Florida nursing homes are pushing to be protected from liability for harm to residents during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

But the industry's failure to fully comply with a 2018 law requiring nursing homes to have backup electric generators could impede those efforts. Incoming Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, suggested Friday that compliance with the generator requirement could affect how leaders consider requests for lawsuit protections.

"I would suspect the state would have no mercy on folks who are not doing what they are supposed to be doing or should be doing. And if you are one of the facilities of critical care, you need to get your generators in place. Hurricane season starts June 1," said Simpson, a member of Gov. Ron DeSantis' Re-Open Florida Task Force.