BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 772 (Hutson) and 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 1382 (Albritton) is a comprehensive bill that prohibits local governments from recognizing or granting certain legal rights to the natural environment (e.g., granting legal standing to waterbodies) or granting enforcement of such rights to persons or political subdivision. The bill also authorizes basin management action plans to include a cooperative agricultural regional water quality management element or a cooperative urban, suburban, commercial or institutional regional water quality improvement element. The agricultural element shall be adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection and may include cost-effective and financially feasible cooperative agricultural nutrient reduction projects intended to reduce nutrient impacts from agricultural operations. Participants in the plan must have already implemented interim measures, best management practices or other measures adopted by DEP. The cooperative urban, et al. element shall be developed by DEP and may include cost- effective, financially practical regional nutrient reduction projects that may be implemented to reduce nutrient impacts from urban, suburban, commercial or institutional operations. The bills direct DEP to work with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to improve the accuracy of data in BMAPs and shall work with producers to identify technologies for implementation. The bills establish a nutrient reduction cost-share program within DEP that authorizes the agency to fund projects that may reduce nutrient pollution, including projects identified in the new plan elements authorized by the bills. The bills specify funding priority for certain projects and require projects to have a 50% match of local funds. (O’Hara)

HB 225 (Zika) and SB 824 (Hooper) amend current law relating to “Property Assessed Clean Energy” (PACE) programs and requirements. The bill provides definitions for PACE administrator, PACE contractor, PACE loan, PACE loan contract, qualifying commercial real property and qualifying residential property. It provides that a local government may enter an agreement with a PACE administrator to administer the program and specifies that local government or PACE administrator may enter into a PACE loan contract only with the record owner of the property. It eliminates current language in law stating that a recorded PACE loan contract provides constructive notice that the assessment to be levied constitutes a lien of equal dignity to county taxes and assessments. The bill includes new provisions regarding a PACE loan’s lien position. It provides that a PACE loan is: subordinate to all liens on the property recorded before the PACE lien notice is recorded; subordinate to a first mortgage on the property recorded after the PACE notice is recorded; and superior to any lien recorded after the PACE notice is recorded. The bill imposes substantial new requirements on local governments financing for qualifying residential property (maturity date of PACE loan, limits on loan amount, total combined debt may not exceed 75 percent of assessed value). The bill specifies required contents for PACE loan contracts for residential real property and prohibits such contracts from resulting in negative amortization, charging any interest upon interest or fees or containing any provision requiring forced arbitration or restricting class action. The bill prohibits a residential PACE contract from being entered until it has been verified the property owner has the ability to repay the loan: owner’s monthly debt to income ratio does not exceed 43 percent and must have sufficient residual income to meet basic living expenses. The bill specifies methodology and sources for verification of property owner’s income, debt and expenses. The bill requires the local government or PACE administrator, prior to execution of a contract, to confirm the key terms of the PACE agreement and scope of energy improvement work with the property owner in a live, recorded telephone conversation. The bill requires specific disclosures be made to the owner during the telephone call. The bill requires that prior to entering a PACE loan on residential property, the household be screened for eligibility for low-or no-cost programs that may be provided by government or utility service providers. The bill prohibits a local government from permitting a property owner from entering a contract unless the owner is given a right to cancel the contract within a specified timeframe. It requires the use of a specified financing estimate and disclosure form and that such form be provided to an owner at least three business days before a contract is signed. The bill delineates prohibited practices by PACE administrators or PACE contractors. The bill prohibits a local government or PACE administrator from entering into a PACE contract unless written notice has been provided to, and written consent obtained from, each of the holders of any mortgage on the qualifying residential or commercial property. It provides that a PACE loan shall not be made unless the holder of any mortgage on the qualifying property provides signed confirmation that entering into the loan contract does not constitute an event of default or give rise to any remedies under the terms of the mortgage loan. The bill provides for preservation of claims and defenses for successors in interest to property owners and provides for attorney fees and costs for aggrieved residential property owners. (O’Hara)

HB 1199 (Ingoglia) and SB 1382 (Albritton) prohibit local governments from recognizing or granting certain legal rights to the natural environment (e.g., granting legal standing to waterbodies) or granting enforcement of such rights to persons or political subdivision. (O’Hara)

SB 768 (Perry) is linked to SB 766 (Perry). SB 768 establishes a statewide local government lobbyist registration fee. It provides the fee may not exceed $40 for each principal represented for one county and governmental entities therein or exceed $5 for each principal represented for each additional county and governmental entities therein. The bill prohibits a local government from charging a fee for the registration of lobbyists or principals, or for the enforcement of lobbyist regulation except as may be reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of such enforcement. Enforcement fees may be charged only if enforcement action is initiated and are limited to the direct and actual cost of the enforcement action. (O’Hara)

