Celebrating Advocacy Success While Preparing For Next Year

As the 2025 legislative session wraps up, I am proud to share the progress we achieved for older adults across our state. For the third consecutive year, our dedicated team was joined by dozens of passionate volunteer advocates from across the state, working hard to champion the needs of older Floridians.

This year, we focused on four key issues:

1.  Ensuring quality of care for long-term care residents
2. Strengthening consumer protection laws to safeguard Floridians from financial exploitation
3. Creating more accessible and affordable housing options
4. Fighting for fair and equitable utility rates

While we didn’t achieve all our goals, our work paid off, with several key pieces of legislation set to bring significant benefits to our community. Among more than a dozen bills that passed the Florida Legislature with AARP support, three stand out, if signed by the Governor:

HB 6017 Recovery of Damages for Medical Negligence Resulting in Death will allow Florida families to hold medical providers civilly responsible for causing the wrongful death of an adult family member, even if their loved one was widowed or unmarried, and had no minor children. The bill removes the prohibition on the recovery of noneconomic damages by parents and adult children of single adults without dependents when they die as a result of medical negligence – a Florida law that has been on the books for more than thirty years.

SB 1730 amends various provisions of the Live Local Act, passed during the 2023 Regular Session. It will streamline zoning rules and encourage affordable housing development. It clarifies definitions for zoning categories, prevents local governments from imposing certain restrictions on development, and mandates administrative approval for demolitions tied to new projects.

SB 180 Emergency Preparedness and Response will provide homeowners with a clear and streamlined permitting process as they rebuild following a natural disaster. It also expands disaster management planning, emergency resource coordination, financial transparency across both state and local government.

We applaud Florida lawmakers for their commitment to improving the lives of older adults and setting the stage for continued progress in our focus areas.

While we are proud of what we accomplished this session, much more remains to be done. With your help, AARP Florida will continue its advocacy to make a difference for all older Floridians. If you’re interested in becoming an advocacy volunteer with AARP Florida, please click here to join us. To stay up to date on the latest advocacy efforts, visit our AARP Florida Advocacy Hub. Stay tuned for the release of our 2025 Voting Record, which includes information on key legislation impacting older Floridians, votes taken during committee meetings and final actions by elected officials.