BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 362 (Hooper) and HB 213 (Ponder) revise the scheduled repeal of Visit Florida from July 1, 2020, to October 1, 2028. (Cook)

HB 779 (Roach) and CS/CS/SB 922 (Gruters) amend current law to extend special economic development to qualified businesses located in a county affected by Hurricane Michael. The bills authorize the Department of Economic Opportunity to waive certain wage or financial support eligibility requirements for certain businesses expanding its existing operations or relocating to a county affected by Hurricane Michael and increases the maximum tax refund payment from $6,000 to $10,000 multiplied per job specified in the tax refund agreement. (Cook)

CS/SB 426 (Montford) and CS/CS/HB 1139 (Clemons) revise how the Regional Rural Development Grants Program and the Rural Infrastructure Fund operates. Specifically, the bills:

•require grant recipients to serve or be located within a rural area of opportunity. 

•authorize organizations that serve an entire rural area of opportunity to receive grants of up to $50,000 annually. 

•increase the maximum amount of funds the Department of Economic Opportunity may expend for the program from $750,000 to $1 million annually. 

•reduce the percentage of grant funds that must be matched with non-state funds from 100 percent to 30 percent of the state’s contribution. 

•specify that regional economic development organizations may use grant funds to build their professional capacity and provide technical assistance. 

•add as eligible use of funds: upgrades to or development of public tourism infrastructure and improvements to broadband internet service access in unserved or underserved rural communities.

•require projects that improve service and access to be through a partnership that was publicly noticed and competitively bid.

•establish certain contract and public notice requirements. (Cook)

CS/CS/HB 1139 was amended to remove the provision that increased the amount DEO may expend on Regional Rural Development Grants from $750,000 to $1 million. The bill also reduces the percentage of grant funds that must be matched with nonstate funds from 100 percent to 25 percent of the state’s contribution. CS/SB 426 still includes this provision. (Cook)

SB 732 (Gruters) and HB 511 (Fine) – Insulation Products

SB 1380 (Albritton) HB 1441 (Maggard) – Construction Contracts

SB 1666 (Albritton) and HB 619 (Overdorf) authorize that electronic billboards may be placed on lands designated as agricultural lands if:

•the parcel can accommodate the billboard. 

•there are sufficient utilities to support the operation. 

• local government zoning ordinances allow the placement. (Branch)

CS/SB 1594 (Powell) and HB 1263 (Watson, C.) prohibit individuals from influencing fire-safety inspectors by threatening, coercing, or attempting to interfere with an inspection. The bills also provide criminal penalties for these violations. (Branch)

SB 710 (Albritton) establishes new requirements to the Florida Building Code that the entire envelope of multistory residential buildings, certain new coastal construction, new residential construction in a high-velocity hurricane zone and hurricane shelters be constructed with high wind-resistant construction materials. The bill requires that all parts or systems of a building or structure envelope meet impact test criteria. (Branch)

HB 85 (Casello) requires the Florida Building Commission to incorporate into the Florida Building Code specified requirements relating to the installation of “diesel exhaust capture systems” in fire stations. (Branch/Hughes)

SB 954 (Perry) and CS/CS/HB 459 (Overdorf) preempt local governments from adopting zoning and development regulations that require specific building design elements for single- and two-family dwellings, unless certain conditions are met. The bills define the term “building design elements” to mean exterior color, type or style of exterior cladding; style or material of roof structures or porches; exterior nonstructural architectural ornamentation; location or architectural styling of windows or doors; and number, type, and layout of rooms.

The bills provide a limited exemption from the preemption by allowing allow local governments to adopt and enforce regulations that require “building design elements” for single- and two-family dwellings only if they are listed on the Historical Preservation Registry, housed within a Community Redevelopment Agency or if regulations are adopted in order to implement the National Flood Insurance Program.

The bills also allow a substantially affected person to petition the Florida Building Commission to review a local government regulation to determine if the regulation is actually an unauthorized amendment to the Building Code. (Branch)

CS/CS/SB 474 (Albritton) deals with the deregulation of certain professions and occupations. The bill preempts the regulation of mobile food dispensing vehicles (food trucks) to the state and prohibits local governments from prohibiting the operation of food trucks. Additionally, the bill also deletes the authority of the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Association of Counties to recommend a list of candidates for consideration to the Florida Building Commission. (Branch)

CS/SB 504 (Perry) and CS/CS/HB 279 (Smith, D.) address public building construction projects. CS/SB 504 requires a local government, in deciding whether it is in the public’s best interest for the local government to perform a public building construction project using its own services, to consider the estimated costs of the project using generally accepted cost-accounting principles. The bill also clarifies that a local government who issues a bidding document or other request for proposal must disclose all fees affecting the project that was put out for bid. This will have the effect of requiring a local government to disclose not only its fees associated with the project but those of another local government where such fees will impact the project put out to bid.

