The Florida Senate Committee on Fiscal Policy on April 2 reported favorably on CS/CS/CS for SB 1070, the Second Chance Act, which requires electrocardiograms (ECGs) for students before athletic participation and establishes a phased rollout and task-force guidance on evaluation and exemptions.

Supporters told the committee the measure would shift the state from reaction to prevention. Martha Lopez Anderson, executive director of Parent HeartWatch, said, "By requiring electrocardiograms or ECGs for every student athlete, Florida would take a bold step in shifting from reaction to prevention." Several family members and advocacy groups described personal losses to sudden cardiac arrest and urged action.

The bill would require the Department of Health to develop implementation materials and anticipated a phased start date for first-time participants. The sponsor, Senator Corey Simon, said the bill preserves parental choice by allowing religious and medical exemptions and allows districts to partner with nonprofits for low- or no-cost screenings. Simon told the committee the bill is intended to avoid placing screening costs directly on school districts: "This doesn't fall back on the districts. What we're trying to encourage the districts to do is to partner with groups like we have presented here today and who we play for and others because they can come in and do these screenings for little to no cost."

Parents and advocates gave detailed testimony. Marucci Mendez described the 25th anniversary of her son's death from undetected cardiomyopathy and asked, "How many of our children have to die in order to justify that expense?" Ralph Magrone of Who We Play For said a simple five-minute ECG would have identified his son's hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Medical and advocacy witnesses cited research and international examples (noting Italy's screening program) and urged the committee to pass the bill.

District and school officials and school-district groups urged clarity on who bears costs and who is responsible for medical clearance in return-to-play decisions. Bob Harris of the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium told senators small rural districts cannot absorb screening costs if they fall to local budgets and requested language that explicitly keeps clearance and medical decision authority with qualified medical providers.

Senators including Boyd and Arrington expressed strong support, citing lives lost in their communities. After debate and several amendments that clarified rollout, exemptions, and task-force duties, the committee recorded the bill as "reported favorably." The roll call concluded with CS/CS/CS for SB 1070 reported favorably.

The bill now advances with implementation details and funding questions still to be negotiated at later stages.