BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 50 (Gruters) and HB 15 (Clemons) require retailers with no physical presence in Florida to collect Florida’s sales tax on sales of taxable items delivered to purchasers in Florida if the retailer makes a substantial number of sales into Florida or provides for the taxation of sales facilitated through a marketplace provider. The bills also delete a provision that exempts an out-of-state dealer that makes retail sales into Florida from collecting and remitting any local option surtax. (Hughes)

HB 403 (Giallombardo) and SB 266 (Perry) provide that local governments may not enact or enforce any ordinance, regulation or policy or take any action to license or otherwise regulate a home-based business in a manner that is different from other businesses in a local government’s jurisdiction. The bill authorizes business owners to challenge local government actions and authorizes the prevailing party to recover specified attorney fees and costs. (Cruz)

HB 7 (McClure) and SB 72 (Brandes) provide heightened legal protections against liability as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to certain business entities, educational institutions, governmental entities and religious institutions. The legislation defines governmental entity to include municipalities. The legislation requires the plaintiff to make a detailed account to their claim and submit an affidavit signed by a physician collaborating the belief that the plaintiff’s COVID-19-related damages, injury or death occurred as a result as stated. If the plaintiff fails to do either, the court must dismiss the action without prejudice. The court must also determine whether the business or government entity made a good faith effort to substantially comply with the authoritative or controlling government health standards or guidance at the time the cause of action occurred. The burden of proof lies with the plaintiff to prove that the business or government entity did not make a good faith effort. If the business or government entity is found to have made a good faith effort, they are immune from civil liability. If the court finds that a good faith effort was not made, the plaintiff may proceed with the action. The plaintiff must prove gross negligence (a higher standard than negligence). The bills increase the standard of evidence needed on a COVID-19-related claim. If the plaintiff fails to prove these heightened requirements, the business or government entity is not liable for any act or omission relating to a COVID-19-related claim. The civil action for a COVID-19-related action must be commenced within one year of the alleged incident. The bills will apply retroactively but will not apply to civil suits commenced before the effective date of the act. (Cruz)

HB 1 (Fernandez-Barquin) and SB 484 (Burgess) are aimed at curbing riots and violent protests. Of specific interest to municipalities are provisions that make it difficult to reduce municipal law enforcement funding, in certain cases waive the sovereign immunity of cities for damages arising from riots, and provisions that create specific law enforcement actions when responding to riots.

The legislation creates a process for a resident of a city to file a petition to the Administration Commission within 30 days after the municipality posts its tentative budget if the budget contains a funding reduction to the operating budget of the municipal law enforcement agency. The governing body of the municipality has five working days to file a reply with the Executive Office of the Governor and must deliver a copy of the reply to the petitioner. After receiving the petition, the Executive Office of the governor must provide for a budget hearing to discuss the petition and the reply. The Administration Commission then has 30 days to provide a report of findings and approve or modify the municipal budget. The report by the Commission is final.

The bills also create civil liability for damages caused during a riot. A governing body of a municipality that intentionally obstructs or interferes with the ability of a municipal law enforcement agency to provide reasonable law enforcement protection during a riot or unlawful assembly is civilly liable for any damages arising from the riot. The bills waive sovereign immunity for any governing body found liable, which means cities would not be protected by statutory caps that normally limit the amount someone can recover when suing a government entity.

The bills require law enforcement officers to hold individuals committing crimes related to riots in jail until their first appearance. Law enforcement cannot simply give tickets to anyone cited for crimes related to riots. Lastly, the legislation increases criminal penalties for actions relating to violent protests or riots. (Hughes)

SB 334 (Gruters) and HB 239 (Altman) authorize cities and counties to restrict smoking within the boundaries of any public beach or park they own. The bills specify that municipalities can restrict smoking within the boundaries of a beach or park that is owned by the county, but located within the city, as long as it does not conflict with any county ordinance. Additionally, the bills prohibit smoking in state parks. (Taggart)

