Week Seven: February 27, 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.

We are officially in the final quarter of the scheduled 60-day session! This is a crucial milestone because we are reaching the end of committee meetings. The House has no policy committee meetings scheduled on its block calendar for the coming week, and the Senate Rules provide that committees will cease meeting after next Tuesday. From that point forward, all bills will be heard exclusively on each chamber’s floor.

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

Property Taxes

Governor Ron DeSantis and Senate President Ben Albritton both indicated this week that they do not expect the Legislature to reach agreement on a property tax proposal during the 2026 regular session. Both also acknowledged the likelihood of a future special session, though no timeline has been identified.

Bills Heard

Local Government Spending (Oppose) 

CS/CS/HB 1329 (Benarroch) and CS/CS/SB 1566 (DiCeglie) significantly expand local government budget transparency requirements by mandating earlier and longer online posting of budgets and amendments in searchable, downloadable formats, with the House bill also requiring salary and travel expense disclosures and a public 10% budget-cutting exercise. (Wagoner)

CS/CS/HB 1329 was heard in the House State Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday and passed on a 17-6 vote. Thank you to Commissioner Karen Rafferty (Belleair Bluffs) for testifying before the State Affairs Committee. The League is strongest when our members are directly engaged in advocacy.

The House bill has now been heard in all committees of reference and has been placed on the Special Order Calendar for Wednesday, March 4, to be heard on the House floor.

CS/CS/SB 1566 was heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government on Wednesday and passed on a 6-2 vote. Click here or view the video below to watch FLC’s Legislative Advocate Sam Wagoner testify before the committee.

The Senate bill is now in the Senate Rules Committee, its final committee of reference, and has been placed on the Rules Committee agenda for Tuesday, March 3 at 9:00 a.m.

Utility Services (Oppose)

CS/CS/HB 1451 (Busatta) eliminates the automatic 25% surcharge on extraterritorial water and sewer service, requires equal rates for certain inter-municipal utility customers, and mandates annual reporting to the Florida Public Service Commission starting in 2027 for utilities providing extraterritorial services. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 1451 was heard in the House Commerce Committee meeting on Tuesday and passed on a 21-3 vote. The bill has now been heard in all of its committees of reference. CS/CS/HB 1451 is on the Special Order Calendar for Tuesday, March 3, and will be heard on the House floor.

CS/CS/CS/SB 1014 (Mayfield) and CS/CS/HB 1075 (Sirois) mandate that a municipal utility provide extraterritorial service. CS/CS/HB 1075 requires municipalities to approve certain wastewater facility upgrades within their boundaries and mandates that utilities providing extraterritorial water or wastewater service enter into interlocal agreements with counties that designate economic development zones within the utility’s service area. (O’Hara)

The Senate bill was heard on the Senate floor on Wednesday and passed on a 37-0 vote. The bill is now in House Messages.

The House bill was heard in the House Commerce Committee meeting on Tuesday and passed on a 17-6 vote. The bill has been heard in all committees of reference and is eligible to be heard on the House floor.

Qualified Contractors (Oppose)

CS/CS/CS/HB 927 (Sapp) and CS/CS/SB 1138 (Massullo) require certain counties and municipalities to create development preapplication consulting programs and use qualified private contractors to assist with reviewing specific development approvals. (Cruz)

CS/CS/CS/HB 927 was heard in the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday and passed on a 23-2 vote. The bill has been heard in all committees of reference and is now eligible to be heard on the House floor.

CS/CS/SB 1138 was heard in the Senate Rules Committee and passed on a 23-0 vote. The bill has now been heard in all committees of reference and is eligible to be heard on the Senate floor.

Affordable Housing/Live Local Act

SB 1548 (Calatayud) (Monitor) and CS/CS/HB 1389 (Redondo) (Oppose) amend the Live Local Act (LLA) and the Florida Fair Housing Act. The House bill proposes to eliminate the authority to opt out of the “Missing Middle” property tax exemption, prohibit local governments from applying setback or step-back requirements to certain LLA projects, and require local governments to adopt an ordinance by December 2026 to allow accessory dwelling units on any residential property. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 1389 was heard in the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday and passed on an 18-5 vote. The bill has been heard in all committees of reference and has been placed on the Special Order Calendar for Wednesday, March 4, to be heard on the House floor.

SB 1548 is on the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee agenda for Monday, March 2, at 12:00 p.m. The bill is also on the agenda for the Senate Rules Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 3, at 9:00 a.m., contingent upon passage by the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee.

Transportation (Oppose)

CS/CS/CS/SB 1220 (Massullo) and CS/CS/HB 1233 (Griffitts) are broad transportation bills that contain multiple provisions with local government implications, including provisions that would narrow municipal authority over the placement, maintenance, regulation, and permitting of communications facilities in the right-of-way. (Singer)

CS/CS/CS/SB 1220 was heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on Tuesday and passed on a 17-0 vote. The bill has been heard in all committees of reference and is eligible to be heard on the Senate floor.

CS/CS/HB 1233 was heard in the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday and passed on a 23-1 vote. The bill has been heard in all committees of reference and is eligible to be heard on the House floor.

On Agenda

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

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)

SB 1366 is on the Senate Rules Committee agenda for Tuesday, March 3, at 9:00 a.m.

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 is on the House Special Order Calendar for Wednesday, March 4, and will be heard on the House floor.

View All Legislative Bill Summaries

What You Can Do 


Please reach out to your local legislators 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.