Week 9 of the 2025 Legislative Session    

Welcome to Day 60 of the 2025 Legislative Session! No Hanky Drop today—The two chambers adopted HCR 1631, extending the session until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 6, 2025.  

The legislature may only consider the General Appropriations Act, Implementing bills, and Conforming Bills named in the concurrent resolution along with SB 110 the Rural Renaissance and the tax package. All other measures are indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration as of 12:00 a.m., Saturday, May 3, 2025 

Look for our Final Report, Budget Analysis, and end-of-session Wrap-up Video later in May.  

On Tuesday, House Speaker Perez announced the formation of the Select Committee on Property Taxes. Reps. Toby Overdorf and Vicki Lopez were appointed as co-chairs of the committee, which is tasked with reviewing the current state of property taxes in Florida and examining structural reforms. The first meeting took place on Friday, May 2nd, the 60th day of the 2025 Legislative Session.  

Speaker Perez included a series of policies for preliminary consideration (Note: no formal legislation has been filed):  

• Sending every city, county, and special district to local referendum on the question of eliminating property taxes altogether for homestead properties 
• Creating a new $500,000 homestead exemption for non-school levies, and a $1 million exemption for over-65 seniors and 30-year homesteaders.  
• Authorizing the legislature to approve new homestead exemptions by general law, rather than by Constitutional amendment 
• Modifying the yearly assessment caps: 
• For homestead properties, the lesser of 3% or CPI over THREE YEARS 
• For non-homestead properties, 15% over THREE YEARS 
• Prohibiting foreclosure on a property due to a property tax lien 

These proposals were discussed during the committee meeting, with some members raising questions about the potential impact on local revenues and service delivery. The committee is expected to meet periodically throughout the summer and fall, with a goal of developing legislation in time for the interim committee weeks leading into the 2026 regular session.  

The full press release can be found here.  



The Select Committee roster can be found here.   

CS/SB1080 – McClain (HB 579 – Overdorf) – Passed  

The bill amends certain statutes regulating the review and approval of development permit and order applications by local governments. Specifically, the bill: 

• Specify the minimum information required for certain zoning applications.  
• Process an application for a development permit or order within certain timeframes.  
• Not limit the number of quasi-judicial hearings or public hearings held each month, if limiting their number will cause a delay in the consideration of an application for a development permit or order.  
• Issue refunds to applicants if they fail to meet certain timeframes when processing an application. 



The bill also provides that comprehensive plan amendments are not required to be approved at the second public hearing in the plan amendment adoption process to avoid being deemed withdrawn. In addition, the bill provides a substantially new mechanism for the administrative approval of development on agricultural enclaves and limits extraordinary increases to impact fees. 

CS/HB 1609 - Weinberger / CS/CS/SB 1822 – Martin - Failed 

The bill preempts the siting of a waste-to-energy facility or solid waste facility which uses an incinerator within one mile of a school or residential property, measured from the facility’s smokestack. The bill includes a grandfathering provision to protect existing facilities.  



Additionally, the bill requires a feasibility study for landfill alternatives prior to the expansion of an existing landfill. The Senate version briefly contained language that would require full remediation and modernization to current state standards prior to expansion of certain landfills that pre-date the Environmental Protection Agency.

HB 295 - Casello (SB 200 – Berman) – Passed  

The bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection to establish a statewide recycling and waste reduction plan and goal by July 1, 2026. The plan is expected to consider recommendations from the prior comprehensive statewide recycling plan, and the corresponding final report issued in 2020. At a minimum, the plan must identify a goal based on sustainable materials management and waste diversion, and incentivize recycling practices among private businesses.  



FAC supported the measure throughout this session as part of its Guiding Principles.  

CS/CS/SB 492 – McClain (CS/CS/HB 1175 – Duggan) - Passed 

The bill allows for offsite mitigation of development impacts. Specifically, it would allow a developer to mitigate impacts outside of the service area if there are insufficient credits available within the service area. There are no specific limitations to this—for instance, a developer could theoretically mitigate impacts to a South Florida watershed at a bank site in the Florida panhandle. Out-of-service area credits are subject to an escalator for increasingly distant mitigation. In other words, the farther you get from the service area, the more mitigation credits are required. 



The bill also requires mitigation banking regulators (i.e. DEP and the Water Management Districts) to follow a prescribed schedule for releasing mitigation credits when certain performance benchmarks are met.  

CS/SB 1622 – Trumbull (HB 6043 – Andrade) – Passed 

The bill repeals a current preemption requiring local governments to receive judicial affirmation for any customary use ordinance or policy. This has no impact on properties that were previously determined to A) not fall under the doctrine of customary use, or B) reached a settlement agreement under the recent litigation.  



The bill also designates the erosion control line as the mean high-water line for critically eroded Gulf counties with over 275,000 residents.  

CS/CS/CS/SB 700 -Truenow (CS/CS/CS/HB 651 – Tuck) – Passed 

The bill represents the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ agency package for 2025. The bill notably preempts local governments from restricting the installation of housing for agricultural workers on land classified as agricultural. A standalone bill including this preemption passed the legislature in 2024 but was ultimately vetoed by the Governor. 

