Merit Institute Merit

The Florida Merit-Based Credentialing Act (FL-ACSA)

Florida state companion to ACSA. Extends existing Florida CAPE industry certifications, CareerSource Florida workforce infrastructure, and Ch. 1005/1009 postsecondary authorities into a state-level Florida Recognized Merit Credentials regime.

THE FLORIDA MERIT-BASED CREDENTIALING ACT (FL-ACSA)

A Florida Bill to Make Credentials, Not Degrees, the Path Into Florida’s Workforce

Vehicle: State passage. Florida Legislature, regular session. Primary referral to the House PreK-12 Quality Subcommittee / Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee and the Senate Education Postsecondary Committee / Appropriations Committee on Education. Tax provisions referred to House Ways & Means and Senate Finance & Tax.

Relationship to federal ACSA: This Act operates as the Florida companion to the federal Alternative Credentialing & Skills Act. Where federal ACSA Title IV conditions WIOA Title I funding on State action (29 U.S.C. Sec. 3161 et seq.), this Act supplies that State action. Where federal ACSA creates Federally Recognized Alternative Credentials (FRACs), this Act recognizes FRACs in Florida and extends Florida’s existing CAPE industry-certification infrastructure to meet the federal standard.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “Florida Merit-Based Credentialing Act (FL-ACSA).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislature finds that Florida already operates one of the most developed skill-credential systems in the United States: the CAPE industry-certification framework under Fla. Stat. Sec. 1003.492, the Florida College System under Fla. Stat. Ch. 1007, the Commission for Independent Education under Fla. Stat. Ch. 1005, the Student Financial Assistance program under Fla. Stat. Ch. 1009, and the CareerSource Florida workforce system under Fla. Stat. Ch. 445 and Ch. 446. Florida’s occupational-licensure streamlining under Ch. 2020-160, Laws of Fla. (HB 1193) and subsequent session laws further reduces degree-based barriers. This Act extends, rather than replaces, those Florida authorities so that Florida workers and employers can rely on measurable proof of merit rather than degree requirements.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH FLORIDA LAW

Vehicle (Florida): Definitional (no standalone vehicle). Interpretive only.

Sec. 101. Definitions

For purposes of this Act:

  1. (a) “Florida Recognized Merit Credential” or “FRMC” means a competency-based certification recognized by the Commissioner of Education under Sec. 201 as meeting the standard in Sec. 202.
  2. (b) “CAPE industry certification” has the meaning assigned in Fla. Stat. Sec. 1003.492 and includes industry certifications on the Industry Certification Funding List adopted by the State Board of Education.
  3. (c) “Federal FRAC” means a Federally Recognized Alternative Credential designated under Section 202 of the federal Alternative Credentialing & Skills Act.
  4. (d) “Covered State licensing board” means a board, commission, or agency that issues an occupational license under Fla. Stat. Ch. 455, Ch. 456, Ch. 464, Ch. 468, Ch. 473, Ch. 475, or any comparable Florida licensing chapter, and that receives Federal workforce funds directly or indirectly.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing Florida Law

  1. (a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to duplicate, supersede, or conflict with:
  • Fla. Stat. Ch. 1005 (Commission for Independent Education).
  • Fla. Stat. Ch. 1007 (Articulation and Access to Postsecondary Institutions).
  • Fla. Stat. Ch. 1009 (Educational Scholarships, Fees, and Financial Assistance).
  • Fla. Stat. Sec. 1003.492 (CAPE industry certifications).
  • Fla. Stat. Ch. 445 and Ch. 446 (CareerSource Florida and Workforce Services).
  • Fla. Stat. Ch. 455 and Ch. 456 (Department of Business and Professional Regulation; Department of Health occupational regulation).
  • The occupational-licensure reforms in Ch. 2020-160 (HB 1193) and the annual General Appropriations Act (SB 2500 series).
  1. (b) This Act extends, rather than replaces, the above authorities.

TITLE II — FLORIDA RECOGNIZED MERIT CREDENTIALS

Vehicle (Florida): Regular order. Establishes a new Florida registry and conforming employer-signaling duties inside existing State Board of Education authority; no new agency.

Sec. 201. Designation Authority

  1. (a) The Commissioner of Education, in coordination with the State Board of Education and the president of CareerSource Florida, shall maintain a Florida Recognized Merit Credentials registry (the “FRMC Registry”).
  2. (b) A credential shall be included on the FRMC Registry if it appears on the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List adopted under Fla. Stat. Sec. 1003.492, or is a Federal FRAC, or satisfies the standard in Sec. 202.
  3. (c) The Commissioner shall publish the FRMC Registry in machine-readable form not later than 12 months after the effective date of this Act and shall update the Registry at least annually.

