Legislative Bill Summaries

The 2021 regular Legislative Session commences on March 2 and will adjourn on April 30. Below are summaries of all the bills with municipal impact that have been filed to date.

If you have any questions on a specific bill, please contact the lobbyist tracking the bill. This is indicated by the last name in parenthesis following each bill summary. Links to the House and Senate are located at the bottom of the page.

01-RADAR BILLS

Combating Public Disorder (Oppose – Impact on Municipal Operations)

HB 1 (Fernandez-Barquin) and SB 484 (Burgess) are aimed at curbing riots and violent protests. Of specific interest to municipalities are provisions that make it difficult to reduce municipal law enforcement funding, in certain cases waive the sovereign immunity of cities for damages arising from riots and provisions that create specific law enforcement actions when responding to riots. The legislation creates a process for a resident of a city to file a petition to the Administration Commission within 30 days after the municipality posts its tentative budget if the budget contains a funding reduction to the operating budget of the municipal law enforcement agency. The governing body of the municipality has five working days to file a reply with the Executive Office of the Governor and must deliver a copy of the reply to the petitioner. After receiving the petition, the Executive Office of the Governor must provide for a budget hearing to discuss the petition and the reply. The Administration Commission then has 30 days to provide a report of findings and approve or modify the municipal budget. The report by the Commission is final. The bills also create civil liability for damages caused during a riot. A governing body of a municipality that intentionally obstructs or interferes with the ability of a municipal law enforcement agency to provide reasonable law enforcement protection during a riot or unlawful assembly is civilly liable for any damages arising from the riot. The bills waive sovereign immunity for any governing body found liable, which means cities would not be protected by statutory caps that normally limit the amount someone can recover when suing a government entity. The bills require law enforcement officers to hold individuals committing crimes related to riots in jail until their first appearance. Law enforcement cannot simply give tickets to anyone cited for crimes related to riots. Lastly, the legislation increases criminal penalties for actions relating to violent protests or riots. (Hughes)

COVID-19 Civil Liability Protection (Support)

CS/HB 7 (McClure) and SB 72 (Brandes) provide heightened legal protections against liability as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to certain business entities, educational institutions, governmental entities and religious institutions. The legislation defines governmental entity to include municipalities. The legislation requires the plaintiff to make a detailed account to their claim and submit an affidavit signed by a physician collaborating the belief that the plaintiff’s COVID-19-related damages, injury or death occurred as a result as stated. If the plaintiff fails to do either, the court must dismiss the action without prejudice. The court must also determine whether the business or government entity made a good faith effort to substantially comply with the authoritative or controlling government health standards or guidance at the time the cause of action occurred. The burden of proof lies with the plaintiff to prove that the business or government entity did not make a good faith effort. If the business or government entity is found to have made a good faith effort, they are immune from civil liability. If the court finds that a good faith effort was not made, the plaintiff may proceed with the action. The plaintiff must prove gross negligence (a higher standard than negligence). The bills increase the standard of evidence needed on a COVID-19-related claim. If the plaintiff fails to prove these heightened requirements, the business or government entity is not liable for any act or omission relating to a COVID-19-related claim. The civil action for a COVID-19-related action must be commenced within one year of the alleged incident. The bills will apply retroactively but will not apply to civil suits commenced before the effective date of the act. (Cruz)

Home-Based Businesses (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 403 (Giallombardo) and SB 266 (Perry) provide that local governments may not enact or enforce any ordinance, regulation or policy or take any action to license or otherwise regulate a home-based business in a manner that is different from other businesses in a local government’s jurisdiction. The bill authorizes business owners to challenge local government actions and authorizes the prevailing party to recover specified attorney fees and costs. (Cruz)

Sales and Use Tax (Support)

CS/CS/SB 50 (Gruters) and HB 15 (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 bills also delete a provision that exempts an out-of-state dealer that makes retail sales into Florida from collecting and remitting any local option surtax. (Hughes)

Vacation Rentals (Oppose – Preemption)

CS/SB 522 (Diaz) and CS/HB 219 (Fischer) change current law relating to vacation rentals, also known as short-term rentals (STRs). The bills would: •Preempt to the state the regulation of STRs, including licensure and inspections. •Clarify the definition of an advertising platform to capture online marketplaces. •Allow a “grandfathered” city to amend its short-term rental regulations if the amendment makes the regulation less restrictive. •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. •Require the Department of Business and Professional Regulation 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. The bills were amended to require sexual predators to notify local law enforcement if they will be staying for 24 hours or more in a short-term rental. Additionally, they were amended to allow for the collection of tourist development taxes. SB 522 specifies that advertising platforms must comply with any applicable merchant business tax receipts on short-term rentals. (Taggart)

Wastewater Discharges (Oppose – Mandate)

CS/SB 64 (Albritton) and CS/HB 263 (Maggard) require certain domestic wastewater utilities to submit a plan to the Department of Environmental Protection by November 2021 for eliminating non-beneficial surface water discharges (e.g., treated effluent, reclaimed water or reuse water) within a five-year time frame. The bills require DEP to approve such plans if a plan meets the following conditions: The plan will result in eliminating the surface water discharge, the plan will result in meeting statutory requirements relating to ocean outfalls or the plan does not provide for the complete elimination of the surface water discharge but affirmatively demonstrates that specified conditions are present. The conditions are: The discharge is associated with an indirect potable reuse project, the discharge is a wet weather discharge in accordance with a permit, the discharge is into a stormwater system for subsequent withdrawal for irrigation purposes, the utility has a reuse system that achieves 90% reuse of reclaimed water or the discharge provides direct ecological or public water supply benefits. In addition, the bills require DEP to also approve a plan if a utility demonstrates that it is technically, economically or environmentally infeasible to implement the requirements within five years; that implementing the requirements would create severe undue economic hardship on the community served and that the plan implements the requirements to the extent feasible. Plans approved by DEP must be fully implemented by January 2028 except for plans that implement a potable reuse project, in which case such projects must be implemented by January 2030. A utility that fails to timely submit an approved plan may not discharge to surface waters after January 2028. Violations of the bills’ requirements are subject to administrative and civil penalties. The bills require utilities to update plans on an annual basis and demonstrate whether statutory conditions and exemptions remain applicable. The bills require DEP to submit an annual report to the governor and Legislature detailing implementation status. The bills exempt the following domestic wastewater facilities from its requirements: facilities located in a fiscally constrained county, facilities located in a municipality that is entirely within a rural area of opportunity and facilities located in a municipality having less than $10,000 in total annual revenue. The bills authorize DEP to establish a potable reuse technical advisory committee, provide that potable reuse projects are eligible for alternative water supply funding and provide that potable reuse projects are eligible for expedited permitting and priority state funding. The bills require local governments to offer density or intensity bonuses to developers to fully offset the developers’ capital costs of purchasing and installing residential graywater technologies in proposed or existing developments containing at least 25 residential dwellings. (O’Hara)

Articles in this section: 6

02-PREEMPTIONS

Attorney General Designation of Matters of Great Governmental Concern (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 1053 (Overdorf), SB 1874 (Burgess) and SB 102 (Burgess) will have the effect of limiting or prohibiting various civil actions and class action matters by local governments including recent class actions involving opioids, PFAS and predatory lending. The bills authorize the attorney general to unilaterally declare circumstances involving economic loss or harm to governmental entities in five or more counties as a “matter of great governmental concern.” Upon such a declaration, the attorney general would have sole authority to file a civil action on behalf of the affected governmental entities. The bills authorize the attorney general to intervene in any pending civil proceeding in federal or state court (including pending appeals) and dismiss, consolidate, settle or take any action he or she believes to be in the public interest. A declaration by the attorney general that a matter is of great governmental concern will operate to abate or stay any pending civil action unless and until the attorney general takes an action in the proceeding. The bills require governmental entities that are parties to any action that has been declared a matter of great governmental interest to notify the attorney general of the existence of the action and provide that any settlement or resolution of a proceeding by a governmental entity after the attorney general’s declaration and without the attorney general’s consent is void. The declaration of a matter of great governmental concern is not “final agency action” subject to review under the Administrative Procedure Act. The bills provide a process by which governmental entities may apply to a court to recover attorney fees and costs incurred prior to the attorney general’s declaration, but they fail to identify a source of funding, responsible party or conditions for obtaining such recovery. (O’Hara)

Broadband Internet Infrastructure (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 1239 (Tomkow) and SB 1592 (Burgess) exempt from sales and use tax certain equipment purchased, leased or sold by providers of communications services or internet access services. The bills require municipal electric utilities to provide broadband providers access to and use of municipal electric utility poles. The municipal electric utility must adopt rates, terms and conditions for such access that are consistent with the provisions of 47 U.S. Code s. 224 and any Federal Communications Commission regulations and decisions. The rates, terms and conditions must be nondiscriminatory, just and reasonable and may not favor a pole owner or an affiliate of the pole owner. The municipal electric utility must maintain and make available to a broadband provider all records, including specified information, necessary to calculate the rate it charges to the provider. The bill requires the municipal electric utility to rearrange, expand, replace or otherwise reengineer any utility pole upon the request of a broadband provider, and the utility may require a reimbursement only of actual cost. The municipal electric utility must complete pole replacements and any work needed to accommodate the broadband provider’s attachment within 90 days after receiving a complete attachment request. A municipal electric utility or broadband provider may submit a written request to negotiate any agreement or amendment to an existing agreement addressing attachments by the broadband provider to conform any agreements. (Hughes)

Cottage Food Operations (Oppose – Preemption)

CS/HB 663 (Salzman) and SB 1294 (Brodeur) deal with the regulation of “cottage food” operations which encompasses any person or entity that produces or packages certain foods at their residence intended to be sold. The bills increase the current sales cap on cottage food operations from $50,000 to $250,000. The bills also preempt the regulation of cottage food operations to the state and prohibit local governments from prohibiting or regulating cottage food operations. (Taggart)

County and Municipal Code Enforcement (CS/SB 60 – Watch, HB 883 Oppose – Preemption)

CS/SB 60 (Bradley) and HB 883 (Overdorf) would prohibit code enforcement officers from investigating and enforcing a potential code violation if the complaint is received anonymously. The bill requires any person who reports a violation of a code or ordinance to provide their name and address to the local government before any enforcement proceedings occur. CS/SB 60 was amended to still allow for enforcement of anonymous complaints if they pose an imminent threat to public health, safety or welfare or imminent destruction of habitat or sensitive resources. (Taggart)

