Week 2

January 19, 2024

We hope you will join us for FLC Legislative Action Days on January 29-31, 2024. To RSVP, click HERE. Contact Mary Edenfield if you have any questions or concerns.

Several Bills to Take Center Stage Next Week:

Bill Increasing Homestead Tax Exemption Up Next Week

On Tuesday, HJR 7017 (Buchanan) will be heard in its second and final committee of reference, the House State Affairs Committee at 10:00 am. The bill would apply an annual increase in exemption values by the Consumer Price Index percentages. HJR 7017 is a constitutional amendment and would require the approval of the Florida Legislature and the voters of Florida.

The League is opposed. HJR 7017 will have a recurring and increasingly detrimental impact on local governments, year over year, putting essential services at risk. 

This bill needs guardrails (like the Save Our Homes Assessment Limitation already in place) to prevent cities from having to choose between providing less services or raising taxes. This is not a tax break, this is a tax shift hurting renters and businesses.

Please educate your lawmaker as to the impact this bill will have on your community. We recommend working with your city manager and finance director to use your local data to paint this picture. (Chapman)

Bills Relating to Millage Rates Up Next Week

On Monday, January 22, SB 1322 (Ingoglia) and HB 1195 (Garrison) will be heard in their first committees of reference. The bills would require local governments to have super-majority approval of the governing body to increase the millage rate. (Chapman)

Cybersecurity Incident Liability Up Next Week

HB 473 (Giallombardo) and SB 658 (DiCeglie) would exempt local governments from liability in connection with a cybersecurity event if the local entity is in compliance with the currently required training and standards. HB 473 will be heard in its first committee of reference, the House Commerce Committee, on Tuesday, January 23. (Wagoner)

Bill Dealing with Advanced Community Permitting Up Next Week

On Wednesday, CS/HB 665 (McClain) was heard in its first committee of reference and passed on a vote of 11-2. The bill is a comprehensive bill dealing with the expedited approval of residential building permits. The bill would require counties with a population of 75,000 or more and municipalities with a population of 30,000 or more to create a program to expedite the process of issuing building permits for residential subdivisions. The bill was amended in committee to change the date of compliance from August 15, 2024, to October 1, 2024. The bill does include a few protections for cities, including an indemnification clause and a requirement for applicants to have a performance bond of up to 130%. SB 812 (Ingoglia) will be heard in its first committee of reference, Senate Community Affairs, on Monday, January 22. It is important to note that the compliance date in SB 812 is still August 15, 2024. (Chapman)

Stay Informed: A Recap of This Week's Top Stories:

Bill Restricting Enterprise Fund Transfers Moves Forward

SB 1510 (Brodeur) and CS/HB 1277 (Busatta Cabrera) would prevent municipalities from realizing a reasonable rate of return on their utilities (water, wastewater, gas, or electric) by capping transfers of utility revenues to fund general government services. The bills would also cut statutorily authorized surcharges on extraterritorial customers in half, starting in July 2025.

On Friday, CS/HB 1277 was substantially amended in committee. Click HERE to see the today's Legislative Update on the bill. (O’Hara)

FLC Priority: Bill Relating to Alternative Mobility Funding Systems Passes Second Committee

On Wednesday, HB 479 (Robinson, W.) was heard in its second committee of reference and passed unanimously. The bill attempts to clarify current law regarding mobility plans and mobility fees by stating that only one local government may charge for transportation impacts and that local government must be the one that is issuing the building permit. SB 688 (Martin) is waiting to be heard in the Senate Transportation Committee. (Cruz)

Short-Term Rental Bill Amended and Ready for the Senate Floor

On Thursday, CS/SB 280 (DiCeglie), relating to short-term rentals, was heard in its second and final committee of reference and passed on a vote of 12-5. The bill would standardize what local governments can require as part of a local registration program and provides 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 bill maintains the grandfather for ordinances adopted prior to June 1, 2011. As this bill advances to the Senate floor, we are anticipating an amendment that would grandfather existing ordinances adopted prior to 2015. If you've adopted a short-term rental ordinance within the past decade, it's crucial to contact your House and Senate legislators and advocate for a prospective grandfather date to preserve your current short-term rental regulations. The House companion, HB 1537 (Griffitts), is waiting to be heard in its first committee of reference. (Wagoner)

Changes to the Live Local Act Temporarily Postponed

This week, CS/SB 328 (Calatayud) was temporarily postponed in its second and final committee of reference. 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. The House companion, HB 1239 (Lopez, V.), is still waiting to be heard in its first committee of reference. (Branch)

View All Legislative Bill Summaries