BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 1690 (Hutson) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to update its list and report on critically eroded beaches and the associated comprehensive long-term management plans to include certain beaches eroded by Hurricanes Matthew, Irma and Michael and identified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as critically eroded. (O’Hara)

HB 779 (Altman) and SB 1730 (Stewart) remove a provision in current law that requires income from conservation lands to be used in a specified way to retain its exemption from ad valorem taxes. In addition, the bills authorize conservation easement agreements to allow recreational activities. (O’Hara)

HB 1133 (Leek) and SB 1504 (Wright) define the terms “upland structure,” “vulnerable” and “wave runup” for purposes of the Dennis Jones Beach and Shore Preservation Act. The bills require, rather than authorize, the Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits for coastal armoring if it determines private structures or public infrastructure is vulnerable to damage from coastal storms or sea level rise. Similarly, the bills require, rather than authorize, the Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits for present installations of coastal armoring. (O’Hara)

SB 652 (Taddeo) and HB 1237 (Casello) impose an excise tax upon bottled water operators at a rate of 12.5 cents per gallon of water extracted from waters of the state. The bills direct proceeds of the tax to be deposited into the Wastewater Treatment and Stormwater Management Revolving Loan Trust Fund and direct that proceeds must be used to provide grants and loans to local governments, with priority given to projects that connect septic systems to central wastewater facilities. (O’Hara)

SB 1776 (Cruz) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to charge bottled water companies a fee of 5 cents per gallon of water extracted and requires the Department to distribute the funds collected from fees to the appropriate water management district to be used for the purposes of replenishing aquifers, creating alternative water supplies and addressing water quality impacts. (O’Hara)

SB 1774 (Cruz) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor the consumptive use permits for all bottled water companies to ensure compliance with the limits of allowable water extraction from an approved source. The bill exempts bottled water companies that are permitted to extract less than 55 million gallons per year. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 1177 (Avila) and CS/SB 1482 (Garcia) establish the Biscayne Bay Commission to develop coordinated plans, projects and budgets to improve the bay. The bills authorize the Commission to accept any functions delegated to it by any governmental entity through a memorandum of understanding. The bills provide for membership, powers and duties of the Commission. The bills prohibit sewage disposal facilities from disposing of wastes into Biscayne Bay without providing advanced waste treatment. (O’Hara)

SB 1240 (Hutson) provides a specified annual appropriation (the lesser of $100 million or the total amount requested to fully fund the annual project list) from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection to fund beach and inlet projects. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 1515 (Duggan) and CS/CS/CS/SB 1946 (Polsky) authorize counties to establish anchoring limitation areas in densely populated urban areas. The bills grandfather existing anchoring limitation areas from the new requirements imposed by the bills. The bills provide size and other criteria for the designation of an anchoring limitation area, including a requirement that a person may not anchor a vessel for more than 30 consecutive days in any six-month period in an anchoring limitation area. The bills revise provisions prohibiting and authorizing anchoring of vessels in anchoring limitation areas and provide for vessel owners and operators to present certain proof that a vessel has not exceeded certain anchoring limitations. The bills revise provisions of current law authorizing removal and impoundment of certain vessels from anchoring limitation areas and declare that a vessel that is the subject of more than three violations within 12 months is a public nuisance. The bills authorize the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop rules to implement the new provisions. (O’Hara)

HB 57 (Andrade), SB 1194 (Hooper) and SB 1500 (Harrell) – Transportation

SB 178 (Cruz) – Public School Transportation

SB 422 (Rouson) and HB 389 (Mariano) – Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority

SB 684 (Brandes) and HB 707 (Chaney) – Department of Transportation

HB 729 (Gregory) and SB 1364 (Perry) – Transportation Projects

HB 785 (Busatta Cabrera)  and SB 708 (Brandes) – Peer-to-peer Car Sharing

SB 862 (Gruters) and HB 695 (Duran) – Digital License Plate Pilot Program

SB 924 (Hooper) – Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance Program

