BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 213 (Andrade) preempts Cabinet members from adopting any regulations relating to firearms and ammunition. (Taggart)

SB 450 (Bracy) requires each county to establish a citizens review board to independently investigate each law enforcement agency within the county. The bill would require one member of the citizens review board to participate in a law enforcement agency's investigative team for any complaints related to use of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy and discriminatory language. (Taggart)

SB 384 (Rodriguez) – Unlawful Employment Practices 

SB 364 (Gruters) – Discrimination on the Basis of Personal Health Information 

SB 78 (Rodrigues) – Dues and Uniform Assessments

HB 107 (Thompson) and SB 256 (Stewart) – Discrimination in Labor and Employment 

HB 121 (Garrison) and SB 228 (Bradley) – Notaries Public

SB 304 (Taddeo) and HB 6031 (Smith, C.) repeal the preemption on political subdivisions' ability to establish a minimum wage other than the state or federal minimum wage. (Hughes)

SB 476 (Bracy) and HB 179 (Brown) amend the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 to incorporate certain hairstyles as protected from discrimination. The bills prohibit employers from discriminating against an individual for having a protected hairstyle. (Hughes)

SB 230 (Hutson) adds employees of water, sewer or other public works departments of participating employers who work in hazardous conditions to the Special Risk Class of the Florida Retirement System. (Hughes)

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)

HB 81 (Casello) and SB 224 (Berman) – Sales and Use Tax Exemption

SB 302 (Taddeo) – Small Business Saturday Sales Tax Holiday

SB 598 (Perry) – Back-to-school Sales Tax Holiday

HJR 85 (Rizzo) and SJR 156 (Diaz) – Joint Resolution: Homestead Assessment Limitation for School Levies

HB 87 (Rizzo) and SJR 158 (Diaz) – Homestead Assessment Limitation for School Levies

SB 506 (Garcia) and HB 195 (Persons-Mulicka) require that the website maintained by the Department of Management Services include specified information, such as name and total compensation, of all executives, managerial personnel and board members of any organization or other public or private entity that receives funding from the state of $50,000 or more in the aggregate. This information must be provided to DMS by December 31 of each calendar year beginning in 2021. Any organization or entity that fails to comply with this requirement may not receive any additional funding from the state until they are compliant. (Hughes)

SB 516 (Rodriguez) specifics the methodology for the assessment of the structures and equipment used in aquaculture. The bill allows 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)

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 bill also deletes a provision that exempts an out-of-state dealer that makes retail sales into Florida from collecting and remitting any local option surtax. (Hughes)

SB 132 (Hutson) allows the rental of a portion of a dwelling claimed to be a homestead for tax purposes while the dwelling is physically occupied by the owner does not constitute the abandonment of the dwelling as a homestead. (Hughes)

SB 154 (Diaz) amends multiple provisions related to local government financial transparency. The bill expands public notice and public hearing requirements for local option tax increases, other than property taxes and taxes adopted by referendum, and new long-term tax-supported debt issuances. Each local government is required to prominently post on its website the voting records on any action taken by its governing board related to tax increases and new tax-supported debt issuances. The bill imposes requirements on county property appraisers and local governments relating to Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices, millage rate history and the amount of tax levied by each taxing authority on each parcel.

Additionally, local governments will be required to conduct a debt affordability analysis prior to approving the issuance of new long-term tax-supported debt. The bill requires the local government annual audit reports to include information regarding compliance with the requirements of this newly created section of law. Failure to comply would result in the withholding of state-shared revenues. The bill revises the local government reporting requirements for economic development incentives. It requires each municipality to report to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research whether the incentive is provided directly to an individual business or by another entity on behalf of the local government and the source of dollars obligated for the incentive (including local, state and federal). (Hughes)

SB 134 (Brandes) and SB 148 (Bradley) – Alcohol-To-Go

SB 204 (Brandes) – Abolishing the Constitution Revision Commission

SB 212 (Brandes) – Contingency Risk Multipliers

SB 344 (Diaz) – Legislative Review of Occupational Regulations 

SB 630 (Baxley) – Community Associations

SB 628 (Rouson) creates the Florida Urban Agriculture Act and expressly preserves local governmental authority to regulate urban agriculture under certain circumstances. Nonresidential farm buildings, fences or signs located on lands used for urban agriculture would not be exempt from the Florida Building Code or local governmental regulations. (Cruz)

HB 177 (Slosberg) and SB 650 (Taddeo) prohibit the unattended tethering of domestic dogs and cats. The bills also prohibit outdoor tethering of dogs and cats during severe weather. Several exemptions are listed in the bills that would allow dog and cat owners to tether their animals: during organized public events at which the animal is a participant; for agricultural and hunting purposes; while being treated by a veterinarian, groomed or boarded; during law enforcement training; and while being cared for as part of a rescue operation. (Taggart)

SB 540 (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 520 (Burgess) would require social media websites to notify individual and business users within 30 days after suspending their account. The notice must state why the account was suspended or disabled. (Taggart)

HB 45 (Killebrew) prohibits a for-profit business from selling domestic cats and dogs. The bill does not prohibit a city or county from adopting an ordinance on the sale of animals that is more stringent than the bill. (Taggart)

SB 62 (Bradley) eliminates the role of regional planning councils in the state. This bill will authorize local governments to recommend areas of critical state concern to the state land planning agency. The bill allows local governments to enter into agreements to create regional planning entities pursuant to Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, to replace current regional planning councils. (Cruz)