BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

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)

HB 6083 (Rodriguez, Anthony) preempts cities, counties and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from installing, maintaining, or utilizing red light cameras effective July 1, 2023. (Branch)

CS/SB 998 (Hutson) and CS/HB 1339 (Yarborough) makes varied and comprehensive changes to Florida law that impact affordable housing.

Of concern to municipalities, the bills:

•require local governments to allow Accessory Dwelling Units in all single-family residential zones. 

•permit a mobile home park damaged or destroyed by wind, water or other natural force to be rebuilt on the same site with the same density as was approved, permitted or built before being damaged or destroyed. (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. (Branch)

SB 766 (Perry) and HB 611 (Sabatini) impose mandatory lobbyist registration requirements on all governmental entities as defined in the bill, including all municipalities and counties. The bills also amend statutory meeting notice requirements for cities and counties.

The bills require the Florida Commission on Ethics to create the Local Government Lobbyist Registration System, and beginning October 2020, any local government lobbyist registration ordinance or requirement is preempted by the state system. The bills define lobbying, provide exceptions and specify activities that do not constitute lobbying.

A person may not lobby a government entity (which includes any municipality or county) until the person has electronically registered as a lobbyist with the commission. The bills appear to prohibit separate registration fees for each municipality in a county, as they authorize separate registration submissions for each county and prohibits additional fees for governmental entities within each county. The bills specify information to be included in the lobbyist registration. Registration is renewable annually and must include authorization from each principal identified. HB 611 directs the Commission on Ethics to set the annual lobbying registration fee by rule but provides the fee shall not exceed $20 for each principal represented within a county and governmental entities therein and that it may not exceed $5 for each additional principal represented. Registration fee limits and penalty amounts are addressed in a separate Senate bill, SB 768 (Perry).
 

The bills require the commission to publish lobbyist registration information on the internet. It requires a governmental entity to make reasonable efforts to ascertain whether a person who lobbies that entity is registered with the commission. Upon discovery of a violation of requirements of these provisions, the bill authorizes a person or governmental entity to file a complaint with the commission. If probable cause is found, a person may be subject to reprimand, censure, assessment of a civil penalty not to exceed $500 per violation or suspension from lobbying for a specified period. HB 611 authorizes governmental entities to impose additional civil penalties not to exceed $500 per violation or a suspension from lobbying the entity for up to two years.

The bills prohibit a governmental entity from requiring classes, certifications or additional requirements as a requisite for lobbyist registration. They authorize a governmental entity to require lobbyist compensation reporting and disclosure of lobbyist contacts with government officials and authorizes restrictions on the exchange of money or things of value between lobbyists and government officials.
 

By January 2021, a governmental entity shall notify the commission of any local requirement that imposes additional or more stringent obligations with respect to lobbyist compensation reporting or other lobbying activities and provide this information and any associated forms to the commission. By January 2022, each governmental entity shall conform its lobbyist regulation system, if any, to the commission’s system to eliminate duplicative requirements. The bill authorizes the commission to adopt rules to implement its provisions.

Lastly, the bills amend statutory meeting notice requirements for municipalities and counties. Except in the case of emergency meetings, the governing body of a municipality or governing board of a county must provide notice of any meeting of the body or board at least seven days in advance by posting a notice on body or board’s website. The meeting notice must include a statement of the general subject matter to be considered by the body or board. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 637 (DiCeglie) and SB 1066 (Gruters) are comprehensive bills regarding impact fees. The bills require a financial report for each impact fee trust fund annually. Local governments would be prohibited from collecting impact fees earlier than the date the building permit is issued. The bills allow impact fee credits to be transferred from one development to another within the same impact fee jurisdiction for the same type of facility. Each municipality is required to establish an impact fee review committee composed of two members from the local government, two members of the business community, two local contractors and one at large member. CS/CS/HB 637 was amended in committee to define the term infrastructure and in doing so, limit the use of impact fee revenue to capital expenditures specifically listed in the definition. This would include any fixed capital expenditure or fixed capital outlay associated with the construction, reconstruction or improvement of public facilities that have a life expectancy of five or more years; any related land acquisition, land improvement, design, engineering and permitting costs; and all other professional and related costs required to bring the public facilities into service. (Cruz)

