BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 397 (Tuck) allows local governments to meet in private with legal counsel, during the 90-day notice period, to discuss claims concerning the Bert Harris Act and private property rights. Transcripts of these private meetings will be made a part of the public record upon settlement of a claim or when the statute of limitation has expired if there is no litigation or settlement. (Cruz)

CS/CS/SB 258 (Burgess) and CS/HB 563 (Amesty) prohibit employees of governmental entities from downloading or accessing prohibited applications on government-issued devices. The bills also direct governmental entities to block all prohibited applications on any wireless device or network they operate. The bills direct the Department of Management Services (DMS) to compile and maintain a list of prohibited applications and publish the list on its website. Both bills clarify that these provisions do not apply to law enforcement officers if the use of these applications is necessary for public safety or to conduct an investigation. A public employer may also request a waiver from DMS to use a prohibited application. (Taggart)

CS/HB 617 (Lopez, V.) and CS/SB 694 (Gruters) require that owners and operators of private property used for motor vehicle parking must have a physical location in Florida, establish parking fees that are equal to that of the local governments and have posted signage that is clearly visible to those parking. Additionally, the bills remove a preemption in current law that prohibits local governments from regulating private parking lots. The bills were amended significantly to remove the provision requiring the owner or operator of a private parking lot to have a physical presence in the state and remove the limitations on what rates the operator may charge. Additionally, the amendment does not remove the current preemption in law but limits the preemption to local regulations on the rates that may be charged by a private parking lot. (Taggart)

HB 519 (Edmonds) and SB 530 (Polsky) would repeal the preemption on the regulation of tobacco and nicotine products. (Taggart)

CS/CS/SB 250 (Martin) is a bill dealing with natural emergencies that impact the state. Of interest to cities, the bill does the following:

Building Permits and Contracts

•Requires the Division of Emergency Management to post on its website a model debris removal contract for the benefit of local governments. 

•Encourages local governments to create emergency financial plans in preparation for major natural disasters.

•Authorizes local governments to create specialized building inspection teams following a natural disaster and encourages interlocal agreements for additional building inspection services during a state of emergency. 

•Requires local governments to expedite the issuance of permits following a natural disaster.

•Prohibits counties and municipalities located in areas designated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declaration for Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole from increasing building fees before October 1, 2024. This preemption expires on June 30, 2025.

Tolling and Contractors

•Increases the extension of certain building permits following a declaration of a state of emergency from six to 24 months and caps such extension at 48 months in the event of multiple natural emergencies.

•Allows registered contractors to engage in contracting for the types of work covered by their registration within areas for which a state of emergency has been declared. This authorization terminates 24 months after the expiration of the declared state of emergency. 

Zoning and Funding

•Provides that counties and municipalities cannot prohibit a resident from placing a temporary residential structure on their property for up to 36 months following a natural emergency under certain circumstances.

•Prohibits counties and municipalities within the disaster declaration for Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole from adopting more restrictive procedures for proposing amendments to its comprehensive plan or land development regulations or for issuing a development permit or development order before October 1, 2024.

•Makes the Local Government Emergency Bridge Loan Program a revolving program, and makes funds available for local governments impacted by federally declared disasters until July 1, 2038. 

CS/CS/SB 250 passed the Senate (39-0) and is awaiting action by the House. Currently, there is no House companion. (Branch)

CS/SB 718 (Yarborough) and CS/HB 653 (Canady) specify that before starting annexation procedures, a local government shall prepare a feasibility study for the proposed area. To provide needed clarification on the process of contraction, the bills require a city to get permission from at least 50% of owners in an area proposed to be de-annexed when more than 70% of the land is owned by individuals, corporations or legal entities. "Contraction" means the reversion of property within municipal boundaries to an unincorporated status. Currently property owners who are not registered to vote from the property from the land in question have no voice in this process. The goal of the legislation is to prevent situations where a small group of property owners has requested a contraction of a large area of land and most of the land in question is owned by a property owner who is opposed to the contraction but is not registered to vote from the parcels in question. (Cruz)

CS/SB 1096 (Martin) and CS/HB 1607 (Black) provide that any person or entity that damages, defaces, destroys or removes an existing monument or memorial will be civilly liable for the costs to return, repair or replace the monument or memorial unless the person was authorized or the entity was the owner. The bills provide legal standing to any resident of this state to bring a civil action against any person or entity for damaging a monument or memorial displayed on public property. The bills clarify that these provisions do not prevent an agency from relocating a monument or memorial when necessary for the construction, expansion or alteration of publicly owned buildings, roadways or other transportation projects. The agency must relocate the monument or memorial to a site of similar prominence, honor and visibility within the same jurisdiction. (Taggart)

CS/SB 1570 (Hooper)/HB 1625 (Mooney) and SB 1584 (Perry)/HB 1383 (Trabulsy) would allow municipalities to impose certain occupational licenses if the local government imposed a licensing requirement before January 1, 2021. HB 1383 prohibits a local government from requiring a license as a prerequisite to submit a bid for public work projects if the work to be performed does not require a license under general law. CS/SB 1570 was amended to change the expiration of local government occupational licenses to July 1, 2024. (Branch)

SB 920 (DiCeglie) prohibits a local government from denying a request for a variance or an exception if the local floodplain management requirements exceed the minimum standards for the National Flood Insurance Program. (Branch)

HB 169 (Lopez) and CS/SB 314 (Rodriguez) require employers of first responders to pay for up to 12 hours of licensed counseling following a work-related traumatic event. This benefit would be in addition to any potential workers' compensation claim or counseling services covered by health insurance. Covered first responders include firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and law enforcement officers, including those working on a volunteer basis. The bills also hold the employing agency responsible for paying for up to an additional 24 hours of treatment if a mental health specialist finds that the first responder requires more hours of counseling. CS/SB 314 was amended to cap the cost of employer-paid counseling at $500 per hour. The bill was also further expanded to include correctional officers. (Cruz)

