BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 233 (Willhite) and SB 408 (Jones) require businesses to accept cash payments for any good or service if the customer is physically present at the place of business. The bills exempt transactions above $5,000. Of interest to local governments, the bills exempt parking facilities owned by a municipality regardless of who operates the parking facility. (Taggart)

SB 706 (Perry) and HB 851 (McClain) require instead of encourages local governments that adopt school concurrency to apply such concurrency to development on a districtwide basis so that a concurrency determination for a specific development will be based upon the availability of school capacity districtwide. The bills specify that proportionate-share mitigation must be set aside and not spent if an improvement has not been identified. (Cruz)

HB 259 (Roth) prohibits counties and municipalities from preventing construction or placement of photovoltaic solar installation on existing permitted structures from being considered accessory uses to those structures. The bill also requires a broker to provide written disclosures regarding photovoltaic solar installations before selling residential real estate. (Cruz)

HB 219 (Tuck) revises rights that are not affected or extinguished by marketable record titles and requires persons with certain interests in land that may be extinguished by this act to file a specified notice to preserve their interests. (Cruz)

HB 739 (Borrero) and SB 1248 (Gruters) specify that a county or municipality must review applications for development permits or orders within 30 days of receiving the application and issue a letter indicating that all required information is submitted or specifying any areas that are deficient. In an attempt to make a more uniform process for future developments, the bills also require that each local government adopt residential infill development standards in its land use regulations by October 1, 2022. The legislation requires local governments to adopt certain guidelines when adopting its residential infill development standards that may preempt existing land use regulations. (Cruz)

HB 681 (Rodriguez) and SB 1030 (Taddeo) clarify that impact fee credits are assignable and transferable any time after establishment from one development or parcel to any other as long as it falls within the same impact fee zone or district, or that is within the same impact fee zone in the county or municipality. (Cruz)

HB 6017 (Eskamani)and SB 580 (Torres) – Rent Control Measures

SB 518 (Brodeur) amends current law provisions that prohibit local governments from requiring permits for the removal of "dangerous" trees on residential property. The bill clarifies what constitutes residential property and increases the level of assessment and type of documentation that must be provided by an arborist or landscape architect under the law. (Branch)

SB 962 (Bradley) allows a municipality or county greater flexibility in approving mixed-use residential development projects if the portion of the project is used for affordable housing. The bill provides for an approval process. (Branch)

SB 152 (Farmer) proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would require any general law that preempts a subject of legislation to the state to pass by a two-thirds vote of each house of the legislature. (O'Hara)

SB 280 (Hutson) and HB 403 (Giallombardo) change the legal standards and processes used by courts to assess the validity of municipal ordinances and imposes new substantive requirements on municipalities for adopting and enforcing ordinances. First, the bills require a municipality to prepare a business impact statement before adopting an ordinance and specifies the minimum content that must be included in the statement. Emergency ordinances are exempt. The statement must be posted on the municipality's website concurrent with a publication of notice of the proposed ordinance. Second, the bills require a municipality to suspend enforcement of an ordinance that is the subject of a civil action, including any appeals, challenging the ordinance's validity on the grounds that it is preempted by state law, is arbitrary or unreasonable, or is otherwise prohibited by law. This requirement applies only if: the action was filed within 20 days of the ordinance's effective date; suspension of the ordinance was requested in the complaint, and the municipality was served with a copy of the complaint. Third, the bills authorize the award of attorney fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action commenced after October 1, 2022, in which the adoption or enforcement of an ordinance is alleged to be arbitrary or unreasonable or prohibited by law other than by express preemption (i.e., is impliedly preempted or is in conflict with state law). Ordinances adopted to implement Part II of Chapter 163 (comprehensive planning and land development regulation), section 553.73 (Building Code), or section 633.202 (Fire Code) are exempt from this provision. Fourth, the bill specifies factors a court must consider in determining whether an ordinance is arbitrary or unreasonable, including: the extent to which the ordinance protects public health, safety and welfare; the impact of the ordinance on the personal rights and privileges of municipal residents; the total economic impact of the ordinance; and the business impact statement prepared by the municipality. It requires courts to prioritize and expedite the disposition of cases in which enforcement of an ordinance is suspended. It authorizes the award of attorney fees and costs pursuant to section 57.112. The court prioritization and new legal standard do not apply to emergency ordinances, ordinances relating to comprehensive planning and land development regulations, ordinances implementing the Florida Building Code and ordinances implementing the Florida Fire Code. (O'Hara)

