HB 247 Summary

• Adds sexual orientation and gender identity or expression as protected classes under Florida's civil rights laws, alongside existing protections for race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, and marital status.

• Replaces the term "handicap" with "disability" throughout Florida Statutes and provides detailed definitions of disability, major life activities, and impairment standards that mirror federal Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.

• Extends discrimination protections to employment, housing, public accommodations, public lodging establishments, public food service establishments, real estate transactions, and club membership.

• Creates new statutory provisions (s. 760.025 and s. 760.225) specifying that transitory or minor impairments (6 months or less duration) are not disabilities, while episodic or remissive impairments qualify as disabilities if they substantially limit major life activities when active.

• Establishes that disability determinations must disregard ameliorative effects of mitigating measures such as medication, assistive devices, hearing aids, mobility devices, and reasonable accommodations; effective July 1, 2012.