Week 9

May 3, 2025

The 2025 Legislative Session continues! Keep reading for more information about the extension that was announced late last night. It has been quite an eventful session, and we have a robust list of bills and policies to discuss. On Tap @ the Cap is your weekly source for updates on key legislation, helping you stay informed and engaged. To see the full list of bills impacting cities, view FLC’s Legislative Bill Summaries.

 

FLC members, there will not be a Monday Morning Call-In for the foreseeable future.

 

Join us on May 15 at 2:00 p.m. ET for our annual Post-Legislative Session webinar to learn what major legislation with municipal impact passed and failed during the 2025 Legislative Session. Register Now

 

Due to the unique nature of certain legislative terms, we have included the Language of the Legislature guide created by the Florida House of Representatives to help enhance your advocacy efforts. With that in mind, let’s begin.


THANK YOU


We would like to begin this On Tap by expressing our profound appreciation to the members of the Florida League of Cities. We have shared a large number of alerts and calls to action throughout session, and we are grateful for our members’ amazing response. The League has witnessed a prolific amount of engagement from members this year, from participating in Legislative Action Days to communicating concerns to legislators in your district. We could not have had as productive a session without all of you who stepped up to help defend the tenets of home rule. To our members, on behalf of the Florida League of Cities staff: THANK YOU!

Extension of Session

Yesterday was the 60th day of the Legislative session. Usually, this would be the last day the legislature meets during its annual session and the day on which the chambers would sine die. However, with budget negotiations still in flux, the Legislature must continue its function until a budget can be agreed upon and sent to the Governor.

 

The chambers released a concurrent resolution that extended session until June 6th. The plan is for both chambers of the Legislature to return to Tallahassee and continue session on May 12th. During the extension, only the bills specifically mentioned in the concurrent resolution will be heard. All other bills not heard, voted for, passed, and enrolled have been withdrawn from consideration. The bills of note to municipalities that can still be considered during the extension are the following:

  • CS/SB 110 (Simon) – Rural Communities. This bill contains language relating to the proposed rural renaissance program; and
  • CS/HB 7033 (Ways & Means) – Taxation. This bill contains a repeal of the ability for cities to opt out of the “Missing Middle” property tax exemption created by the Live Local Act.

 

Keep in mind that other bills being considered during the extension may be amended to introduce policies pertaining to cities. The League will keep you informed if/when this occurs.

 

House Select Committee on Property Taxes

On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Daniel Perez delivered remarks on the House floor that led to the announcement of the creation of a select committee on property taxes. The Speaker shared his concerns about property taxes and his desire to have the select committee produce one or more joint resolutions reforming the very nature of property taxes as we know them.

 

Speaker Perez introduced five proposals for the select committee to discuss throughout the summer, fall, and into the start of the 2026 Legislative session next January. A list of the members appointed to serve on the select committee may be found here.

 

Members, we are going to need your help. Please stay attentive to the select committee’s meetings and proposals throughout the summer and fall. The proposals offered by the committee have the potential to severely handicap cities’ funding sources, forcing cities to completely alter municipal operations and infrastructure. Please bring the same strong awareness and engagement you’ve shown throughout session to this issue as well.

The following is a brief recap of the key bills impacting municipalities and their status. Please note that a limited number of bills will be heard during the extension. Bills not mentioned in the extension and not passed by the chambers will no longer be considered. 

Community Redevelopment Agencies (Oppose) – Failed

CS/CS/HB 991 (Giallombardo) and CS/SB 1242 (McClain) sought to significantly limit and phase out Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs). The bills would have sunset CRAs, prohibited CRAs from initiating new projects or issuing new debt, and would have banned the creation of new CRAs after July 1, 2025. (Cruz)

Sovereign Immunity (Oppose) – Failed

CS/HB 301 (McFarland) and SB 1570 (DiCeglie) would have increased the statutory limits on liability for tort claims against the state and its agencies and subdivisions. (Cruz)

Affordable Housing (Oppose) – Passed

CS/CS/SB 1730 (Calatayud) revises a myriad of land use policy provisions within the Live Local Act, including provisions relating to zoning eligibility and restrictions on height, density, and non-residential use. CS/CS/CS/HB 943 (Lopez, V.), the House companion of the bill, did not pass. (O’Hara)

Property Tax Exemptions (Oppose) – Failed

HJR 357 (Chamberlin) was a proposed constitutional amendment that would have established a new $100,000 property tax exemption applicable to all properties in Florida, including those currently not eligible for homestead exemptions. (Chapman)

Utility Services (Oppose) – Failed

SB 1704 (Calatayud) and CS/CS/HB 1523 (Busatta) capped municipal utility enterprise fund transfers and eliminated authority to impose a 25% surcharge for extraterritorial water and wastewater service. (O’Hara)

Local Option Taxes (Oppose) – Failed

CS/CS/HB 1221 (Miller) and CS/CS/SB 1664 (Trumbull) proposed significant changes to the process for adopting and renewing local option taxes and surtaxes, which would have required voter approval via referendum rather than adoption by ordinance, with limited exceptions for previously authorized bond indebtedness. (Chapman)