CS/HB 537 (Donalds) and SB 778 (Perry) define a "home-based business" and preempt local governments from licensing and regulating home-based businesses. Local governments would be prohibited from enacting or enforcing any ordinance, regulation or policy regarding home-based businesses. However, such home-based businesses could not substantially increase traffic, noise, waste or recycling.  CS/HB 537 was amended to specify that a home-based business may not be regulated or licensed in a manner that is different from other businesses within a local government's jurisdiction. The bill now allows a party to challenge any local government action that violates the preemption. The prevailing party is entitled to recover attorney's fees and costs. (Cruz)

SB 772 (Hutson) and CS/HB 647 (Drake) preempt local government regulations to allow any recreational vehicle park that is damaged or destroyed as a result of wind, water or other natural disaster to be rebuilt on the same site using the same density standards that were approved or permitted before the park was damaged or destroyed. (Cruz)

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

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

• 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.

• further clarify that local regulations cannot prohibit ALL rentals (not just STRs), impose occupancy limits on rental properties or require inspections or licensing of rentals (specific to STRs). 

CS/HB 1011 was amended to add an appropriation of $1,306,368 recurring and $116,749 nonrecurring funds from the Hotels and Restaurants Trust Fund to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation for 19 full-time positions for the purpose of implementing provisions in the bill. (Cook)

SB 168 (Cruz) and HB 139 (Jenne) – Drinking Water in Public Schools

SB 318 (Stewart) – Sale of Sunscreen

SB 338 (Rodriguez) – Energy Efficiency in State Agencies

HB 237 (Roth) – Agricultural Products

SB 386 (Bradley) and HB 1333 (Stone) – Water Management District Boundaries Levy County

HB 401 (Jacobs) and SB 680 (Hutson) – Shark Fins

SB 702 (Albritton) HB 609 (Perez) – Petroleum Cleanup

HB 921 (Brannan) and SB 1514 (Albritton) – Department of Agriculture & Consumer Service

HB 935 (Webb) and SB 1290 (Berman) – Solar Energy Systems in Schools

SB 1042 (Albritton) and HB 1061 (Massullo) – Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve 

HB 1047 (Avila) and SB 1618 (Diaz) – Construction Materials Mining Activities 

HB 1067 (Hattersley) and SB 1360 (Rodriguez) – Fla. Endangered & Threatened Species Act

SB 1474 (Taddeo) and SB 1842 (Powell) – Required Flood Disclosures for Real Property Sales

SB 1772 (Montford) – Environmental Value of Agricultural Lands

HB 6081 (Eskamani) – Conservation Easements

SB 1706 (Montford) specifies that if a governmental entity discovers or confirms that pollution exists in an area that could impact a private or multifamily water system or could impact a public water system not subject to the Florida Safe Drinking Water Act, and such pollution could result in a violation of state water quality standards, any potentially affected person may request the Department of Environmental Protection to test the water source for contamination relating to the pollution. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/SB 712 (Mayfield) and HB 1343 (Payne) make changes to current law relating to water quality improvements: septic systems, requirements for areas located near Outstanding Florida Springs, basin management action plans, stormwater management systems, sanitary sewer overflows and wastewater projects grants. 

•Transfer of Septic Tank Program – The bills transfer regulation of septic tanks from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection and directs DEP to develop rules for the location of septic tanks to prevent groundwater and surface water contamination and to protect public health. The bills establish a septic tank technical advisory committee to submit recommendations for advanced nutrient removal technologies and other regulatory matters. HB 1343 includes additional provisions authorizing hardship variances for certain property subject to the one-septic tank/acre constraint in springs protection areas.

•Stormwater – The bills direct the DEP and water management districts to initiate rulemaking for stormwater design criteria. DEP and the Department of Economic Opportunity, with local government cooperation, are charged with developing a model stormwater management program that will include model ordinances that target nutrient reduction and green infrastructure.