Elections (Oppose – Preemption)

SB 656 (Brandes) makes various changes to elections procedures including voter registration, voter identification and polling locations. In addition, the bill expressly preempts a local government from imposing any limitation on contributions to a political committee or electioneering communications organization or limitation on any expenditures for an electioneering organization or an independent expenditure. (O’Hara)

Emergency Management Powers of Political Subdivisions (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 945 (Rommel) creates and defines the term "significant emergency orders" to mean any order or ordinance issued by a local government that places limits on residents of certain rights. The bill creates an automatic expiration date of 30 days on significant emergency orders. However, a local government may extend the order once for 60 days by a referendum approved by a majority of the electors within the political subdivision. (Branch)

Farming Operations/Agritourism (Oppose – Preemption)

CS/CS/CS/SB 88 (Brodeur) and HB 1601 (Williamson) revise the Right to Farm Act to incorporate agritourism activities within the scope of the Act. The Right to Farm Act specifies that no farm operation that has been in operation for one year or more and that was not a nuisance at the time of its establishment shall be a public or private nuisance if the farm operation conforms to generally accepted agricultural and management practices. In addition, the bills provide limitations on liability from nuisance, trespass or tort actions that may be filed relating to farming or agritourism activities. They specify that a farm may not be held liable for operations alleged to cause harm outside of the farm unless the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the claim arises out of conduct that does not comply with state and federal environmental laws, regulations or best management practices. The bills further provide that a nuisance action may not be filed unless the property affected by the activity is located within one-half mile of the activity. The bills limit compensatory damages in a private nuisance action to the reduction in fair market value of the affected property. They prohibit the recovery of punitive damages for nuisance actions under specified conditions. The bills require payment of attorney fees and costs by plaintiffs who fail to prevail in a nuisance action. (O’Hara)

Home-Based Businesses (Oppose – Preemption)

Impact Fees (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 337 (DiCeglie) and SB 750 (Gruters) are comprehensive impact fee bills. Of concern to cities, the bills would cap impact fee increases to no more than 3% annually. The bills would allow a local government to collect an impact fee only if it has a planned or funded capital improvements within the applicable impact fee assessment district at the time the fee is collected. Lastly, the bills require the submittal of an affidavit by local governments that collect impact fees attesting that all impact fees were collected and expended by the local government in compliance with the bills. (Cruz)

Law Enforcement Equipment (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 187 (McCurdy) and SB 878 (Thurston) prohibit law enforcement agencies from purchasing certain surplus military equipment. The bills also prohibit law enforcement agencies from using tear gas and kinetic impact munitions on an assembly or protest unless the gathering has been declared unlawful. (Taggart)

Local Licensing (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 115 (Fabricio) provides 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 bill explicitly states that this multi-jurisdictional 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 bill details the process for a local government to execute its disciplinary jurisdiction. (Cruz)

Preemption of Local Occupational Licensing (Oppose – Preemption)

SB 268 (Perry) and HB 735 (Harding) expressly preempt the licensing of occupations to the state. The bills define occupation to include a paid job, work, trade, employment or profession and define 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. (Cruz)

Prohibited Governmental Transactions with Technology Companies and for Chinese Products (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 439 (Fine) and SB 810 (Gruters) prohibit an agency or local governmental entity from purchasing or entering into a contract for any good made in or that contains at least 25% or more parts that were produced in China. The bills also prohibit a local governmental entity from purchasing any good or service made, sold or provided by Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple or Alphabet, Inc. (Taggart)

Prohibition of Public Funds for Lobbying (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 215 (Sabatini) prohibits a local government from using public funds to retain a lobbyist to represent the local government before the legislative or executive branch. It would permit a full-time employee of local government to register as a lobbyist and represent the local government before the legislative or executive branch. The bill would also prohibit any person, except a full-time employee, from accepting public funds for lobbying. It provides for the filing of complaints with the Florida Commission on Ethics and the filing of civil actions for injunctive relief, as well as sanctions and recovery of attorney fees by prevailing parties. (O’Hara)

Public Records (Oppose – Preemption)

CS/SB 400 (Rodrigues) and HB 913 (McClure) prohibit a city, after receiving a public record request, from filing an action for declaratory judgement against the individual or entity making the request. The bills would prevent cities from seeking clarification from the courts as to whether a record is exempt or exempt and confidential. (Taggart)

Public Safety Emergency Communications Systems (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 587 (Snyder) and SB 1902 (Rodrigues) revise requirements for minimum radio signal strength for fire department communications; require the state fire marshal to adopt minimum radio coverage design criteria for public safety emergency communications systems and minimum standards for interior radio coverage and signal strength in buildings; require a local jurisdiction's public safety emergency communications system be certified as meeting or exceeding certain criteria before new and existing buildings are required to install or to be assessed for two-way radio communications enhancement systems; require local jurisdictions to produce radio coverage heatmaps and prohibit local jurisdictions from withholding certificates of occupancy under certain circumstances. (Taggart)

Public Works Projects (Oppose – Preemption)

CS/HB 53 (DiCeglie) and SB 1076 (Brodeur) require local governments to utilize competitive bidding processes when contracting city, town or county public works projects. The bills also block a local government from training employees in designated programs with a restricted curriculum or from a single source and local ordinances that require things like apprenticeship programs. (Branch)

Renewable Energy (Oppose – Preemption)

SB 1960 (Bean) provides a process for siting solar facilities and restricts local governments’ authority to prohibit or impose requirements on such facilities. It defines “solar facilities” to mean a production facility that converts solar energy to electricity that is consumed primarily off-site via a transmission system. The term includes modules, mounting systems, collection systems and associated components as well as accessory buildings, grid interconnection equipment and energy storage equipment. The bill provides that solar facilities shall be a permitted use by right in all agricultural land use categories of the applicable local government comprehensive plan and all agricultural zoning districts within unincorporated areas. It provides that solar facilities must comply with the same setback, landscaping, buffering, fencing or berm requirements applicable to other uses that do not produce food or fiber in that comprehensive plan category or zoning district. The bill specifies that agricultural land leased for a solar facility shall maintain its agricultural tax exemptions. For solar facilities greater than 75 megawatts in capacity, the bill allows an applicant the option to apply for certification under the state’s Power Plant Siting Act. (O’Hara)

Solar Electrical Generating Facilities (Oppose – Preemption)

SB 1008 (Hutson) and HB 761 (Overdorf) provide that solar facilities (including solar farms and related buildings, transmission lines and substations) are a permitted (as-of-right) use in local government comprehensive agricultural land use categories and certain agricultural zoning districts within unincorporated areas. The bills require solar facilities to comply with minimal criteria such as setbacks and buffering applicable to similar uses within the agricultural district. The bills authorize counties to adopt ordinances specifying buffer and landscaping requirements for solar facilities if the requirements do not exceed requirements for other permitted uses within an agricultural district. The bills also include solar facilities with capacities of less than 150 megawatts within the current definition of “electrical power plant” in the Power Plant Siting Act and allow such solar facilities the option of whether to use the Act’s certification process for siting the facilities. (O’Hara)

State Preemption of Energy Infrastructure Regulations (Oppose – Preemption and Unfunded Mandate)

SB 856 (Hutson) and HB 839 (Fabrico) expressly preempt the regulation of the construction of energy infrastructure to the state. “Energy infrastructure” means infrastructure used to support the production, import, storage and distribution of natural gas, petroleum, electricity, biomass, renewable fuels, hydrogen, solar, wind or geothermal energy. The bills prohibit a local government from implementing or enforcing any policy, resolution or ordinance that has the effect of prohibiting, restricting or requiring the construction of new or the expansion, upgrade or repair of existing energy infrastructure. The bills also prohibit local governments from imposing requirements that are more stringent than state law. (O’Hara)

State Preemption of Seaport Regulations (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 267 (Roach) and SB 426 (Boyd) prohibit local governments from restricting or regulating commerce; the size and types of vessels; the source or type of cargo; or the number, origin or nationality of passengers in state seaports. (Branch)

Traffic Infraction Detectors (Oppose – Preemption)

HB 6009 (Sabatini) preempts cities, counties and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from installing, maintaining or utilizing red light cameras effective July 1, 2024. (Branch)

Tree Pruning, Trimming or Removal on Residential Property (Oppose – Preemption)

SB 1396 (Gruters) and HB 1167 (Snyder) expand the current law preemption of local government regulations pertaining to “dangerous” trees on residential property. The bills expand the definition of “residential property” to include manufactured or modular homes, mobile home parks, duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes, condominium units or cooperative units. (O’Hara)

Vacation Rentals (Oppose – Preemption)

Articles in this section: 24

03-MADATES

Building Design (Oppose – Mandate)

CS/HB 55 (Overdorf) and SB 284 (Perry) 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. (Branch)

Concealed Carry of Firearms by First Responders (Oppose – Mandate)

HB 877 (Bell) authorizes first responders (EMTs and paramedics) to carry a concealed firearm while performing his or her duties. The bill requires the first responder to hold a valid concealed carry license and complete an extensive training program. The bill also requires the first responder to complete a psychological evaluation prior to receiving approval to carry a firearm while on duty. The bill mandates that the employment agency must fund the trainings required under the bill but does not designate a funding source. (Taggart)

Displacement of Private Waste Companies (Oppose – Unfunded Mandate)

HB 331 (McClure) and SB 694 (Rodrigues) require a local government that displaces an existing solid waste provider to, in addition to the procedural and three-year notice requirements in current law, pay the provider an amount equal to the company’s preceding 18 months’ gross receipts for the service in the displaced area. (O’Hara)

Florida Building Code (Oppose – Mandate )

CS/HB 401 (Fetterhoff) and SB 1146 (Brodeur) allow for substantially affected people to submit a petition to the Florida Building Commission for a nonbinding advisory opinion if a local government adopts a regulation or policy without following the process established in the Florida Building Code. The bills define who a substantially affected person is and the process for submitting the petition. The bills define the process for how the commission must consider petitions and the length of time before the Commission must issue its non-binding advisory opinion, and where the opinion must be published. The bills allow for the Commission to make changes to the Florida Building Code to correct errors but only with a 75% vote of the Commission. A local government may not require a contract between a builder and an owner for the issuance of a building permit or as a requirement for the submission of a building permit application. (Branch)