Property Tax Benefits for Certain Residential Properties Subject to a Long-term Lease (Oppose) – Failed

CS/CS/HJR 1257 (Busatta) and CS/SJR 1510 (Avila) proposed a constitutional amendment to extend homestead exemption benefits and assessment limitations to additional properties owned by homestead property owners that are leased for terms of six months or more to other persons. CS/CS/HB 1259 (Busatta) and CS/SB 1512 (Avila) were the implementing bills. (Chapman)

Emergencies (Oppose) – Passed

CS/CS/CS/HB 1535 (McFarland) and CS/CS/SB 180 (DiCeglie) are comprehensive bills relating to emergency management that revise several disaster recovery procedures and expand training requirements for municipal emergency officials. (Singer)

Accessory Dwelling Units (Oppose) – Failed

CS/CS/CS/SB 184 (Gaetz) and CS/CS/CS/HB 247 (Conerly) would have required local governments to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) by-right by December 1, 2025. The bills would have also required an ADU to be assessed separately for ad valorem tax purposes if the primary residence is homesteaded property. (O’Hara)

Local Business Taxes (Oppose) – Failed

HB 503 (Botana) and SB 1196 (Truenow) sought to cap cities’ ability to generate revenue from Local Business Tax. (Chapman)

 

Utility Relocation (Oppose) - Passed

CS/HB 703 (Robinson, W.) and CS/CS/CS/SB 818 (McClain) create the Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program within the Department of Commerce to assist communications service providers with the cost of relocating utility infrastructure when required by local governments. (Singer)

Recovery Residences (Oppose) – Passed

CS/CS/HB 1163 (Owen) and CS/CS/CS/SB 954 (Gruters) require cities to allow the establishment of a recovery residence in districts zoned for multi-family use. (Wagoner)

Stormwater Management Systems (Oppose) – Failed

CS/CS/SB 810 (Burgess) would have imposed new mandates on municipal separate storm sewer system entities by requiring them to conduct annual operation and maintenance inspections of all permitted stormwater management systems they own or operate. Some of the language of the bill related to inspections was incorporated into CS/CS/SB 180, however, the inspection requirements were significantly improved. (Singer)

Homestead Exemptions (Oppose) – Failed

SB 1018 (Ingoglia) was the implementing bill for SJR 1016 (Ingoglia), which proposed to delete the school district property tax levy homestead exemption and increase the non-school property tax levy exemption from $25,000 to $75,000. (Chapman)

Revisions to Statutes Related to Affordable Housing (Oppose) – Failed

HB 923 (Lopez, V.) and SB 1594 (McClain) revised current laws relating to the various ad valorem tax exemptions for projects providing affordable housing. (O’Hara)

Building Permits for Single-Family Dwellings (Oppose) – Failed

CS/HB 1035 (Esposito) and CS/SB 1128 (Ingoglia) prevented single-family home building permits from expiring before the next update of the Florida Building Code and provided that permit applications in areas affected by a state of emergency within the past 24 months if certified by a licensed architect or engineer were to be deemed approved. (O’Hara)

Land Use and Development Regulations (Oppose) – Failed

CS/SB 1118 (McClain) and HB 1209 (Steele) were broad growth management bills that would have reduced local government authority over land use and development regulations, favoring developers. A key concern for municipalities was the requirement for administrative approval of certain developments within agricultural enclaves, overriding any local prohibitions in the future land use map or comprehensive plan. (O’Hara)

Development Permits and Orders (Oppose) – Failed

CS/CS/HB 579 (Overdorf) and CS/SB 1080 (McClain) revised timeframes for cities to process applications for approvals of development permits or development orders. The bills provided penalties to cities for failure to meet required permitting timeframes. (O’Hara)

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Oppose) – Passed

CS/CS/CS/HB 651 (Tuck) and CS/CS/CS/SB 700 (Truenow) are comprehensive legislation for several priorities of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Of note to municipalities, the bills prohibit the use of fluoride in a public water system. (Singer)

Transportation (Monitor) – Passed

CS/CS/CS/HB 1397 (Abbott) and CS/CS/CS/SB 1662 (Collins) are comprehensive bills addressing transportation policy. The bills prevent municipalities from prohibiting or requiring a permit for the installation of a public sewer transmission line placed and maintained within and under publicly dedicated rights-of-way as part of a septic-to-sewer conversion where the work is being performed under certain state permits. (Singer)

Department of Transportation (Monitor) – Passed

CS/CS/CS/HB 567 (McFarland) and CS/CS/CS/SB 462 (DiCeglie) are comprehensive bills addressing the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The bills provide that a publicly owned airport is prohibited from charging a landing fee established on or after January 1, 2025, for aircraft operations conducted by an accredited nonprofit institution located within the state that offers a four-year collegiate aviation program. (Singer)

View All Legislative Bill Summaries