Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued two further executive orders in the last seven days to address COVID-19. Executive Order 20-103 was signed on April 10, 2020 and extends until April 30, 2020 Executive Order 20-87, which had been issued on March 27, 2020 and which had suspended vacation rental operations. Executive Order 20-87 applies to, amongst other things, houses and condominiums that are “rented for periods of less than 30 days or I calendar month, whichever is less.” It does not apply to “[h]otels, motels, inns, resorts, non-transient public lodging establishments, or time share projects” as well as “[l]ong-term rentals.”
On April 16, 2020 the governor issued an executive order directed to unemployment compensation reporting requirements. Under Executive Order 20-104, those “actively seeking work” need not report bi-weekly as normally required by state law “only to the extent necessary.”
On April 8, 2020 and also in response to COVID-19, the Florida Supreme Court announced that it is cancelling all of the educational programs provided by the Court through the end of September. This includes the Florida Dispute Resolution Center’s Annual Conference for Mediators which had been scheduled for August. In addition, on August 7, 2020 Chief Justice Charles T. Canady of the Florida Supreme Court issued Administrative Order 20-24, which addresses a number of issues with respect to alternative dispute resolution during the coronavirus pandemic. Amongst other things, Administrative Order 20-24 provides:
- The requirement of in-person training for those seeking their mediation certification is suspended through December 31, 2020;
- Mediation primary and assistant trainers are granted an extension of their renewal requirements through December 31, 2020; and
- The requirement that mediators who are seeking to renew their certification receive eight of the 16 hours of the mandated Continuing Mediator Education every two years via a live course or courses is suspended through December 31, 2020.
