From the Legal Hotline (1-877-NEWS-LAW)
2026 Pre-session Legislative Update and Webinar
By FPA Staff
Session Update
The Regular Session begins January 13, 2026, and continues through March 13. Interim committees have been meeting with committee week 3 scheduled for November 3-7, 2025. Here are the bills we are following.
Expansion of Publicly Accessible Websites SB 380 (Sen. Trumbull, R. Panama City)
Under current law (s. 50.0311), public notices can be published on “publicly accessible websites” which is defined to be the “county’s official website or other private website designated by the county.” This Senate bill expands “publicly accessible websites” to include not just counties and county-designated private websites but also “governmental agency websites,” including those of the clerk of the circuit court and the tax collector. Under this bill, governmental notices that could previously be placed on a county’s “publicly accessible website” can, alternatively, be placed on a governmental agency’s own website. Importantly, it also appears to include foreclosure notices.
Self-Storage Unit Notice SB 98 by Sen. Harrell Stuart; HB 135, by Rep. Smith, R. Winter Springs)
Sen. Harrell, R. Stuart filed SB 98, which is similar to the bill she filed last session. The bill allows replacement of newspaper notice of self-storage unit liens with notice on a “public website that customarily conducts or advertises personal property auctions.” The Senate bill has been referenced to the following committees: Judiciary (Clay Yarborough), Regulated Industries (Jennifer Bradley), and Rules (Kathleen Passidomo). It was heard in Judiciary Committee yesterday and passed 8-1.
The House bill (HB 135) (Rep. David Smith, R. Winter Springs) is assigned to the following committees: Civil Justice Sub. (Traci Koster), Commerce (James Buchanen); and Judiciary (Chuck Brannan). The bill has not been heard yet.
We will be opposing these bills and have been reaching out to members with resources asking them to contact their legislators in their readership area.
Take-Down Defamation Bills
We have yet to see any bills requiring publishers to remove articles or statements from the internet like those filed last session. We will be following this closely and will update members with any new developments.
Webinar Set for Thursday, November 6, 3 p.m.: Connecting with Your Legislators
FPA board member and long-time industry leader Joe DeLuca will be hosting a webinar for all interested members. There will be a review and discussion of a process and approach for successfully connecting with your legislators at their Tallahassee or home offices. Also, members will receive useful tools for executing the process in the form of a timeline, suggested email outreach copy and resources for building a contact database of legislative aides and schedulers. Further info. forthcoming.