CS/HB 665 (McClain) and CS/CS/SB 812 (Ingoglia) are comprehensive bills dealing with the expedited approval of residential building permits. Of concern to municipalities, the bills do the following:

•In CS/CS/SB 812 only: 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 by October 1, 2024. 

•Create a two-step application process that would include the adoption of a preliminary plat and a final plat in order to expedite the issuance of building permits.

•Allow cities to work with the appropriate local government agencies to issue an address and a temporary parcel identification number for lot lines and lot sizes based on the metes and bounds of the plat contained in the application.

•Require applicants to have a performance bond for up to 130%.

•Require applicants to indemnify local governments that issue the permit.

•Specify that upon an applicant's request, a local government must issue no less than 50% of the permits for dwellings to be built. 

•CS/CS/SB 812 was amended to include an exemption for municipalities who have 25 acres or less of land zoned for residential or agricultural purposes.

•CS/HB 665 was amended to remove the exception of the creation of the program from municipalities of 30,000 population or more. The bill now requires all municipalities with 25 acres of contiguous land or more zoned residential or agricultural to create the program. (Chapman)