BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

CS/HB 1647 (Roach) and CS/SB 1526 (Avila) restricts local governments from prohibiting, restricting, or preventing the demolition of nonconforming or unsafe structures. The bills authorize the demolition of a structure and automatic replacement without requiring the new structure to have historical features or characteristics. The bills also prohibit local governments from imposing additional restrictions on the demolition or redevelopment that depart from existing requirements for a similarly situated parcel. The bills specify the provisions do not apply to a structure individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places or a contributing structure listed prior to 2000, a single-family home, or a structure located on a barrier island in a municipality with a population less than 10,000, which has at least six city blocks that are not located within flood zones V, VE, AO or AE, as identified in Flood Insurance Rate Map issued by FEMA. (Cruz)

HB 1635 (Steele) and SB 1796 (Burgess) require local governments to provide compensation for a nonmonetary exaction equal to the fair market value of the exaction imposed. The bills require a local government that adopts and collects impact fees by ordinance to ensure the impact fee is collected only if the relevant property receives the service for which the fee was assessed. The bills also require local governments to establish impact fee zones or districts to assist local governments in ensuring the fee is expended to provide additional capital facilities within the appropriate zone or district. HB 1635 places the maximum amount an impact fee may charge depending on the type of development in state law. The bill also prohibits the imposition of both an impact fee and a mobility fee for master planned unit developments and planned home developments. (Cruz)

SB 1184 (Ingoglia) and CS/CS/HB 1221 (McClain) are comprehensive bills relating to land use and development regulations. The bills amend various regulations relating to comprehensive plans. The bill would restrict optional elements of a comprehensive plan from containing a policy restricting density and intensity. The bills amend definitions of intensity, density, urban service area and urban sprawl to promote the construction of additional single-family, two-family and fee simple townhomes. The bills require local governments to adopt minimum lot sizes with single-family, two-family and fee simple townhouse zoning districts to accommodate the maximum density authorized in the comprehensive plan. The bills require local governments to adopt infill redevelopment regulations to administratively approve the development of infill single-family, two-family and fee simple townhouses. HB 1221 also contains a provision that would require the automatic rezoning of agricultural land for single family housing in certain circumstances. This provision is not found in SB 1184. CS/CS/HB 1221 has been significantly amended in committee. Relevant to municipal operation, the amendments inserted a provision that preempts local regulation relating to the building of new self-storage facilities and removed provisions related to the rezoning of agricultural enclaves. The bill was amended further to permit a final order or decision by a municipally established historic preservation board or commission to be appealed to the board of county commissioners. (Cruz)

CS/CS/CS/HB 1177 (Duggan) and SB 1110 (DiCeglie) amend various provisions related to land development regulations in Florida. The bills amend the Community Planning Act to require modifications to transportation concurrency system requirements for local governments, change to the adoption of impact fees by special districts, and adjustment provisions governing credits against local impact fees. The bills also address revisions in procedures regarding local government review of changes to previously approved developments of regional impact (DRIs), specifying certain types of changes that won't necessitate local government review. The bills allow for modifications to multimodal pathways in previously approved DRIs under specific conditions and outline that certain changes to comprehensive plan policies and land development regulations won't apply to developments with vested rights. Additionally, the legislation revises the criteria that constitute acts of reliance by a developer to vest rights. CS/CS/CS/HB 1177 was amended to prohibit local governments from requiring a notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation for the pruning, trimming or removal of a tree on property being used for the construction or development of a veterans health care facility, as approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill was also amended to require local governments that implement a transportation concurrency system to credit the fair market value of any land dedicated to the entity for transportation facilities against the total proportionate share payments computed. The bill also specifies that local governments have exclusive power and responsibility to evaluate transportation’s impact, apply concurrency and assess any fee related to transportation improvements set forth in the bill’s subsection. The bill was amended further to permit a final order or decision by a municipally established historic preservation board or commission to be appealed to the board of county commissioners. (Cruz)

CS/CS/HB 1051 (Tuck) and CS/SB 1082 (Collins) prohibit a governmental entity from adopting or enforcing legislation inhibiting the construction or installation of housing for agricultural workers on agricultural land. The bills establish criteria for the construction and installation of these housing units, including adherence to federal, state and local building standards, minimum distance requirements between units, limitations on the square footage of climate-controlled facilities and specified setbacks from property boundaries. The bills prohibit local governments from adopting land use regulations that are more restrictive than certain state and federal regulations, while requiring property owners to maintain records of all approved permits for at least three years. The bills also outline conditions under which housing sites may cease to be used or be required to be removed, including non-use for over a year or loss of agricultural land classification. The bills are set to take effect on July 1, 2024. (Cruz)