Law Enforcement Officer Body and Vehicle Dash Cameras (Oppose – Mandate)

SB 452 (Bracy) and HB 569 (Chambliss) require law enforcement agencies to require officers to wear body cameras and use vehicle dash cameras while on duty. The bills do not provide a funding source for law enforcement agencies to comply with the bill. (Taggart)

Local Government Fiscal Transparency (Oppose – Mandate)

SB 154 (Diaz) amends multiple provisions related to local government financial transparency. The bill expands public notice and public hearing requirements for local option tax increases, other than property taxes and taxes adopted by referendum and new long-term tax-supported debt issuances. Each local government is required to prominently post on its website the voting records on any action taken by its governing board related to tax increases and new tax-supported debt issuances. The bill imposes requirements on county property appraisers and local governments relating to Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices, millage rate history and the amount of tax levied by each taxing authority on each parcel. Additionally, local governments will be required to conduct a debt affordability analysis prior to approving the issuance of new long-term tax-supported debt. The bill requires the local government annual audit reports to include information regarding compliance with the requirements of this newly created section of law. Failure to comply would result in the withholding of state-shared revenues. The bill revises the local government reporting requirements for economic development incentives. It requires each municipality to report to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research whether the incentive is provided directly to an individual business or by another entity on behalf of the local government and the source of dollars obligated for the incentive (including local, state and federal). (Hughes)

Preemption of Firearms and Ammunition (Oppose – Mandate)

HB 1409 (Byrd) and SB 1884 (Rodrigues) expand the scope of when an individual or organization may file suit against a municipality for violating the state preemption on firearms and ammunition to include any local policies that are written or unwritten. Current law awards the prevailing plaintiff attorney fees. The bills would consider the plaintiff the prevailing party even if the local government voluntarily changes their ordinance or policy, written or unwritten. (Taggart)

Renewable Energy (Oppose – Mandate)

SB 208 (Brandes) and HB 775 (Omphroy) allows the owner of a business or a contracted third party to install, maintain and operate a renewable energy source device on or about the structure in which the business operates or on any property the business leases. The bill provides the business owner or third party may sell the electricity that is generated from the device to another business immediately adjacent to or within the same parcel as the business and such sales shall not be considered or regulated as retail sales of electricity. The bill provides that if the energy-producing business or its customers require additional related services from a utility, such as backup generation capacity or transmission services, the utility may recover the full cost of providing those services. The bill authorizes a utility to enter a contract with a business to install, maintain or operate any type of renewable energy source device on or about the structure from which the business operates and to sell the electricity to an adjacent business and the bill provides that such electricity sales shall not be considered or regulated as retail sales of electricity. The bill specifies that if the Public Service Commission determines that the level of reduction in electricity purchases by customers using renewable energy source devices is significant enough to adversely impact the rates that other customers pay in the rate territory, the Commission may approve a utility’s requests to recover its costs of providing the electricity needed by all customers, including customers using a renewable energy source device. The bill provides for methodology of such cost recovery, a process for customers to challenge the cost recovery and authorized rulemaking by the Commission. The bill may have a negative fiscal impact on municipal revenues, including potential impacts to municipal electric franchise revenues and municipal public service utility taxes. (O’Hara)

Tolling and Extension of Permits and Other Authorizations During States of Emergency (Oppose – Mandate)

HB 859 (Grant) and SB 912 (Albritton) add development permits and development agreements authorized by state law, including those authorized under the Florida Local Government Agreement Act or issued by local government or other governmental agency, to the list of permits and authorizations that are tolled and extended during a state of emergency for a natural emergency. The bills would apply to any declaration of a state of emergency issued by the governor for a natural emergency dating back to March 1, 2020. Both bills are effective upon becoming law. (Branch)

Transparency in Government Spending (Oppose – Mandate)

SB 506 (Garcia) and HB 195 (Persons-Mulicka) require that the website maintained by the Department of Management Services include specified information, such as name and total compensation, of all executives, managerial personnel and board members of any organization or other public or private entity that receives funding from the state of $50,000 or more in the aggregate. This information must be provided to DMS by December 31 of each calendar year beginning in 2021. Any organization or entity that fails to comply with this requirement may not receive any additional funding from the state until they are compliant. (Hughes)

Wastewater Discharges (Oppose – Mandate)

Articles in this section: 11

BUILDING CODES/CONSTRUCTION

Application for and Issuance of Building Permits (Watch)

CS/HB 1059 (Robinson) and SB 1788 (Boyd) require local government to post certain building permit information on their websites, including the status of each application. The bills also require the local government to reduce the permit fee by a specified amount every 10 days if they failed to issue a building permit for a single-family residential dwelling within the timeframe already established by current law. The bills prohibit the local government from requiring an applicant to provide a copy of their contract with or between a contractor as a condition of the application for a building permit. (Branch)

Building Design (Oppose – Mandate)

Building Inspections (Watch)

CS/HB 667 (Mooney) and SB 1382 (Perry) require counties and local enforcement agencies that issue building permits to allow requests for inspections to be submitted electronically. The bills also authorize these agencies to perform inspections virtually at their discretion. (Branch)

Fees for the Enforcement of Florida Building Code (Watch)

HB 1017 (Rayner) and SB 1648 (Powell) authorize local governments the ability to waive the fees associated with enforcing the Florida Building Code for development, construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing. (Branch)

Florida Building Code (Oppose – Mandate )

Public Works Projects (Oppose – Preemption)

Other Bills of Interest

HB 585 (DiCeglie) and SB 378 (Bradley) – Payment for Construction Services SB 998 (Brodeur) and HB 823 (Mariano) – Contractor Advising HB 1577 (McClain) and SB 488 (Perry) – Building Construction Standards HB 6067 (Eskamani) – Repeal of Developer Incentive Requirements

Articles in this section: 7

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Enterprise Zone Boundaries (Support)

HB 285 (Chambliss) and SB 892 (Rodriguez) extend the date in which local governments are allowed to administer local incentive programs within the boundaries of an enterprise zone from December 31, 2020, to December 31, 2025. The bills also extend the date for contiguous multiphase projects from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2030. (Taggart)

Florida Tourism Marketing (Support)

SB 778 (Hooper) and HB 675 (Plasencia) authorize the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation “Visit Florida” to carry forward unexpended state appropriations into succeeding fiscal years. The bills also remove the previous set sunset date of October 1, 2023, for Visit Florida. (Taggart)

Sports Facility Development (Watch)

HB 6011 (Beltran) repeals provisions relating to state funding for the purpose of constructing, reconstructing, renovating or improving facilities primarily used for sporting events. The bill repeals the Sports Development program in current law that provides an avenue for sports facilities to apply for a distribution from the state to fund the construction or improvements to a professional sports franchise facility. Since the program was enacted in 2014, no application has been approved by the Legislature. The bill also makes conforming changes to other statutes related to sports development program distributions and reporting requirements. (Taggart)

Other Bills of Interest

HB 349 (Woodson) and SB 1374 (Farmer) – Small Business Website Development Grant Program SB 704 (Gruters) and HB 757 (Trabulsy) – Film, Television and Digital Media Rebate Program HB 983 (Eskamani) – Agreement for Best Practices in Economic Development

Articles in this section: 4

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Articles in this section: 0

ETHICS & ELECTIONS

Candidate Qualifying and Campaign Expenditures (Watch)

SB 1756 (Jones) and HB 1365 (Willhite) provide that no person may qualify for state, district, county or municipal office during an investigation by the Commission on Ethics in which the Commission has determined there is probable cause to believe the person has violated the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees or committed any other breach of the public trust within the jurisdiction of the Commission. In addition, the bills specify that no person who owes a fine for failure to file a campaign finance report during a previous campaign may qualify as a candidate until the fine is paid. The bills prohibit candidate qualifying checks from containing information unrelated to the candidate’s current campaign. (O’Hara)

Elections (Oppose – Preemption)

Government Accountability (Watch)

HB 1585 (Barnaby) creates the Florida Integrity Office and the position of Florida integrity officer within the Office of the Auditor General. The bill authorizes the integrity officer to investigate complaints alleging waste, fraud, abuse, misconduct or gross mismanagement in connection with the expenditure of public funds within state and local government. The bill directs the auditor general and the integrity officer to conduct random audits and inspections of appropriations projects appropriated in the prior year. The bill authorizes the auditor general and the Florida integrity officer to investigate or audit the financial activities of any local government. The bill defines “fraud,” “waste,” “abuse” and “misconduct” and provides procedures for the inspector general to report on activities by public officials or agencies to the Florida integrity officer. The bill imposes personal liability for repayment of funds upon persons or officials responsible for determinations of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement or misconduct in government. The bill authorizes the chief financial officer to commence investigations based on complaints or referral from any source. The bill specifies conditions for awards to employees under the Florida Whistleblower Act. The bill requires each public agency contract for services entered or amended after July 2020 to authorize the public agency to inspect specified records of the contractor. The bills prohibit the use of tax incentives to be paid to a state contractor or subcontractor for services provided or expenditures incurred pursuant to a state contract. (O’Hara)

Local Government Ethics Reform (Watch)

HB 853 (Sirois) amends provisions of the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees relating to conflicting business and contractual relationships, voting conflicts, annual ethics training and financial disclosure requirements. For purposes of conflicting relationships and whether an officer or employee has a material interest in a business entity, the bill specifies that contractual relationships held by a business entity will be deemed to be held by the officer or employee if the entity is not publicly traded or the officer or employee is an officer, director or member who manages such entity. The bill amends voting conflict requirements to include special district and school board members and modifies participation requirements currently applicable only to appointed public officers to include elected county, municipal or other local public officers, special district or school board members. In addition to a prohibition on voting, such officer may not participate (i.e., discuss or debate) in the conflicted matter without first disclosing the nature of his or her interest. The bill expands persons required to file Form 6 (full) financial disclosure to include elected mayors and governing body members of municipalities having more than $10 million in total revenue. The Department of Financial Services is required to provide an annual report to the Commission on Ethics showing the total revenues for each municipality. A municipality’s failure to file its annual financial report with the Department creates a presumption the municipality has more than $10 million in annual revenues for purposes of the financial disclosure requirement. The bill lists the minimum course contents for public officer ethics training requirements and expands the class of officers required to complete annual ethics training to include special district and water management district board members. Persons required to complete annual ethics training must certify completion of the training on their financial disclosure forms as well as identify the name of the training provider. The failure to certify completion of ethics training or to identify the training provider is deemed a material error or omission. (O’Hara)

