Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The 2025 Legislative Session commences on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Legislators have filed over 1,800 bills in the past four months covering a wide range of issues. During committee weeks, there was a delay in the normal deliberations of bills due to a record-breaking snow storm and three Special Sessions. Hundreds of bills have not yet seen their first committee stop or even been referenced.  

Several bills implement the priorities of Senate President Albritton and House Speaker Perez.

President Albritton’s priorities include the following legislation: 

• Senator Simon’s Florida’s Rural Renaissance Legislation – Senate Bill 110. The proposal is covered in depth in the Memorandum released by President Albritton. Broadly, the legislation seeks to:
• Increase support and partnerships with rural communities by expanding grants to rural counties for infrastructure projects and economic development.
• Maximize options for rural housing by increasing funding for the SHIP program.
• Improve education opportunities in rural communities.
• Expand healthcare in rural Florida by expanding training programs and increasing grants to hospitals.  

• The Senate Committee of Children, Families, and Elder Affairs – Chaired by Senator Grall - Child Welfare Legislation – Senate Bill 7012. The proposal is aimed at increasing protections surrounding child security and wellbeing. More information can be found here. In short, the legislation seeks to:
• Expand data collection to combat commercial sexual exploitation of children by requiring DCF to collect specific data for children in safe houses and safe foster homes.
• Create a child welfare workforce recruitment program.
• Establish a professional 4-year foster care pilot program to place children with high behavioral acuity in the least reactive home settings. 

House Speaker Perez’s priorities, referenced in his Organization Session address, include proposals such as:

• Representative Cassel’s Residential Property Insurance Policy Cancellations, Nonrenewals, and Rate Changes Legislation – House Bill 841. The bill prohibits insurers from canceling, nonrenewing, or changing rates of policies covering residential properties damaged by hurricanes until certain conditions are met. The legislation aims to protect policyholders by:
• Requiring insurers to refrain from policy cancellation until residential properties have been repaired, including flood damages, if covered under the policy.
• Listing requirements for a structure to be deemed repaired.
• Requiring an insurer to give the policyholder at least 45 days advance written notice of cancellation, nonrenewal, or rate change under specific conditions. 

• Representative Steele’s Land Use and Development Regulations Legislation – House Bill 1209. This bill seeks to make home ownership an achievable goal by revising land use and development regulations. This legislation proposes:
• Streamlining the approval process by allowing agricultural enclaves to apply directly for administrative development approvals.
• Mandating that certain developments be deemed as conforming uses, allowing them to bypass local comprehensive plans and zoning restrictions.
• Creating a process for challenging a local government’s denial or refusal of a comprehensive plan amendment. 

• Representative Snyder’s Charter Schools Legislation – House Bill 443. This bill proposes changes to the operational flexibility and governance of Florida charter schools that would:
• Allow charter schools to increase enrollment to match facility capacity.
• Require charter school staff and board members to undergo background checks, ensuring safety and transparency.
• Grant charter schools the ability to create their own student conduct codes.

In addition to leadership’s priorities, other bills include:

• Representative Lopez’s Condominium Associations Legislation – House Bill 913. This bill seeks to provide stronger structural integrity measures for Florida’s condominium buildings by:
• Modernizing condominium governance with a focus on safety and transparency.
• Streamlining the condo termination process with an emphasis on fairness.
• Empowering condo boards to take swift action on structural repairs by mandating timely rulemaking for inspection criteria by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
• Ensuring smoother governance for mixed-use properties by increasing financial transparency.

• Senator McClain’s Senate Bill 1594, Senator Calatayud’s Senate Bill 1730, and Representative Lopez’s House Bills 923 and 943. These bills seek to streamline the process for building more affordable homes in Florida by:
• Removing development barriers by implementing tax exemptions for nonprofit developers and pre-certification for affordable housing projects, including adaptive reuse projects.
• Focusing on substantial rehabilitation through the meaningful repair and restoration of properties to allow for improved housing.
• Providing incentives for mixed-use and multifamily developments, creating diverse housing options.
• Requiring administrative approval of qualifying developments, eliminating the need for action by local boards.

• Senator Gaetz’s Education Legislation – Senate Bill 140. This bill proposes certain changes to Florida’s education system by:
• Allowing public schools in operation for at least 2 years and with majority parent support to apply for a conversion to charter status.
• Authorizing municipalities in below grade “A” districts for 5 years to establish job engine charters to facilitate educational growth.
• Prioritizing the use of surplus school property for affordable housing for teachers, first responders and military members.

Throughout Session, the weekly Stearns Weaver Miller Rotunda Report will provide a high level summary of what occurred in the prior week. A practicing attorney in the related industry will also do a deeper analysis of a single piece of legislation. If you have any questions about legislation this session, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Thank you,

Robert Walters

Government Affairs