SB 296 (Taddeo) – Public Records Relating to Redistricting

SB 400 (Rodrigues) prohibits a city, after receiving a public record request, from filing an action for declaratory judgement against the individual or entity making the request. The bill would prevent cities from seeking clarification from the courts as to whether a record is exempt or exempt and confidential. (Taggart)

SB 456 (Bracy) requires meetings between the chief executive officer of a municipality, or its representative, and the municipality’s governing body to discuss disciplinary procedures for a law enforcement officer to be subject to Florida’s public meeting requirements. (Taggart)

SB 298 (Taddeo) requires municipalities to provide an electronic payment option for any fee related to a public records request. (Taggart)

HB 25 (Daley) and HB 27 (Daley) – Sales of Ammunition

HB 49 (Daley) and SB 218 (Pizzo) – Public Records Exemption for Animal Cruelty Reports

SB 144 (Brandes) – Searches of Cellular Phones and Other Electronic Devices

HB 167 (Hunschofsky) and SB 428 (Polsky) – Sale, Transfer or Storage of Firearms

SB 174 (Cruz) – School Safety Funding

SB 206 (Pizzo) – Visiting County and Municipal Detention Facilities

HB 229 (Salzman) – Hazardous Walking Conditions for K-12 Students

SB 294 (Farmer) – Safe Storage of Loaded Firearms

SB 330 (Farmer) – Sale and Delivery of Firearms

SB 454 (Bracy) – Law Enforcement Agency Data Reporting

SB 458 (Bracy) – Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officers

SB 460 (Bracy) – Early Intervention Systems for Law Enforcement Officers

SB 462 (Bracy) – Law Enforcement Officer Use of Force Deaths

SB 480 (Bracy) and HB 277 (Thompson) – Statewide Police Misconduct Registry

SB 560 (Farmer) – Repeal of Prohibition on Firearm Recordkeeping

SB 562 (Thurston) and SB 564 (Thurston) – Medical Marijuana Retail Facilities

HB 6001 (Sabatini) – Licenses to Carry Concealed Weapons or Firearms

HB 91 (Slosberg) prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle while holding or touching a wireless communication device. 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)

HB 6009 (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, 2024. (Branch)

SB 498 (Gruters) and HB 259 (Williamson) authorize an individual who is a licensed concealed weapons or firearms holder to carry their weapon or firearm on property of a church, synagogue or any other religious institution unless specifically prohibited by the religious institution. (Taggart)

SB 672 (Taddeo) and HB 6033 (Daley) repeal the current statutory preemption prohibiting cities and counties from regulating firearms and ammunition. (Taggart)

SB 464 (Bracy) requires the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to establish and maintain standards for instruction of officers in implicit bias and de-escalation of conflict to minimize violence. The training would be required for all officers to obtain initial certification. (Taggart)

SB 452 (Bracy) requires law enforcement agencies to require officers to wear body cameras and use vehicle dash cameras while on duty. The bill does not provide a funding source for law enforcement agencies to comply with the bill. (Taggart)

HB 197 (Gregory) adds service as a law enforcement officer as grounds for increased criminal penalties for certain criminal offenses that occur due to a prejudice because of their service as a law enforcement officer. The bill also authorizes agencies to include crisis intervention training in the course curriculum for initial certification training. (Taggart)

HB 187 (McCurdy) prohibits law enforcement agencies from purchasing certain surplus military equipment. The bill also prohibits law enforcement agencies from using tear gas and kinetic impact munitions on an assembly or protest unless the gathering has been declared unlawful. (Taggart)

SB 438 (Bracy) requires law enforcement agencies to have a written policy regarding the investigation of officer-involved deaths. The bill also requires law enforcement agencies to use at least two investigators who are not employed by the agency. Traffic-related, officer-involved deaths would be required to be investigated by a crash reconstruction unit not employed by the agency. Reports by the investigators must be provided to the state attorney in the judicial circuit where the officer-involved death occurred. (Taggart)

SB 518 (Diaz) and SB 44 (Wright) allow police and fire departments to use drones to manage crowd control and traffic as well as gather evidence at a crime or traffic crash scene. The bill permits a state agency or political subdivision to operate drones for assessing damage after a natural disaster. (Branch)