Prohibition of Public Funds for Lobbying (Oppose – Preemption)

Other Bills of Interest

HB 61 (Roth) and SB 1238 (Roth) – Percentage of Elector Votes Required to Approve Constitutional Amendment or Revision

Articles in this section: 6

FINANCE & TAXATION

Constitutional Amendment: Property Assessed for Elevated Properties (Watch)

SJR 1182 (Brandes) and HJR 1377 (Chaney) propose an amendment to the Florida Constitution to authorize the Legislature to prohibit the consideration of improvements made to residential real property to improve the property’s resistance to flood damage when determining assessed value of the property for the purposes of ad valorem taxation. (Hughes)

Implementing Bill: Property Assessed for Elevated Properties (Watch)

SB 1186 (Brandes) and HB 1379 (Chaney) implement SJR 1182 or HJR 1377 if approved by 60% of voters at the next general election. The bills specify that changes to elevate certain homestead and non-homestead residential property do not increase the assessed value of the property under specific circumstances. The bills require the property owners to provide certification. (Hughes)

Local Government Fiscal Transparency (Oppose – Mandate)

Nonprofit Property Tax Exemptions (Watch)

SB 1214 (Gruters) and HB 889 (Borrero) specify the conditions for retaining the ad valorem exemption of an exempt property. The bills require that revenue derived from the incidental use of the property must support the charitable, religious, scientific or literacy purpose that the property is used for. The bills define the term “incidental use” as any use that is ancillary, supportive or subordinate to the predominant use and include uses by vendors in privity with the applicant. (Hughes)

Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Housing and Government (Support)

SB 674 (Rodriguez) and HB 563 (Rodriguez) authorize counties and municipalities to adopt ordinances to grant ad valorem tax exemptions to property owners whose properties are used for the government or affordable housing. The property owner must have taken affirmative steps to prepare the property to provide affordable housing to persons or families that meet specified income limits to qualify for the affordable housing exemption. For the governmental exemption, a governmental or public purpose is served if a person provides a service that the state, any of its political subdivisions or any municipality, agency, special district, authority or other public body corporate of the state could properly perform or serve and if the governmental or public purpose would otherwise be a valid purpose for the allocation of public funds. (Hughes)

Property Tax Exemption - Nonprofit Homes for the Aged (Watch)

SB 1330 (Rodriguez) and HB 571 (Smith, D.) expand the current exemption from ad valorem taxes for property used for nonprofit homes for the aged. (Hughes)

Rental of Homestead Property (Watch)

SB 132 (Hutson) allows the rental of a portion of a dwelling, claimed to be a homestead for tax purposes, while the dwelling is physically occupied by the owner does not constitute the abandonment of the dwelling as a homestead. (Hughes)

Sales and Use Tax (Support)

Tangible Personal Property Tax Returns (Watch)

HB 1037 (Roth) and SB 1210 (Baxley) authorize property owners of assessed property who have not filed personal property tax returns to qualify for tax exemption without filing an initial return. (Hughes)

Tax Administration (Watch)

HB 1241 (Stevenson) makes various updates to the statutes administering numerous taxes. Of note, the bill requires, rather than authorizes, tax collectors to accept late payments of prepaid property taxes through July 31 and deletes a late payment penalty. (Hughes)

Taxation of Property Used for Agriculture (Watch)

SB 516 (Rodriguez) and HB 927 (Tuck) specific the methodology for the assessment of the structures and equipment used in aquaculture. The bills allow the property owner to request removal of its agriculture classification if the tax assessed based on such methodology exceeds the tax assessed based on the value of the structures and equipment. (Hughes)

Transparency in Government Spending (Oppose – Mandate)

Other Bills of Interest

HB 81 (Casello) and SB 224 (Berman) – Sales and Use Tax Exemption SB 302 (Taddeo) and HB 637 (Tant) – Small Business Saturday Sales Tax Holiday SB 598 (Perry) – Back-to-school Sales Tax Holiday HJR 85 (Rizzo) and SJR 156 (Diaz) – Joint Resolution: Homestead Assessment Limitation for School Levies HB 87 (Rizzo) and SJR 158 (Diaz) – Homestead Assessment Limitation for School Levies HB 597 (Woodson) and SB 1256 (Polsky) – Homestead Exemption for Seniors 65 and Older SB 734 (Gruters) – Sales Tax Holiday for Disaster Preparedness Supplies HB 749 (Mooney) – Small County Discretionary Sales Surtaxes HB 1125 (Fischer) and SB 1390 (Gruters) – Capital Investment Tax Credit HB 1209 (Fetterhoff) and SB 1408 (Burgess) – Department of Financial Services HB 1429 (Avila) – Tourist and Convention Development Taxes HB 6047 (Altman) and SB 842 (Baxley) – Aircraft Sales and Lease Tax SB 58 (Rodriquez) – Hospitals’ Community Benefit Reporting SB 806 (Book) – Tax Exemption for Diapers and Incontinence Products SB 986 (Hutson) – Tax Exemption for Disabled Veterans

Articles in this section: 13

HOUSING

State Funds (Support)

HB 13 (Killebrew) and SB 510 (Hooper) specify that funds deposited in the State Housing Trust Fund and the Local Government Housing Trust Fund may not be transferred or used for any other purpose. (Branch)

Other Bills of Interest

HB 6021 (Eskamani) and SB 1020 (Torres) – Rent Control Measures HB 499 (Benjamin) and SB 576 (Jones) – Prohibited Landlord Practices SB 1068 (Taddeo) and SB 567 (Bartleman) – Local Housing Assistance Plans HB 1543 (Koster) and SB 1150 (Harrell) – Low-income Home Accessibility Program HB 1469 (Smith) and SB 2002 (Taddeo) – Florida Commercial Rent Stabilization Fund

Articles in this section: 2

IMMIGRATION

Articles in this section: 0

INTERGOVERNMENTAL

Other Bills of Interest

HB 255 (Geller) and SB 1338 (Torres, Jr.) – Legislation by Initiative

Articles in this section: 1

LAND USE & COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING

Ancillary Property Rights (Watch)

HB 1139 (Smith) and SB 1520 (Boyd) provide that a utility easement is an interest in real property and subject to certain actions unless otherwise provided in the instrument creating the easement. These bills revise rights that are not affected or extinguished by marketable record titles and require persons with certain interests in land that may be extinguished by this act to file a specified notice to preserve their interests. (Cruz)

Governmental Actions Affecting Private Property Rights (Oppose)

HB 421 (Tuck) and SB 1876 (Albritton) amend the Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act shortening the review period governments have in responding to claims from 150 to 90 days. The bills create the presumption that certain Bert Harris settlement offers are in the public interest. The bills create a process by which a property owner can notify a government entity that they believe a new law or regulation imposes a limitation on their property. The government entity would have 45 days to respond in writing describing what limitations are imposed on the property by the new law or regulation. At this point, the Bert Harris claim would be ripe for filing without the property owner being denied an application for development if filed within one year after receiving the response from the government entity. The bills give the property owner the option to forgo a jury trial and instead have a bench trial. Lastly, the legislation amends the attorney fee provisions of the Bert Harris Act by making them more favorable to the property owner. (Cruz)

Growth Management – 1 (Watch)

CS/SB 496 (Perry) and CS/CS/HB 59 (McClain) are comprehensive growth management bills. The legislation requires local governments to create and include a private property rights element in their comprehensive plans. The bill requires the consent of certain property owners is not required for development agreement changes under certain circumstances. Under certain circumstances the legislation authorizes developers to exchange approved land uses, subject to demonstrating that the exchange will not increase impacts to public facilities. The bills require the Department of Transportation to afford a right of first refusal to previous property owners under specified circumstances. The bills were amended to provide that in certain situations a city or county will have additional time to amend their comprehensive plan to comply with the requirements of the legislation. As amended, a city or county can now wait until the next time they amend their comprehensive plan or until their seven-year review of their comprehensive plan is due to comply with the new private property element. (Cruz)

Growth Management – 2 (Watch)

SB 1274 (Perry) and HB 487 (Duggan) authorize landowners with development orders existing before the incorporation of a municipality to elect to abandon the order granted by the county and instead obtain a new order granted by the newly incorporated city in accordance with their comprehensive plan. The bills also revises the required acreage thresholds under which a small-scale development amendment may be adopted from 10 acres to 50 acres. (Cruz)

Home-Based Businesses (Oppose – Preemption)

Impact Fees (Oppose – Preemption)

Relief from Burdens on Real Property Rights (Oppose)

HB 1101 (Persons-Mulicka) and SB 1380 (Rodrigues) amend the Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act to facilitate private property owner to bring a lawsuit against a government entity. Under current law, with a few exceptions, a property owner must file an application with a government entity before being able to initiate a Bert Harris Act lawsuit. These bills authorize the filing of a Bert Harris Act lawsuit based upon the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, regulation, rule or policy. (Cruz)

Small Scale Development Amendments (Watch)

HB 487 (Duggan) and SB 1274 (Perry) revise acreage thresholds for adopting comprehensive plan amendments using a small-scale development amendment. (Cruz)

Special District Accountability (Oppose)

HB 1103 (Maggard) and SB 1624 (Albritton) require certain independent special districts that levy a non-ad valorem special assessment to contract with an independent entity to conduct performance audits. These bills also require the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to conduct performance audits of certain classifications of independent special districts and report the performance audits by a specified date. (Cruz)

Articles in this section: 9

OTHER

Abandoned Residential Property (Support)

HB 1393 (Davis) and SB 1808 (Powell) revise the indication criteria for an “abandoned residential property” to make the process for abating nuisance properties easier and less costly to local governments. The bills revise the process for a local government to notify a mortgagee or mortgage servicer of a nuisance residential property and directs them to abate the nuisance until ownership of the property has been transferred through the foreclosure process. If the local government steps in to abate the nuisance property, the bills allow the local government to recover the costs of abatement by placing a lien on the property, which may not be foreclosed. The bills specify that the local government may request reimbursement for the cost of abatement from the mortgagee or mortgage servicer, which must be paid within 20 days. (Taggart)