•BMAPs – The bills require a BMAP to include a wastewater plan if DEP determines wastewater treatment facilities are contributing more than 20% of nutrient pollution or if deemed necessary to achieve the nutrient total maximum daily load (TMDL) for the BMAP. The wastewater plan is to be developed by each responsible local government, and the plan must address the facility upgrades or changes necessary to meet TMDL requirements. The wastewater plan must include a timeline for projects and estimated costs, and the plan must be adopted by July 2025. The bills prohibit DEP from requiring a higher cost project option for a wastewater plan if a lower cost option would achieve the same load reductions. The bills require a BMAP to include a septic remediation plan if DEP determines that septic tanks are contributing more than 20% of nutrient pollution or if deemed necessary to achieve the nutrient TMDL for the BMAP. The septic remediation plan must be developed by each responsible local government and must identify projects necessary to reduce nutrient loads and include an inventory of existing septic tanks. The septic remediation plan must also identify septic tanks that will be connected to central sewer, replaced or upgraded, and it must include estimated costs to implement projects. The septic remediation plan must be adopted as part of the BMAP by July 2025. HB 1343 also requires DEP to submit a report to the Legislature by July 2021 evaluating the costs of all septic system and wastewater treatment projects identified in BMAPs and identifying funding plans for the projects on a five-year basis. In addition, HB 1343 requires DEP to submit a report to the Legislature by July 2021 assessing the water quality monitoring being conducted for each BMAP that is subject to nutrient load reductions.

•Agriculture – HB 1343 requires the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to collect fertilizer and nutrient records from producers enrolled in the agricultural best management practices program and provide such records to DEP. Both bills require DACS to conduct onsite inspections of enrollees every two years.

•Wastewater Grant Program – The bills establish a wastewater grant program in DEP to provide a 50% match for specified projects intended to reduce nutrient loads. 

•Biosolids – CS/CS/SB 712 expresses legislative intent to expedite implementation of the Biosolids Technical Advisory Committee. Both bills direct DEP to adopt rules for biosolids. CS/CS/SB 712 provides that such rules are not subject to legislative ratification, while HB 1343 provides that such rules will require legislative ratification.

•Sanitary Sewer Overflows – The bills require wastewater facilities to provide a power outage contingency plan and to develop an assessment, repair and replacement plan that complies with DEP rules. The bills direct DEP to conduct rulemaking on this subject. The plans shall be reported to DEP and must include expenditures taken for assessment, repair and replacement. A wastewater facility’s substantial compliance with these planning and reporting requirements may be evidence for mitigating applicable DEP environmental penalties. In addition, a facility may receive a 10-year operating permit if it is meeting the goals of its action plan. The bills require wastewater facilities to provide annual reports to DEP detailing revenues and expenditures as prescribed by DEP rule, and a facility’s substantial compliance with this requirement may be evidence for mitigating DEP penalties. CS/CS/SB 712 requires DEP to submit an annual report to the Legislature detailing all facilities that experienced sanitary sewer overflows over the reporting period. 

•Additional DEP and Agency Reports – HB 1343 requires DEP to report by July 2020 the status of upgrades by specified wastewater utilities that are required to meet advanced treatment standards under current law, and the bill also requires DEP to submit cost estimates for wastewater facility and septic system remediation projects to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research beginning July 2022. EDR is required to include these cost estimates in its annual water resources assessment.

•Monetary Penalties – The bills modify current law requirements on administrative penalties assessed by DEP. HB 1343 provides a penalty of $2,000 for failure by a wastewater utility to survey its system and take appropriate steps to reduce sanitary sewer overflows and leaks. 