CS/HB 807 (Borrero) and SB 1700 (DiCeglie) would allow a person who holds a valid vehicle for hire license or permit from any city or county the ability to operate a vehicle for hire in another city or county without being subject to additional licensing or permitting requirements. The bills would grant the same reciprocity at airports. (Branch)

HB 1455 (Altman) and SB 1514 (Wright) would require all governmental agencies that use a drone not produced by an approved manufacturer to submit to the Department of Management Services a comprehensive plan for discontinuing the use of such drone by July 1, 2026. (Branch)

CS/CS/HB 3 (Rommel) and CS/SB 302 (Grall) are comprehensive bills aimed at eliminating the consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) from government investment strategies, procurements, bond issuances and use of banks. The relevant provisions to local governments are as follows: 

•The bills require fiduciaries of all government retirement plans to make investment decisions that only consider pecuniary factors, which do not include the consideration or furtherance of any social, political or ideological interests. By December 15, 2023, and by December 15 of each odd-numbered year thereafter, each government retirement system or plan shall file a comprehensive report detailing and reviewing the governance policies concerning decision-making in vote decisions and adherence to the fiduciary standards as required by the bill. 

•The bills prohibit local governments from the issuance of bonds used to further an ESG purpose. The bills define ESG bonds to include bonds that will be used to finance a project with an ESG purpose including, but not limited to, green bonds, Certified Climate Bonds, GreenStar designated bonds and other environmental bonds marketed as promoting an environmental objective; social bonds marketed as promoting a social objective; and sustainability bonds and sustainable development goal bonds marketed as promoting both environmental and social objectives. 

•The bills require that any contract between a government entity and an investment manager include provisions requiring a disclaimer be included in any communications from the investment manager. The disclaimer the investment manager must include states: "The views and opinions expressed in this communication are those of the sender and do not reflect the views and opinions of the people of the State of Florida." 

•The bills amend the definition of a "qualified public depository" to prohibit government entities from depositing funds in banks that make it a practice to deny or cancel services of its customers based on a person's political opinions, speech, affiliations, lawful ownership or sales of firearms, production of fossil fuels or other factors related to ESG. Pursuant to current law, all public deposits may only be deposited in a qualified public depository.

•Lastly, the bills amend procurement requirements of all governmental entities to prohibit government bodies from giving a preference to vendors based on ESG factors or requesting information from vendors related to ESG. 

CS/CS/HB 3 passed the House (80-31) and is awaiting action by the Senate. (Cruz)

HB 727 (Rayner-Goolsby) and SB 778 (Rouson) authorize local governments to enact land development regulations to allow for small-footprint grocery stores within food insecure areas. Food insecure areas are areas where people have limited access to affordable, healthful and nutritious foods. The bills define a small-footprint grocery store as a store that has less than $1 million in gross sales, and 20% of its gross receipts are from the retail sale of nutrient-dense foods. The bills also give local governments the authority to require mandatory reporting of certain information from the small-footprint grocery store. (Cruz)

HB 859 (Basabe) and SB 1018 (Trumbull) would 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)

SB 668 (Collins) and SB 1011 (Borerro) prohibit governmental agencies from displaying to the public any flag that does not follow the protocol adopted by the Governor. The current protocol of displaying flags is based on the United States Flag Code and the Florida Flag Code and directs the public and governmental agencies on how to display the United States Flag, the State Flag, the POW/MIA Flag, the Firefighter Memorial Flag and the Honor and Remember Flag. (Taggart)

CS/CS/SB 588 (Rodriguez) and CS/HB 657 (Koster) would authorize a local government to place or install an automated speed detection system under its jurisdiction or a state road if permitted by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to be used solely to enforce speed limits in school zones. The bills also require local governments to notify the public of the speed detection system through a 30-day public awareness campaign before enforcement. The bills require each county or municipality that operate a speed detection system to submit a report on October 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. (Branch)

CS/CS/CS/SB 1068 (Collins) and CS/CS/HB 1071 (Duggan) prohibit local governments from withholding issuance of a business tax receipt or enacting or enforcing an ordinance or resolution that prohibits a drone delivery service’s operation based on the location of the delivery service’s drone port. As amended, the bills exempt drone ports from the Florida Fire Prevention Code, including national codes and the Life Safety Code. CS/CS/CS/SB 1068 was amended to allow local governments to enforce minimum setback and landscaping regulations that are generally applicable to permitted uses in the drone port site’s zoning district. (Branch)

CS/SB 782 (Hooper) and CS/HB 869 (McClain) are a broad agency package for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Within this package is a new requirement for vacation rental licensees or licensed agents to create an online account and provide an email contact for all communications. Any changes made to the address or number of houses/units under a license must be submitted to the division within 30 days. (Taggart)

CS/HB 935 (Jacques) and CS/SB 998 (Burgess) prohibit a municipality from terminating a police chief without providing written notice, including just cause, and give them the opportunity to defend themselves against the termination in a public hearing. The chief may be represented by counsel at the public meeting at their own cost. The bills clarify that these provisions do not supersede any written employment contract, discipline, or termination standards or procedures. The bills create a civil cause of action, authorizing a police chief to sue for damages against anyone who knowingly files a false complaint against the police chief. Both bills were amended to remove the cause of action provisions. Additionally, CS/HB 935 was amended to remove the provision requiring just cause and clarifies that the municipality may place the hearing on the agenda at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. (Taggart)