SB 620 (Hutson) and HB 569 (McClure) require compensation for business damages caused by local government ordinances or charter provisions. A business that has been engaged in a lawful business in Florida for at least three years may claim business damages from a local government if the government enacts or amends an ordinance or charter provision that will cause a reduction of at least 15% of the business' revenue or profit. A local government is not liable for business damages caused by: ordinances required to comply with state or federal law; emergency ordinances, declarations or orders adopted pursuant to the state Emergency Management Act; a temporary emergency ordinance which remains in effect for no more than 90 days; ordinances that "increase economic freedom." The bills specify procedures and methodologies for a business to recover business damages, attorney fees and costs against a local government. The bills' provisions are nearly identical to the business damage procedures set forth in Florida's eminent domain statute. (O'Hara)

HB 85 (Eskamani) and SB 246 (Book) – Tax Exemption for Diapers and Incontinence Products

HB 201 (Daley) and SB 356 (Jones) – Sales Tax Holiday for ENERGY STAR & WaterSense Products

SB 234 (Jones) and HB 613 (Robinson, F.) – Working Floridians Tax Rebate Program

HB 439 (Smith, C.) and SB 712 (Taddeo) – Small Business Saturday Sales Tax Holiday 

SB 500 (Perry) – Back-to-school Sales Tax Holiday

HB 509 (Yarborough) and SB 830 (Hooper) – Sales Tax on Mobile Homes

HB 589 (Harding) and SB 930 (Hooper) – Sales Tax Exemptions for Public Works

HB 673 (Shoaf) – Tourist development Taxes

HB 763 (Casello) and SB 1146 (Rodriguez) – Tax Exemption for Charges for Private Investigations

SB 808 (Gruters) – Sales Tax Holiday for Disaster Preparedness Supplies

HB 863 (DiCeglie) – Sales Tax Refunds for Building Mitigation Retrofit Improvements

SB 952 (Gruters) – Taxation 

SB 1130 (Brodeur) – Tax Collector Budgets

SB 1132 (Gruters) – Valuation of Timeshare Real Property

HB 6051 (Overdorf) and SB 786 (Hutson) – Aircraft Sales and Lease Tax

HB 6075 (Eskamani) – Tourist Development Taxes

HB 149 (Tuck) and SB 404 (Rodriguez) specify the methodology for the assessment of the structures and equipment used in aquaculture. The bills allow the property owner to request removal of its agriculture classification if the tax assessed based on such methodology exceeds the tax assessed based on the value of the structures and equipment. (Hughes)

HB 6093 (Gregory) repeals Section 212.031, Florida Statutes, which subjects the renting, leasing, letting or granting a license for the use of any real property to sales and use tax. (Hughes)

SB 1056 (Hutson) revises the criteria of the homestead property tax exemption to state that the rental of a portion of a dwelling claimed to be a homestead while the dwelling is physically occupied by the owner does not constitute the abandonment of the dwelling as a homestead. (Hughes)

HB 243 (Roth) and SB 1126 (Harrell) exempt, from property taxation, property used by educational institutions that hold a leasehold interest in certain leases that exceed 98 years. (Hughes)

SB 1150 (Rodriguez, A.) and HB 495 (Rodriguez, Ant.) authorize municipalities and counties to adopt ordinances to grant ad valorem tax exemptions to property owners whose properties are used for the governmental or public purpose of providing affordable housing. (Hughes)

HB 751 (Clemons) revises the definition of the term "inventory" to include construction equipment by a heavy equipment rental dealer for sale or short-term rental in the normal course of business on the annual assessment date. This change only applies to non-school levies. (Hughes)

HB 13 (Gottlieb) and SB 154 (Rodriguez) increase the property tax exemption from $500 to $5,000 for homesteaded residents who are widows, widowers, blind or totally and permanently disabled. (Hughes)