BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 621 (Fine) and SB 1162 (Broxson) prohibit specified state agencies and water management districts from disbursing state funds (including grants) for local government infrastructure, water and resiliency projects if the local government transfers its utility revenues (other than the costs of administrative and support services under a cost allocation plan) for use in providing general government functions and services. (Branch)

HB 9241 (Giallombardo) would provide a nonrecurring sum of $5 million to fund the Cyber Florida - Local Government Infrastructure and Technical Assistance. This funding would create a program for Cyber Florida to offer threat assessments and grant funding to help local governments update their information technology. (Taggart)

CS/HB 7055 (State Administration and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee, Giallombardo) and CS/CS/SB 1670 (Hutson) create the Local Government Cybersecurity Act. The bills require all local government employees with access to the government’s network to complete a basic cybersecurity training within 30 days after they begin employment and annually thereafter. All local government technology employees and employees with access to highly sensitive information will be required to complete more advanced cybersecurity training. The Florida Digital Service will develop and provide these trainings. The bills also require local governments to adopt cybersecurity standards that safeguard their data, information technology and information technology resources to ensure availability, confidentiality and integrity. The standards must be consistent with generally accepted best practices for cybersecurity, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Technology Cybersecurity Framework. Municipalities with a population over 25,000 must comply by January 1, 2024. Municipalities with a population under 25,000 must comply by January 1, 2025. The bills also require local governments to report cybersecurity incidents and ransomware incidents to the State Watch Office as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours after discovery for a cybersecurity incident and 12 hours after discovery for a ransomware incident. The bills also prohibit state agencies, counties, and municipalities from paying or otherwise complying with a ransom demand. The recommended committee budget includes over $60 million of nonrecurring state funding to assist local governments in complying with the provisions of the bill. 

The bills were amended to add more clarity regarding the type of cyber incidents that need to be reported by a local government. The amendment defines the levels of severity of a cybersecurity incident set by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Cyber Incident Response Plan. All incidents that could be described as levels 3-5 in severity shall be reported to the Cybersecurity Operations Center with the timelines specified above. Level 1-2 incidents may be reported if the local government chooses. The amendment also requires the advanced training to include training on the incident levels. (Taggart)

CS/HB 7069 (Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee) does the following:

•Creates a statewide building recertification requirement for condominiums and cooperative buildings that are three stories or more 30 years after initial occupancy and for buildings located within three miles of the coast, 25 years after initial occupancy

•Requires periodic recertifications every 10 years after a building’s initial recertification

•Requires an additional, more intensive inspection, or a “phase 2” inspection, if a building recertification reveals substantial damage to certain structural or life-safety systems

•Requires building officials to provide written notice to associations when buildings must be recertified

•Requires recertification and phase 2 reports be submitted to building officials and unit owners

•Provides local building officials with the ability to assess penalties for failing to comply with the requirements for building recertifications and phase 2 inspections

•Requires condominiums and cooperatives to conduct reserve studies every 10 years for buildings that are three stories or more and prohibits waiver of funding for certain reserves

•Requires developers to complete reserve studies for every building that is three stories or more prior to turning over an association to the unit owners

•Repeals the ability of developers to waive the collection of all types of reserve funds

•Requires reserve study inspections and recertification and phase 2 inspections to be performed by licensed engineers or architects

•Provides that reserve studies and recertification and phase 2 inspection reports are a part of an association’s official records and must be provided to a potential purchaser of a unit

•Provides for an additional way for condominium associations to terminate if the cost of repairs identified in a phase 2 inspection are more than 65% of the total fair market value of the units in the association

•Requires the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) to enforce the reserve studies and recertification and phase 2 inspection requirement 

•Requires associations to notify DBPR about the number of buildings in their association that are three stories or more. CS/HB 7069 passed the House (114-0) and is awaiting action by the Senate. (Branch)

