Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The 2024 Florida Legislative session commenced on Tuesday, January 9. Over 1,700 pieces of legislation will be considered during the 60-day session and it can be difficult to makes sense of which laws could impact your business. As Director of Government Affairs for Stearns Weaver Miller, I am monitoring bills being considered by the Legislature and will report developments regarding them in our weekly “Rotunda Report” – a high-level summary of important bills or issues from session each week. Below are five key issues from last week, January 22-26.

Budget

House and Senate appropriations subcommittees began the budget writing process last week by releasing their budget proposals for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The Senate Appropriations Committee is meeting on Wednesday, January 31 to consider SPB 2500 (the main budget bill for the coming year), SPB 2502 (the budget implementing bill), and other budget-related bills. The House Appropriations Committee is meeting on Wednesday as well, but has not yet released the agenda for the meeting. 

Condominiums

SB 1178 was reported favorably by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee last week. The bill continues a multiyear effort to regulate condominium associations in the wake of the 2021 collapse of a condominium tower in Surfside. The bill brings accountability to condo boards through several provisions focusing on condo governance, such as creating criminal penalties for repeated violations related to the inspection of official condo records, refusing to provide records to escape criminal prosecution, and expanding state regulatory jurisdiction over condo boards. There is also a focus on financial regulations by making sure condo boards set aside adequate resources to make necessary physical upgrades and meet maintenance needs.  The House companion bill, HB 1021, has not yet been heard in committee.

Environment

A bill requiring industrial users classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as major facilities to pretreat for certain chemicals in wastewater discharges was reported favorably by the Senate Environmental and Natural Resources Committee last week. SB 1692 would require the treatment of wastewater for two Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and 1,4-Dioxane before it is sent to a wastewater treatment facility. These chemicals are prevalent in many industrial and manufacturing processes and the limits established in the bill are extremely low. For more information, please see our recent alert on the bill. A similar bill, HB 1665, has not yet been heard in committee. 

Employment of Minors

HB 49 will be considered by the full House this week. Under the bill, minors 16 and 17 years-of-age would be able to work the same number of hours as a person who is 18 years-of-age or older, among other provisions. The bill is expected to assist industries that have faced worker shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic. A similar bill in the Senate, SB 1596, is still waiting to be heard in committee. 

Taxes

HB 635, a bill that would give businesses tax credits for providing childcare, was reported favorably by the House Ways and Means Committee last week. The bill would provide various tax credits for businesses who operate a childcare facility or make payments to childcare facilities on behalf of employees. The credit could be taken against corporate income tax, insurance premium tax, severance taxes on oil and gas production, alcoholic beverages tax, and sales tax paid by direct pay permit holders. It would provide up to $5 million in total tax credits. A similar bill, SB 820, is moving through the Senate.

I would be happy to speak with you regarding issues this session that could impact your business. For more information, please contact me.

Warmly,