SB 978 (Hooper) and HB 677 (Rommel) – Motor Vehicle Dealers

SB 1126 (Harrell) and HB 1385 (LaMarca) – Department of Transportation

HB 1289 (McFarland) and SB 1620 (Brandes) – Autonomous Vehicles

SB 1134 (Harrell) – Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

HB 1143 (Grall) and SB 1466 (Hutson) – Airports

SB 278 (Baxley) and HB 1643 (McClain) provide criminal penalties for a person who commits a moving violation that causes serious bodily injury to or causes the death of a vulnerable road user. Of interest to cities, current law defines “vulnerable road user” to include a person engaged in work on a highway such as a utility service worker. (Taggart)

CS/HB 1283 (Beltran) and SB 1660 (Burgess) rename the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority as the West Florida Expressway Authority. The West Florida Expressway Authority shall assume the governance and control of the expressway system operated by the former Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority including its assets, personnel, contracts, obligations, liabilities, facilities and tangible and intangible properties. The governing body shall initially consist of a board of seven members but shall be subject to increase to no more than 13 members upon the expansion of the authority’s jurisdiction. (Taggart)

SB 1130 (Brandes) dissolves the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority. The bill requires the Authority to discharge its liabilities and settle and close its activities and affairs. The bill also provides for the distribution of the Authority’s assets or the proceeds of such assets, such that each local general-purpose government represented on the Authority’s board receives a distribution generally in proportion to each entity’s contribution to the acquisition of the assets. (Taggart)

CS/CS/CS/HB 267 (Roach) and CS/CS/CS/SB 426 (Boyd) relate to the preemption of seaport regulations. CS/SB 426 prohibits a local ballot initiative or referendum from restricting maritime commerce in the seaports of this state including, but not limited to, restricting such commerce based on several factors. CS/HB 267 provides that municipal government may not restrict or regulate commerce in the seaports including, but not limited to, regulating or restricting a vessel's type or size; source or type of cargo; or number, origin or nationality of passengers. The bills were further amended to limit the preemption to seaports within areas of critical state concern. (Taggart)

SB 1896 (Wright) allows a local governmental entity the authority to enact ordinances relating to multipassenger all-terrain vehicle operation and equipment that are more restrictive than those enumerated in current law. The bill requires the local governmental entity to consult with the Department of Transportation before adopting the ordinance. (Taggart)

CS/HB 365 (Caruso) and CS/CS/SB 566 (Perry) require peer-to-peer (P2P) car-sharing service sites to impose a $2 per day surcharge upon lease or rental motor vehicle through the P2P car-sharing program, which is similar to the requirements of a traditional car rental company. For P2P sharing program agreements involving a shared vehicle that is registered in the state, the surcharge shall be $1 per day. The surcharge applies to the first 30 days of a car-sharing period for any P2P car-sharing program agreement. CS/CS/SB 566 was amended to remove the $2 per day surcharge on P2P car sharing. (Taggart)

CS/CS/SB 140 (Brandes) and HB 819 (Learned) create additional fees and a licensing tax for electric and hybrid vehicles. Sixty-four percent of the proceeds from these additional fees and taxes is deposited into the State Transportation Trust Fund, and 36% of the proceeds goes to the county where the vehicle was registered. Until June 30, 2024 the funds going to the county must be used to provide publicly available infrastructure for charging electric vehicles. Starting July 1, 2024, the funds shall be distributed to Board of County Commissioners and municipalities within the county in proportion to the previous month’s distribution of the local option fuel taxes. Local governments must use the funds for transportation expenditures. (Taggart)

SB 1276 (Hooper) requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to publish notice when electric and hybrid vehicles make up 5% or more of the total number of vehicles registered in this state. The fees for electric and hybrid vehicles begin after the Department publishes such notice. These fees will be adjusted at certain rates based on the Consumer Price Index. The bill also requires that proceeds of certain fees be deposited into the State Transportation Trust Fund. (Taggart)

CS/SB 138 (Brandes) and HB 817 (Toledo) create the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant Program to provide financial assistance to municipalities and other entities for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The bills authorize the Department of Transportation to develop and publish criteria for the grant application. The bills also authorize the Department of Transportation to establish by rule the maximum weight and speed of a personal delivery device. (Taggart)

HB 1039 (Plakon) and SB 1230 (Rodriguez) require the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to establish an automatic license reader system under the newly created Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program. Additionally, a county or municipality in coordination with the Department may authorize by contract or interlocal agreement the installation of automatic license plate reader systems on streets and highways under its jurisdiction. (Taggart)