BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 71 (Woodson) and SB 568 (Polsky) create an abatement of property taxes for residential dwellings that are uninhabitable due to a catastrophic event. If a residential dwelling is rendered uninhabitable for at least 30 days due to a catastrophic event, taxes originally levied for the tax year in which the catastrophic event occurred may be abated if certain conditions are met. The bills require the tax collector to notify each affected local government of the reduction of property taxes due to this bill. This change would apply retroactively to January 1, 2021. (Hughes)

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)

SB 524 (Hutson) amends various provisions of the Florida Election Code. The bill prohibits the use of ranked-choice voting to determine election or nomination to elective office and voids existing or future local ordinances authorizing the use of ranked-choice voting. It removes the limitation on the amount of aggregate fines that may be assessed against a third-party voter registration organization and revises the candidate oath regarding outstanding fines, fees or penalties owed for certain ethics or campaign finance violations. The bill authorizes 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

SB 800 (Albritton) and HB 685 (Drake) authorize municipalities to exempt by ordinance the public service tax on electrical energy for qualified purchasers determined by the Department of Revenue (DOR). The bills also provide a sales tax exemption for building materials being used to revitalize real property located within an opportunity zone. The bills specify 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 bills specify the information that the applicant will be required to provide in their application to the local government and give the local government ten 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 bills expand 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 bills also modify 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 bills also create 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)

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)

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 1740 (Wright) and HB 1287 (Botana) provide an exemption from public records information 

related to threat technology and operational technology systems of a utility owned or operated by a unit of local government, including but not limited to plans and actions made or taken in response to a ransomware attack or other cyberattack. The bills also exempt from public record information related to insurance or other risk mitigation products or coverages, including but not limited to deductible or self-insurance amounts, coverage limits, and policy terms and conditions. (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)

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)

SB 828 (Hutson) requires local governments who operate critical infrastructure to have those systems and controls comply with and meet operational standards as defined in the ISA/IED 62443 series of standards as determined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework by July 1, 2024. ISA/IED 62443 standards are an international series of standards for industrial communication networks and systems developed by the International Society of Automation. The bill also requires local governments who operate these systems to conduct an annual risk assessment and create a mitigation plan. Systems that fall under these requirements include, but are not limited to, public transportation, water and wastewater treatment facilities, public utilities, public services subject to jurisdiction by the Public Service Commission, and public buildings. By July 1, 2026, 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. Additionally, the bill specifies civil penalties for noncompliance if a local government does not make a good-faith effort to comply with these standards and an incident occurs. 

HB 1147 (Giallombardo) is similar to 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 the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. 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

SB 1604 (Perry) and HB 771 (Andrade) require the Florida Building Commission to develop uniform standards for the maintenance and periodic inspections of existing building structures and facilities across the state. (Branch)

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)