BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 1726 (Ausley) establishes the Broadband Deployment Task Force to support and provide recommendations to the Florida Office of Broadband for the deployment of internet throughout the state. The task force includes a member from the Florida League of Cities as a representative of underserved or unserved rural communities. (Hughes)

SB 512 (Burgess) and CS/HB 325 (Fischer) 

Impact on Local Governments

The bills maintain the current preemption on local governments from adopting zoning ordinances specific to short-term rentals, as well as regulating the duration of stays and the frequency in which the properties are rented. The bills expand this preemption to include local regulations on advertising platforms. For cities that adopted ordinances prior to June 1, 2011, the bills maintain the "grandfather" currently in place but clarify that those cities may amend their ordinances to be less restrictive or to comply with a local registration program. For cities that do not have "grandfathered" protections, the bills preempt cities from licensing short-term rentals; however, they authorize local governments to have a local registration program. 

Local governments who choose to adopt a local registration program may impose a fine for failure to register. The local government has 15 days after receiving an application for registration to either accept the application or issue a written notice specifying all deficiencies. Both parties may agree to extend the timeline. If a municipality does not accept or deny an application within that 15-day window, that application is deemed approved. As a condition of registration, the local registration programs may only require the owner or operator of a vacation rental to:

•Pay a fee of no more than $50 for processing the registration application.

•Renew their registration no more than once per year unless the property has a change in ownership. 

•Submit identifying information about the owner or the property manager and the short-term rental being registered.

•Obtain a license as a transient public lodging establishment by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) within 60 days of local registration.

•Obtain all required tax registration, receipts or certificates issued by the Department of Revenue, a county or a municipal government. 

•Maintain all registration information on a continuing basis so it is current.

•Comply with parking and solid waste handling requirements. These requirements cannot be imposed solely on short-term rentals.

•Designate and maintain a property designee who can respond to complaints and other immediate problems related to the property, including being available by phone.

•Pay in full all municipal or county code liens against the property being registered. 

CS/HB 325 was amended in committee to change the fee structure for ordinances adopted after 2014. CS/HB 325 now prohibits local governments from charging a fee for a local vacation rental registration. However, the amendment "grandfathers" in the fee structure for local governments with ordinances in place up until the bill takes effect. Going forward, local governments who receive "grandfathered" protections of their fee would not be permitted to increase them, only reduce or eliminate the amount. Additionally, the amendment includes a cure period for vacation rental owners who fail to register with the local government. The bill now mandates local governments waive the fine for failure to register if the owner becomes complaint within 30 days of receiving the notice. These provisions are not contained in SB 512. 

Impact on Advertising Platforms and DBPR

Advertising platforms must include in all listings the property's state license number, and if applicable, the local registration number. After July 1, 2023, the advertising platform will be required to check and verify the license number of all listings with DBPR. Additionally, by that date, DBPR will be required to maintain all short-term rental license information in an electronic format to ensure prompt compliance. Advertising platforms will be required to remove unlicensed listings within 15 days after notification by DBPR, as well as collect and remit all required taxes. 

Termination/Denial of License

DBPR may revoke, refuse to issue or renew a short-term rental license or suspend the license for up to 30 days under several circumstances:

•The property owner violates the terms of any lease or applicable condominium, coop or homeowner's association restrictions. 

•The owner fails to provide proof of local registration if one is required.

•The local registration is terminated by a local government for violating any of the registration requirements described above.

•The property and property owner are subject to a final order or judgment directing termination of the property’s short-term rental status.

