Two years ago, the National Organization of Women publicly denounced legislation in Florida that had created a battle between divorce lawyers and alimony-reform advocates. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott.

Now, alimony reform legislation is back again, though the new scenario being drawn up by House Rules Chairman Ritch Workman appears to be more palatable to those on either side of the issue.

The essence of the bill, the Miami Herald reports, involves a “child support-esque” formula that ends up determining how much alimony divorcing spouses could receive.

Workman’s proposal, the newspaper explains, would direct judges to rely on factors such as the length of the marriage and the incomes of both spouses to make an alimony determination. In extreme cases, judges could operate outside of those guidelines.

The bill, which is still in the draft stage, does not include a provision to allow the alimony changes to be applied retroactively – something that Scott drew attention to when he rejected the previous bill in 2013.

Workman declined to reveal specific guidelines because he said he is still shaping the bill. He told The News Service of Florida, “I’ve been working for a year and a half with the sides that hate each other. I tried very hard to close the holes on both sides. I don’t like anybody using alimony as a weapon….But what this bill does for everybody is it gives a start and an end date to alimony.”

That includes the idea of permanent alimony, which would essentially disappear under the terms of the new bill – although, again, judges would have discretion in more extreme family law cases.

One attorney who is described as having been instrumental to a revision of Florida alimony laws five years ago was quoted as saying, “The thinking behind this is a guideline with built-in discretion so that the judge can, within a range, fashion an award that is fair for the family but still provide some degree of certainty of what the outcome will be to help lawyers and litigants settle cases more effectively and efficiently.”

Alan Frisher, head of Floridians for Alimony Reform, said, “I am thrilled beyond belief. It’s wonderful. If it comes out the way we’ve been negotiating and collaborating, it can be the most progressive alimony reform bill in the nation and certainly significant to alleviate the entitlement attitude that we see so customarily in our society.”