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Legislators filed hundreds of bills during the 2018 Florida Legislative Session, but only a small fraction of the bills introduced passed for Governor Scott's approval. Of the bills the Legislature passed, only a handful related to environmental and land use issues.
Important bills from the 2018 legislative session related to land development and environmental issues include the following:
- State and Regional Review of DRI Amendments Eliminated: House Bill 1151 eliminates state and regional review of amendments to existing Developments of Regional Impact (DRIs) and makes other important procedural changes related to DRIs. For example, other than for DRI abandonment orders, DRI development orders will no longer be subject to appeal by owners of land within DRIs, except as a comprehensive plan consistency challenge pursuant to s. 163.3215, Florida Statutes, in the same manner as any other local government development order. The bill also maintains rights and determinations made pursuant to previously issued binding letters, clearance letters and agreements. If Governor Scott signs the bill into law, developers deciding not to rescind their existing DRI development orders will benefit from the more streamlined DRI amendment review process.
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection ("FDEP") to Assume Administration of Federal Clean Water Act Section 404 Permitting Program: House Bill 7043 allows FDEP to assume the federal Clean Water Act's Section 404 permitting program for discharging dredged-and-fill materials into Florida wetlands. The bill passed both the House and Senate with nearly unanimous approval and will make Florida the third state in the country to assume the program.
- Legislature Increases Funds for Florida Forever Trust: In the 2018 budget (House Bill 5003), the Florida Legislature set aside $101 million in funding for the Florida Forever Trust, the most funding in a decade. The Florida Forever program is Florida's conservation and recreation land-acquisition program, and has purchased more than 2.4 million acres of land for conservation since its inception.
- Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area Established in South Florida: House Bill 53 establishes the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area, which includes submerged lands and state waters offshore of Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties from the St. Lucie Inlet to the north to the northern boundary of the Biscayne National Park to the south. By designating the coral reef ecosystem a conservation area, the bill enhances the ability of the conservation area to receive grant funding.
- Water Management Districts Authorized to Sell Surplus Lands More Efficiently: House Bill 703 authorizes water management districts to sell surplus property with just 30 days' notice via newspaper and its website, and allows water management districts to offer parcels of land valued at $25,000 or less to adjacent property owners.
- Amendments to Laws Related to Covenants and Restrictions on Real Property: House Bill 617 extends statutory provisions relating to preservation and revival of covenants to property associations other than homeowners' associations, and provides a more efficient mechanism for renewing or revitalizing covenants and restrictions for all types of associations.
- Legislature Overrules 3rd DCA Opinion Holding Transmission Lines as "Developments" Within Meaning of Proposed Power Plant Siting Act (PPSA): In 2016, Florida's Third District Court of Appeal held that transmission lines associated with a proposed power plant constitute a "development," and thus required review for consistency with existing local land use plans and zoning ordinances. In response, House Bill 405 changes the definition of "development" to specifically exclude transmission lines, and clarifies that the exclusion for transmission lines applies to established rights-of-way corridors and corridors to be established in the future.
- Changes to Regulation of Condominium, Cooperative, and Homeowner's Associations: House Bill 841 makes a number of changes to the way Florida regulates its condominium, cooperative, and homeowner's associations. Among other changes, the bill gives potential buyers a longer time period to inspect condominium and cooperative association official records, requires the associations to allow unit owners to install electric vehicle charging stations, and allows Board members of homeowner's associations to communicate with residents by email.
- Changes to State Land Acquisition Procedures: House Bill 1173 makes various changes to the procedures for acquiring state lands. The bill adds land selection procedures under the Military Protection Program, authorizes the Board of Trustees to lease, convey, and purchase certain types of state lands, expands the Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern, authorizes the Division of State Lands to use alternative valuation techniques in certain situations, allows for certain land authorities to contribute tourist impact revenues to the county to purchase any land in the county (rather than land only within the most populous municipality), adds criteria that must be considered when evaluating proposed Florida Forever Projects (specifically, whether a proposed project mitigates the effects of natural disasters and floods in developed areas), and requires certain projects to provide recreational opportunities, promote community interaction, and connect communities.
- Revisions to Policies Relating to Florida's Environmental Regulation: House Bill 1149 requires FDEP to revise regulations related to water resource implementation, instructs FDEP and water management districts to enter into memoranda of agreement regarding the review of reclaimed water projects, establishes rules related to environmental resource permit expirations, exceptions, and requirements, allows governmental entities to provide offsite regional mitigation areas when credits are not available at a mitigation bank, requires local governments to address recyclable material contamination in certain contracts, clarifies operations of the C-51 reservoir project, and creates an incentive-based program to reduce sanitary sewer overflows and unauthorized discharges of pathogens.
Of nearly equal importance were a number of controversial environmental, land development, and economic development bills that legislators proposed but failed to pass into law. We expect most of these issues will return in the future and we will continue to monitor them.
- Community Redevelopment Agency Termination: The Florida Legislature once again took aim at terminating Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) and Community Development Districts (CDDs) in House Bill 883. The bill provided that the creation of new CRAs on or after October 1, 2018, could only occur by a special act of the Legislature, and would have terminated all existing CRAs and CDDs by 2038. The bill passed the House by a 65-52 vote, but died in the Senate Messages.
- Advanced Well Stimulation Treatment (Fracking) Ban: As it did last year, the Florida Legislature considered banning fracking in Senate Bill 462. Fracking is a practice of oil and gas well intervention by injecting fluids into a rock formation at high pressure to increase oil and gas production. Florida's policy regarding the technique has been hotly contested for several years now, and we will continue to monitor its direction.
Our team will be sending more in-depth analyses as the more important legislation is signed into law. For more information on any of the issues discussed here, please contact us. |
