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The following is a brief synopsis of the key legislative actions and bill summaries for this week. Thanks for all you do!
| Stay Informed: A Recap of This Week's Top Stories: | |
FLC Priority: Bill Relating to Alternative Mobility Funding Systems Passes the House
CS/HB 479 (Robinson, W.) and CS/SB 688 (Martin) aim to streamline current mobility plans and fees laws, specifying that only the local government issuing the building permit may charge for transportation impacts. On Wednesday, CS/HB 479 was heard on the House floor and passed on a vote of 115-0 and is awaiting action by the Senate. CS/SB 688 will be heard on the Senate floor on Monday, March 4. The League supports these bills. (Cruz)
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Short-Term Rental Bills in Limbo
CS/CS/HB 1537 (Griffitts) and CS/SB 280 (DiCeglie), relating to short-term rentals, would limit what local governments can require as part of a local registration program and attempts to provide new enforcement measures to suspend or revoke licenses for noncompliance. The bills also contain additional accountability measures for advertising platforms and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The bills maintain the grandfather for ordinances adopted prior to June 1, 2011. There is a chance that CS/SB 280 could be up next week on the House floor. If this bill is placed on the agenda, be on the lookout for an Alert on how you can engage on this issue. (Wagoner)
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Senate Sovereign Immunity Bill on the Move
CS/CS/CS/SB 472 (Brodeur) and CS/CS/HB 569 (McFarland) aim to revise liability limits for tort claims against government entities. CS/CS/HB 569 seeks to increase the sovereign immunity caps to $400,000 per person and $600,000 per incident.
On Monday, CS/CS/CS/SB 472 was amended in its final committee reducing the cap increase to $300,000 per person and $500,000 per incident, addressing concerns raised by the League and other stakeholders. The Senate bill is now awaiting action on the Senate floor. A League-supported amendment has been filed by Senator Brodeur that will address remaining concerns related to the claims bill process and insurance requirements. CS/CS/HB 569 is awaiting consideration by the House Judiciary Committee, which is currently not scheduled to meet again this Session. (Cruz)
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Cybersecurity Liability Bill Passes the House
On Friday, CS/CS/HB 473 (Giallombardo) passed the House on a vote of 81-28. The bill would exempt local governments from liability in connection with a cybersecurity event if the local entity is in substantial compliance with the currently required training and standards. CS/SB 658 (DiCeglie) will be heard on the Senate floor on Tuesday, March 5. (Wagoner)
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Bill Dealing with Advanced Community Permitting Passes the Senate
CS/CS/HB 665 (McClain) and CS/CS/CS/SB 812 (Ingoglia) are comprehensive bills dealing with the expedited approval of residential building permits. CS/CS/CS/SB 812 was amended and now only applies to municipalities with a population of 10,000 with 25 acres or more of contiguous land for residential or agricultural purposes. The bills do include a few protections for cities, including an indemnification clause and a requirement for applicants to have a performance bond of up to 130%. For more information on what these bills do, click here to view the bill summary. CS/CS/CS/SB 812 passed the Senate unanimously and is now awaiting action by the House. (Chapman)
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Government Accountability Bill Amended on House Floor
On Friday, CS/CS/HB 735 (Andrade) was amended on the House floor to remove a provision for elected city officials from cities with less than 500 in population allowing them to file a limited financial disclosure (Form 1) rather than a full financial disclosure (Form 6). As amended, the bill requires all persons lobbying before cities and counties to register with the Florida Commission on Ethics. It also prohibits a city manager or city attorney contract from being executed or renewed in the 8 months preceding the election of any member of the governing body. The House will vote on the final passage of CS/CS/HB 735 on Monday, March 4. The Senate companion, CS/CS/SB 734 (Ingoglia), is waiting to be heard in its final committee of reference, the Senate Appropriations Committee. (O’Hara)
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Bills Relating to Tangible Personal Property Tax Exemption Headed to the Senate
HJR 7075 (Alvarez) is a proposed constitutional amendment to increase the exemption on tangible personal property taxes from the current $25,000 rate to $50,000. The bill is waiting to be heard on the House floor. The bill has a projected fiscal impact of -$100 million. If this bill has a negative impact on your city, and you have a contract lobbyist, contact them to engage on this proposed constitutional amendment.
HB 7077 (Alvarez) is the implementing bill for HJR 7075 and is self-executing upon approval by voters. The implementing bill does include a fiscal offset for Financially Constrained Counties. On Friday, both bills passed on the House floor and are awaiting action by the Senate. (Chapman)
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Bill Relating to Local Government Actions Passes the Senate
CS/CS/SB 1628 (Collins) and CS/HB 1547 (McClure) remove exemptions from the application of SB 170, relating to local ordinances and business impact estimates, passed in the 2023 Legislative Session. CS/CS/SB 1628 requires cities to prepare a business impact estimate for any city-initiated comprehensive plan amendment or land development regulation. In addition, CS/HB 1547 would also require the enforcement of plan amendments and land development regulations to be suspended if the ordinance adopting the plan amendment or land development regulation is challenged as being arbitrary, unreasonable or expressly preempted by state law. On Friday, CS/CS/SB 1628 passed the Senate on a vote of 30-1 and is awaiting action by the House. Prior to passage, the Senate amended CS/CS/SB 1628 to specify that local government bond issues exceeding $500 million can only undergo referendum approval during a general election. (O’Hara)
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Bills Dealing with Residential Building Permits Continues to Move
On Monday, CS/CS/CS/SB 684 (DiCeglie) was amended and passed its final committee of reference unanimously. The bill is a comprehensive building permit bill. The bill drastically changes the process that local governments have to go through before a building permit is approved, including significantly reducing the timeframes for approval of permits. CS/CS/CS/HB 267 (Esposito) is in the posture to pass off the House floor next week. (Branch)
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Changes to the Live Local Act Headed to the Governor
On Wednesday, CS/CS/SB 328 (Calatayud) passed the House on a vote of 112-1 and is now headed to the Governor. CS/CS/SB 328 is a comprehensive bill that makes several revisions to the Live Local Act from the 2023 Session. The bill amends sections of the Live Local Act that deal with zoning, height and density. The bill also appropriates $100 million to the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program. (Branch)
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Bill Relating to Millage Rates Passes the House
CS/CS/HB 1195 (Garrison) and CS/SB 1322 (Ingoglia) would require cities to have super-majority approval of the governing body to increase the millage rate. On Friday, CS/CS/HB 1195 passed the House on a vote of 85-21 and is awaiting action by the Senate. (Chapman)
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