Attorney General Designation of Matters of Great Governmental Concern (Oppose – Preemption)

Cottage Food Operations (Oppose – Preemption)

County and Municipal Code Enforcement (CS/SB 60 – Watch, HB 883 Oppose – Preemption)

Deprivation of Rights by Public Officers and Employees (Watch)

HB 261 (Rayner) and SB 670 (Jones) create a new lawsuit against an officer, employee or agent of a political subdivision of the state for when they are acting under color of law and deprive someone's rights under the U.S. and state constitutions. The bills provide claims may not be used as defense against liability and specifies circumstances under which an officer, employee or agent is immune. (Cruz)

Emergency Management Powers of Political Subdivisions (Oppose – Preemption)

Legal Notices (Support)

HB 35 (Fine) allows a governmental agency the option to publish legally required advertisements and notices on a publicly accessible website if the online publication results in a cost savings to the local government. The bill also requires a governmental agency to publish a notice at least once a year in a newspaper of general circulation that the resident or property owner may receive legally required notices or advertisements via first class mail or email by registration of his or her name, address and email address with the local governmental agency. (Taggart)

Local Licensing (Oppose – Preemption)

Naming Highways (Watch)

SB 646 (Taddeo) and HB 813 (Chambliss) require counties and municipalities to rename their respective portions of Dixie Highway, Old Dixie Highway, North Dixie Highway or South Dixie Highway as “Harriet Tubman Highway.” (Branch)

OGSR/Unsolicited Proposals (Watch)

SB 7050 (Community Affairs) amends a provision relating to an exemption from public records requirements for unsolicited proposals related to public-private partnerships. The bill removes the scheduled repeal of the exemption. (Cruz)

Preemption of Local Occupational Licensing (Oppose – Preemption)

Prohibited Governmental Transactions with Technology Companies and for Chinese Products (Oppose – Preemption)

Public Notice and Voting Rights Restoration Database (Watch)

SB 402 (Rodrigues) allows for civil or criminal case legal notices to be published through a statewide website established and maintained by the Supreme Court in lieu of publication in a newspaper. A county may publish a legal notice in a newspaper of general circulation within that county, but the newspaper may not charge a fee in excess of the website publication fee established by the Supreme Court. The bill directs all revenue in excess of the websites operating costs go toward collecting and publishing data on restitution, fines and fees owed by nonviolent felons and directs the established website to publish that information. (Taggart)

Regional Planning Councils (Oppose)

CS/SB 62 (Bradley) eliminates the role of regional planning councils in the state. This bill will authorize local governments to recommend areas of critical state concern to the state land planning agency. The bill allows local governments to enter into agreements to create regional planning entities pursuant to Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, to replace current regional planning councils. (Cruz)

Retail Sale of Domestic Dogs and Cats (Watch)

HB 45 (Killebrew) and SB 1138 (Brodeur) prohibit a for-profit business from selling domestic cats and dogs. The bills do not prohibit a city or county from adopting an ordinance on the sale of animals that is more stringent than the bill. (Taggart)

Social Media Websites (Watch)

SB 520 (Burgess) would require social media websites to notify individual and business users within 30 days after suspending their account. The notice must state why the account was suspended or disabled. (Taggart)

Specialty Contracting Services (Watch)

SB 338 (Gruters) revises the types of buildings for which individuals who are not required to obtain certain registrations or certifications may perform contracting services without a local license. 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. (Branch)

Substance Abuse Services (Watch)

CS/319 (Caruso) and CS/SB 804 (Harrell) make several changes to the licensing and regulation of substance abuse programs, including recovery residences or “sober homes”. The bill authorizes the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to suspend a service provider’s license for failing to pay, within 60 days of a date set by the DCF, administrative fines and accrued interest related to disciplinary action taken against the service provider. The bill also mandates that a service provider pay fines and accrued interest resulting from violations of patient referral prohibitions within 60 days of a date specified by the DCF. If a service provider fails to remit payment within 60 days, the bill requires the DCF to immediately suspend the service provider’s license. The bills also prohibit local governments from reclassifying single-family and two-family dwellings used as a recovery residence for purposes of enforcing the Florida Building Code, including the installation of fire sprinklers. (Taggart)

Supermajority Vote for Legislative Preemption (Support)

SB 540 (Farmer) proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would require any general law that preempts a subject of legislation to the state to pass by a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature. (O’Hara)

Tethering of Domestic Dogs and Cats (Watch)

HB 177 (Slosberg) and SB 650 (Taddeo) prohibit the unattended tethering of domestic dogs and cats. The bills also prohibit outdoor tethering of dogs and cats during severe weather. Several exemptions are listed in the bills that would allow dog and cat owners to tether their animals: during organized public events at which the animal is a participant; for agricultural and hunting purposes; while being treated by a veterinarian, groomed or boarded; during law enforcement training; and while being cared for as part of a rescue operation. (Taggart)

Tolling and Extension of Permits and Other Authorizations During States of Emergency (Oppose – Mandate)

Urban Agriculture (Support)

SB 628 (Rouson) creates the Florida Urban Agriculture Act and expressly preserves local governmental authority to regulate urban agriculture under certain circumstances. Nonresidential farm buildings, fences or signs located on lands used for urban agriculture would not be exempt from the Florida Building Code or local governmental regulations. (Cruz)

Other Bills of Interest

SB 134 (Brandes) and SB 148 (Bradley) and SB 142 (Brandes) – Alcohol-To-Go SB 630 (Baxley) and HB 867 (Shoaf) – Community Associations SB 872 (Rodrigues) and HB 665 (McClure) – Homeowners' Association Rental Agreements SB 902 (Rodrigues) and HB 463 (Roach) – Community Association Pools SB 56 (Rodrigues) and HB 615 (Rodriguez) – Community Association Assessment Notices HB 1297 (Giallombardo) and SB 1900 (Boyd) - Cybersecurity HB 6075 (Shoaf) and SB 1564 (Gainer) – Required Publication of Local Board Meeting Minutes HB 1517 (Duggan) and SB 1966 (Diaz) – Department of Business and Professional Regulation HB 241 (Grall) and SB 582 (Rodrigues) – Parental Rights HB 254 (Stewart) – Education HB 641 (Goff-Marcil) – Charter and Private Schools SB 904 (Daiz) and HB 6053 (Yarborough) – Doorstep Waste Containers SB 922 (Burgess) and HB 541 (Buchanan) – Veteran’s Preference in Employment SB 1028 (Hutson) and HB 51 (McClain) – Charter Schools HB 1029 (Barnaby) and SB 1320 (Hutson) – Purple Heart Recipient Parking Spaces SB 1030 (Polsky) and HB 763 (Diamond) – Repeal of the Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance Program and Reversion of Program Funds HB 1153 (Casello) – Pub. Rec./Emergency Planning and Management HB 1325 (Truenow) and SB 1614 (Rodriguez) – Neighborhood Pod Learning Programs SB 1454 (Farmer) – Strategic Fuel Reserve HB 1595 (Williamson) and SB 1892 (Diaz) – Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund SB 2006 (Burgess) – Emergency Management SB 204 (Brandes) and HB 1179 (Brandes) – Abolishing the Constitution Revision Commission SB 914 (Stewart) – Access to Clinics HB 855 (Morales) and SB 1176 (Stewart) – Barber Services SB 826 (Baxley) and HB 871 (Snyder) – Child Protection Teams HB 7005 (Burton) and SB 74 (Burgess) – Civil Liability for Covid-19-Related Claims Against Certain Health Care Providers HB 479 (Alexander) and SB 1628 (Alexander) – Compensation for Victims of Excessive Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officers HB 1181 (Beltran), HB 1179 (Beltran) and SB 204 (Beltran) – Constitution Revision Commission SB 212 (Brandes), SB 76 (Boyd) and HB 305 (Rommel) – Contingency Risk Multipliers SB 74 (Brandes) and HB 7005 (Burton) – COVID-19-related Claims Against Health Care Providers HB 737 (DiCeglie), SB 46 (Hutson) and SB 142 (Brandes) – Craft Distilleries HB 515 (Mariano) and SB 1040 (Brodeur) – Duties of the Attorney General HB 6089 (Joseph) and SB 1706 (Torres, Jr.) and SB 1928 (Taddeo) – Federal Immigration Enforcement HHS1 (PCB Bill) – Health Care Civil Liability SB 344 (Diaz), HB 471 (Rizo), HB 717 (Clemons) and SB 1598 (Gruters) – Legislative Review of Occupational Regulations HB 1357 (Altman) and SB 1796 (Wright) – Military Installations SB 686 (Brandes) and HB 1533 (McFarland) – Offers of Judgement HB 1083 (Shoaf) and SB 1570 (Rodriguez) – Quasi-public Entities SB 76 (Boyd), SB 212 (Brandes) and HB 305 (Rommel) – Residential Property Insurance

Articles in this section: 23

PARKS & RECREATION

Smoking (Support)

SB 334 (Gruters) and HB 239 (Altman) authorize cities and counties to restrict smoking within the boundaries of any public beach or park they own. The bills specify that municipalities can restrict smoking within the boundaries of a beach or park that is owned by the county, but located within the city, as long as it does not conflict with any county ordinance. Additionally, the bills prohibit smoking in state parks. (Taggart)

Articles in this section: 1

PERSONNEL

Combating Public Disorder (Oppose – Impact on Municipal Operations)

Cost-of-living Adjustment of Retirement Benefits (Watch)

HB 1023 (Skidmore) and SB 1310 (Polsky) specify the minimum factor used to calculate the cost-of-living adjustment for certain retirees and beneficiaries of the Florida Retirement System. (Hughes)

Firefighters’ Bill of Rights (Watch)

SB 970 (Hooper) and CS/HB 313 (Busatta Cabrera) extend certain provisions of the Firefighters’ Bill of Rights to questioning conducted under an informal inquiry. The bills specify that an informal inquiry does not include routine work-related discussions, such as safety sessions or normal operational fire debriefings. The bills require an informal inquiry of a firefighter to be of reasonable duration with permitted periods for rest and personnel necessities; and not subject the firefighter to offensive language or offer any incentive as an inducement to answer any questions. During an informal inquiry or interrogation, a firefighter may not be threatened with a transfer, suspension, dismissal or other disciplinary action. (Hughes)