•DBPR may also suspend the license for up to 30 days when the short-term rental has been cited for two or more code enforcement violations during a 90-day period. (Taggart)

HB 6033 (Grieco) repeals all preemption provisions in current law relating to the local regulation of vacation rentals. (Taggart)

HB 1265 (Caruso) authorizes local governments to regulate the anchoring of vessels used for short-term rental purposes in violation of a local ordinance or regulation. (Taggart)

SB 1852 (Bradley) and HB 1439 (Toledo) prohibit vacation rental operators from offering an hourly rate for an accommodation. HB 1439 also requires guests to provide positive proof of identification. (Taggart)

HB 75 (Sabatini), SB 592 (Perry) and SB 594 (Perry) – Limiting COVID-19 Restrictions

HB 179 (Altman) and SB 702 (Burgess) – Photographic Enforcement of School Bus Safety

HB 6009 (Sabatini), HB 6069 (Shoaf) and SB 734 (Gruters) – Vaccinations During Public Health Emergencies

HB 297 (Aloupis) and SB 476 (Book) – Aggressive Careless Driving

SB 1230 (Pizzo) – COVID-19 Mandates

SB 1234 (Pizzo) – Vaccinations During Public Health Emergency

SB 1232 (Pizzo) – Florida Occupational Safety and Health State Plan

HB 19 (Gottlieb) and SB 402 (Polsky) – Firearm Restrictions Pursuant to Court Findings or Risk Protection Orders

HB 73 (Rayner) and SB 888 (Jones) – Use or Threatened Use of Force

HB 83 (Eskamani) and SB 372 (Berman) – Domestic Violence

HB 103 (Sabatini) – Carrying of Firearms Without a License

HB 109 (McCurdy) – Prohibiting Deception in Interrogations of Minors

HB 133 (Sabatini) – Prohibiting Cooperation with a United States Capitol Police Officer Located in this State

HB 181 (Daley) and SB 334 (Polsky) – Sales of Ammunition

HB 199 (Smith, C.) and SB 214 (Farmer) – Assault Weapons and Large-capacity Magazines

SB 204 (Farmer) – Sale and Delivery of Firearms

SB 210 (Farmer) – Prohibited Recordkeeping Relating to Firearms  or Firearm Owners

HB 347 (Rayner), SB 1166 (Polsky), and SB 220 (Farmer) and – Sale, Transfer, or Storage of Firearms

HB 363 (Hart) and SB 630 (Jones) – Pregnant Women in Custody

SB 458 (Torres) and HB 665 (Goff-Marcil) – Secure Storage of Firearms

SB 502 (Rodriguez) – Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity

SB 660 (Cruz) – Sexual Offense Victims' Rights

SB 668 (Cruz) – Custodial Interrogations of Minors 

SB 672 (Cruz) – School Safety Funding

SB 860 (Stewart) and SB 862 (Stewart) – Firearms Without a Unique Serial Number or Identifying Mark

SB 872 (Polsky) and HB 527 (Hunschofsky) – Unfinished Firearms

SB 874 (Pizzo) – Arrests

HB 883 (Slosberg-King) and SB 1208 (Polsky) – Reclassification of Crimes Evidencing Prejudice

HB 889 (Overdorf) and SB 1406 (Perry) – Delayed Arraignment

SB 916 (Brandes) – Searches of Cellular Phones and Other Electronic Devices 

HB 817 (Massullo) and SB 1114 (Bradley) – Emergency Medical Care Treatment to Minors Without Parental Consent 

HB 1021 (Fernandez-Barquin) and SB 1392 (Garcia) – Patient Identification and Health Care Decisions

HB 1083 (Benjamin) and SB 1856 (Pizz) – Citizen Arrests

SB 1196, SB 1198 (Jones) and HB 1093 (Hunschofsky)– Community Violence Task Force

SB 1236 (Jones) and HB 1561 (Bush) – County and Municipal Detention Facilities

SB 1262 (Burgess) and HB 1277 (Massullo) – Mental Health and Substance Abuse

HB 1255 (Valdes) and SB 1760 (Powell) – Duties of the Inspector General of the Department of Corrections

SB 1528 (Gruters) and HB 6095 (Gregory) – Restrictions on Firearms and Ammunition During Emergencies