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)

HB 3 (Grant, M.) and 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. According to SB 1336, existing local regulations on businesses will sunset in July 2022. (Cruz)

SB 1128 (Diaz) and HB 1011 (Fischer) are bills filed 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). (Cook)

SB 54 (Book) and HB 87 (Mercado) – Sales Tax Exemption: Diapers and Incontinence Products 

HB 93 (Casello) and SB 192 (Berman) – Sales Tax Exemption: Assist Living Facilities

SB 90 (Stewart) – Discrimination in Labor and Employment

SJR 282 (Diaz) – Constitutional Amendment: Homestead Assessment Limitation for Certain Persons 

SB 284 (Diaz) – Implementation Bill: Homestead Assessments for Certain Persons

SB 296 (Albritton) – Property Assessment Administration 

HB 429 (Valdes) and SB 508 (Baxley) – Sales Tax Absorption 

SB 524 (Gruters) – Sales Tax Holiday for Disaster Preparedness Supplies

SB 542 (Perry) – Back-to-school Sales Tax Holiday

HB 453 (Duggan) – Law Enforcement and Correctional Officers

SB 456 (Rodriguez) – Minimum Wage 

HB 161 (Toledo) and SB 206 (Rouson) – Prohibited Discrimination

SB 334 (Stewart) expands the authorized use of the tourist development tax to include promoting or incentivizing film or television productions in this state. (Hughes)

HB 281 (Hattersley) and SB 484 (Simmons) expands the definition of “first responder” for purposes of eligibility for the property tax exemption to include a law enforcement officer or firefighter who, before becoming a resident of this state, sustained a total and permanent disability in the line of duty while serving as a full-time paid law enforcement officer or firefighter in another state. This change would apply to the 2021 tax rolls. (Hughes)

HB 223 (Buchanan) and SB 514 (Gruters) provide that a person receiving a homestead ad valorem tax exemption in Florida and simultaneously receiving a similar exemption in another state that requires permanent residency in that state is entitled to the Florida homestead exemption if that person or family unit can demonstrate that they did not apply for the exemption and that they have relinquished the exemption in the other state. The bills require forms to claim homestead exemption that are promulgated by the Department of Revenue to ask the taxpayer whether he or she receives an ad valorem tax exemption or tax credit in another state where permanent residency is required as a basis for the granting of that exemption. (Hughes)

SB 148 (Brandes) and HB 371 (Roth) increase the timeframe, from two to three years, during which the accrued benefit from specified limitations on homestead property tax assessments may be transferred from a prior homestead to a new homestead. The bills also revise the timeframe during which an owner of homestead property significantly damaged or destroyed by a named tropical storm or hurricane must establish a new homestead to make a certain election and requires the passage of the amendment to the state Constitution proposed by SJR 146, HJR 369 or a similar joint resolution having substantially the same specific intent and purpose. (Hughes)

SJR  146 (Brandes) and HJR 369 (Roth) propose an amendment to the state constitution to increase the period from two to three years when accrued Save-Our-Homes benefits may be transferred from a prior homestead to a new homestead. These proposed amendments require 60 percent approval of the electorate for passage. (Hughes)

HB 141 (Bush) prohibits tax collectors from assessing or collecting certain charges on property tax bills from low-income seniors and schoolteachers at public schools who meet certain requirements. The bill also prohibits tax collectors from authorizing a debt collection entity to collect certain charges on property tax bills for those identified groups and prohibits tax collectors from selling tax certificates on certain properties if outstanding amounts due are only for delinquent payment of property tax. The bill requires the Department of Revenue to work with tax collectors to identify mechanisms, strategies and funding sources for helping certain populations pay for delinquent charges. (Hughes)

HB 7007 (Oversight, Transparency & Public Management Subcommittee) removes the scheduled repeal date of the current public record exemption, thereby maintaining the public record exemption for taxpayer e-mail addresses held by tax collectors for certain tax notice purposes. (Hughes)

HJR 477 (Rommel) proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution requiring that any local tax or fee that is imposed, authorized or raised by a local jurisdiction, including municipalities, be approved by two-thirds of the membership of the jurisdiction. “Fee” is defined as any charge or payment required by ordinance or regulation. The proposed amendment requires any local tax or fee imposed or raised under this section to be contained in a separate resolution or ordinance. This proposed amendment would require 60 percent approval of the electorate for passage. (Hughes)

SB 126 (Gruters) and HB 159 (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 which makes retail sales into this state from collecting and remitting any local option surtax. (Hughes)

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 474 (Albritton) deals with the deregulation of certain professions and occupations. Of concern to cities, the bill deletes the ability 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. Under current law, FLC and FAC have a joint representative on the commission. The bill revises the membership of the Florida Building Commission from 27 members to 19. (Branch)