Florida Retirement System Investment Plan (Watch)

SB 7016 (Governmental Oversight and Accountability) provides that the State Board Administration may not pay benefits to a member of the Florida Retirement System who has committed certain criminal offenses prior to retirement. Currently, the criminal forfeiture statute provides only that the Division of Retirement within the Department of Management Services may not pay benefits when the forfeiture provisions are triggered. Thus, the bill clarifies that the criminal forfeiture provisions in Section 121.091, Florida Statutes, apply equally to employees whether a member of the investment plan or a member of the pension plan. The bill provides that the State Board may develop one or more investment products to be offered in the investment plan, consistent with its fiduciary responsibilities. The bill also requires that the spouse of a member who does not designate his spouse as a primary beneficiary be notified and acknowledge any such designation. Should the spouse fail to affirmatively acknowledge the designation or if the spouse cannot be found, the member may request the acknowledgement requirement be waived by the State Board through an affidavit. (Hughes)

Florida Retirement System Reform (Watch)

SB 84 (Rodrigues) closes the pension plan (defined benefit) to new enrollees and requires all new enrollees to participate in the investment plan (defined contribution), effective July 1, 2022. The bill does not impact the rights of any current Florida Retirement System enrollee to select participation in the pension plan or the investment plan. Changes included in the bill pertain only to FRS members initially enrolled in the system on or after July 1, 2022. Beginning July 1, 2022, the bill increases the employer-paid assessment for administrative and educational services by one basis point. This assessment is expected to generate roughly $3.4 million annually for the State Board of Administration to offset additional costs associated with the increase in the number of members participating in the investment plan and an increase in the workload relating to educational services offered to FRS members. The fiscal impact relating to compulsory membership in the investment plan for members initially enrolling in the FRS on or after July 1, 2022, is unknown at this time. The special actuarial study on such impacts is underway. Any impacts will be borne by the employers participating in the FRS. The bill takes effect July 1, 2021; however, most changes are applicable to public employees on or after July 1, 2022. (Hughes)

FRS Employer Contribution Rates (Watch)

SB 7018 (Governmental Oversight and Accountability) establishes the contribution rates paid by employers participating in the Florida Retirement System beginning July 1, 2021. These rates are intended to fund the full normal cost and the amortization of the unfunded actuarial liability of the FRS. With these modifications to employer contribution rates, the FRS Trust Fund will receive roughly $373.5 million more in revenue on an annual basis beginning July 1, 2021. The public employers that will incur these additional costs are state agencies, state universities and colleges, school districts, counties, municipalities and other governmental entities that participate in the FRS. The bill also reduces the contributions paid by employers participating in the retiree health insurance subsidy program. With the reduced contribution rates, the revenues deposited into the Retiree Health Insurance Subsidy Trust Fund will be reduced by roughly $56.6 million on an annual basis beginning July 1, 2021. The bill will have a fiscal impact on state funds appropriated by the Legislature for employee salaries and benefits. The bill will increase the amounts, in the aggregate, employers participating in the FRS and the retiree health insurance subsidy program must pay for retiree benefits. (Hughes)

FRS: Special Risk Class (Watch)

SB 230 (Hutson) adds employees of water, sewer or other public works departments of participating employers who work in hazardous conditions to the Special Risk Class of the Florida Retirement System. (Hughes)

FRS: Special Risk (Watch)

SB 736 (Jones) adds 911 public safety telecommunicators to the special risk class of the Florida Retirement System and requires such members to have their retirement benefits calculated in accordance with provisions for Regular Class members. The bill specifies the required employer retirement contribution rates for the new membership subclass of 911 public safety telecommunicators. (Hughes)

Law Enforcement Officers' and Correctional Officers' Rights (Watch)

HB 6057 (Hardy) repeals the current section of law relating to the investigation process of law enforcement officers and correctional officers otherwise known as the “Police Bill of Rights.” The bill also makes several procedural changes for the receipt, investigation and determination of complaints against a law enforcement officer or correctional officer. (Hughes)

Medical Marijuana Public Employee Protection (Watch)

SB 692 (Polsky) and HB 335 (Duran) prohibit a public employer from taking adverse personnel action against an employee or a job applicant who is a qualified patient using medical marijuana. However, an employer may take appropriate adverse personnel action against any employee if the employer establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the lawful use of medical marijuana is impairing the employee’s ability to perform his or her job responsibilities. The bills require an employer that has a drug testing policy to provide written notice of an employee's or job applicant’s right to explain a positive marijuana test result within a specified time frame. (Hughes)

Prohibited Discrimination (Watch)

SB 476 (Bracy) and HB 179 (Brown) amend the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 to incorporate certain hairstyles as protected from discrimination. The bills prohibit employers from discriminating against an individual for having a protected hairstyle. (Hughes)

911 Public Safety Telecommunicators (Watch)

HB 1171 (Willhite) and SB 1224 (Jones) define “first responder” to include 911 public safety telecommunicators. The bills expand eligibility for certain workers' compensation benefits and revise criteria in the Special Risk Class of Florida Retirement System to include 911 public safety telecommunicators. The bills also specify the number of creditable years for full retirement eligibility for the member to be 25 years without penalty. However, upon his or her retirement, the member shall have his or her benefits calculated in accordance with the Regular Class benefit provisions. (Hughes)

Wage and Employment Benefits (Support)

SB 304 (Taddeo) and HB 6031 (Smith, C.) repeal the preemption on political subdivisions' ability to establish a minimum wage other than the state or federal minimum wage. (Hughes)

Other Bills of Interest

SB 384 (Rodriguez) and HB 581 (Joseph) – Unlawful Employment Practices SB 364 (Gruters) – Discrimination on the Basis of Personal Health Information SB 78 (Rodrigues) and HB 947 (Plakon) – Dues and Uniform Assessments HB 107 (Thompson) and SB 256 (Stewart) – Discrimination in Labor and Employment HB 121 (Garrison) and SB 228 (Bradley) – Notaries Public SB 360 (Hooper) and HB 415 (Botana) – Fire Prevention and Control SB 854 (Brandes) – Minimum Wage

Articles in this section: 14

PROCUREMENT

Contracts and Grants with Foreign Entities (Watch)

SB 2010 (Diaz) and PIE 1 (Public Integrity & Elections Committee) require local governments that receive any grant or gift of $50,000 or more from any foreign government, agency or individual to disclose the grant or gift to the Department of Financial Services within 30 days of receipt. Anyone seeking a grant or contract from a local government for more than $50,000 would be required to disclose to the local government any contracts they may have with China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria or Venezuela. Any individual who fails to disclose a contract captured under the bills would be liable for a civil violation with a fine of $5,000 and may be removed from their position by the governor. The bills also prohibit local governments from participating in any agreement from the countries listed above to establish a program to promote the language or culture of those countries. (Taggart)

Other Bills of Interest

HB 1079 (Mariano) and SB 1616 (Brodeur) – Agency Contracts for Commodities and Contractual Services HB 1137 (Fabricio) and SB 1448 (Jones) – Information Technology Procurement

Articles in this section: 2

PUBLIC RECORDS & PUBLIC MEETINGS

Electronic Payment of Governmental Fees (Watch)

SB 298 (Taddeo) requires municipalities to provide an electronic payment option for any fee related to a public records request. (Taggart)

Local Government Meetings During Declared Emergencies (Support)

HB 1217 (Daley) and SB 1494 (Cruz) suspend the physical quorum requirement for local governmental bodies during a declared state of emergency. The bills would allow meetings of any board or commission to be held via telephone, real-time videoconferencing or similar real-time electronic or video communication for no more than six months from the start of the declared state of emergency, unless extended by the governor by executive order. (Taggart)

Public Meeting Requirements for Law Enforcement Agencies (Watch)

SB 456 (Bracy) requires meetings between the chief executive officer of a municipality or its representative and the municipality’s governing body to discuss disciplinary procedures for a law enforcement officer to be subject to Florida’s public meeting requirements. (Taggart)

Public Records (Oppose – Preemption)

Public Records (Watch)

HB 781 (Robinson) and CS/SB 844 (Hooper) authorize the clerk of circuit court to give access to information recorded in the official records of a county that is otherwise exempt from public records requirements to specified parties such as attorneys who are admitted to the Florida Bar, members in good standing, authorized title insurers, their affiliates, title insurance agents or title insurance agencies, financial institutions and their affiliates and entities that provide access to title information, tax information and document images for insurance companies, real estate and mortgage investors, attorneys and governmental agencies through a limited access licensing agreement. (Taggart)

Public Records Exemption for Members of the Legislature and the Cabinet (Watch)

HB 1207 (Beltran) and SB 1488 (Stargel) exempt from public records the home address, telephone numbers and the dates of birth of current members of the Legislature and Cabinet officers. The bills also exempt the information of their spouses and children. (Taggart)

Other Bills of Interest

SB 296 (Taddeo) – Public Records Relating to Redistricting SB 972 (Rodriguez) and HB 1019 (Casello) – Administrative Entity Telecommunication Meetings SB 1286 (Rodriguez) – Records Retention for Emergency Communications HB 1355 (Arrington) and SB 1602 (Stewart) – Public Records exemption for County Attorneys and Assistant County Attorneys

Articles in this section: 7

PUBLIC SAFETY

Body Camera Recordings by Law Enforcement Officers (Oppose – Mandate)

SB 732 (Bracy) increases the amount of time a law enforcement agency must retain body camera recordings from 90 days to 365 days. (Taggart)

Citizen Review Boards (Watch)

SB 450 (Bracy), SB 446 (Bracy) and HB 1147 (Benjamin) require each county to establish a citizens review board to independently investigate each law enforcement agency within the county. The bills would require one member of the citizens review board to participate in a law enforcement agency's investigative team for any complaints related to use of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy and discriminatory language. (Taggart)

Concealed Carry of Firearms by First Responders (Oppose – Mandate)

Concealed Weapons and Firearms (Watch)

HB 213 (Andrade) preempts Cabinet members from adopting any regulations relating to firearms and ammunition. (Taggart)

Drones (Support)