SB 1632 (Farmer) – Searches by Law Enforcement Officers

SB 1882 (Powell) – Use of Police Canines

SB 1932 (Hooper) – Sexual Offenders and Predators

HB 6007 (Sabatini) – License to Carry Concealed Weapons or Firearms

HB 6013 (Sabatini) – Removing Firearm Regulations

HB 6115 (Joseph) – Use of Deadly Force in Defense of a Person

HB 785 (Botana) and SB 1190 (Boyd) authorize the use of two-way radio communication enhancement systems to comply with certain radio signal strength requirements in the Florida Building Code. The bills exempt apartment buildings that are 75 feet or less in height from requiring two-way radio communication systems. (Branch)

HB 6029 (Sabatini) preempts cities, counties and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from installing, maintaining or utilizing red light cameras effective July 1, 2025. (Branch)

SB 890 (Burgess) and HB 593 (Trabulsy) require an employee of a public safety agency who answers emergency medical service calls to provide direct telephonic assistance in administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation or transfer calls to a dedicated telephone line, call center or other public safety agency with which the transferring public safety agency has a reciprocal agreement. The bills also require all 911 public safety telecommunicators who take telephone calls and provide dispatch functions for emergency medical conditions to complete telecommunicator cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and continuing education as deemed appropriate by the Department of Health. (Taggart)

SB 1482 (Bracy) requires the Department of Law Enforcement to establish and maintain a statewide police misconduct registry by June 30, 2023. The bill also specifies the type of incidents and complaints that would be required to be reported by the local agency. The bill would require this reporting to begin January 2, 2024, and information submitted every three months thereafter by the head of each local agency. (Taggart)

SB 802 (Gruters) and CS/HB 1421 (Hawkins) require the Department of Education to work with local emergency management and law enforcement personnel to create a model reunification plan for use by child care facilities, K-12 schools and public postsecondary educational institutions for schools that are unexpectedly evacuated due to a disaster. Each school district will be required to adopt a district-specific plan by working with local law enforcement. The model plan will be required to be reviewed annually. The bills also require law enforcement officers responsible for responding to specific schools in the event of an active assailant emergency to be physically present on campus during the execution of active assailant emergency drills. The bills also direct the Department of Education to consult with local constituencies to establish minimum drill policies relating to the timing, frequency, participation, training, notification, accommodations and responses to threat situations by incident type, as well as to school level and characteristics. The bills specify that these drills be conducted at least annually. (Taggart)

SB 496 (Taddeo) and HB 6049 (Daley) repeal the current statutory preemption prohibiting cities and counties from regulating firearms and ammunition. (Taggart)

HB 189 (Duran), SB 410 (Rodriguez) and HB 797 (Overdorf) authorize a county or municipality to contract with a vendor to install cameras in school speed zones to enforce speed limits. Within the first 30 days after such a camera or cameras are installed in a school speed zone, a motor vehicle operator found to have violated the speed limit will be issued a warning and will not be liable for the civil penalty. (Branch)

SB 370 (Hooper) and HB 351 (Duggan) add service as a firefighter as grounds for increased criminal penalties for certain criminal offenses. (Taggart)

SB 1494 (Bracy) requires each law enforcement agency in this state to mandate that its

law enforcement officers wear body cameras and use vehicle dash cameras. (Taggart)

HB 11 (Rizo) and SB 1872 (Bean) prohibit a person from approaching a law enforcement officer after receiving a warning with intent to impede, provoke or harass. (Taggart)

SB 652 (Cruz) requires the employer of each athletic venue, entertainment venue and convention center capable of accommodating 5,000 persons or more to display a human trafficking public awareness sign. (Taggart)

SB 788 (Hooper) creates the Florida Hometown Hero Housing Program to assist frontline emergency workers, certain medical and health care personnel and educators in purchasing a home as their primary residence. (Branch)

HB 127 (Slosberg) prohibits the use of handheld wireless devices while operating a motor vehicle where first responders are actively working. This bill does provide several exceptions, such as first responders performing in their official capacity or drivers accessing safety-related information, including emergency, traffic or weather alerts. (Branch)

CS/SB 544 (Boyd) and CS/HB 731 (Caruso) require EMS providers to electronically report suspected or actual controlled substance overdoses using the Emergency Medical Service Tracking and Reporting System or other program as identified by department rule. Current law allows for optional reporting. (Taggart)