The bill does give local governments limited authority to require certain building, sanitation, and landscaping standards of such a housing facility. Such housing structures constructed before July 1, 2024, are exempt from these requirements unless the structure is changed or expanded. Housing structures are to be removed if agricultural operations cease for 365 days (following a 180-day notice period by the local government to resume operations) or if the DOH housing permit is revoked. 

The package also includes a prohibition on fluoridating public water supplies, among other provisions. 

CS/CS/CS/SB 784 – Ingoglia (CS/CS/CS/HB 381 – Holcomb) – Passed 



The bill amends state law in connection with how local governments review and approve plats. The bill requires local governments to review and approve plat and replat submittals administratively through a designated authority, and provides parameters on the administrative review process.  

CS/CS/SB 1730 – Calatayud (CS/CS/CS/HB 943 – Lopez, V.) – Passed  

The bill amends various provisions of the Live Local Act, passed during the 2023 Regular Session, related to the preemption of certain zoning and land use regulations to authorize affordable housing developments. Specifically, the bill: 

• The bill authorizes a local government to approve the development of affordable housing on any parcel, including any contiguous parcel connected thereto, that is owned by a religious institution2 that contains a house of public worship 
• Expands Live Local Act applicability to portions of any flexibly zoned area such as a planned unit development permitted for commercial, industrial, or mixed use 
• Local governments cannot require a multifamily development to seek zoning changes, special approvals, variances, transfers of density or development units, amendment to a development of regional impact, amendment to a municipal charter, or comprehensive plan amendments for the building height, zoning, or density allowed. 
• Prohibits local governments from requiring that more than 10 percent of the total square footage of such mixed-use residential projects be used for non-residential purposes.  
• Clarifies that the highest currently allowed height, density, and floor area ratio restrictions are as of July 1, 2023 
• Clarifies that the term "floor area ratio" includes floor lot ratio and lot coverage. 
• The allowed building height is either the local govt’s regulated height or 3 stories, whichever is greater, but cannot exceed 10 stories. 
• Clarifies that adjacent refers to properties that share a property line, but not those separated by a road or body of water. 
• In certain designated critical areas, only habitable space above the FEMA base flood elevation counts as a "story," with each story limited to 10 feet in height floor-to-floor, and the top story limited to 10 feet from floor-to-top plate. 
• Provides protections for Historic Buildings and Contributing Structures, including: 
• Allows local governments to restrict building height on parcels with structures in historic districts. 
• Ensure historic structures are not demolished without appropriate oversight or procedural review. 
• Set height limits near historic properties to the highest allowed within ¾ mile, rather than 1 mile. 
•  Allow the replication of facades  
• Clarifies that "highest currently allowed" includes the zoning district maximum, regardless of conditions. 
• Local government must administratively approve the demolition of an existing structure associated with a proposed development without needing further board or committee action, as long as it meets the local government’s land development regulations (like setbacks and parking) and is consistent with the comprehensive plan, except for density, height, floor area ratio, and land use provisions. 
• Local governments, upon request of an applicant, must reduce parking requirements by 15 percent for a proposed development 
• Provides for priority docketing and prevailing party attorneys’ fees capped at $250,000 in lawsuits brought under the Live Local Act 
• Defines Commercial Use, Industrial Use, Mixed Use, Highest currently allowed, or allowed on July 1, 2023, and Planned Unit Developments 
• Exempts Wekiva Protection Area and Everglades Protection Area from the Live Local Act effective upon becoming law  
• A local government may not impose a building moratorium that delays permitting or construction of authorized multifamily or mixed-use residential developments unless:  
• The county conducts and publishes an affordable housing needs assessment, and a 90-day moratorium is allowed once every three years. 
• Civil suits for violations award attorney fees (capped at $250,000) to the prevailing party.  
• Moratoria for stormwater, potable water, or sewer repairs are exempt if applied equally to all developments. 
• Starting November 1, 2026, local governments must submit annual reports to the state land planning agency detailing litigation and projects under subsection (7), including project size, density, and affordable housing details. The state agency must compile and send this information to the Governor and legislative leaders by February 1 each year.  
• Allows applicants who submitted development requests before July 1, 2025, can choose to proceed under the laws in effect at the time of their submission and may update their applications to reflect changes made by this act. 
• Enacts a state policy related to public sector and hospital employer-sponsored housing 

CS/CS/SB 180 – DiCeglie (CS/CS/CS/HB 1535 – McFarland) – Passed 

The package includes various provisions relating to emergency preparation and response activities by state and local governments. Notably, the bill: 



