Week Three: January 30, 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 2026 Legislative Session is now in its third week, and momentum is building. With session already one-third complete, sponsors are working aggressively to move bills onto committee agendas in the weeks ahead. For a refresher of some of the terminology that will be used throughout this session, please click here.

Legislative Action Days

Thank you to all the city officials and staff who joined us for Legislative Action Days to ensure local voices were heard in the Capitol!

We once again had record-breaking numbers, emphasizing the collective power of local voices making local choices. Watch this video for a recap.

Department of Government Efficiency

The Florida Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) released a report on local government spending. Click here to view the report.

Two bills filed this session include overlap with themes raised in the report:

• HB 1303 (Miller) and SB 1572 (DiCeglie) seek to formally establish the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight to audit local governments, impose fines for financial noncompliance, enhance whistle-blower protections, and expand contract transparency requirements.
• HB 1329 (Benarroch) and SB 1566 (DiCeglie) propose to expand local government budget posting requirements, increase budget transparency, require budget-cutting exercises, and prohibit publicly funded diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

For further information, please contact Florida League of Cities’ Legislative Advocate Sam Wagoner. We will continue to monitor developments and keep you informed throughout the 2026 Legislative Session.

Bills Heard 


Modification of Limitations on Property Assessment Increases (Oppose)

CS/CS/HJR 213 (Griffitts) proposes a constitutional amendment to change the assessment valuation caps for non-school property tax levies (cities, counties, special districts) from being adjusted each year.

Currently, adjustments to homestead property valuation are capped at 3% or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower, and non-homestead properties are capped at 10% or CPI, whichever is lower. The proposed constitutional amendment would change the assessment valuation changes from annually to every three years, with homestead properties capped at 3% or CPI, whichever is lower, and non-homestead properties capped at 15% or CPI, whichever is lower. (Chapman)

CS/CS/HJR 213 was heard on Tuesday, January 27, in the House Ways & Means Committee and passed by an 11-4 vote. The bill has been heard by all three of its committees of reference and is now eligible to be heard on the floor.

Please click here to view a recording of the committee hearing. Florida League of Cities’ Legislative Advocate Charles Chapman’s testimony can be found at the 18:25 mark.

The League would also like to thank the following elected officials who came to Tallahassee to testify before the State Affairs Committee:

• Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen (Coral Springs)
• Mayor Woody Brown (Largo)
• Mayor Chris Cloudman (DeLand)
• Commissioner Karen Rafferty (Belleair Bluffs)
• Commissioner Joshua Simmons (Coral Springs)
• Mayor Molly Young (Tequesta)

The League is strongest when advocacy comes directly from our members, and we greatly appreciate it when you take the time to travel to Tallahassee to advocate for your communities.

Local Business Taxes (Oppose)

HB 103 (Botana) proposes to repeal Chapter 205, Florida Statutes, and to eliminate local governments' ability to levy a local business tax. (Chapman)

For a detailed discussion of the impacts of this bill, please see this letter sent to Rep. Botana.

The bill was on the agenda for the House State Affairs Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 27. However, the bill was temporarily postponed. It has been added to the agenda for the House State Affairs Committee’s meeting on Tuesday, February 3, at 8 a.m.

For a full list of bills filed related to property taxes and more bills the League is tracking, please see the 2026 Legislative Bill Summaries.

Local Government Land Development Regulations and Orders (Oppose)

CS/SB 948 (McClain) creates the Florida Starter Homes Act, limiting local governments’ authority over single-family residential zoning. The bill prohibits land development regulations on residential lots unless they are the least restrictive means of advancing a compelling governmental interest. (O’Hara)  

This bill was heard Tuesday, January 27, in the Senate Community Affairs Committee and passed by a 7-1 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee, its second of three committees of reference.

Please click here to view a recording of the committee hearing. Florida League of Cities’ Deputy General Counsel Rebecca O’Hara’s testimony can be found at the 1:40:44 mark.

Preemption to the State (Oppose)

SB 1444 (Martin) broadly expands state preemption over local regulatory authority in multiple subject areas. (Cruz)

The bill was heard in the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Tuesday, January 27, and passed on a 6-2 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee, its second of three committees of reference.

Please click here to view a recording of the committee hearing. Florida League of Cities’ Legislative Counsel David Cruz’s testimony can be found at the 40:44 mark.

Impact Fees (Oppose)

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 Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee on Wednesday, January 28, and passed on a 12-0 vote. The bill is now in the House Housing, Agriculture & Tourism Subcommittee, its second of three committees of reference.