CS/SB 620 (Hutson) and CS/HB 569 (McClure) allow a business that has been engaged in a lawful business in a municipality for at least three years to claim business damages from the municipality if it enacts or amends an ordinance or charter provision that will cause a reduction of at least 15% of the business’ profit as applied on a per-location basis of a business operated within the jurisdiction. The bills provide three ways for a municipality to cure the business’ claim and avoid paying damages: repeal the ordinance or charter provision; amend the ordinance or charter provision; or grant a waiver to the business from enforcement of the ordinance or charter provision. The bills provide exemptions from business damages claims for various ordinances and charter provisions: ordinances required to comply with, or expressly authorized by, state or federal law; emergency ordinances, declarations or orders adopted pursuant to the state Emergency Management Act; a temporary emergency ordinance that remains in effect for no more than 90 days; ordinances or charter provisions enacted to implement: Part II of Chapter 163 (including zoning, development orders and development permits); the Florida Building Code; the Florida Fire Code; a contract or an agreement, including contracts or agreements relating to grants or other financial assistance; debt issuance or refinancing; procurement; budgets or budget amendments, including revenue sources necessary to fund the budget. The bills specify that in action to recover damages, the courts may award attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party. The bills are prospective and apply to ordinances and charter provisions enacted or amended after the legislation becomes law. CS/SB 620 passed the Senate (22-14) and is awaiting action by the House. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 105 (Fine) and CS/CS/SB 224 (Gruters) authorize cities and counties to restrict smoking within the boundaries of any public beach or park they own. The bills specify that municipalities can restrict smoking within the boundaries of a beach or park that is owned by the county but located within the city, as long as it does not conflict with any county ordinance. The bills prevent cities and counties from restricting unfiltered cigars. CS/CS/SB 224 was amended to clarify that any signage posted by the local government must state that smoking is prohibited except as provided by state law and also include a scannable quick response code linked to state statute 386.209. CS/HB 105 passed the House (105-10) and is awaiting action by the Senate. (Taggart)

HB 35 (Roach)  and SB 244 (Gruters) – Partisan Elections for Members of District School Boards

SB 442 (Rodriguez) and HB 571 (Mooney) – Powers of Land Authorities

HB 309 (Fetterhoff) and SB 856 (Brodeur) – Private Provider Inspections of Onsite Sewage Treatment  and Disposal Systems

SB 536 (Diaz) and HB 337 (McClain) – Administrative Procedures

SB 690 (Rodriguez, A.) and HB 691 (Slosberg) – Resilience-related Advisory Committees

HB 421 (Truenow) and SB 834 (Brodeur) – Long-term Cleanup of Water Bodies

SB 602 (Rodriguez, A.) and HB 449 (Mooney) – Land Acquisition Trust Fund (Florida Keys)

HB 603 (Bell) and SB 1400 (Burgess) – Land Acquisition Trust Fund (Heartland Headwaters)

HB 441 (Fabricio) and SB 984 (Diaz) – Construction Materials Mining Activities

HB 6071 (Fabricio) – Construction Materials Mining Activities Admin Recovery Act

HB 6073 (Fabricio) – Construction Materials Mining Activities Admin Recovery Act

HB 579 (Melo) and SB 1128 (Harrell) – Aquatic Plant Management

SB 840 (Albritton) and HB 841 (DiCeglie) – Residential Property Riparian Rights

HB 513 (Bartleman) and SB 1326 (Rodriguez) – Comprehensive Review Study of the Central and Southern Florida Project

SB 1000 (Albritton) and HB 1291 (McClure) – Nutrient Application Rates

HB 6085 (Eskamani) and SB 1102 (Farmer) – Farming Operations

HB 711 (Diamond) and SB 238 (Jones) – Endangered and Threatened Species

SB 1110 (Rouson) and HB 1177 (Chaney) – Grease Waste Removal and Disposal

HB 901 (Chambliss) and SB 1212 (Polsky) – Roadside Farm Stand Signage

HB 7003 (Public Integrity  and Elections Committee) – Implementation of Constitutional Prohibition Against Lobbying by a Former Justice of Judge

