BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

CS/CS/HB 7001 (Public Integrity & Elections Committee) provides implementing legislation for the constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018 that prohibits lobbying by certain state and local public officers both during public service and for a six-year period following vacation of public office. The constitutional prohibitions address lobbying before the federal government, the legislature, any state agency, or any political subdivision and takes effect December 31, 2022. The bill provides definitions of terms that are not defined in the constitutional provision, giving needed clarity for state and local public officers. Notable definitions in the bill include: "lobby," "compensation" and "legislative action," "issue of policy," "issue of procurement," "issue of appropriation," "administrative action," lobbying before the federal government and lobbying before political subdivisions. The bill provides specified exemptions from the definition of lobbying. The definitions included in the bill should be helpful to local and state public officials whose private-sector employment requires them to render legal services for clients before various state and political subdivisions. (O'Hara)

SB 508 (Diaz) establishes standards of conduct and a mandatory five hours of training relating to the "fiduciary duty of care" for appointed local public officers and executive officers of local government entities. In addition, the bills impose restrictions on legal representation by government attorneys. The fiduciary duty and training requirements apply to appointed officials of various local boards and committees, including code enforcement boards, planning and zoning boards, land use boards and community redevelopment agency boards. The requirements do not apply to pension board members. The bill provides that each appointed public official and executive officer has a fiduciary duty of care to the governmental entity served and has a duty to act in accordance with laws and terms governing the office or employment, act with the care and competence normally exercised by private business professionals, act only within the scope of authority and refrain from conduct likely to damage the economic interests of the governmental entity. Further, such persons must become reasonably informed in connection with any decision-making function and keep reasonably informed concerning the performance of a governmental entity's officers, agents and employees. The bill imposes training requirements on appointed public officers and executive officers that require completion of at least five hours of board governance training per term served. The bill specifies the minimum content of such training programs, including board governance best practices and fiduciary duty of care and liabilities imposed by the new law. The bill provides that all legal counsel employed by a governmental entity must represent the legal interest and position of the governing body of the governmental entity and not the interest of any individual or employee of the governmental entity. (Cruz)

CS/SB 524 (Hutson) and PCB PIE 22-03 (Public Integrity & Elections Committee) amend various provisions of the Florida Elections Code. The bills create the Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Department of State and revise requirements for special officers who may investigate election law violations. The bills also revise retention, maintenance and information posting requirements for citizens’ initiative petition signature forms. The bills prohibit the use of ranked-choice voting to determine election or nomination to elective office and void existing or future local ordinances authorizing the use of ranked-choice voting. The bills remove the limitation on the amount of aggregate fines that may be assessed against a third-party voter registration organization and revise the candidate oath regarding outstanding fines, fees, or penalties owed for certain ethics or campaign finance violations. The bills authorize a supervisor of elections to designate up to two additional early voting sites per election. (O’Hara)

HB 6109 (Eskamani) removes provisions that preempt local governments from enacting or adopting limitations and restrictions involving certain contributions and expenditures or establishing contribution limits different than those established in the Florida Election Code. (O'Hara)

HB 1359 (Roach) provides that a political committee or electioneering communications organization that over a 24-month period does not make or receive expenditures or contributions exceeding $5,000 in the aggregate is dissolved and must dispose of surplus funds in accordance with the Florida Elections Code. The bill also revises campaign contribution limits for candidates for legislative office, the Governor and members of the cabinet. (O'Hara)

HB 202 (Farmer) – Small Business Website Development Grant Program

HB 217 (Trabulsy) and SB 946 (Trabulsy) – Film, Television and Digital Media Rebate Program

HB 247 (Salzman) and HB 1310 (Rodriguez, A.) – Florida Main Street Program and Historic Preservation Tax Credits

HB 359 (Eskamani) – Agreement for Best Practices in Economic Development

SB 1098 (Brodeur) and HB 835 (Duggan) – Smart Region Zones

HB 6059 (Eskamani) ad SB 1896 (Farmer) – Confidentiality of Economic Development Agreement Information

CS/HB 685 (Drake) reduces the required non-state match amount for the Regional Rural Development Grants Program from 25% to 15% and allows in-kind contributions to count toward this threshold. The bill removes the requirement that repaid funds from the Rural Community Development Revolving Loan Fund be matched to be retained to fund future loans. Finally, the bill revises the uses of the Rural Infrastructure Fund to remove the requirement that grants be linked to financing specific projects. It increases the proportion of an infrastructure project that may be covered by the grant from 50% to 75% and increases the maximum grant for infrastructure feasibility studies, design and engineering activities, or other infrastructure planning and preparation activities to $300,000 for all projects. The bill removes the local match requirement for surveys, feasibility studies, and other activities related to the identification and preclearance review of land which is suitable for preclearance review and removes the requirement that a grant for an employment project creates a minimum number of jobs. (Taggart)

SB 434 (Hooper) and HB 489 (Chaney) delay the scheduled repeal of the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation (Visit Florida) and the Division of Tourism Marketing of Enterprise Florida, Inc. SB 434 delays the repeal from 2023 to 2031, while HB 489 delays the repeal from 2023 to 2028. (Taggart)

