What are the Main of Provisions of SB 1718?

On May 10th, 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 1718 into effect. The bill several provisions that directly impact immigrants, employers, and hospitals across the state. Below are some of the main points of the bill.

• Require the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to enforce penalties requiring repayment of any economic development incentives or revocation of all applicable licenses, if the DEO finds or is notified that an employer has knowingly employed an individual who is not authorized to work;

• As of July 1, 2023, require private employers with more than 25 employees to use E-Verify to confirm that an employee is eligible to work in the United States;

• Alter the defenses for employers using Form I-9 or E-Verify;

• As of July 1, 2024, Amend the penalties for employer’s noncompliance to register and use E-Verify to $1,000 per day;

• Prohibit counties and municipalities from providing funds to any person, entity, or organization that issues identification documents to someone without proof of lawful presence in the United States;

• Refuse to recognize driver’s licenses from other states issued to foreign nationals who were not required to provide proof of lawful presence in the United States;

• Require any hospital that accepts Medicaid to include a question on its admission or registration forms about whether the person is a United States citizen, lawfully present in the United States, or not lawfully present in the United States;

• Repeal a regulation that allowed undocumented immigration to be admitted to practice law in Florida, effective November 1, 2028;

• Require a person who is in the custody of a law enforcement agency and is subject to an immigration detainer to submit a DNA sample when he or she is booked into a jail, correctional, or juvenile facility;

• Define “human smuggler” as any person who knowingly and willfully transports an undocumented individual into the state, who knows or who “reasonably should have [known]” the individual’s immigration status;

• Establish criminal penalties for knowingly and willfully transporting an undocumented individual into the state;

• Create a third degree felony for when an undocumented immigrant knowingly uses a false identification document or fraudulently uses an identification document of another person to obtain employment.

Such provisions are likely to have significant consequences on immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, as well as citizens across Florida.