Second Week of the 2024 Legislative Session 



Welcome to week 2 of the 2024 legislative session! The Countdown Clock reads 49 days until Sine Die. Bills will be heard and amended every day—stay on top of county priorities with this weekly legislative bulletin, or with our comprehensive Bill Tracker. 

It was an exciting week in Florida’s Capital County as FAC welcomed commissioners and staff from all 67 counties to its 2024 Legislative Day. We opened the day with presentations from a number of state leaders including: Commissioner of Agriculture, Wilton Simpson; Department of Environmental Protection Secretary, Shawn Hamilton; Secretary of Transportation, Jared Perdue; and Department of Commerce President of Business Development, Laura DiBella. Attendees were then able to connect with state agencies at our inaugural Agency Showcase. 

In the afternoon, commissioners and staff mobilized to the Capitol to meet with delegation members and other key legislative figures.  

We are so grateful for our FAC community—thank you for making Legislative Day 2024 a success! 

This week, Term Limits was up in committee in both the Senate and the House. 

On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections passed SB 438 by Sen. Ingoglia with – 5 Yay and 3 Nays. Meanwhile, on Friday morning, the House Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special District committee passed its version HB 57 by Rep. Salzman with an amendment with - 14 Yays and 0 Nays. This amendment to the House bill extends the proposed term limit from 8 years to 12 years. 

The originally filed bill establishes term limits for county commissioners who will have served for 8 consecutive years in office. This section applies to both charter and non-charter counties but does not supersede more restrictive term limits set by a county charter. Service of a commissioner before November 8, 2022, will not be counted towards these limitations.  

FAC staff Bob McKee, along with County Commissioners Bill Truex (Charlotte County), John Meeks (Levy), Ralph Thomas (Wakulla), Matt Brooks (Levy), Chris Dougherty (Bradford), and Tim Murphy (Columbia) Michelle Lincoln (Monroe), and Terry Burroughs (Okeechobee) testified against the bill. Each testimony drew on their own experiences and concerns for reasonings supporting why term limits should stay a local government issue.  

On Wednesday, the House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development committee passed CS/HB 665 by Rep. McClain with - 11 Yays and 2 Nays.  

This bill requires governing bodies of counties that have 75,000 residents or more and a municipality of 30,000 residents or more to create a program to expedite the issuance of building permits. This program must be a two-step process that includes the approval of a preliminary plat by a governing body and the approval of a final plat consistent with a master building permit plan. Once the preliminary plat is approved, this bill will require local governments to issue 50% of these permits. This process must be in place by October 1, 2024, and municipalities with existing programs must update their program to issue 50% of building permits within their program. By December 31, 2027, the 50% issuance of permits will increase to 75%.  

An applicant must indemnify and hold harmless a governing body and its agents from liability and damages accruing and directly related to the issuance of a building permit for a structure located in planned communities. This bill also provides vested rights to an applicant upon approval of a preliminary plat if the applicant relies in good faith, incurs obligation and expenses, and commences construction of the subdivision.  

The Senate Companion, SB 812 By Sen. Ingoglia, is on the Senate Community Affairs agenda for next Monday, January 22. 

The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee passed CS/SB 280 by Sen. DiCeglie on Thursday afternoon with - 12 Yays and 5 Nays. This passage came with the adoption of an amendment by Sen. DiCeglie that made significant changes to the bill. These changes include: 

• Revises the fee for a local registration from $150 per unit to a reasonable fee per unit. 
• Increases the fine a local government may impose from $300 to $500 per violation. 
• Allows a vacation rental operator a 15-day period to cure before a local government may issue a fine for a violation. 
• Provides clarifying language on code violations only penalizes the vacation rental at which a violation occurred. This clarifies that a vacation rental with a code violation must be taken down from an advertising site and not all the vacation rentals an owner has listed.  
• Provides for the payment of attorney fees, costs, and damages to the prevailing party when a vacation rental operator appeals a denial, suspension, or revocation of a vacation rental registration.
• Adds an advertising platform shall notify the division within 15 days after any advertisement or listing is on its online application without proper identifying information. 
• Provides an appropriation budget for the purpose of implementing this act.  