SB 518 (Diaz), CS/SB 44 (Wright), HB 433 (Andrade) and HB 1049 (Giallombardo) allow police and fire departments to use drones to manage crowd control and traffic as well as gather evidence at a crime or traffic crash scene. The bills permit a state agency or political subdivision to operate drones for assessing damage after a natural disaster. (Branch)

Investigations of Officer-Involved Deaths (Watch)

SB 438 (Bracy) requires law enforcement agencies to have a written policy regarding the investigation of officer-involved deaths. The bill also requires law enforcement agencies to use at least two investigators who are not employed by the agency. Traffic-related, officer-involved deaths would be required to be investigated by a crash reconstruction unit not employed by the agency. Reports by the investigators must be provided to the state attorney in the judicial circuit where the officer-involved death occurred. (Taggart)

Law Enforcement Agency Standards (Watch)

HB 647 (Davis) and SB 942 (Gibson) require the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to adopt rules establishing minimum requirements for policies of law enforcement agencies relating to demilitarization, use of force, intelligence-led policing, officer qualifications and canine units. The bills also require FDLE to create a model document for law enforcement agencies relating to several law enforcement procedures. (Taggart)

Law Enforcement Equipment (Oppose – Preemption)

Law Enforcement Officers (Support)

HB 197 (Gregory) adds service as a law enforcement officer as grounds for increased criminal penalties for certain criminal offenses that occur due to a prejudice because of their service as a law enforcement officer. The bill also authorizes agencies to include crisis intervention training in the course curriculum for initial certification training. (Taggart)

Law Enforcement Officer Body and Vehicle Dash Cameras (Oppose – Mandate)

Law Enforcement Officer Use of Force (Watch)

HB 577 (Omphroy) requires law enforcement agencies to maintain a database tracking excessive use of force incidents. The bill provides for suspension of funding for local law enforcement agencies that fail to comply with data collection and reporting requirements. The bill also requires each law enforcement agency to annually review and revise its use of force policy and require each of its officers to attend a training class that reviews the policy. Also included in the bill is an annual reporting requirement to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and direction for the Department to maintain the reports in a publicly accessible format. (Taggart)

Minimum Qualifications for Law Enforcement or Correctional Officers (Watch)

HB 505 (McCurdy) and SB 992 (Powell) provide additional criminal history screening standards for law enforcement or correction officer applicants. The bills require applicants to pass psychological screening and provide names of prior law enforcement agency employers. (Taggart)

Officer Training for Initial Certification (Watch)

SB 464 (Bracy) requires the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to establish and maintain standards for instruction of officers in implicit bias and de-escalation of conflict to minimize violence. The training would be required for all officers to obtain initial certification. (Taggart)

Photographic Enforcement of School Zone Speed Limits (Watch)

HB 357 (Duran) and SB 1474 (Rodriguez) authorize a county or municipality to contract with vendor to install cameras in school speed zones to enforce speed limits. Within the first 30 days after such a camera or cameras are installed in a school speed zone, a motor vehicle operator found to have violated will be issued a warning and will not be liable for the civil penalty. (Branch)

Preemption of Firearms and Ammunition (Oppose – Mandate)

Public Safety Emergency Communications Systems (Oppose – Preemption)

Repeal Preemption of Firearms and Ammunition (Support)

SB 672 (Taddeo) and HB 6033 (Daley) repeal the current statutory preemption prohibiting cities and counties from regulating firearms and ammunition. (Taggart)

Safety of Religious Institutions (Watch)

SB 498 (Gruters) and HB 259 (Williamson) authorize an individual who is a licensed concealed weapons or firearms holder to carry their weapon or firearm on property of a church, synagogue or any other religious institution unless specifically prohibited by the religious institution. (Taggart)

School Bus Safety (Watch)

HB 745 (Slosberg) and SB 1050 (Berman) authorize school districts to install cameras on school busses to aid in the enforcement of cars stopping while school busses are stopped. The bills authorize counties and municipalities to have traffic enforcement officers issue citations to those who violate the law. Notification of the citation must be sent by certified mail to the offender within 30 days, and the offender has 60 days after receiving the notification to pay the fine to the county or municipality that issued the citation or request a hearing to contest the citation. Both bills are effective October 1, 2021. (Branch)

Traffic and Pedestrian Safety (Watch)

SB 1412 (Perry) and HB 1113 (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. The bills also require a traffic engineering study to be conducted by a Florida licensed professional engineer who recommends the installation. The bills direct the Department of Transportation to submit a request to the federal government for authorization in replacing the yellow rectangular rapid flashing beacons with red beacons. If the federal government denies the request, the local governments must then remove all the yellow rectangular rapid flashing beacon traffic control devices from each crosswalk. (Branch)

Traffic Infraction Detectors (Oppose – Preemption)

Use of Wireless Communications Devices While Driving “Hands-Free” (Watch)

HB 91 (Slosberg) prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle while holding or touching a wireless communication device. This bill does provide several exceptions such as first responders performing in their official capacity or drivers accessing safety-related information including emergency, traffic or weather alerts. (Branch)

Volunteer Ambulance Services (Watch)

HB 805 (Harrell) and SB 1084 (Pizzo) prohibit a county or municipal government from limiting or preventing a volunteer ambulance service from responding, or providing emergency medical services or transport within its jurisdiction. The bills also prevent a county or municipal government from requiring a volunteer ambulance service to obtain a license or certificate or pay a fee to provide ambulance or air ambulance services within its jurisdiction. The bills do allow a county or municipal government the ability to impose, collect or enforce payment of any occupational license tax authorized by law. (Branch)

Other Bills of Interest

HB 229 (Salzman) and SB 178 (Cruz) – Hazardous Walking Conditions for K-12 Students HB 605 (Hunschofsky) and SB 950 (Book) – Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety HB 1199 (Altman) and SB 1440 (Jones) – Photographic Enforcement of School Bus Safety HB 25 (Daley), HB 27 (Daley), SB 1170 (Book) and SB 1172 (Book) – Sales of Ammunition “Jamie’s Law” SB 144 (Brandes) – Searches of Cellular Phones and Other Electronic Devices HB 167 (Hunschofsky) and SB 428 (Polsky) – Sale, Transfer or Storage of Firearms SB 174 (Cruz) – School Safety Funding SB 206 (Pizzo) and HB 527 (Benjamin) – Visiting County and Municipal Detention Facilities HB 49 (Daley) and SB 218 (Pizzo) – Public Records Exemption for Animal Cruelty Reports HB 291 (Hinson), HB 293 (Hinson), HB 1361 (Benjamin), HB 1363 (Benjamin), SB 664 (Farmer), SB 666 (Farmer) and SB 668 (Farmer) – Recreational Marijuana Bills HB 1597 (Omphroy), HB 1599 (Omphroy), SB 1916 (Bracy) and SB 1918 (Bracy) – Legalization of Recreational Marijuana SB 294 (Farmer) – Safe Storage of Loaded Firearms SB 330 (Farmer) – Sale and Delivery of Firearms HB 343 (Smith, C) and SB 710 (Brandes) – Availability of Marijuana for Adult Use SB 360 (Hooper) and HB 415 (Botana) – Fire Prevention and Control HB 371 (Brannan) and SB 1234 (Boyd) – False Reports of Crimes SB 388 (Wright) and HB 697 (Killebrew) – Injured Police Canines SB 454 (Bracy) – Law Enforcement Agency Data Reporting SB 458 (Bracy) and HB 513 (McCurdy) – Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officers SB 460 (Bracy) – Early Intervention Systems for Law Enforcement Officers SB 462 (Bracy) – Law Enforcement Officer Use of Force Deaths SB 480 (Bracy) and HB 277 (Thompson) – Statewide Police Misconduct Registry SB 560 (Farmer) – Repeal of Prohibition on Firearm Recordkeeping SB 562 (Thurston), SB 564 (Thurston) and HB 593 (Nixon) and HB 595 (Nixon) – Medical Marijuana Retail Facilities SB 730 (Bracy) – Strangulation by a Law Enforcement Officer SB 740 (Bracy) – Administration of Justice SB 808 (Gibson) and HB 875 (Driskell) – Intelligence-led Policing SB 836 (Jones) and HB 455 (Harding) – Gun Violence Reduction SB 868 (Powell) and HB 521 (Benjamin) – No-knock Warrants SB 890 (Hooper) – Law Enforcement Use of Electronic Databases SB 1148 (Rouson) and HB 1573 (DuBose) – Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officers SB 1198 (Thurston) and HB 1441 (Joseph) – Duty of Law Enforcement Officers to Render Medical Assistance HB 1513 (Duran) and SB 1970 (Pizzo) – Law Enforcement and Correctional Officer Accreditation and Standards HB 1529 (Joseph) and SB 1990 (Powell) – Law Enforcement Officer Certification Revocation and Accountability HB 1531 (Hardy) – Local Law Enforcement Agencies SB 1818 (Burgess) – Law Enforcement Officer Training HB 6001 (Sabatini) – Licenses to Carry Concealed Weapons or Firearms HB 6083 (Sabatini) – Removing Firearm Regulations

Articles in this section: 24

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

Short-Term Rentals (Support)

HB 1481 (Goff-Marcil) and SB 1988 (Pizzo) prohibit local governments from prohibiting the siting of vacation rentals from their entire jurisdiction. The bills restore authority to local governments to adopt and apply zoning and land development regulations to vacation rentals. The bills maintain the June 1, 2011, grandfather date on local ordinances adopted prior to then and specify that those ordinances can be amended without penalty. The bills improve the state licensing process by requiring applicants to do the following: •Provide proof of inspection and compliance with local building, zoning and fire safety codes reflecting a change in use from a single-family or multi-family residence to a transient public lodging establishment. •Provide proof that the underlying homeowner’s insurance policy allows the home to be used as a vacation rental. •Provide a signed affidavit from the chief executive of the municipality confirming the operation of a vacation rental is allowed at that address. •Provide proof that the commercial mortgage is not in conflict with any prohibitions related to commercial activity in single or multi-family residential zones. (Taggart)

Vacation Rentals (Oppose – Preemption)

Articles in this section: 2

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Broadband Internet Deployment (Support)

