BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 405 (Tramont) proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would prohibit nonpartisan municipal elections. The proposal also provides that only qualified electors in a municipal election with the same party affiliation as a candidate for office may vote in the primary election for such office (even if a candidate has no opponent with a different party affiliation). The same prohibitions and limitations are imposed on all other state, county and local primary elections, including school boards. In addition, the proposal specifies that a candidate for office may not be prohibited from disclosing his or her party affiliation to the electors and may not be prohibited from campaigning or qualifying for office based on party affiliation. (O'Hara)

CS/SB 1372 (Ingoglia) and HB 1321 (Beltran) strike provisions in current law that prohibit the political advertisement of a candidate running for nonpartisan office from stating the candidate’s party affiliation and strike provisions in current law that prohibit a candidate for nonpartisan office from campaigning based on party affiliation. This would authorize a candidate for a nonpartisan municipal election to state his or her party affiliation in a political advertisement. HB 1321 would require all candidates running for a partisan office to state their party affiliation in a political advertisement and would also require candidates running for any nonpartisan office (including municipal) to state their party affiliation or state “nonpartisan” in lieu of party affiliation. (O’Hara)

CS/SB 444 (Ingoglia), SB 1080 (Yarborough), and HB 7069 (State Affairs Committee) specify criteria for redistricting for school boards, cities, and counties. The bills prohibit county commission districts, municipal districts, and school board member residence areas from being drawn with the intent to favor or disfavor a candidate for the governing body or an incumbent member of the governing body.  They require county commission districts to be as nearly equal in population as possible. Current law does not address requirements for municipal redistricting, but the bills would impose such requirements and override any local charter provisions that conflict with the bills. The bills require municipalities to fix the boundaries of their districts to keep them as nearly equal in proportion to their respective populations as practicable and provide that they may only do so in odd-numbered years. The bills void any ordinance adopted by a county, municipality, or school district on or after July 1, 2023, that conflicts with the bills.  (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 37 (Roach) and CS/CS/SB 774 (Brodeur) require all municipal mayors, city commissioners, elected members of a municipal governing body, and members of the state Commission on Ethics to file an annual Full Disclosure of Financial Interests (Form 6) with the Florida Commission on Ethics. These individuals are currently required to file only a Limited Disclosure of Financial Interests (Form 1). CS/CS/SB 774 passed the Senate (35-5) and the House (113-2) and is awaiting action by the Governor. If this bill becomes law, the Form 6 requirement would go into effect for elected municipal officials on January 1, 2024.  (O'Hara)

CS/HB 199 (Hunschofsky) and CS/CS/SB 620 (DiCeglie) address ethical conflicts of officers of independent taxing districts. The bills clarify that certain conduct by such officers, such as misuse of public position and disclosure of information for personal benefit, is prohibited despite the current law exemption relating to the officers’ conflicting employment and contractual relationships.  The bills also require elected local officers of independent special districts to undergo four hours of annual ethics training. CS/HB 199 passed the House (116-0) and is awaiting action by the Senate. (O'Hara)

HB 473 (Eskamani) – Agreement for Best Practices in Economic Development

SB 1664 (Hooper) – Economic Development

HB 251 (Trabulsy) and SB 476 (Gruters) create the Florida First Production Partnership Program within the Department of Economic Opportunity. The purpose of the program is to boost Florida's economic prosperity by providing a tax credit award to certified film projects that provide the greatest return on investment and economic benefit to the State. (Taggart)

CS/HB 413 (Abbott) and SB 1628 (Simon) prohibit agency agreements from requiring local governments within a rural area of opportunity to expend funds in order to be reimbursed. Agency funding may be advanced to cities and counties based on an analysis of estimated costs, pay service providers or vendors directly or undertake other options to meet the requirements of the agreement. (Taggart)

CS/CS/HB 5 (Esposito) eliminates Enterprise Florida, Inc. effective December 1, 2023, and transfers all duties and programs to the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). The bill authorizes Visit Florida and the Florida Sports Foundation to enter into an agreement with DEO to continue operations. The bill also eliminates several economic development programs. Of note to local governments, HB 5 would have eliminated the Urban High Crime Job Tax Credit Program, professional sports and spring training incentives, Brownfield Redevelopment Bonus Tax Refunds and film and entertainment-related incentives. The repeal of these programs was ultimately removed from the bill. The bill was amended to rename the Department of Economic Opportunity to the Department of Commerce. (Taggart)

CS/CS/CS/HB 1209 (Shoaf) and CS/SB 1482 (Simon) modify provisions of the Rural Infrastructure Fund to increase the amount the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) may award for grants from 50% of the total infrastructure project cost to 75%. If the project is located within a rural community or a rural area of opportunity, they may receive up to 100% of the project cost. SB 1482 also increases the grant award amount for infrastructure planning and preparation activities to $300,000 and removes the requirement for a local match. CS/CS/HB 1209 passed the House (115-0) and is awaiting action by the Senate.  (Taggart)

SB 2508 (Appropriations) transfers the Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC) and its associated duties, responsibilities, contracts, unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and positions from the Florida Digital Service (FDS) within the Department of Management Services (DMS) to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). In accordance with the recommendations of the February 1, 2021, Florida Cybersecurity Task Force Final Report, the bill also requires state agencies to conduct comprehensive risk assessments on an annual basis instead of once every three years. (Taggart)

