BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HJR 1369 (Chamberlin) proposes an amendment to the constitution to authorize the Legislature to create two new property tax exemptions. The first would create a $100,000 exemption from assessed value of real property for all levies, the second would create a $250,000 homestead exemption for residential property owned by someone 65 or older. The constitutional amendment must be approved by at least 60% of electors at the November 2024 general election and will take effect on January 1, 2025. (Chapman)

HB 1195 (Garrison) and SB 1322 (Ingoglia) would require local government to have two-thirds vote of the membership of the governing body to increase the millage rate. (Chapman)

HB 609 (Botana) and SB 1144 (DiCeglie) would repeal local governments' ability to levy a local business tax. (Chapman)

HB 503 (Fabricio) and SB 578 (Ingoglia) would prohibit a local government from imposing, levying or collecting certain fees relating to the utilization of a virtual office. (Chapman)

HB 7019 (Buchanan) is the implementing bill for HJR 7015 and HJR 7017 if it is voter-approved and would increase the maximum amount of the exemption on homestead property from a maximum amount of $25,000 to a maximum amount of $50,000, for homestead property with an assessed value greater than $50,000. (Chapman)

HJR 7015 (Buchanan) proposes an amendment to the constitution to authorize the Legislature to increase the maximum amount of the exemption on homestead property from a maximum amount of $25,000 to a maximum amount of $50,000, for homestead property with an assessed value greater than $50,000. The constitutional amendment must be approved by at least 60% of electors at the November 2024 general election and will take effect on January 1, 2025. (Chapman)

HB 1105 (Caruso) and SB 1376 (Wright) are the implementing bills for HJR 1103 (Caruso) and SJR 1374 (Wright) if it is voter-approved and would allow newly established homestead property to be assessed at less than just value if the property was previously assessed as non-homestead property and has not changed ownership and authorizing residency requirements for homestead exemptions. (Chapman)

HJR 1103 (Caruso) and SJR 1374 (Wright) propose an amendment to the constitution to authorize the Legislature to allow newly established homestead property to be assessed at less than just value if the property was previously assessed as non-homestead property and has not changed ownership and authorizing residency requirements for homestead exemptions. The constitutional amendment must be approved by at least 60% of electors at the November 2024 general election and will take effect on January 1, 2025. (Chapman)

HB 635 (McFarland) and SB 820 (Grall) amend S 170.201 FS and provide an exemption for public and private preschools from specified special assessments levied by a municipality.  (Chapman)

HJR 7017 (Buchanan) proposes an amendment to the constitution to authorize the Legislature to require an annual adjustment to the value of certain homestead exemptions. The constitutional amendment must be approved by at least 60% of electors at the November 2024 general election and will take effect on January 1, 2025. (Chapman)

SB 220 (Wright) and HB 689 (Smith) expand the current ad valorem tax exemption for not-for-profit homes for the aged. The bills will allow a home for the aged owned by a separate entity that is owned by a not-for-profit corporation to also receive the exemption. (Chapman)

HJR 53 (Tant) and SJR 618 (Simon) propose an amendment to the constitution to authorize the Legislature to provide for a property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of a quadriplegic who was receiving a property tax exemption on real estate used and owned as a homestead at the time of their death. The constitutional amendment must be approved by at least 60% of electors at the November 2024 general election and will take effect on January 1, 2025. (Chapman)

