BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 208 (Brandes) allows the owner of a business or a contracted third party to install, maintain and operate a renewable energy source device on or about the structure in which the business operates or on any property the business leases. The bill provides the business owner or third party may sell the electricity that is generated from the device to another business immediately adjacent to or within the same parcel as the business and such sales shall not be considered or regulated as retail sales of electricity. The bill provides that if the energy-producing business or its customers require additional related services from a utility, such as backup generation capacity or transmission services, the utility may recover the full cost of providing those services. The bill authorizes a utility to enter a contract with a business to install, maintain or operate any type of renewable energy source device on or about the structure from which the business operates and to sell the electricity to an adjacent business and the bill provides that such electricity sales shall not be considered or regulated as retail sales of electricity. The bill specifies that if the Public Service Commission determines that the level of reduction in electricity purchases by customers using renewable energy source devices is significant enough to adversely impact the rates that other customers pay in the rate territory, the Commission may approve a utility’s requests to recover its costs of providing the electricity needed by all customers, including customers using a renewable energy source device. The bill provides for methodology of such cost recovery, a process for customers to challenge the cost recovery and authorized rulemaking by the Commission. The bill may have a negative fiscal impact on municipal revenues, including potential impacts to municipal electric franchise revenues and municipal public service utility taxes. (O’Hara)

HB 6023 (Eskamani) and SB 596 (Stewart) repeal current law provisions preempting specified local government regulations relating to tree pruning, trimming and removal on residential property. (O’Hara)

HB 6027 (Grieco) and SB 594 (Stewart) remove the current law prohibition of local laws relating to regulation of auxiliary containers, wrappings and disposable plastic bags. The bills also repeal the current law preemption of local laws relating to the use or sale of polystyrene products. (O’Hara)

HB 287 (Shoaf) amends current law which provides that a property owner who enters an agreement with a state agency for outdoor recreation purposes, where the agreement recognizes the agency is responsible for personal injury, loss or damage resulting from the agency’s use of the property under the terms of the agreement subject to the limitations of Section 768.28, Florida Statutes, owes no duty of care to keep the area safe for entry or use by others or to give warning of any hazardous conditions. The bill expands the definition of “state agency” to include any public entity created by law and revises the “outdoor recreation” purposes included within its scope to include traversing property for the purpose of ingress and egress to or from public lands that are used for outdoor recreation purposes. (O’Hara)

HB 333 (Aloupis) and SB 722 (Rodriguez) prohibit the drilling of wells or use of structures for the production of gas or petroleum products within the Everglades Protection Area. (O’Hara)

SB 136 (Brandes) creates the Energy 2040 Task Force within the Florida Public Service Commission to project the state’s electric energy needs over the next 20 years and determine how to best meet those needs while increasing competition and consumer choice. It directs the Task Force to recommend appropriate electric policies and statutory changes, including consideration of the effects of allowing nonutility retail sales of renewable energy; the use of microgrids; emerging electric technologies and concepts; the impacts of state and local government taxes on government revenues and the electric supply; and the environmental impact of electricity production, generation and transmission. The bill specifies Task Force members, authorizes the Task Force to establish any necessary advisory committees and directs the Task Force to submit its recommendations to the governor and Legislature by January 2023. (O’Hara)

HB 331 (McClure) and SB 694 (Rodrigues) require a local government that displaces an existing solid waste provider to, in addition to the procedural and three-year notice requirements in current law, pay the provider an amount equal to the company’s preceding 18 months’ gross receipts for the service in the displaced area. (O’Hara)

SB 652 (Taddeo) imposes an excise tax upon bottled water operators at a rate of 12.5 cents per gallon of water extracted from waters of the state. It directs proceeds of the tax to be deposited into the Wastewater Treatment and Stormwater Management Revolving Loan Trust Fund and directs 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)

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)

SB 522 (Diaz) and HB 219 (Fischer) change current law relating to vacation rentals, also known as short-term rentals (STRs). The bills would:

•Preempt to the state the regulation of STRs, including licensure and inspections.

•Clarify the definition of an advertising platform to capture online marketplaces.

•Allow a “grandfathered” city to amend its short-term rental regulations if the amendment makes the regulation less restrictive.

•Undo any local registration, inspection or licensing requirements specific to STRs adopted since 2014.

•Require that any ordinances (noise, parking, trash, etc.), must be applied uniformly to all residential properties, regardless of how the property is being used.

•Require the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to maintain vacation rental property license information in an accessible electronic format.

•Require advertising platforms to verify a property’s license number prior to publishing its advertisement on its platform and every quarter thereafter.

•Require advertising platforms to quarterly provide the department with the physical

address of the vacation rental properties that advertise on their platforms.

•Impose a duty on advertising platforms to collect and remit taxes in relation to the

rental of a vacation rental property through its platform.

•Establish requirements that advertising platforms adopt an anti-discrimination

policy and inform their users of the public lodging discrimination prohibition found in current law.

•Clarify that the provision of the bill shall not supersede any current or future community association-governing document. (Taggart)

HB 57 (Andrade) – Transportation

SB 178 (Cruz) – Public School Transportation

SB 422 (Rouson) – Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority

SB 684 (Brandes) – Department of Transportation

SB 278 (Baxley) provides 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. (Branch)

HB 267 (Roach) and SB 426 (Boyd) prohibit local governments from restricting or regulating commerce; the size and types of vessels; the source or type of cargo; or the number, origin or nationality of passengers in state seaports. (Branch)

SB 566 (Perry) requires 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. (Branch)

SB 140 (Brandes) creates additional fees and a licensing tax for electric and hybrid vehicles. The proceeds from these additional fees and taxes are deposited equally into the State Transportation Trust Fund and the newly created Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant Program. (Branch)

SB 138 (Brandes) creates the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant Program to provide financial assistance to municipalities and other entities for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to develop and publish criteria for the grant application. The bill also authorizes the Department of Transportation to establish by rule the maximum weight and speed of a personal delivery device. (Branch)

HB 57 (Andrade) – Transportation

SB 178 (Cruz) – Public School Transportation

SB 422 (Rouson) – Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority

SB 684 (Brandes) – Department of Transportation

SB 278 (Baxley) provides 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. (Branch)

HB 267 (Roach) and SB 426 (Boyd) prohibit local governments from restricting or regulating commerce; the size and types of vessels; the source or type of cargo; or the number, origin or nationality of passengers in state seaports. (Branch)

SB 566 (Perry) requires 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. (Branch)