CS/HB 479 (Robinson, W.) and SB 688 (Martin) revise and provide additional guidance concerning the use of mobility plans and the collection of mobility fees. The bills provide definitions for “mobility fee” and “mobility plan” to be used within the Community Planning Act. The bills prohibit local governments from charging for transportation impacts if they are not the local government that is issuing a building permit, require that local governments collect for extra jurisdictional impacts if they are issuing building permits and prohibit local governments from assessing multiple charges for the same transportation impact. Concerning impact fees, the bills provide that local governments adopting and collecting impact fees by ordinance or resolution must use localized data available within the previous 12 months of adoption for the local government’s calculation of impact fees. (Cruz)

HB 31 (Edmonds) and SB 64 (Osgood) – Landlords and Tenants

HB 557 (Stevenson) – Moveable Tiny Homes

HB 1467 (Driskell) and SB 1504 (Davis) – Affordable Housing

SB 7028 (Banking and Insurance) and HB 1263 (LaMarca) – My Safe Florida Home Program

HB 1299 (Cross) and CS/SB 1440 (Calatayud) grant counties and municipalities the authority to exclude specific accessory dwelling units from ad valorem taxation meeting certain affordable housing requirements. (Branch)

SB 386 (Osgood) requires local governments to reduce parking requirements necessary for development approval for “Live Local” developments where at least 75% of the residential units are affordable for at least 30 years and the development is located within one-half mile of a major transportation hub. (Branch)

HB 1603 (Gantt) and SB 1742 (Jones) amend the current statute regarding inclusionary housing ordinances. The bills remove the option for developers to contribute to a housing fund or explore other alternatives instead of constructing affordable housing units. (Branch)

CS/CS/SB 328 (Calatayud) and CS/CS/HB 1239 (Lopez, V.) amend various provisions of the Live Local Act (act), passed during the 2023 Regular Session. The bills do the following:

•Adjust the height allowances for parcels adjacent to single-family residential uses within a single-family neighborhood.

oProvides that if a proposed development is “adjacent to, on two more sides, a parcel zoned for single-family residential use that is within a single-family residential development with at least 25 contiguous single-family homes, the local government may restrict the height of the proposed development to 150% of the tallest building on property within one-quarter mile of the proposed development or three stories, whichever is higher.”

•Prohibit qualifying developments within one-quarter mile of a military installation from utilizing the act’s administrative approval process and exempt certain airport-impacted areas from the act’s provisions.

•Clarify that a local government’s “currently allowed” density, height, and floor area ratio does not include any bonuses, variances, or other special exceptions provided in their regulations.

•Modify parking reduction requirements for qualifying developments located near certain transportation facilities.

•CS/CS/SB 328 and CS/CS/HB 1239 propose funding the Hometown Hero Program at $100 million. 

Only in CS/CS/HB 1239 

•Requires a county or municipality to authorize multifamily and mixed-use residential as allowable uses on any site owned by a county or municipality, including any zoning district permitting commercial, industrial or mixed uses.

•Provides that administrative approval of a proposed development does not require a public hearing or any other action by a quasi-judicial board or reviewing body.

•Defines the term “commercial use” to mean activities associated with the sale, rental or distribution of products or the sale or performance of services. The term includes, but is not limited to, retail, office, entertainment and other for-profit business activities. (Branch)

SB 426 (Garcia, I.) – Community Associations

HB 229 (Payne) and SB 364 (Collins) – Public Service Commission Rules

HB 1279 (Gregory) and SB 1326 (DiCeglie) – Review of Agency Rules 

SB 366 (Yarborough) and HB 81 (Brackett) – Gas Safety

SB 404 (Rouson) – Urban Agriculture Pilot Projects

SB 1530 (Martin) and HB 1365 (Garrison) prohibit counties and municipalities from permitting public sleeping or camping on public property, at public buildings or on public rights-of-way within their respective jurisdictions without a lawfully issued temporary permit. The bills authorize municipalities and counties to designate certain public property for public sleeping or public camping subject to the following conditions, the sufficiency of which must be determined by the Florida Department of Children and Families: minimum sanitation levels, including access to restrooms and running water; security present and onsite at all times; access to behavioral health services; prohibition on drugs and alcohol; and the designated area may not be in a location that adversely and materially affects existing residential or commercial properties. The bills authorize a person or business to bring a civil action against any county or municipality to enjoin a violation of the prohibitions and conditions and to recover their attorney fees and costs. The bills provide an exception for a state of emergency declared by the Governor. (O’Hara)