CS/HB 1511 (Giallombardo) and CS/SB 1708 (DiCeglie) make several changes to the Local Government Cybersecurity (Act). The bills revise the definition of “cyber incident” and revise timelines for local governments to report cybersecurity incidents. The bills would require local governments to report cybersecurity incidents within four hours of discovery; current law allows for 48 hours. Ransomware incidents would be required to be reported within two hours of discovery; current law allows for 12 hours. Incidents would be reported to Florida Digital Service, the Cybersecurity Operations Center, the Cybercrime Office of the Department of Law Enforcement and the sheriff who has jurisdiction. The bills establish an operations committee within the Florida Digital Service to assist with collaboration between state agencies and local governments. The bills also provide municipalities with a presumption from liability in connection with a cybersecurity incident for entities that are substantially compliant with the Act. The bills do clarify that they do not establish a private cause of action, and failure of a municipality to implement a cybersecurity program does not constitute negligence. (Taggart)

SB 682 (DiCeglie) and CS/HB 671 (Esposito) are comprehensive building permit bills. Of concern to cities, the bills do the following:

•Require the local jurisdiction to reduce the permit fee by 75% if an owner retains a private provider.

•Reduce the time frame of when municipalities must provide written notice of receipt and any other additional information that is required for a properly completed application to an applicant.

•Reduce the amount of times a municipality can ask an applicant for additional information.

•Allow an application to be “deemed” approved if municipalities fail to meet any of the timeframes. 

CS/HB 671 was amended to allow local governments to adopt by ordinance a minimum freeboard requirement or a maximum voluntary freeboard that exceeds the requirements in the Florida Building Code. (Branch)

CS/HB 383 (Griffitts) and CS/CS/SB 346 (DiCeglie) require a contract for construction services between a local government entity and a contractor to include the estimated cost of each item necessary to complete the work. The bills restrict the ability of local governments to withhold certain amounts under the contract only to those subject to good faith disputes or claims against public surety bonds. CS/CS/SB 346 was amended to remove the preemption of a municipality to enact a local preference ordinance when awarding a public works project above $350,000. (Branch)

CS/CS/HB 327 (Bell) and CS/SB 408 (Perry) define a fire sprinkler system project as an alteration of a total of 20 or fewer fire sprinklers or the installation or replacement of an equivalent fire sprinkler system component in an existing building. The bills create an expedited permitting process for certain “fire sprinkler system projects,” which prohibits local enforcement agencies from requiring a fire protection system contractor to submit plans to obtain a building permit for a fire sprinkler system project. A local government may require a contractor as a condition of obtaining a permit for a fire sprinkler system project, but may not require a contractor to submit plans or specifications as a condition of obtaining the permit. All documents for a fire sprinkler system project must be available to the inspector at each inspection. CS/CS/HB 327 passed the House (110-0) and the Senate (40-0) and is now awaiting action by the Governor. (Branch)

HB 765 (Roth) is a bill dealing with building permit applications. The bill would require municipalities to notify the owner of a property and the contractor listed on the permit within 60 days before the permit is set to expire. The bill increases the permit reduction fee by 25% for each business day the local government fails to meet the established timeframes. HB 765 also requires a municipality to accept applications electronically and post the status update of each building permit application on their website. The bill prohibits a municipality from using a permit application unless it includes an attachment with a specified “notice” statement that is referenced in the bill. (Branch)

CS/CS/HB 89 (Maggard) and CS/SB 512 (Hooper) would prohibit a local government from making substantive changes to building plans after a permit has been issued. If substantive changes are made after a permit is issued, the local government must identify the specific plan features that do not comply with the Florida Fire Prevention Code or Life Safety or local amendments, identify the specific code chapters and sections upon which the finding is based and provide this information to the permitholder. A local fire inspector, plans reviewer or building official who fails to comply will be subject to disciplinary action. CS/CS/HB 89 passed the House (116-0) and is awaiting action by the Senate. (Branch)

SJR 122 (Avila) and HJR 469 (Fernandez-Barquin) would reduce the limitation on annual increases of homestead property tax assessments from 3% to 2%. In 1994, the State of Florida established a 3% Save Our Homes (SOH) Cap assessment limit on all residential properties that receive a homestead exemption. The 3% SOH Cap limits any increase to the assessed value of a homestead exempt property for tax purposes to a maximum of 3% each year. SB 120 would reduce the assessment limit to a maximum of 2% each year. SJR 122 and HJR 469 are constitutional amendments and would require the approval of the Florida Legislature and the voters of Florida. (Chapman)

HB 7059 (Gregory) reduces the statute of limitations from four years to two years for a negligence claim against the state or an agency or subdivision of the state (including cities). The bill also reduces the pre-suit notice period from three years to 18 months for such claims. The bill decreases from six months to four months the amount of time a government entity has to make a final disposition of a claim during the pre-suit process, after which time the plaintiff may bring a lawsuit. HB 7059 passed the House (80-29) and is awaiting action by the Senate. (Cruz)

SB 682 (DiCeglie) and CS/HB 671 (Esposito) are comprehensive building permit bills. Of concern to cities, the bills do the following:

•Require the local jurisdiction to reduce the permit fee by 75% if an owner retains a private provider.

•Reduce the time frame of when municipalities must provide written notice of receipt and any other additional information that is required for a properly completed application to an applicant.

•Reduce the amount of times a municipality can ask an applicant for additional information.

•Allow an application to be “deemed” approved if municipalities fail to meet any of the timeframes. 

CS/HB 671 was amended to allow local governments to adopt by ordinance a minimum freeboard requirement or a maximum voluntary freeboard that exceeds the requirements in the Florida Building Code. (Branch)