The Florida legislature passed a bill that bans businesses, governments, and educational institutions from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine passport in the state weeks after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order doing the same. Businesses are being set up to implement vaccine passports, but this legislation says that businesses "may not require patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery to gain access or service from the business operations in this state." Businesses that violate the law can be fined up to $5,000 per violation. The bill awaits Governor DeSantis' signature. Florida state Representative Anthony Sabatini suggested Republicans around the country should use the legislation as a model, and "Pass the same exact bill. Take the bill and pass it in every state in the country."

Earlier today the Florida legislature passed S.B. 2006, a bill that would prevent the government or corporations from requiring Floridians to present a vaccine passport to engage in commerce.

The bill explicitly forbids businesses from requiring COVID-19 passports with the language, "A business entity as defined in s. 768.38 to include any business operating in this state, may not require patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business operations in this state." Should a business choose to ignore the Florida government's legislation, they can be fined up to $5,000 per violation.

Similarly, the bill forbids governmental entities and educational institutions from doing the same. "A governmental entity … may not require persons to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recover to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the governmental entity's operations in this state," the bill declares. "An educational institution … may not require students or residents to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery for the attendance or enrollment, or to gain access to, entry upon, or service from such educational institution in this state." The bill must now be signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who previously signed an executive order that similarly banned COVID-19 passports.