HB 759 (Andrade) prohibits panhandling within 50 feet of the following: an entrance to or exit from a commercially zoned property; a bus stop or facility; an automatic teller machine or bank entrance; a parking lot, parking garage, parking meter or parking pay station; or a public restroom. It prohibits panhandling within 100 feet of a child care facility or Pre-K through 12 school; on a right-of-way or road defined in section 334.03; at a public transit stop or in a public transit vehicle; while the person being solicited is waiting to be admitted to a commercial establishment; by touching the person being solicited; with the use of profane or abusive language; while under the influence of alcohol or illegal controlled substance; and between the hours of 4 p.m. and 9 a.m. The bill prohibits a person from approaching an operator or other occupant of a motor vehicle for the purpose of panhandling. The bill specifies penalties for violations. Finally, the bill requires individuals engaged in solicitation on specified roads, rights-of-way or facilities to clearly identify the name of the charitable organization or named individual on whose behalf contributions are being solicited and to clearly identify the charitable purpose for which contributions are being solicited. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/SB 1628 (Collins) and CS/HB 1547 (McClure) revise exemptions from the application of SB 170, relating to local ordinances and business impact estimates, passed in the 2023 Legislative Session. CS/CS/SB 1628 eliminates the exemption from the requirement to file a business impact estimate for ordinances relating to a comprehensive plan amendment or land development regulation initiated by a municipality or county. CS/HB 1547 is broader and would eliminate the exemption for comprehensive plan amendments and land development regulations from both the business impact estimate requirement and the suspension of enforcement requirement. (O’Hara)

HB 791 (Overdorf) and SB 1150 (Perry) revise timeframes in Sections 125.022 and 166.033, Florida Statutes, for counties and municipalities to process applications for approvals of development permits or development orders and require these governmental entities to issue certain refunds for failure to meet the timeframes. The bills require counties and municipalities to specify in writing the information that must be submitted in an application for zoning approval, rezoning approval, subdivision approval, certification, special exception, or variance.  The bills require counties and municipalities to confirm receipt of an application for development permit or order within five days. The bills require the statutory timeframes to restart if an application makes a substantive change to an application, which is defined as a change of 15 percent or more in the proposed density, intensity or square footage of a parcel.  The bills require counties and municipalities to issue refunds ranging from 10 to 100 percent of the application fee for failure to meet the statutory timeframes for determining whether an application is complete or require additional information and for taking final action on an application.  (O’Hara)

HB 339 (Roth) and SB 696 (Rodriguez) amend the statutory preemption on local government regulation of agritourism activities by prohibiting a local government from requiring a “certificate of use” for any agricultural land, facility or agritourism venue unless authorized by general law. In addition, the bills prohibit a local government from limiting any state-regulated activity associated with agritourism, including a farm stand, farmers market, brewery, winery, distillery, food processing and preparation activity, food truck or mobile food service operation associated with agritourism agricultural products. (O’Hara)

SB 58 (Stewart) and HB 475 (Killebrew) – Sales Tax Holiday for Micromobility Vehicles and Related Personal Safety Equipment 

HB 113 (Maney) and SB 216 (Hooper) – Tax Collections and Sales

HB 171 (Daniels) – Homestead Exemptions for Totally and Permanently Disabled First Responders

SB 172 (Polsky) and HB 1161 (Arrington) – Verification of Eligibility for Homestead Exemption

SB 218 (Wright) and HB 239 (Killebrew) – Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Veterans

SB 230 (Wright) – Sales Tax on Aircraft Sales and Leases

SB 264 (Rodriguez) and HB 269 (Overdorf) – Aircraft Taxes

HB 331 (Garcia) and HB 333 (Garcia) – Limitation of Property Tax Assessment

SB 378 (Garcia) – Property Tax Assessment

SB 380 (Hooper) and HB 295 (Anderson) – Disclosure of Estimated Ad Valorem Taxes

SB 652 (Garcia) and SB 654 (Garcia) – Homestead Assessments

HB 727 (Amesty) and SB 1004 (Torres) – Tax Exemption for Disabled Ex-servicemembers