• Prohibits local construction and reconstruction moratoriums, as well as “more burdensome or restrictive” comprehensive plan amendments and land development regulations for counties within a 100-mile radius of the track of a declared hurricane. This limitation applies for one year following the storm and applies both prospectively and retroactively to the three declared storms that made landfall in 2024. The bill also creates a cause of action to enjoin violations of this section. 
• Authorizes a non-profit organization, such as FAC, to provide the required emergency management training programs to local emergency personnel, pending Division of Emergency Management approval of the curriculum.  
• Requires local governments to coordinate with water management districts and other stormwater management system operators to identify critical infrastructure within their stormwater service area. The Department of Environmental Protection is then required to maintain an inventory of these critical structures, as well as maintenance and inspection schedules for each, as part of a Flood Inventory and Restoration Report submitted to the Division of Emergency Management.  
• Requires a county or city to develop a post-storm permitting plan which  
• Ensures sufficient personnel for inspection, permitting, and enforcement tasks 
• Provides alternate in-person locations for building permit services following a storm impact 
• Streamline permitting procedures including, when practicable, a waiver or reduction of associated permitting fees 
• Specify procedures to expedite debris removal following a storm impact 
• Requires a county or city to maintain emergency preparation and response information on their public website 
• Revises the hurricane evacuation clearance time for the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern. This threshold corresponds to allowable growth within the area.  
• Provides that the Department of Environmental Protection may waive or reduce the beach management project match requirements for counties impacted by erosion caused by Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Helene, or Hurricane Milton.  
• Requires that agricultural equipment in disuse for 60 days due to Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Helene, or Hurricane Milton be assessed at salvage value on the 2025 property tax roll.  
• Requires the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) to prioritize shelter retrofit funding for projects in counties with shelter deficits and certain publicly owned projects.  
• Requires political subdivisions to annually notify the FDEM of their designated emergency contact.  
• Revises the FDEM public shelter space reporting, planning, and funding requirements.  

CS/CS/CS/HB 683 – Griffitts (CS/CS/CS/SB 712) – Passed  

The bill contains a variety of provisions related to construction and development, specifically the bill:  



• Requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adopt standards for the installation of synthetic turf on residential property and prohibits local governments from adopting regulations inconsistent with those. 
• Provides that if a local government receives a price quote for a change order from its contractor, which meets all statutory and contractual requirements, the local government must provide written notice to the contractor approving or denying the price quote within 35 days. 
• Prohibits the state and political subdivisions from penalizing large-volume construction bidders or rewarding small-volume bidders in the bidding process for public works projects. 
• Prohibits local building departments from requiring copies of contracts and associated documents in order to apply for or receive a building permit. 
• Adds surveillance cameras to the scope of certification for alarm system contractors.  
• Exempts systems and equipment on spaceport territory involved in space launch vehicles, payloads, or spacecraft from the Florida Building Code.  
• Requires that only one interior support rail in an elevator must be continuous and at least 42 inches long.  
• Allows private providers to perform “single-trade plans review,” an analogous concept to single-trade inspections provided for in current law, authorizing private provider plans review for single construction trades such as plumbing, mechanical, or electrical. Single trade plans review can be conducted using an automated or software-based system and qualifies for expedited permit processing, from 20 days to five, for single-family and two family dwellings.  
• Expands the universe of valid trade work for which private providers can perform inspections, and now plans review, to include solar energy and energy storage installations or alterations, and specifically allows private providers to conduct single-trade inspections virtually. 

CS/HB 703 – Robinson (CS/CS/CS/SB 818 – McClain) – Passed  

The bill amends the process by which communication service utilities, as defined under chapter 202, must be relocated when situated within the right-of-way of a public road or publicly owned rail corridor and determined by an authority, such as a local government, to unreasonably interfere with the safe, convenient, or continuous use—or with the maintenance, improvement, extension, or expansion—of that corridor.  



The bill establishes the Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program within the Department of Commerce, funded by redirecting $50 million annually from the state’s communications services tax normally distributed under the Local Government Half-Cent Sales Tax program administered by the Department of Revenue. The bill also clarifies that counties and municipalities requiring communications utility relocations are not responsible for the associated costs, except as provided under current law in s. 337.403(1), F.S. This protection remains in effect even if the annual grant funds are exhausted. 

CS/CS/CS/SB 954 – Gruters (CS/CS/HB 1163 – Owen) – Passed  

Require counties and municipalities, by January 1, 2026, to adopt an ordinance establishing procedures for the review and approval of certified recovery residences, including a process for requesting reasonable accommodations from land use 

regulations that otherwise prohibit such establishment. The bill requires that the ordinance: 



• Be consistent with state and federal law; 
•  Establish a written application process; 
• Require the local government to date-stamp each application upon receipt, and request additional information within 30 days if required, giving 30 days for such response; 
• Require final written determination within 60 days which either approves in whole or part, with or without conditions, or denies the request, stating with specificity the objective reasons for denial and process for reconsideration; 
• Provide that an application which does not receive final determination within 60 days is deemed approved unless the parties agree to extension; and 
• Require the application to include the name and contact information of the applicant, the property address and parcel identification number, and a description of any accommodation requested. 

The ordinance may establish additional requirements for the review or approval of reasonable accommodation requests, but may not require public hearings beyond the minimum required by law to grant the requested accommodation. The ordinance may include provisions for the revocation of a granted accommodation for cause such as a violation of conditions or failure to maintain certification. 

For certain Level IV certified recovery residences, the bill also eliminates staffing requirements when patients are not present and increases the number of residents that a recovery residence administrator can oversee from 150 to 300 if the operator maintains a minimum 1:6 personnel-to-resident ratio when residents are present.