CS/CS/SB 712 provides for a 50% increase in penalties for unauthorized wastewater discharges or for a utility’s failure to comply with planning and reporting requirements set forth in the bill. It also increases other penalties by 50% in current law associated with wastewater discharges. (O’Hara)

SB 1786 (Stewart) prohibits a vessel operator from allowing passengers to ride on the bow of a vessel and sets forth circumstances under which causing wake to law enforcement vessels constitutes careless operation by a vessel operator. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 1095 (Fitizenhagen) and SB 1464 (Flores) provide for noncriminal infractions relating to the transportation of certain hazardous materials regulated by the United States Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and authorize the state fire marshal or fire chief of the county in which the infraction occurs to issue a citation to any excavator or member operator who commits such infraction. CS/HB 1095 was amended to include municipal fire chiefs within this grant of authority to issue citations (current law authorizes citations to also be issued by any local or state law enforcement operator, code inspector or code enforcement officer). The bills provide for enhanced civil penalties and provide that if the citation is issued by one of the locally specified officers, the civil penalty collected by the clerk of court shall be distributed to the government entity of the employee issuing the citation. The bills specify that certain incident reports relating to the excavation of underground utilities must be submitted to the state fire marshal and specified local officers and authorize the fire marshal and local officers to issue citations and civil penalties. The bills remove provisions relating to the Division of Administrative Hearings of certain incidents relating to underground facility excavation. The bills create an underground facility damage prevention review panel under the state fire marshal to review complaints of alleged violations of the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act to identify issues with damage prevention and enforcement. The panel is directed to determine if any statutory changes are needed to make pipes or facilities that transport hazardous materials safer and more resilient. The bills direct that panel members be appointed by Sunshine State One-Call of Florida and specify membership requirements of the panel. (O’Hara)

SB 286 (Rodriguez) and HB 1069 (Joseph) establish a carbon tax credit to reward and incent farmers in Florida to maintain or adopt agricultural practices that help maximize the state’s carbon sequestration potential. The bills define “carbon farming” as the use of strategies to reduce, mitigate and sequester greenhouse gas emissions on land to support a farm operation using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s COMET-Planner and other quantification tools. (O’Hara)

HB 97 (Eskamani) and SB 256 (Rodriguez) direct the Office of Energy within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to develop a statewide plan to generate the state’s electricity from renewable energy by specified dates, requiring 40% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2050. The bills would require state and public entities and utilities to cooperate as requested and would require the Office of Energy to submit the plan and updates to the governor and Legislature. In addition, SB 256 would require the Florida Public Service Commission to adopt rules by 2021 for ratification by the Legislature providing for a renewable portfolio standard requiring each provider to supply renewable energy to its customers directly by procurement or through the purchase of renewable energy credits. (O’Hara)

SB 150 (Brandes) encourages municipalities and counties to establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within their respective jurisdictions to identify and reduce leakage from lateral lines. The voluntary program may encompass methods to identify damaged laterals, consider methods for property owners to repair or replace damaged laterals, and establish a publicly accessible database to store information on properties where defective laterals have been identified. The bill would also require sellers of property to disclose to prospective purchasers any known defects of the property’s sanitary sewer lateral to the purchaser. (O’Hara)

SB 492 (Cruz) amends the Public Notification of Pollution statute to impose new duties on local governments, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health. The bill includes the discharge of perfluorooctanoic acid or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid as reportable releases of pollution under the statute, as well as the discharge of any substance that, if it impacted a water system, would result in a violation of state water quality standards. The bill requires DEP to notify by U.S. mail property owners with private wells in a 1-mile radius of any reported release or discharge under the law. In addition, the bill requires the DOH or a local government entity to notify the DEP and the owner or operator of an installation within 24 hours of discovery of any reportable release as defined in the statute, regardless of whether the department or the local government was the owner or operator of the installation responsible for the release. (O’Hara)

SB 178 (Rodriguez) and HB 579 (Aloupis) require contractors to conduct a sea-level impact projection (SLIP) study on state-funded buildings within the coastal building zone. Buildings subject to this requirement would include construction projects of a municipality, county or any other public agency that is using state-appropriated funds for the project. The bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection to develop rules for conducting a SLIP study. In addition, DEP must also approve and publish copies of all SLIP studies for at least 10 years. (O'Hara)

SB 40 (Rader) would prohibit stores and food service businesses from providing plastic carryout bags to customers. The bill provides exceptions for specified items. In addition, the bill prohibits a food service business from selling or providing single-use plastic straws to customers. The business may provide a straw upon request to a person who requires a straw due to a disability or medical condition. The bill provides a $500 penalty for a first violation and up to $1,000 for a subsequent violation. (O’Hara)