​TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida House passed legislation Thursday to mandate that online retailers without in-state operations collect and remit sales tax from Floridians, a move experts estimate will create more than $1 billion in additional online sales tax revenue each year.

While closing the loophole has long been an area of bipartisan consensus, the legislation would divert the new revenues to replenishing the state's unemployment compensation trust fund. The fund has been hit hard by pandemic-triggered layoffs, and the legislature's Republican leaders have resolved to forestall what would have been an unemployment tax hike on businesses.

"As a small business owner, I thank you," Rep. Nick DiCeglie (R-Indian Rocks Beach) said during Thursday's floor debate on the measure.

Democrats are couching the redirection of the revenues as a massive giveaway to corporations at the expense of increased funding for affordable housing, the environment, and other priorities.

"There are so many other ways to use this money to give it back to people we're collecting it from," said Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando).

The lower chamber also passed a bill that would eliminate state-funded scholarships for more than 12,000 Floridians attending in-state private colleges and universities. It singles out a list of those campuses — including Florida College in Temple Terrace and Beacon College in Leesburg — as having inordinately expensive tuition and falling short of standards ranging from graduation rates to post-graduation job placement.

"We cannot in good conscience allow for there to be no accountability in a system that so many of our families are investing their money in," said Rep. Rene Plasencia (R-Orlando), the bill's sponsor.