The originally filed version contained language including: 

Preempts the licensing of public lodging and food service establishments to the state, as well as the regulation of vacation rental advertising platforms. The bill authorizes counties to establish a registration program for vacation rental properties. Counties may charge an annual fee for registration the cap of these registration fees is $150 for an individual registration and a renewal fee of $50 per unit. Counties may also charge a reasonable fee to inspect a vacation rental after registration for compliance with the Florida building code. The bill would allow counties to revoke or deny a registration for the following reasons: 

• Unsatisfied county/municipal lien, following a 60-day period allowing the property owner to satisfy the lien. 
• Repeated violations of local law, ordinances, or regulations; the threshold for revocation is three or more such violations. 
• County ordinances adopted prior to 2011 are exempt under this subsection. The bill expressly allows counties to change or adopt these ordinances without losing the exemption status.  

The bill would also allow local governments to regulate the following conditions of registration: 

• Requiring proper identification by the property owner/his or her agents. 
• Obtaining a license to operate as a vacation rental. 
• Requiring proper tax documentation. 
• Maintaining current information regarding the vacation rental property. 
• Require parking standards. 
• Requiring a designated party on call to respond to complaints/immediate problems concerning the property. 
• A statement of maximum occupancy. 
• Requiring the property owner to provide information regarding public health and safety, as well as applicable laws, ordinances, and regulations. 

The House version HB 1537 by Rep. Griffitts has been referred out to its committees but has yet to be scheduled on an agenda.  

On Thursday, the “Live Local” glitch fix bill CS/SB 328 by Sen. Calatayud reached its last committee stop in Fiscal Policy but was temporarily postponed. The House version HB 1239 by Rep. Lopez had not yet been placed on the agenda for its first committee stop in State Affairs but was discussed on Friday morning in the Office of EDR’s Revenue Estimating Impact Conference.  

The Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special District passed HB 705 Public Works Projects by Rep. Shoaf on Friday morning with - 9 Yays and 5 Nays.  

The bill revises the definition of a “public works project” to include projects using local funding. Locally funded projects would now be subject to the existing preemption on contracting preferences, including considerations of wages, benefits, and staffing levels. 

The originally filed version preserved local authority to award contracts based on geographic preferences for projects funded exclusively with local dollars. However, the committee adopted a strike-all amendment removing this language and further expanding the preemption.  

Its Senate companion, SB 742 by Sen Grall, will be heard Monday afternoon in Community Affairs.  

On Tuesday, Senate Community Affairs passed SB 1082 by Sen. Collins, 8-0. The bill is similar to legislation last session, preempting local regulation of housing for agricultural workers.  

Specifically, the bill prohibits a government entity from restricting the construction or installation of housing for agricultural workers on land classified as agricultural. Such housing units must meet the following criteria: 

• Satisfies all applicable federal, state, and local building codes, as well the Department of Health’s (DOH) migrant farmworker housing standards. 
• Site must be maintained in a neat, orderly, and safe manner. 
• Dwelling unit structures must be a minimum of 10 feet apart. 
• Square footage of the site’s climate-controlled facilities may not exceed the lesser of 1.5% of the property’s total area, or 35,000 square feet. 
• Front, side, and rear setbacks of at least 50 feet 
• The site must be at least 250 feet from the property line of any residential parcel; if less than 500 feet, screening must be provided between the agricultural housing site and the residential parcel. 
• All-access drives serving the site must be made of packed shell, gravel, or an alternative minimally dusty material. 

A government entity may still adopt land use regulations that are less restrictive than federal of DOH standards.  

A housing site may not continue to be used under the following circumstances: 

• If unused by agricultural workers for 365 consecutive days; the jurisdictional local government may send notification that the dwelling units are to be removed; the property owner then has 90 days to demonstrate occupancy by agricultural workers.  
• If the site ceases to be classified as agricultural property, unless the local government zoning and land use regulations allow for continued residential use. 
• If the DOH housing permit is revoked 

The bill also provides a carve-out for local permitting practices in the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern. 



The House companion, HB 1051 by Rep. Tuck, has not been heard.  

