and business entities; authorizing the department to 
 16 coordinate with certain entities for a specified 
 17 purpose; authorizing the department to adopt rules; 
 18 providing construction; providing an effective date. 
 19 
 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 21 
 22 Section 1. Section 604.74, Florida Statutes, is created to 
 23 read: 
 24 604.74 Refrigerant safety and agricultural continuity.— 
 25 (1) This section may be cited as the “Refrigerant Safety 
 26 and Agricultural Continuity Act.” 
 27 (2) The Legislature finds that this state’s agricultural 
 28 food processing and cold chain industries rely upon refrigerant 
 29 systems that ensure product safety, temperature stability, and 
 30 export reliability. The United States Environmental Protection 
 31 Agency’s technology transition rule requires replacement of R 
 32 410A refrigerants with A2L refrigerants, including R-454B 
 33 refrigerants, beginning in calendar years 2025 and 2026. R-454B 
 34 refrigerant is classified as a mildly flammable refrigerant and 
 35 has not been fully tested or certified for all commercial and 
 36 agricultural refrigerant applications, creating potential risk 
 37 of fire, equipment failure, and insurance exclusion. A rapid 
 38 transition to A2L refrigerants may impose substantial costs on 
 39 this state’s agricultural food processing and cold chain 
 40 industries with statewide economic impacts estimated in the 
 41 billions of dollars. It is in the public interest to protect 
 42 safety, food supply integrity, and small business continuity 
 43 during the refrigerant transition period. It is the intent of 
 44 the Legislature to ensure the safety, economic stability, and 
 45 operational continuity of this state’s commercial and 
 46 agricultural food processing and cold chain industries by 
 47 authorizing the continued use of R-410A refrigerants until 
 48 alternative refrigerants, such as R-454B refrigerants, are 
 49 proven safe, fully certified, and supported by adequate 
 50 equipment availability, workforce training, and insurance 
 51 coverage. 
 52 (3) As used in this section, the term: 
 53 (a) “Agricultural refrigerant application” means any 
 54 cooling or cold storage system used for commercial and 
 55 agricultural production or food processing, packaging, or 
 56 transport. 
 57 (b) “A2L refrigerant” means any refrigerant classified as 
 58 lower toxicity and mildly flammable under American Society of 
 59 Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 
 60 34. 
 61 (c) “Department” means the Department of Agriculture and 
 62 Consumer Services. 
 63 (4) Notwithstanding any federal phase-down schedule or 
 64 other conflicting law, this state’s commercial and agricultural 
 65 food processing and cold chain industries may continue to 
 66 purchase, install, and service equipment utilizing R-410A 
 67 refrigerants through January 1, 2035, or as otherwise determined 
 68 by the Legislature. The department shall maintain records of R 
 69 410A equipment installations and coordinate with relevant 
 70 federal agencies to ensure compliance with applicable reporting 
 71 requirements. 
 72 (5) By January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the 
 73 department, in consultation with the Department of Environmental 
 74 Protection and the State Fire Marshal, shall provide a report to 
 75 the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 
 76 Representatives on: 
 77 (a) Safety performance data for A2L refrigerants, including 
 78 R-454B refrigerants. 
 79 (b) Avai