SB 800 (Albritton) authorizes municipalities to exempt by ordinance the public service tax on electrical energy for qualified purchasers determined by the Department of Revenue (DOR). The bill also provides a sales tax exemption for building materials being used to revitalize real property located within an opportunity zone. The bill specifies that the sales tax exemption will be distributed in the form of a refund on previously paid taxes if the property owner, lessee or lessor files an application with the local government that the opportunity zone is located. The bill specifies the information that the applicant will be required to provide in their application to the local government and give the local government 10 business days to certify the application for completeness and transmit it to DOR. The applicant is also required to forward the application to DOR. Applications for a sales tax refund must be submitted to DOR within six months of the real property being deemed "substantially completed" by the local building inspector. Applicants are limited to one application per property, and the amount must exceed $500. Additionally, the bill expands this tax exemption to include electrical energy being used by a business that operates in an opportunity zone for up to 50% of the tax imposed if the municipality chooses to adopt an ordinance. The bill also modifies some parameters of the Rural Job Tax Credit Program by removing the minimum number of employees and increasing the tax credit per employee from $1,000 to $2,500. The bill also creates the Rural Opportunity Tax Refund Program intended to provide tax relief for new, qualified targeted businesses that bring economic diversity and high-wage jobs to rural areas. In order for a qualified targeted business to receive this tax benefit, the municipality where the business will be located must adopt a resolution recommending the applicant be approved. (Taggart)

HB 499 (Gregory) and SB 1298 (Gruters) require agreements between a governmental entity and a professional sports team or sporting event entered into after July 1, 2022, to include a requirement that the U.S. National Anthem be played at the beginning of each sporting event if the agreement includes a financial commitment from the governmental agency. The government that enters into the agreement would be responsible for enforcing this requirement. The bills also specify penalties for the sports entity for failure to comply. (Taggart)

SB 1694 (Hutson) exempts from public record any criminal intelligence information that reveals information that could allow unauthorized access to any electronic device, software or network. (Taggart)

HB 7057 (State Administration and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee, Giallombardo) creates a public records exemption for all information related to a cybersecurity or ransomware incident held by a local government, state agency or sheriff. The bill also creates a public meeting exemption for any portion of a meeting that would reveal information related to a local governments physical or virtual data or information or information technology resources. A transcript and recording must be made of the exempt portion of the meeting, and those records are exempt from the public. (Taggart)

HB 7055 (State Administration and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee, Giallombardo) creates the Local Government Cybersecurity Act. The bill requires 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 bill also requires 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 bill also requires 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 bill also prohibits state agencies, counties, and municipalities from paying or otherwise complying with a ransom demand. (Taggart)

SB 1670 (Hutson) requires each local government by January 1, 2024, to adopt cybersecurity standards for all information technology (IT) and operational technology, that comply with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework that is appropriate for the size of the organization. At a minimum, these standards must include routine backups of critical information and multifactor authentication. The bill also requires local governments to: 

•Conduct vulnerability testing of its IT and operational technology at least every two years

•Require all employees with access to a local government network to receive training when they begin employment and at intervals that will be specified by the Florida Digital Service

•Require all local government IT professionals and persons with access to highly sensitive information to undergo intensive cybersecurity training 

•Report all attacks on a computer or network, including ransomware attacks and data breaches, to the State Watch Office within the Division of Emergency Management. "Attacks" is not defined in the bill. 

The bill directs the Florida Digital Service and the Florida Cybersecurity Advisory Council to develop the training requirements and conduct the trainings virtually at certain times of the year. Local governments will be required to report all ransomware incidents to the State Watch Office, Florida Digital Service, the Executive Office of the Governor, the Department of Law Enforcement and the local law enforcement agency within 12 hours of discovery. The bill requires local governments to communicate with the Florida Digital Service and the local law enforcement agencies prior to paying a ransom if a ransomware incident occurs. The bill also requires the Florida Digital Service to create a checklist for local governments to utilize while responding to ransomware incidents. Finally, the bill allocates $1 million in recurring funding to Florida Digital Service to disburse funds to local governments for the training required under the bill. (Taggart)

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/SB 828 (Hutson) requires local governments when procuring automation and control system components, services, or solutions or entering into a contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or design of a critical infrastructure facility that such components, services, and solutions conform to the ISA 62443 series of standards as referenced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF), beginning July 1, 2022. The bill also requires local governments to ensure that all contracts for the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or design of a critical infrastructure facility require that installed automation and control system components meet the minimum standards for cybersecurity as defined in the ISA 62443 series of standards as referenced by NIST CSF. 

HB 1147 (Giallombardo) is similar to CS/SB 828 but has different implementing requirements and timelines. By July 1, 2022, when local governments procure automation and control system components, services, or solutions, or when contracting for facility upgrades for critical infrastructure, the local government must require those new components or services to meet the ISA/IEC 62443 standards. The main difference in these two bills is that HB 1147 encourages local governments who operate critical infrastructure to, by July 1, 2022, have those systems and controls comply with and meet operational standards as defined in the ISA/IED 62443 series of standards as determined by NIST CSF. The bill also encourages asset owners to annually conduct a risk assessment and create a risk mitigation plan. (Taggart)

SB 352 (Hooper) – Construction Liens

HB 263 (Bell) – Notice of Commencement Requirements

HB 1397 (Geller) and SB 1774 (Pizzo) – Condominium Associations

HB 626 (Wright) and SB 659 (Harding) change the effective date of the Florida Fire Prevention Code so that the Code will take effect no sooner than six months after the latest occurrence of the publication of the updated Florida Building Code. (Branch)

HB 1365 (Maggard) and SB 1784 (Burgess) create the Rural Roads Initiative Pilot Program within the Florida Department of Transportation with the purpose of paving state, county or municipal roads within East Pasco County that are currently unpaved. Within the program, Pasco County Board of County Commissioners or the governing board of a municipality within East Pasco County may apply to the Department of Transportation for funding to pave roads that are currently unpaved and the cost of which cannot be met by the residents. The bills specify that a road paving project funded under the program is subject only to construction standards established by the county or the municipality in which the road is located and is not subject to department standards. (Branch)

HB 6057 (Eskamani) removes provisions requiring counties and municipalities to provide incentives to fully offset the costs of certain affordable housing contributions or linkage fees. (Branch)