SB 1432 (Rodriguez) and HB 1065 (Mooney) – Vessel Anchoring

SB 1352 (Brodeur) and HB 921 (Drake) – Limitations on Political Contributions

SB 416 (Garcia) and HB 1129 (Avila) – Mangrove Planting  and Restoration

SB 1914 (Taddeo) and HB 1353 (Thompson) – Elections

SB 1722 (Jones) and HB 6105 (Hinson) – Elections

SB 1586 (Polsky) and HB 1217 (Diamond) – Elections 

HB 1381 (Silvers) – Retail Petroleum Fuel Measuring Devices

SB 1612 (Ausley) and HB 1289 (Alexander) – Department of Agriculture  and Consumer Services

SB 1678 (Gibson) and HB 1285 (Hinson) – Energy Equity Task Force

SB 1584 (Gruters) – Outstanding Florida Springs

SB 208 (Farmer) creates the Stop Fracking Act. The bill prohibits extreme well stimulation, which is defined to include the various forms of fracking used to increase the production at an oil or gas well. (O'Hara)

HB 349 (Sirois) authorizes the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (Board) to grant easements for mitigation banks under certain conditions. The bill also exempts certain docks on recorded easements from state permit requirements and authorizes such docks to use submerged lands upon the Board's approval. (O'Hara)

CS/CS/SB 1426 (Burgess) and CS/CS/HB 965 (Truenow) provide for the construction, operation, maintenance, and long-term management of offsite, regional, compensatory water treatment areas called “water quality enhancement areas.” These areas will be used to offset impacts to water quality caused by increases in nutrient loading from development projects. Under the bills, water quality enhancement credits could be purchased from a water quality enhancement area to offset such development impacts. An “enhancement credit” is defined in the bills as a standard unit of measure which represents a quantity of pollutant removed. The bills specify that water quality enhancement areas must be regulated through permits issued by the Department of Environmental Regulation. While the bills allow governmental entities to use water quality enhancement areas to address their water quality needs, the bills specify that governmental entities may not act as sponsors to construct, operate, manage, maintain, or market enhancement credits to third parties. In addition, the bills provide that local governments may not require a permit or impose regulations governing the operation of an enhancement area. A water quality enhancement area permit applicant must provide reasonable assurances that an enhancement area will achieve defined performance criteria, benefit water quality, and assure long-term pollutant reduction. The bills specify requirements for an enhancement area and require that such areas correspond to the appropriate basin management action plan boundary. The bills specify requirements for the generation of enhancement credits and provide that a local government may not deny the use of credits due to the location of the enhancement area being outside the jurisdiction of the local government. Lastly, the bills specify that whether a dwelling is owner occupied is not an eligibility criterion for a developer or homebuilder to receive density or intensity bonuses for implementing graywater technologies. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 323 (Sirois) and CS/CS/SB 494 (Hutson) revise the vessel conditions that an officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (Commission) or law enforcement agency may use to determine that a vessel is at risk of becoming derelict to include vessels that are tied to an unlawful or unpermitted mooring or other structure. The bills prohibit local governments from designating public bathing beach areas or swim areas within the marked channel portion of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway or within 100 feet of the marked channel. The bills repeal Section 376.15, Florida Statutes, relating to derelict vessels and the relocation and removal of such vessels. The bills amend the definition of "abandoned property" to include vessels declared to be a public nuisance and clarify the notice requirements and procedure for vessels declared to be public nuisances. The bills authorize the Commission to establish a grant program for local governments regarding derelict vessels and vessels declared a public nuisance. (Branch)

CS/HB 481 (Duggan) and CS/CS/SB 1332 (Wright) prohibit counties and municipalities from enacting regulations that prevent electric utilities from installing temporary underground power panels that meet the requirements of the National Electrical Code, and prevent counties and municipalities from requiring permanent inspections if the local government has already performed a temporary inspection. (O'Hara)

