BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

CS/SB 7018 (Infrastructure and Security) and HB 7099 (State Affairs) require the Public Service Commission (PSC), in coordination with the Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to develop and recommend a plan for the development of electric vehicle charging station infrastructure along the State Highway System. The plan must include recommendations for legislation and may include other recommendations as determined by the PSC. The bills require the recommended plan to be developed and submitted to the Governor, the Senate President, and the House Speaker by July 1, 2021. CS/SB 7018 was amended in committee to expand the shot clock and “deemed approved” requirements to permit applications for all utilities in the right of way. The bill would also allow agricultural property owners who have granted a conservation easement over their property to unilaterally encumber the conservation easement by allowing the use of the land for a linear facility and related appurtenances. (Branch, O’Hara)

CS/SB 1352 (Brandes) and CS/HB 1039 (Rommel) establish a regulatory framework for digital advertising on transportation network company vehicles and for luxury ground transportation network company vehicles, preempting such regulation to the state. The bills would also preempt local governments who are currently collecting revenue from the regulation of digital advertising on vehicles. (Branch)

CS/HB 971 (Grant, M.) and CS/SB 1148 (Brandes) create regulations governing the operation of e-bikes and provide that an e-bike or an operator of an e-bike must be afforded all the rights and privileges of a bicycle. The bills authorize an e-bike to operate where bicycles are allowed, including, but not limited to, streets, highways, roadways, shoulders and bicycle lanes. However, local governments are authorized to regulate the operation of e-bikes on the prescribed areas. Additionally, following notice and a public hearing, a municipality or county may restrict or prohibit the operation of an e-bike on the path if the entity finds that such a restriction is necessary in the interest of public safety or to comply with other laws or legal obligations. CS/SB 1148 was amended in committee to remove the preemption language. The FLC now supports CS/SB 1148. (Branch)

SB 1192 (Gruters) and HB 6061 (Roach) repeal the excise tax imposed on aviation fuel, aviation gasoline and kerosene sold or brought into the state. Under current law, the monies from this tax are deposited into the State Transportation Trust Fund to fund various program areas. Repealing the excise tax on aviation fuel will reduce the money going to the STTF. This reduction in revenues will negatively affect the ability of cities to adequately maintain and improve critical infrastructure needed to meet the ever-changing transportation demands. Additionally, repealing the aviation fuel tax will impact the Aviation Grant Program. This grant money, which local governments can apply for, is used to fund projects relating to airport planning, capital improvement, land acquisition and economic development. (Branch)

CS/CS/SB 1000 (Perry) and CS/CS/HB 1371 (Fine) require that crosswalks located at any place other than an intersection of a public street, highway or road be controlled by pedestrian and traffic signals that meet requirements of the Florida Department of Transportation Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. (Branch)

SB 450 (Brandes) – Whistleblower's Act 2020

HB 255 (Antone) and SB 726 (Rouson) – Florida Commission on Human Relations

CS/HB 1169 (McClure) and CS/SB 1102 (Gruters) allow any person not required under current law to be certified or registered to perform specialty contracting services if they work under the supervision of a person who is certified or registered. Contractors that are currently required to be certified or registered include sheet metal contractors, roofing contractors, class A air-conditioning contractors, class C air conditioning contractors and mechanical contractors. The specialty contracting services specified include the construction, remodeling, repair or improvement of commercial or residential swimming pools, hot tubs or spas, or interactive water features. (Cruz)

HB 1193 (Ingoglia) and CS/CS/SB 474 (Albritton) designates the Occupational Freedom and Opportunity Act. This comprehensive 127-page bill removes regulations on certain professions currently overseen by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. These professions include hair braiders, hair and body wrappers, boxing timekeepers and announcers. The bill revises current general licensing provisions to require that a department or board of specified professions and occupations enter into a reciprocal licensing agreement with other states if the practice permits such agreements. The bill also requires that boards or departments post online which jurisdictions have similar licensing agreements or licenses or examinations. (Cruz)

HB 1155 (Hage) and SB 1614 (Perry) create a process by which any legislation that proposes to regulate a profession not currently regulated by the state must adhere to in order to become law. The process requires the legislation to be the least restrictive alternative consistent with the public interest and must consider the impact of the proposed regulation on small businesses, private-sector job creation and additional costs for individuals. (Cruz)

HB 535 (Santiago) and SB 1072 (Wright) exempt special district hospital districts from contributing to a redevelopment trust fund of a community redevelopment agency if the community redevelopment agency extends the time certain for completing redevelopment financing on or after July 1, 2016. (Cruz)

SB 1574 (Baxley) prohibits local or regional governmental entities from entering into contingency fee contracts with a private attorney or law firm to receive an aggregate contingency fee more than a specified amount when handling a lawsuit on behalf of the government entity. The bill establishes the rates that a private attorney or law firm may receive up to 5% recovery over $25 million and up to 25% recovery over $10 million. The aggregate contingency fee is capped at $20 million, not including reasonable costs and expenses. (Cruz)

SB 890 (Perry) and HB 1161 (Plakon) provide that an individual with a valid active local license may work in any local government jurisdiction without having to obtain additional local licensing, take additional examinations or pay additional local licensing fees. The bills explicitly state that this multijurisdictional approval does not impede a local government's ability to collect business taxes from businesses operating within the local government's boundaries. Local governments' disciplinary jurisdiction for licenses within their jurisdictions is also retained. The bills detail the process for a local government to execute its disciplinary jurisdiction. (Cruz)