CS/CS/HB 279 requires a local government, in deciding whether it is in the public’s best interest for the local government to perform a public building construction project using its own services, to fully account for all costs associated with performing and completing the work, including the cost of direct materials to be used in the constructions. This is more in line with the process of how local governments are currently estimating the costs of such projects. CS/CS/HB 279 clarifies that a local government shall list all other governmental entities that may have additional permits or fees generated by the project when issuing a bidding document. (Branch)

CS/SB 246 (Hooper) and CS/HB 101 (Andrade) would allow municipalities the ability to retain only up to 5% across an entire construction project. Currently, municipalities can withhold up to 10% of retainage for the first half of a construction project and up to 5% on the last half. Retainage serves as a safeguard against possible overpayment to the general contractor when the estimated percentage of project completion, used for periodic payments, exceeds the actual percentage completed. Additionally, retainage helps to ensure that the project is 100% complete prior to funds being released to the contractor. CS/HB 101 passed both chambers and is awaiting action by the governor. (Branch)

CS/CS/HB 1029 (Rodriguez, Anthony) includes language that would allow charter school the ability to expand under their preexisting zoning without obtaining a special exception or rezoning. The bill requires a local government, if requested by a charter school, to provide within 14 days a written justification for any challenged requirements. The bill would also award attorneys fees and court costs to charter schools only if they prevailed. (Branch)

HB 995 (Davis) and SB 1014 (Rouson) require certain 911 public safety telecommunicators to receive telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and the Department of Health to establish a procedure to monitor adherence to this training. (Cook)

HB 1405 (Greico) requires public swimming pools to have a telephone available for all public swimming pool users in case of an emergency. (Cook)

SB 1472 (Book) authorizes the governor to mandate certain improvements to a local government’s public safety communications system if the Department of Management Services finds that the system is inadequate. A system can be found “inadequate” if the system is unable to support the public safety needs of a community based on the age of the system, the number of towers available within the community or the ability of the system as a whole to withstand high volumes of radio and cellular traffic during a specific timeframe. The bill requires local governments to reimburse the state for improvements made to inadequate community communication systems. (Cook)

CS/SB 1258 (Diaz) and CS/CS/HB 915 (Avila) revise several provisions to enhance transparency and accountability for large-hub commercial service airports. The bills require that at least once every seven years the auditor general conduct operational and financial audits of the state’s large-hub commercial service airports. The bills also require the members of the governing bodies of large-hub commercial service airports to submit the more detailed financial disclosure (Form 6) to the Commission on Ethics. The bills mandate the governing body of each commercial service airport to establish and maintain a website containing specified information including meeting notices, agendas, approved budgets and certain documents submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration. (Branch)

SB 954 (Perry) and CS/CS/HB 459 (Overdorf) preempt local governments from adopting zoning and development regulations that require specific building design elements for single- and two-family dwellings, unless certain conditions are met. The bills define the term “building design elements” to mean exterior color, type or style of exterior cladding; style or material of roof structures or porches; exterior nonstructural architectural ornamentation; location or architectural styling of windows or doors; and number, type, and layout of rooms.

The bills provide a limited exemption from the preemption by allowing allow local governments to adopt and enforce regulations that require “building design elements” for single- and two-family dwellings only if they are listed on the Historical Preservation Registry, housed within a Community Redevelopment Agency or if regulations are adopted in order to implement the National Flood Insurance Program.

The bills also allow a substantially affected person to petition the Florida Building Commission to review a local government regulation to determine if the regulation is actually an unauthorized amendment to the Building Code. (Branch)

CS/SB 504 (Perry) and CS/CS/HB 279 (Smith, D.) address public building construction projects. CS/SB 504 requires a local government, in deciding whether it is in the public’s best interest for the local government to perform a public building construction project using its own services, to consider the estimated costs of the project using generally accepted cost-accounting principles. The bill also clarifies that a local government who issues a bidding document or other request for proposal must disclose all fees affecting the project that was put out for bid. This will have the effect of requiring a local government to disclose not only its fees associated with the project but those of another local government where such fees will impact the project put out to bid.

CS/CS/HB 279 requires a local government, in deciding whether it is in the public’s best interest for the local government to perform a public building construction project using its own services, to fully account for all costs associated with performing and completing the work, including the cost of direct materials to be used in the constructions. This is more in line with the process of how local governments are currently estimating the costs of such projects. CS/CS/HB 279 clarifies that a local government shall list all other governmental entities that may have additional permits or fees generated by the project when issuing a bidding document. (Branch)

SB 1710 (Torres) prohibits investor-owned utilities and municipal electric utilities or an affiliate of such utility from engaging in construction contracting as defined in Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, and prohibits such utility or affiliate from providing bookkeeping, billing, financial, legal or insurance products or services that are related to construction contracting, including warranty products or construction liens. The bill prohibits such utilities or affiliates from engaging in construction contracting services in a manner that subsidizes the activities of the utility to the extent of changing rates or service charges. Affiliates or contractors are prohibited from using any utility asset, the cost of which is recoverable in the utility’s regulated rates, to engage in construction contracting services unless the utility is compensated for use of the asset. (O’Hara)