HB 57 (Salzman) and SB 438 (Ingoglia) – Term Limits for County Commissioners

SB 780 (Yarborough) and HB 963 (Daniels) – Early Voting Sites

HB 281 (Arrington) and SB 724 (Davis) – Candidate Qualifying

HB 1035 (Bracy Davis) and SB 1522 (Thompson) – Elections

SB 326 (Ingoglia) – Term Limits

SB 1752 (Ingoglia) and HB 1669 (Roth) – Elections

SB 1602 (Gruters) – Elections

SB 734 (Ingoglia) and HB 735 (Andrade) impose restrictions on the renewal or extension of contracts for the chief executive officer of a municipality and the municipal general counsel; lobbyist registration requirements for lobbying counties, municipalities or special districts; and revise physical quorum requirements for public meetings. The bills prohibit a person from lobbying a county, municipality, or special district unless he or she is registered as a lobbyist with such entity. “Lobby” is defined as seeking, on behalf of another person or group, to influence a decision of the governing entity in an area of policy or procurement or in an attempt to obtain the goodwill of an official or employee of such entity. “Lobbyist” has the same meaning as in section 112.3215(1). A municipality, county, or special district may use the state’s executive or legislative branch lobbyist registration forms, or it may develop its own lobbyist registration form that requires disclosure of the name and address of the lobbyist, the name and address of the principal, and the existence of any direct or indirect business association or financial relationship the lobbyist has with any officer or employee of the county, municipality, or special district. The municipality, county or special district must make available to the public copies of lobbyist registrations and, if the entity maintains a website, it must make the information available on its website. The local lobbyist registration must be filed electronically with the Florida Commission on Ethics. The bill authorizes a municipality, county or special district to impose a lobbyist registration fee not to exceed $40 for each principal represented. The bill authorizes the Florida Commission on Ethics or the county or municipality’s local ethics commission to investigate violations of the registration requirements. It specifies that it does not preempt or supersede any ordinance or charter provision establishing a lobbyist registration program before July 2024, but provides that the state law prevails over a conflicting local requirement. An ordinance may include additional or more stringent disclosure requirements. The bills prohibit public officers, public employees, a local government attorney, or candidate for nomination or election from soliciting or accepting anything of value from a foreign country of concern. The bills prohibit the governing body of a municipality from renewing or extending the employment contract of a chief executive officer of the municipality during the eight months immediately preceding a general election for the mayor or for members of the governing body unless the renewal or extension is approved by a unanimous vote. In addition, the bills prohibit the governing body of a municipality from renewing or extending the employment contract of a municipal general counsel during the eight months immediately preceding a general election for mayor or for members of the governing body unless the renewal or extension is approved by a unanimous vote. The bills specify that when at least two members of the governing body are physically present, a member of the governing body may be considered present if, by the use of any technology, the member can participate in the deliberation of the governing body. The bills define “present” as meaning that a member of a governing body has, for the purpose of determining a quorum, the ability to participate meaningfully in the deliberation of the governing body, either by physical presence at the meeting or by his or her use of technology that allows the member to see, hear and speak at the meeting as if physically present. (O’Hara)

SB 782 (Yarborough) amends section 102.012, Florida Statutes, to require election boards to include at least one member from each of the two largest political parties in the state. (O’Hara)

SB 190 (Garcia) and HB 671 (Borrero) require a law enforcement officer to transport ballot boxes or ballot transfer containers from a supervisor of elections to a precinct and require that all ballot boxes and ballot transfer containers be supervised by a law enforcement officer at all times. The bills require all ballot boxes, ballots, ballot stubs, memoranda and papers relating to the tabulation of votes and proclamation of results under section 102.071, Florida Statutes, to be transported by a law enforcement officer. (O’Hara)

SB 7014 (Ethics and Elections Committee) and HB 1597 (Brackett) create timeframes for the completion of investigations of alleged ethics violations conducted by the Florida Commission on Ethics (Commission). The bills create a harmless error standard for the Commission’s failure to meet the deadlines, tolls the timeframes until any related criminal cases are resolved and that specifies the new timeframes will apply to existing and new cases. In addition, the bills provide that terms of Commission members are limited to two terms total, rather than two successive terms. It adds candidates for public office to the categories of persons authorized to recover costs and attorney fees for defending against a maliciously filed ethics complaint. The bills also require a vote of six Commission members to reject or deviate from a recommendation of Commission counsel to the Commission and removes the Commission’s ability to conduct a formal hearing to determine disputed material facts. The bills authorize an alleged violator to request a hearing before the Division of Administrative Hearings or to select an informal hearing with the Commission. Finally, the bills conform the maximum penalty (changing the penalty from $10,000 to $20,000) for a violation of the constitutional prohibition against lobbying by a public officer to the penalties authorized for violations of other ethics laws. (O’Hara)

HB 919 (Rizo) and CS/SB 850 (DiCeglie) require political advertisements, electioneering communications or other miscellaneous advertisements to include a specified disclaimer if the advertisement or communication was created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence and the generated content appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not actually occur. The bills subject a person who fails to include the disclaimer in an advertisement or communication to civil penalties. (O’Hara)

HB 473 (Giallombardo) and SB 658 (DiCeglie) exempt cities and counties from liability in connection with a cybersecurity incident if the local entity has substantially complied with the current training and cybersecurity standards requirements under Section 282.3185, Florida Statutes. (Wagoner)

HB 1555 (Giallombardo) and SB 1662 (Collins) make several changes to the State Cybersecurity Act (Act). The bills revise the reporting timelines and requirements for the “Cybersecurity Operations Center,” adding additional requirements for the state chief information officer and the chief information security officer. The Cybersecurity Operations Center is required to notify the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives as soon as possible, but no later than 24 hours after an incident. The bills require the Cybercrime Operations Center to notify the Cybercrime Office of the Department of Law Enforcement of any incidents, provide regular reports and provide aid to investigate the incident. The bills require the Cybersecurity Operations Center to provide a consolidated incident report to the Governor, the Attorney General and the Executive Director of the Department of Law Enforcement by the 30th day after the end of each quarter. 

Local Government Incident Notification:

The bills require local governments to immediately notify the Cybercrime Office in the Department of Law Enforcement and the local sheriff who is responsible for receiving notification of a cybercrime incident in a local jurisdiction. Further, the bills require immediate notification to the state chief information security officer. Once a notification has been made to appropriate parties, the status and continued reporting updates are required to the local sheriff until there is no further risk to the public or other critical state systems. (Wagoner)