SB 890 (Boyd) – Taxation

HB 879 (McFarland) and HB 1453 (Valdes) – Homestead Property Tax Assessment

SB 886 (Gruters) and HB 471 (Fine) – Valuation of Timeshare Units

HB 913 (McFarland) and SB 1710 (Yarborough) – Homestead Tax Exemptions

SB 976 (Perry) and SB 978 (Perry) – Reduction of Assessed Value

SB 1060 (Calatayud) and SB 1062 (Calatayud) – Assessment of Real Property and Residential Real Property

SB 872 (Stewart) – Tourist Development Tax

HB 1001 (Stevenson) and SB 1030 (Rodriguez) – Taxation

HB 1251 (Alvarez) and SB 1560 (Collins) – Tangible Personal Property Tax Exemption

HB 1373 (Alvarez), HB 1375 (Alvarez), SB 1684 (Collins) and SB 1686 (Collins) – Property Tax Discount for Disabled Veterans

HB 1409 (Maggard) and SB 1672 (Grall) – Taxation of State Chartered Banks

SB 1468 (Hutson) and HB 1585 (Steele) – Sales and Use Tax

HB 1481 (Beltran) and SB 1678 (Gruters) – Taxes, Licenses, and Fees

HB 1511 (McClain) and HB 1513 (McClain) – Tax Exemption for Portions of Homestead Property Used as Living Quarters for Parents and Grandparents

SB 1570 (Torres) and HB 1601 (Grantt) – Working Floridians Tax Rebate Program

HB 1594 (Stewart) – Tourist Impact Tax

HB 1599 (Truenow) and SB 1748 (Brodeur) – Tourist Development Tax

HB 1649 (Plakon) – Ad Valorem Taxation

SB 1770 (Gruters) – Tax-filing Extensions

SB 102 (Jones) – Property Insurance

HB 611 (Botana) and SB 1018 (Ingoglia) – Public Deposits

HB 989 (LaMarca) and SB 1098 (DiCeglie) – Department of Financial Services

HB 585 (Rommel) and SB 1132 (Martin) – Access to Financial Institution Customer Accounts

HB 7069 (Ways & Means) and SB 7054 (Community Affairs) – Private Activity Bonds

SB 1072 (Avila) and HB 1081 (Porras) revise the method by which counties distribute collected Tourist Development Taxes apportioning 50% of the revenues to be distributed monthly by the county to the governing authorities of the municipalities within the county. Distributions must be in proportion to the amount collected in the prior month within the municipality as a share of the total amount collected from all municipalities in the county. The bill further revises which expenses and projects may be covered by Tourism Development Taxes. (Chapman)

SB 7074 (Finance and Tax) is the Senate comprehensive tax package and addresses several different areas of taxation. SB 7074 does the following:

•Tourism Development Tax: The bill adds language for the current law provision for a plan for the expense of the revenues. The new language states the plan may not allocate more than 25% of the tax revenue received for a fiscal year to fund an individual project unless approved by a supermajority vote of the governing body.

•Tangible Personal Property: The bill clarifies tangible personal property taxes are not assessed for infrastructure constructed or installed by an electric utility until the infrastructure is deemed substantially complete. Substantially complete means all permits or approvals required for commercial operation have been received or approved. Applies retroactively to January 1, 2024, and first applies to the 2024 property tax roll.

•Homestead Assessment: The bill addresses the correction of mistakes/errors made by the property appraiser in assessing homesteaded properties and defines the timing of the correction of the mistakes, notice to the property owner and the time frame for when the correcting valuation will apply. 

•Assessments of certain residential and nonresidential real property: The bill addresses the correction of mistakes/errors made by the property appraiser in assessing non-homesteaded properties and defines the timing of the correction of the mistakes, notice to the property owner and the time frame for when the correcting valuation will apply.

•Renewable Energy Source Device Assessments: The bill adds biogas to the list of renewable energy sources. Included in the description is the infrastructure associated with biogas energy operations. The bill excludes the infrastructure distribution grid or transmission lines for a natural gas pipeline or distribution system. The amendment first applies to the 2025 property tax roll.