Sec. 202. Extension of the CAPE Industry Certification Register

  1. (a) The CAPE Industry Certification Funding List adopted under Fla. Stat. Sec. 1003.492(7) shall continue to be maintained by the State Board of Education. The FRMC Registry maintained under Sec. 201 shall include every certification currently on that List, and the Legislature’s intent is that the Registry operate as an extension, not a replacement, of the CAPE framework.
  2. (b) The Commissioner shall establish a crosswalk between the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List and the Federal FRAC list so that credentials earned in Florida retain their federal portability.
  3. (c) A credential placed on the FRMC Registry under subsection (b) shall be treated, for purposes of Florida Department of Management Services (Fla. Stat. Ch. 110) State-agency hiring, as an equivalent to any degree requirement that would otherwise be imposed by agency rule, except where Florida law expressly requires a specific degree.

Sec. 203. Degree-Optional State Employment

  1. (a) Fla. Stat. Sec. 110.205 (career-service exempt positions) and any agency hiring rule adopted under Fla. Stat. Ch. 110, Part II, shall be applied so that an FRMC-holder satisfies any position qualification that is stated in terms of a college degree, unless the degree is expressly required by Florida statute.
  2. (b) The Department of Management Services shall publish an annual report enumerating, by agency, the number of positions filled via FRMC rather than a degree requirement.

TITLE III — STATE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR SKILLS-BASED HIRING

Vehicle (Florida): Regular order with tax provisions. Tax provisions require favorable committee action in House Ways & Means and Senate Finance & Tax. Scholarship-coordination provision is budget-neutral within existing Ch. 1009 appropriations.

Sec. 301. Florida Skills-Based Hiring Tax Credit

  1. (a) A new section is added to Fla. Stat. Ch. 220 (Corporate Income Tax) providing a credit against the tax imposed under Sec. 220.11 equal to a percentage of qualified first-year wages paid to a Florida-domiciled employee whose qualifying pathway is an FRMC or a Federal FRAC.
  2. (b) The credit shall be coordinated with the federal IRC Sec. 45AA credit under the federal ACSA; a Florida taxpayer claiming the federal credit may also claim this Florida credit, subject to a combined cap set annually by the General Appropriations Act.
  3. (c) The Department of Revenue shall adopt implementing rules under Fla. Stat. Ch. 120.

Sec. 302. Florida Student Assistance Grant Coordination

  1. (a) The Florida Student Assistance Grant (Fla. Stat. Sec. 1009.50 et seq.) and the Benacquisto Scholarship (Fla. Stat. Sec. 1009.893) shall, as a condition of disbursement to an eligible postsecondary institution, recognize credits earned toward an FRMC on the same basis as credits earned toward a degree program.
  2. (b) The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program (Fla. Stat. Sec. 1009.53) shall, as a condition of disbursement, recognize eligible CAPE industry-certification completion consistent with the existing Gold Seal Vocational Scholars framework.

TITLE IV — OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE PORTABILITY

Vehicle (Florida): Regular order. Builds on Florida’s 2020 Occupational Freedom & Opportunity Act (Ch. 2020-160, HB 1193). Primary referral to the Senate Regulated Industries Committee and the House Regulatory Reform Subcommittee.

Sec. 401. Licensure by Demonstrated Competency

  1. (a) A covered State licensing board shall provide a demonstrated-competency pathway to licensure in any occupation for which no specific degree is required by Florida statute.
  2. (b) The demonstrated-competency pathway shall accept, without further requirement, an FRMC in the relevant domain, a Federal FRAC in the relevant domain, or a combination of examination and supervised experience that satisfies the competency standards adopted by the board.

Sec. 402. Interstate Recognition for Federal-Fund Recipients

  1. (a) A covered State licensing board receiving Federal workforce funds (including pass-through WIOA Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth program funds under 29 U.S.C. Sec. 3161 et seq.) shall recognize an out-of-state holder of an FRMC or a Federal FRAC as meeting the competency requirement for licensure, consistent with the requirements of Section 401 of the federal Alternative Credentialing & Skills Act.
  2. (b) The Department of Business and Professional Regulation shall publish an annual compliance report listing, by board, compliance status under this Section.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Vehicle (Florida): Structural. Standard Florida bill-closing provisions.

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision of this Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder of this Act.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect July 1 of the year following enactment, except that Sec. 301 (tax credit) shall apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1 of that year, and Sec. 402 shall take effect concurrent with the effective date of Section 401 of the federal Alternative Credentialing & Skills Act.

Canonical federal version: ACSA. Other Florida bills: FL-MEWRA, FL-GT&P, FL-AI-Workforce.