Florida restricts foreign ties and sets penalties for related crimes

Courts may raise a crime's penalty level when it was committed to benefit a covered foreign government, designated terrorist group, or their agent. Crime penalties cover misdemeanors and felonies. Gift repayment covers public officers, agency employees, local government lawyers, and candidates, in addition to other penalties. The crime must aim to benefit, promote, or further the interests of the government, group, or agent. First-degree felony and life felony convictions under this section require at least 15 years in prison. Double repayment requires a gift-rule violation involving an understanding that the benefit would influence an official decision. The giver must act for a designated terrorist group, a designated country, or that country's subdivisions. The law took effect July 1, 2026. The Commission on Ethics must adopt training rules covering foreign influence and gift penalties by November 1, 2026.

Covered public bodies cannot make agreements with or accept grants from designated countries, their subdivisions, or entities those countries control. The agreement and grant ban covers state agencies, local governments, and public schools authorized to spend state funding or levy property taxes. College partnership institutes cannot make agreements or conduct activities with a designated country or any organization in that country. The state protocol officer cannot encourage sister-city or sister-state ties with designated countries or their subdivisions. The Department of Commerce must post consulate offices, sister-city and sister-state ties, and copies of those agreements online, with quarterly updates. The college partnership list excludes the Florida-China Institute. These rules do not retain the special resident-tuition exemption for up to 25 host-country students per institute each year. Covered agreements, including sister-city agreements, terminated July 1, 2026, when the law took effect.

Tax collectors and local governing authorities may revoke or refuse to renew business tax receipts for dealings with Cuba that violate federal law. The receipt rule covers individuals, businesses, and other entities doing business with Cuba themselves. The Governor must send legislative leaders written policy recommendations, if any. Local officials may request a sworn statement about dealings with Cuba. Knowingly making a false declaration is a third-degree felony. If the federal government changes Cuba's diplomatic status, the Governor may temporarily suspend state laws or rules restricting dealings with Cuba. A suspension cannot be renewed or extended. Suspending the same law or rule again requires express permission from the Legislature. Effective July 1, 2026, suspensions end when the following regular legislative session closes. Recommendations are due at least 30 days before the next session, or as soon as practicable for changes within 30 days of it or during it. This authority expires October 2, 2028, unless reenacted.

Specified participants' citizenship or residency bars planned pregnancy-and-adoption agreements and gestational surrogacy contracts. These rules cover agreements to become pregnant and place the child with intended parents, including gestational surrogacy, where a woman carries a pregnancy for others. A planned pregnancy-and-adoption agreement is prohibited if the woman carrying the child or either intended parent is a citizen or resident of a designated country. A gestational surrogacy contract cannot be entered into in Florida if any party is a citizen or resident of a designated country. A gestational surrogacy contract that violates this restriction is invalid and cannot be enforced. These restrictions took effect July 1, 2026.

The law defines foreign ties used in rules for camera vendors, charitable fundraising, and property ownership. The camera-vendor and property definitions name China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, the Maduro regime in Venezuela, and Syria, along with covered government-controlled entities. For camera vendors, control means the power to direct a company's management or policies. At least 25 percent of voting interests or profits creates a presumption of control. The charitable fundraising definition includes designated foreign terrorist groups and agents acting for them. These definitions took effect July 1, 2026.