CS/HB 3 (Grant, M.) and CS/SB 1336 (Perry) expressly preempt the licensing of occupations to the state. The bill defines occupation to include a paid job, work, trade, employment or profession and defines licensing to include any training, education, test, certification, registration, procedure or license that are required for a person to perform an occupation. The bills provide limited exceptions for specified local licenses and any local government licensing of occupations that was expressly authorized by general law. The bills will prohibit a local government from requiring a person to obtain a license for a job scope that does not substantially correspond to the job scope of certain contractor categories set forth in Chapter 489, Florida Statutes. In addition, the bills will authorize local governments to issue journeyman licenses in specified trades. The bills are effective July 1, 2020. CS/SB 1336, was amended in committee to grandfather all existing local regulations on professions. (Cruz)

CS/SB 1302 (Flores) designates the "Florida Fair Claims Act" and waives the sovereign immunity of the state and its agencies and subdivisions (includes cities) for tort claims for damages resulting from the actions of government employees acting in the scope of employment, if those actions are in bad faith, with a malicious purpose, or in a manner exhibiting a disregard for human rights, safety or property. As amended in committee, the bill also increases the per-occurrence limit on the collectability of judgments against government entities from $300,000 to $500,00 and eliminates the $200,000-per-claimant limit. These new limits will apply to lawsuits that have not been adjudicated before the effective date of the bill. Thus, making the new higher monetary limits retroactive. The bill further allows government entities to settle claims in any amount without the approval of a claim bill by the Legislature. In contrast, current law allows government entities to settle and pay amounts exceeding the sovereign immunity caps only to the extent of insurance coverage. Otherwise, current law requires that the payment of the portion of a claim or judgment exceeding the sovereign immunity caps be approved by the Legislature in a claim bill. (Cruz)

HB 6075 (Eskamani) and SB 1848 (Albritton) delete certain provisions that limit the authority of way. The bills also repeal the Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act that relates primarily to the installation of small wireless facilities in public rights of way. (Hughes)

CS/HB 969 (Drake) and CS/SB 1166 (Albritton) designate the Department of Economic Opportunity as lead state agency to facilitate expansion of broadband internet service. The bills require DEO to work collaboratively with certain entities including local governments. The bills create the Florida Office of Broadband within DEO for the purpose of developing, marketing and promoting broadband internet services in this state. The bills allocate $5 million of the funds transferred to Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise for the Multiuse Corridors of Regional Economic Significance (M-CORES) program to be used for projects that assist in the development of broadband infrastructure within or adjacent to a multiuse corridor. (Hughes)

HB 9221 (LaMarca) provides a $500,000 appropriation for the Study of Broadband Service and Infrastructure Investment. (Hughes)

HB 1309 (Ausley) and SB 1776 (Montford) require the Department of Management Services to develop geographic information system maps in collaboration with internet service providers. These maps must identify geographic areas and locations in the state where broadband-capable networks exist, and broadband internet service is available to end users and the download and upload data transmission speeds available in each geographic area. The bills require DMS to annually update the maps and establish a mechanism to receive and verify public input related to broadband internet service. DMS must also monitor, participate in and provide input in proceedings of the Federal Communications Commission related to broadband service. (Hughes)

CS/SB 1128 (Diaz) and CS/CS/HB 1011 (Fischer) change current law relating to vacation rentals, also known as short-term rentals (STRs). The bills were amended to:

•clarify the definition of an advertising platform and narrow it by removing print

advertisements from its scope.

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

•require the department 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.

Additionally, CS/CS/HB 1011 now requires sexual predators to notify the sheriff's office of a temporary residence within 24 hours of arrival. Language carving out the Florida Keys from certain elements of the preemption was also added to the bill. (Cook)

SB 23 (Gottlieb) and SB 70 (Book) – Panic Alarms in Public Schools

SB 94 (Book) – Transfer of Firearms

HB 451 (Good) – Weapons and Firearms

HB 37 (Zika) and SB 290 (Hooper) – School Bus Safety

HB 43 (Latvala) and SB 122 (Rouson) – Child Welfare

SB 210 (Thurston) – State Taxes and Fees

SB 266 (Farmer) – Safe Storage of Loaded Firearms

SB 270 (Farmer) – Sale and Delivery of Firearms

SB 304 (Cruz) and HB 1167 (Polsky) – School Safety Funding

SB 548 (Rodriguez) – Firearms 

HB 809 (Fernandez) – Licenses to Carry Concealed Weapons or Firearms

HB 839 (Daniels) – School District Police Chiefs

HB 6003 (Hill) – Firearms

SB 704 (Rouson) – Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

HB 149 (Overdorf) – Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers

HB 797 (Thompson) and SB 212 (Thurston) – Medical Marijuana Retail Facilities

SB 1508 (Taddeo) and HB 1281(McGhee) – Police Vehicles

SB 736 (Diaz) and HB 747 (Williamson) – Coverage for Air Ambulance Services

HB 507 (Smith, D.) and SB 842 (Wright) – Injured Police Canines 

SB 320 (Stewart) – Emergency Medical Air Transportation Services

HB 245 (Polo) and SB 398 (Berman) – Concealed Weapons and Firearms

SB 1860 (Brandes) and HB 1389 (Smith, C.) – Availability for Marijuana for Adult Use

SB 7032 (Criminal Justice) and HB 7015 (Oversight, Transparency & Public Management) – Body Camera Recordings

HB 7065 (Education Committee/Massullo) – School Safety