Provision of Municipal Utility Service to Owners Outside the Municipal Limits (Oppose)

HB 1075 (Sirois) and SB 1014 (Mayfield) mandate that a municipal utility provide extraterritorial service. (O’Hara)

HB 1075 was heard in the House Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee on Wednesday, January 28, and passed on a 14-1 vote. The bill is now in the House Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee, its second of three committees of reference.

SB 1014 is on the agenda for the Senate Regulated Industries Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 3, at 1:00 p.m.

Design Professional Contracts (Oppose)

SB 888 (Martin) shifts risk away from design professionals and onto local governments. The bill prohibits professional services contracts from requiring design professionals (architects, engineers, surveyors, etc.) to assume liability beyond their own negligence, recklessness, or intentional wrongful conduct, or that of their employees or agents. The bill applies to contracts entered on or after July 1, 2026. (Wagoner)

The bill was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, January 27, and passed on a 10-0 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee, its second of three committees of reference.

Standards for Storm Water Systems (Oppose)

CS/SB 558 (Burgess) requires city- and county-owned stormwater systems to follow Florida Department of Transportation's statewide construction standards when installing new storm pipes and related structures, overriding any local standards. The bill also requires final inspections to be completed by an independent, qualified third party who has no controlling financial interest in the company that installed the system. (Singer)

The bill was heard in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, January 27, and passed on a 7-1 vote. The bill is now in the Senate Community Affairs Committee, its second of three committees of reference.

On Agenda

The following bills have been scheduled for committee hearings next 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)

The bill is on the agenda for the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 3, at 1:00 p.m.

Utility Services (Oppose)

SB 1724 (Martin) applies to extraterritorial service by municipal gas, electric, water, and sewer utilities. The bill limits how much municipal utilities can use revenue generated from services provided outside city limits for general government purposes (capped at 10%). The bill also removes the first and second 25% surcharges on extraterritorial water and sewer services. (O’Hara)

The bill is on the agenda for the Senate Regulated Industries Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 3, at 1:00 p.m.

Clerks of Court (Oppose)

HB 925 (Trabulsy) is a comprehensive bill dealing with the reallocation of court-related fees and penalties related to remittances to the clerk's fine and forfeiture trust fund. (Wagoner)

The bill is on the agenda for the House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee meeting on Tuesday, February 3, at 2:30 p.m.

Transportation Infrastructure Land Development Regulations (Oppose)

SB 1342 (Rouson) imposes substantial development mandates on rural cities and cities with bus rapid transit, rail service, commuter rail, intercity rail service, or fixed guideway transportation systems. (O’Hara)

The bill is on the agenda for the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Tuesday, February 3, at 3:30 p.m.

Affordable Housing/Live Local Act (Monitor)

SB 1548 (Calatayud) amends the Live Local Act (LLA) and the Florida Fair Housing Act. The bill requires municipalities and counties to authorize LLA projects on property owned by a county, municipality, or school board. (O’Hara)



The bill is on the agenda for the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Tuesday, February 3, at 3:30 p.m.

Homestead Assessment Limitation Transfer (Monitor)

HB 6027 (Fabricio) seeks to clarify Florida’s homestead property tax rules by removing confusing wording that suggested a homeowner could only transfer tax savings from their most recent home. (Chapman)

The bill is on the agenda for the House Ways & Means Committee meeting on Monday, February 2, at 3:30 p.m.

On the Radar

The following bills have not been heard or placed on an agenda but are important to keep under observation.

Affordable Housing/Live Local Act (Oppose)

HB 1389 (Redondo) expands the types of parcels eligible for a Live Local Act (LLA) project and revises the minimum affordability period and percentage of units that must be affordable to qualify for the LLA. (O’Hara)

Beach Management (Oppose)

HB 1297 (Greco) requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to update criteria for designating “critically eroded beaches,” including consideration of repeated local, private, or grant-funded repair efforts. The bills mandate automatic designation for beaches meeting specified dune and seabed conditions when local governments have a dedicated financial plan to preserve required matching funds. Its companion, SB 636 (Leek), has been heard in its first committee of reference and is on the agenda for its second committee of reference. (Singer)

Infill Redevelopment (Oppose)

HB 979 (Borrero) applies to the redevelopment of “environmentally impacted” land within Orange, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties and the municipalities within them. The bills require a city or county to permit certain property to be developed up to the highest density and intensity allowed in any adjacent zoning district within the same jurisdiction that permits residential uses by right. Its companion, SB 1434 (Calatayud), has been heard in its first committee of reference and is waiting to be heard in its second committee of reference. (O’Hara)

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.