Week Five: February 13, 2026

On Tap @ the Cap is your weekly update on what’s happening in Tallahassee during the legislative session and what it means for Florida’s cities.

The House and the Senate both released their budgets this week. This timeline is running behind schedule, leaving significant work ahead if lawmakers intend to conclude the session within 60 days. The House's budget is $113.6 billion, while the Senate's proposed budget is $115 billion.

The Senate's proposed budget is almost identical to the budget passed last year, while the House's budget proposal is about $1.6 billion lower. Both the House's and the Senate's proposed budgets are less than the Governor's recommended budget, with the House about $3.8 billion less and the Senate about $2.4 billion.

Several bills heard this week are already slated for additional committee hearings next week. For a refresher of some of the terminology that will be used throughout this session, please click here.

Bills Heard 


Suits Against the Government (Monitor) 

SB 1366 (Brodeur) is the Senate’s proposal to reform Florida’s sovereign immunity statute. The bill increases tort liability caps for claims accruing on or after October 1, 2026, to $300,000 per person and $450,000 per incident, while preserving the existing requirement that any payment above those caps must be approved by the Legislature through a claims bill unless fully paid within available insurance limits. The bill provides that adjustments to the caps will be made every five years using a CPI-based formula. (Cruz)



The bill was heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on Thursday, February 12, and passed on a 16-2 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Rules Committee, its final committee of reference.

Utility Services (Oppose)

CS/HB 1451 (Busatta) and CS/CS/SB 1724 (Martin) eliminate the automatic 25% surcharge on extraterritorial water and sewer service. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 1451 was heard in the House Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee meeting on Thursday and passed on a 12-3 vote. The bill is now in the House Commerce Committee, its final committee of reference.

CS/CS/SB 1724 was heard in the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Tuesday and passed on a 7-0 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Rules Committee, its final committee of reference, and has been placed on the agenda for the Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 17, at 12:00 p.m.

CS/CS/SB 1014 (Mayfield) mandates that a municipal utility must provide extraterritorial service to qualifying applicants within one-half mile of a utility’s main line. (O’Hara)

The bill was heard in the Senate Community Affairs Committee meeting on Tuesday and passed on an 8-0 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Rules Committee, its final committee of reference, and is on the agenda for the Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 17, at 12:00 p.m.

Local Government Spending (Oppose)

CS/HB 1329 (Benarroch) and CS/SB 1566 (DiCeglie) propose expanding local government budget posting requirements, increasing budget transparency, and requiring budget-cutting exercises. (Wagoner)

CS/HB 1329 was heard Thursday in the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee and passed on an 11-0 vote. The bill is now in the House State Affairs Committee, its final committee of reference.

CS/SB 1566 was heard Tuesday in the House Community Affairs and passed on a 7-1 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government, its second of three committees of reference.

Qualified Contractors (Oppose)

CS/SB 1138 (Massullo) shifts local land-use, plat, and development application review to private reviewers and restricts local control. (Cruz)

CS/SB 1138 was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee and passed on an 11-0 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Rules Committee, its final committee of reference.

Impact Fees (Oppose)

CS/CS/HB 1139 (Gentry) substantially revises Florida’s impact fee framework by imposing new substantive and procedural constraints on how local governments, school districts, and special districts calculate, justify, and increase impact fees. (Cruz)

The bill was heard in the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday and passed on a 25-0 vote. The bill has been heard in all of its committees of reference and is now eligible to be heard on the House floor.

On Agenda

The following bills have been placed on committee agendas for the upcoming week.

Land Use Regulations for Local Governments Affected by Natural Disasters (Support)

SB 840 (DiCeglie) narrows 2025's SB 180, which related to post-disaster land-use restrictions for cities impacted by a hurricane, and ties applicability more closely to hurricane damage. The bill restores key local planning authority, refocuses limitations on actions that delay repair or reconstruction, removes the private right of action and one-sided attorney fees, and shortens the retroactive land-use freeze tied to recent storms, establishing a clearer framework going forward. The bill shortens SB 180’s (Chapter 2025-190) end date for the “more restrictive or burdensome” land-use restrictions from October 1, 2027, to June 30, 2026. (Singer)

SB 840 is on the agenda for the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, February 17, at 12:00 p.m.

Utility Services (Oppose)

CS/CS/SB 1014 (Mayfield) and CS/CS/SB 1724 (Martin) are both on the agenda for the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, February 17, at 12:00 p.m. These bills have been discussed above.

Local Business Taxes (Oppose)

CS/HB 103 (Botana) proposes to repeal Chapter 205, Florida Statutes, and eliminate the ability for local governments to levy local business tax. (Chapman)

For a detailed discussion of the impacts of this bill, please see this legislative update.

The bill has been placed on the House Special Order Calendar for Tuesday, February 17, meaning it will be heard by the entire chamber of the House of Representatives on the House floor.

Transportation Infrastructure Land Development Regulations (Oppose)

CS/SB 1342 (Rouson) imposes development mandates on cities that have a bus rapid transit service, rail service, or streetcar system. (O’Hara)

The bill is on the agenda for the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development meeting on Wednesday, February 18 at 8:30 a.m.

View All Legislative Bill Summaries

What You Can Do 


Please reach out to your local legislators, particularly your state senator, and inform them of how your municipality raises and uses property taxes. We want to ensure legislators are aware of the real-world implications of property tax reform for municipalities and their citizens. Find your legislators' contact information in the Capitol Contacts Directory.