The December 2023 state economic forecasts, compared to those in July 2023, show a modest range from slightly weaker to relatively unchanged conditions. The forecasting environment has exhibited signs of stabilization with anticipated improvements over the forecast horizon. General revenue collections have exceeded expectations, marking a $1,258.6 million or 6.0 percent surplus since the fiscal year's commencement. 

In response to the year-to-date gain by source, the Conference adjusted the estimate for FY 2023-24 by an additional $1.59 billion. Nevertheless, the revised forecast for FY 2023-24 indicates a marginal decline of -0.2 percent relative to actual collections in FY 2022-23, attributed to legislative changes, forecast adjustments, and reduced impact from Hurricane Ian recovery efforts. The projected growth in FY 2024-25 over the previous forecast amounts to $585.5 million, resulting in a two-year combined increase of $2.18 billion, with increases of 3.5 percent in FY 2023-24 and 1.2 percent in FY 2024-25. 

The primary adjustment in the new forecast pertains to Sales Tax for the current fiscal year, contributing a gain of $1,138.5 million in FY 2023-24 and $284.2 million in FY 2024-25. Earnings on Investment experienced the second-largest gain, with the forecast increased by $309.8 million in FY 2023-24 and $99.2 million in FY 2024-25. Lastly, Insurance Premium Taxes saw the third-largest increase, with the forecast elevated by $95.3 million in FY 2023-24 and $76.0 million in FY 2024-25. 

For more detailed information on estimates adopted at prior conferences, interested parties can refer to the Legislative Office of Economic and Demographic Research’s website. 

On Wednesday, January 17th, the House Ways and Means Committee met to discuss and deliberate Rep. Robinson’s HB 479, Alternative Mobility Funding Systems. FAC Staff member Bob McKee was present to testify in opposition to the Bill. This Bill has an identical bill in the Senate, SB 688, sponsored by Sen. Martin.  

This Bill focuses on introducing alternative mobility funding systems in Florida. It brings about amendments to various sections of the Florida Statutes, redefining terms and modifying requirements for agreements related to the construction or payment of specific improvements. The legislation leaves local governments to adopt alternative mobility planning and fee systems under particular conditions.  

Bob McKee brought to the committee the Association’s concerns with specific bill language implemented within this Bill, specifically the Bill’s creation of paragraph (j). of subsection (5) of section 163.3180 F.S. This language proves problematic because it requires that only the local government that issue is the building permit may charge for transportation impact fees within its jurisdiction creating a possible holdout problem between local municipalities and creating a financial strain for county governments. Palm Beach County’s delegation waved in opposition to this Bill. This Bill garnered favorable support and has one last committee stop in the House Commerce Committee. 

HB 7013 was heard on Wednesday, January 17th, In the House Ways and Means Committee. This bill is sponsored by a host of committees and has adopted a strike all amendment brought by Rep. Persons-Mulicka. 

This bill as amended proposes setting a 12-year term limit for elected leaders in most independent special districts and requiring legislative approval for any changes to district boundaries. It introduces additional criteria for declaring a special district inactive and outlines procedures for such declarations. The bill eliminates the provision allowing a special district to convert into a municipality without legislative approval and requires community development district petitions to include a sworn affidavit about planned development. Notably, it reduces the maximum tax rate for mosquito control districts and imposes conditions for participation in state programs. The creation of new safe neighborhood improvement districts is prohibited, and existing ones will undergo a performance review by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. 

The current version of HB 7013 was supported favorably by the committee gaining only one opposing vote from Rep. Valdes. This bill has one more stop left in the State Affairs House Committee. 

On Wednesday January 17th the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government met and discussed SB 106, Acceptance of cash Payments by business, which Is sponsored by Sen. Jones.  

SB 106 requires certain businesses to accept an offer of payment in cash, defined as the coin and currency of the United States. The bill also prohibits businesses from charging a fee or placing a condition on its acceptance of cash and gives rulemaking and enforcement authority to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS). Violations of the bill will be subject to civil fines. This bill has an identical companion bill, HB 35, which is sponsored by Rep. Rudman. 



This bill is part of FAC’s Legislative action plan and FAC analyst, Amir Warren, waved in support on the bill. SB 106 was reported favorably by the committee and awaits its next committee stop, Senate Committee of Fiscal Policy.