•Taxpayer Friendly Property Assessment Administration: The bill requires property appraisers to provide multi-language versions of the forms prescribed by the department. The bill also provides if exemptions are granted by error of the property appraiser, the taxpayer will not be liable for the unpaid taxes, penalties or interest.

•Exemption of Homesteads: The bill provides for when a homestead property is damaged or destroyed and is uninhabitable by January 1 after the damage occurs, failure to repair or rebuild the homestead property in five years will constitute an abandonment of the property and its status as a homestead. The change is the time frame from three years for abandonment to five years.

•Homestead Exemption Forms: The property appraiser is to provide a form with notices of examples of activities that may affect eligibility of homestead exemptions. The bill further identifies notice requirements by the property appraiser to a property owner explaining why the owner is not entitled to a homestead exemption, any unpaid taxes, penalties and interest due and how they were calculated. 

•Exemption for Disabled Ex-Service Member or Surviving Spouse: The bill increases the property value of the exemption of such a person exempt from taxation from $5,000 to $10,000.

•Home Equity Conversions Mortgage Tax: The bill clarifies only the amount of the principal limit available to the borrower is subject to the taxes. The amendment is intended to be retroactive but does not create a right to a refund.

•Promissory Notes (Alarm Systems): The bill exempts from all excise taxes all non-interest bearing promissory notes, non-interest bearing non-negotiable notes, or non-interest bearing written obligations to pay money, or assignments of salaries, wages or other compensation made, executed, delivered, sold, transferred, or assigned in the state, and for each renewal of the same, of $3,500 or less given by a customer to an alarm systems contractor. 

•Local Option Food and Beverage Tax: The bill clarifies language relating to the referendum.

•Indigent Care and Trauma Center Surtax: The tax is levied by counties. The bill extends the tax to consolidated counties with a population of at least 800,000. 

•Tax Returns: The bill provides for an automatic 10-day extension for the filing of tax returns following a Governor-declared state of emergency under certain circumstances.

•Dealers Credit for Collecting Tax for the Department of Revenue: The bill amends the amount due on such returns only filed by electronic means shall be allowed $45 of the amount of the tax due (up from 2.5%), accounted for and remitted to the Department of Revenue in the form of a deduction.

•Federal Income Tax Filing Extensions: The bill grants an automatic extension of 15 calendar days for filing federal income tax returns if there is a federally declared disaster.

•Qualifying Railroad: The bill redefines “qualified railroad” and provides clarity and timelines for when an applicant must submit required documents to secure tax credits.

•Individual with Unique Abilities Tax Credit Program: The bill increases the amount of tax credits for businesses who employ persons with disabilities. The combined total of tax credits that may granted under this section is $5 million in each of the state fiscal years 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27. 

•Strong Families Tax Credits. The bill extends the program for 2024-25 under certain revised criteria, increases the tax credit cap to $40 million (increased for $20 million), adjusts the application period to January 1 at 9 a.m. of each year, except for the additional $20 million in additional credit, which will be available on July 1 at 9 a.m. 

•Deposit of Revenue from Alcohol and Tobacco Laws: The bill provides that after the required distributions to the Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco Trust Funds, certain allocations will be made monthly to the University of Miami, University of Florida and the Mayo Clinic for Cancer Research until June 30, 2054.

•Agricultural Promotional Campaign Trust Fund: The bill repeals Section 41 of Chapter 2023-157, Florida Statutes.

•Insurance Premium Tax: The bill makes the following changes to the insurance premiums tax: 

•Exempts flood insurance policies for one year. 

•Requires insurers to provide a credit to policyholders for certain insurance policies on residential dwellings for one year and allows insurers to take a credit against their Insurance Premium Tax liability by the amount credited to policyholders. 

•Creates a one-year state fire marshal assessment and surcharge holiday and Florida Insurance Guaranty Association assessment credit.

•Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday: The bill authorizes the holiday this year from June 1 to June 14 and August 24 to September 6.

•Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday: The bill authorizes the holiday this year from July 1 to July 31 on certain types of events and equipment.

•School Supplies Sales Tax Holiday: The bill authorizes the holiday this year from July 29 to August 11 on the retail sale of certain items.

•Tool Time Sales Tax Holiday: The bill authorizes the holiday this year from September 1 to September 7 for the retail sale of certain tools and construction-related items. (Chapman)