CS/SB 1156 (Stewart) and HB 935 (Morales) require the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a study on the establishment of a new long-term, statewide recycling goal. The bills specify the requirements for the study and require DEP to submit a report and any policy recommendations to the Governor and Legislature upon completion of the study. (O'Hara)

CS/SB 1940 (Brodeur) and HB 7053 (Environment, Agriculture & Flooding Subcommittee) establish the Office of Resiliency within the Executive Office of the Governor and provide for the appointment of a Chief Resilience Officer. The bills require the Department of Transportation to develop a resilience action plan for the State Highway System. The bills make various revisions to current law relating to statewide resiliency funding and planning, including: authorizing the use of Resilient Florida Grant Program funds for preconstruction activities for projects in municipalities and counties meeting certain population thresholds, but not for projects that adapt critical assets to flooding and sea-level rise; extending by one year the dates by which the Comprehensive Statewide Flood Vulnerability and Sea-Level Rise Data Set and the Assessment must be completed; and revising the $100 million cap on funding proposed for each year to a minimum threshold of $100 million. (O’Hara)

HB 81 (Eskamani) and SB 366 (Berman) prohibit the drilling, exploration or production of petroleum products in the state. In addition, the bills direct the Office of Energy within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to develop a statewide plan to generate 100% of the electricity used in the state from renewable energy by 2040 and for the state to have net-zero carbon emissions statewide by 2050. (O'Hara)

HB 745 (Alexander) and SB 1562 (Ausley) direct the Department of Environmental Protection, in coordination with the Office of Energy within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to conduct a study of brownfield sites and closed landfill sites to determine viable locations for redevelopment as solar photovoltaic facilities. The bills specify requirements for the study and directs DEP to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature by August 2023. (O'Hara)

SB 1418 (Albritton), CS/SB 7012 (Brodeur) and HB 1475 (McClure) require the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules for statewide cleanup target levels for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil and groundwater. Such rules may not take effect until ratified by the Legislature. Until the rules for a particular PFAS constituent have been ratified by the Legislature, a person may not be subject to enforcement action by any state or local government entity to compel or enjoin site rehabilitation for that PFAS constituent. In addition, SB 1418 requires the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to conduct an analysis of assessment and cleanup programs used in other states and submit a report to the Governor and Legislature by a specified date. (O’Hara)

CS/SB 198 (Rodriguez, A.) and CS/HB 349 (Overdorf, Sirois) authorize the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund to establish seagrass mitigation banks under certain conditions. (O’Hara)

HB 303 (Truenow) and CS/SB 608 (Brodeur) authorize counties and municipalities to access sanitary sewer laterals within their jurisdiction to investigate, repair or replace the lateral. A sanitary sewer lateral is a privately-owned pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line. The bills require municipalities and counties to notify private property owners within a specified timeframe if the government intends to access the owner's sanitary sewer lateral and an anticipated timeframe for the work. The bills specify that local governments who establish sanitary sewer lateral programs are legally and financially responsible for all work that is performed and authorize such programs to use specified state or local funds to evaluate and rehabilitate impaired laterals. CS/SB 608 was amended to clarify that a municipality or county may elect to establish and implement an alternative evaluation and rehabilitation program to identify and reduce extraneous flow from leaking from sanitary sewer laterals. (O'Hara)

CS/SB 1238 (Polsky) and HB 1019 (Duggan) require coastal counties to conduct vulnerability assessments that analyze the effects of saltwater intrusion on their water supplies. The assessments must be conducted by September 2022. The bills require each coastal county to provide copies of its assessment to the Department of Environmental Protection and the respective water management districts. The bills require water management districts, in collaboration with coastal counties, to submit annually to DEP a list of proposed projects based on the assessments. (O'Hara)