Chris Moya and Jennifer Ungru in Orlando Business Journal on 2019 Legislative Session

In a recent Orlando Business Journal article, “Legislative preview: Orlando businesses should keep an eye on these proposals,” Dean Mead government relations professionals Chris Moya, director of strategy and management consulting, and Jennifer Ungru, corporate affairs advisor, provide insight on major bills that have the potential to change policies in industries throughout Florida.  The government proposals include issues related to scooters and mobility devices, Airbnb regulation, and medical marijuana dispensaries.

Moya remarked, “Orlando probably will be ground zero for the scooter fight. It’s moved from last year with bikes to this year with scooters and what they are calling micro mobility devices. There is legislation going through the House and Senate which would bring some modicum of regulation to it, but also present a lot of local control. If you look at what happened in San Diego and Dallas, it would remove any chance for communities to decide what’s right for them and for retail. There’s a portion of the bill that gives the public sidewalk as a public good and allows an unlimited amount of scooters to use that as their parking lot.”

On the issue of health care, Ungru said, “The typical health care battle related to the set up of [medical] practices and the certificates of need (CONs) related to hospice nursing homes and hospitals, you are going to see the House continue to advocate for those bills. Interestingly enough, in December of last year, the state Agency for Health Care Administration approved several CONs, including in Seminole and Orange counties. Those who are saying don’t get rid of certificates of need are going to point to that and say ‘Look, it seems that we tweaked that and now more construction is happening.’ But, there are going to be people on the other side in the House who say if we get rid of these restrictions, we will have loads of free market.”

To access the article, click here.