CS/HB 753 (Clemons) creates the Florida Broadband Opportunity Program within the Office of Broadband within the Department of Economic Opportunity to award grants to applicants who seek to expand broadband internet service to unserved areas of the state. The bill reallocates 50% of the revenues currently allocated to the M-CORES (Multi-Use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance) program to the Office for purposes of administering the grant program. The bill authorizes certain entities, such as political subdivisions, to apply for grants that are to be used for the installation and deployment of infrastructure that supports broadband internet service. The bill only allows the Office to award grants to governmental entities if no broadband internet service providers are deployed in that area. The bill provides application requirements, the criteria for evaluating applications and that the grant award combined with other government funding may not fund more than 50% of the project’s total costs. Additionally, the bill authorizes existing broadband Internet providers to challenge grant applications if service is already provided or is planned in the area at issue. (Hughes)

Broadband Internet Infrastructure (Oppose – Preemption)

Broadband Internet Service (Support)

SB 1560 (Ausley) and HB 1339 (Goff-Marcil) revise the duties of the Florida Office of Broadband within the Department of Economic Opportunity. The bills define “unserved” to mean a geographic area of this state in which there is no provider of broadband internet service that offers a connection to the internet with a capacity for transmission at a consistent speed of at least 25 megabits per second downstream and at least 3 megabits per second upstream. The bills require the Office to develop geographic information system maps of broadband internet service availability throughout this state and a broadband infrastructure asset map by June 30, 2022. The bills create the Broadband Deployment Task Force to support and provide recommendations to the Office for the deployment of broadband internet service through this state. The Task Force is comprised of 16 members including one representative from the Florida League of Cities. The bills also require the office to establish a process to identify eligible households to receive federal Emergency Broadband Benefit Program funds. (Hughes)

Communications Services (Support)

HB 6045 (Eskamani) repeals the Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act that relates primarily to the installation of small wireless facilities in public rights of way. (Hughes)

Articles in this section: 4

TORT LIABILITY

COVID-19 Civil Liability Protection (Support)

Sovereign Immunity (Oppose)

HB 1129 (Fernandez-Barquin) and SB 1678 (Diaz) increase the statutory limits on liability for tort claims against government entities. Current law sets the statutory limits at $200,000 per claim and $300,000 per incident. The bills seek to increase these limits to $500,000 per claim and $1 million per incident. The legislation would tie these limits to a consumer price index so they would automatically increase with inflation every year. The bills set limitations of liability to take effect on the date a final judgment is entered and therefore could apply retroactively to pending claims. (Cruz)

Articles in this section: 2

TRANSPORTATION

Automatic License Plate Reader Systems (Watch)

HB 1039 (Plakon) and SB 1230 (Rodriguez) require the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to establish an automatic license reader system under the newly created Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program. Additionally, a county or municipality in coordination with the Department may authorize by contract or interlocal agreement the installation of automatic license plate reader systems on streets and highways under its jurisdiction. (Branch)

Electric Vehicle (Support)

SB 138 (Brandes) and HB 817 (Toledo) create the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant Program to provide financial assistance to municipalities and other entities for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The bills authorize the Department of Transportation to develop and publish criteria for the grant application. The bills also authorize the Department of Transportation to establish by rule the maximum weight and speed of a personal delivery device. (Branch)

Electric Vehicles Fees (Support)

SB 1276 (Hooper) requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to publish notice when electric and hybrid vehicles make up 5% or more of the total number of vehicles registered in this state. The fees for electric and hybrid vehicles begin after the Department publishes such notice. These fees will be adjusted at certain rates based on the Consumer Price Index. The bill also requires that proceeds of certain fees be deposited into the State Transportation Trust Fund. (Branch)

Fees/Electric Vehicle (Support)

SB 140 (Brandes) and HB 819 (Learned) create additional fees and a licensing tax for electric and hybrid vehicles. The proceeds from these additional fees and taxes are deposited equally into the State Transportation Trust Fund and the newly created Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant Program. (Branch)

Motor Vehicle Rentals (Support)

HB 365 (Caruso) and SB 566 (Perry) require peer-to-peer (P2P) car-sharing service sites to impose a $2 per day surcharge upon lease or rental motor vehicle through the P2P car-sharing program, which is similar to the requirements of a traditional car rental company. (Branch)

Multipassenger All-terrain Vehicles (Watch)

SB 1896 (Wright) allows a local governmental entity the authority to enact ordinances relating to multipassenger all-terrain vehicle operation and equipment that are more restrictive than those enumerated in current law. The bill requires the local governmental entity to consult with the Department of Transportation before adopting the ordinance. (Branch)

State Preemption of Seaport Regulations (Oppose – Preemption)

Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (Watch)

SB 1130 (Brandes) dissolves the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority. The bill requires the Authority to discharge its liabilities and settle and close its activities and affairs. The bill also provides for the distribution of the Authority’s assets or the proceeds of such assets, such that each local general-purpose government represented on the Authority’s board receives a distribution generally in proportion to each entity’s contribution to the acquisition of the assets. (Branch)

Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority (Watch)

HB 1283 (Beltran) and SB 1660 (Burgess) rename the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority as the West Florida Expressway Authority. The West Florida Expressway Authority shall assume the governance and control of the expressway system operated by the former Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority including its assets, personnel, contracts, obligations, liabilities, facilities and tangible and intangible properties. The governing body shall initially consist of a board of seven members but shall be subject to increase to no more than 13 members upon the expansion of the authority’s jurisdiction. (Branch)

Traffic Offenses (Support)

SB 278 (Baxley) provides criminal penalties for a person who commits a moving violation that causes serious bodily injury to or causes the death of a vulnerable road user. Of interest to cities, current law defines “vulnerable road user” to include a person engaged in work on a highway such as a utility service worker. (Branch)

Other Bills of Interest

HB 57 (Andrade), SB 1194 (Hooper) and SB 1500 (Harrell) – Transportation SB 178 (Cruz) – Public School Transportation SB 422 (Rouson) and HB 389 (Mariano) – Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority SB 684 (Brandes) and HB 707 (Chaney) – Department of Transportation HB 729 (Gregory) and SB 1364 (Perry) – Transportation Projects HB 785 (Busatta Cabrera) and SB 708 (Brandes) – Peer-to-peer Car Sharing SB 862 (Gruters) and HB 695 (Duran) – Digital License Plate Pilot Program SB 924 (Hooper) – Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance Program SB 978 (Hooper) and HB 677 (Rommel) – Motor Vehicle Dealers SB 1126 (Harrell) and HB 1385 (LaMarca) – Department of Transportation HB 1289 (McFarland) and SB 1620 (Brandes) – Autonomous Vehicles SB 1134 (Harrell) – Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles HB 1143 (Grall) and SB 1466 (Hutson) – Airports

Articles in this section: 11

UTILITIES & NATURAL RESOURCES

Anchoring Limitation Areas (Watch)

HB 1515 (Duggan) and SB 1946 (Polsky) authorize counties to establish anchoring limitation areas in densely populated urban areas. The bills grandfather existing anchoring limitation areas from the new requirements imposed by the bills. The bills provide size and other criteria for the designation of an anchoring limitation area, including a requirement that a person may not anchor a vessel for more than 30 consecutive days in any six-month period in an anchoring limitation area. The bills revise provisions prohibiting and authorizing anchoring of vessels in anchoring limitation areas and provide for vessel owners and operators to present certain proof that a vessel has not exceeded certain anchoring limitations. The bills revise provisions of current law authorizing removal and impoundment of certain vessels from anchoring limitation areas and declare that a vessel that is the subject of more than three violations within 12 months is a public nuisance. The bills authorize the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to develop rules to implement the new provisions. (O’Hara)

Beach Funding (Watch)

SB 1240 (Hutson) provides a specified annual appropriation (the lesser of $100 million or the total amount requested to fully fund the annual project list) from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection to fund beach and inlet projects. (O’Hara)

Biscayne Bay (Watch)

HB 1177 (Avila) and SB 1482 (Garcia) establish the Biscayne Bay Commission to develop coordinated plans, projects and budgets to improve the bay. The bills authorize the Commission to accept any functions delegated to it by any governmental entity through a memorandum of understanding. The bills provide for membership, powers and duties of the Commission. The bills prohibit sewage disposal facilities from disposing of wastes into Biscayne Bay without providing advanced waste treatment. (O’Hara)

Bottled Water (Watch)

SB 1774 (Cruz) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor the consumptive use permits for all bottled water companies to ensure compliance with the limits of allowable water extraction from an approved source. The bill exempts bottled water companies that are permitted to extract less than 55 million gallons per year. (O’Hara)

Bottled Water Companies/Fees (Watch)

SB 1776 (Cruz) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to charge bottled water companies a fee of 5 cents per gallon of water extracted and requires the Department to distribute the funds collected from fees to the appropriate water management district to be used for the purposes of replenishing aquifers, creating alternative water supplies and addressing water quality impacts. (O’Hara)

Bottled Water Excise Tax (Watch)

SB 652 (Taddeo) and HB 1237 (Casello) impose an excise tax upon bottled water operators at a rate of 12.5 cents per gallon of water extracted from waters of the state. The bills direct proceeds of the tax to be deposited into the Wastewater Treatment and Stormwater Management Revolving Loan Trust Fund and direct that proceeds must be used to provide grants and loans to local governments, with priority given to projects that connect septic systems to central wastewater facilities. (O’Hara)

Brownfield Site Rehabilitation (Support)

SB 1054 (Broxson) addresses the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The bill requires rulemaking by the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt cleanup standards for PFAS and abates cleanup enforcement actions pending adoption of DEP rules. The bill provides liability protection to owners and operators of PFAS-impacted sites if they are cooperating with DEP on site assessment and upon signing a “voluntary cleanup agreement” with DEP. It directs DEP to establish a PFAS assessment and cleanup program and requires DEP to provide an annual report to the governor and Legislature. (O’Hara)

Coastal Construction and Preservation (Watch)

HB 1133 (Leek) and SB 1504 (Wright) define the terms “upland structure,” “vulnerable” and “wave runup” for purposes of the Dennis Jones Beach and Shore Preservation Act. The bills require, rather than authorize, the Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits for coastal armoring if it determines private structures or public infrastructure is vulnerable to damage from coastal storms or sea level rise. Similarly, the bills require, rather than authorize, the Department of Environmental Protection to issue permits for present installations of coastal armoring. (O’Hara)

Conservation Easements (Support)

HB 779 (Altman) and SB 1730 (Stewart) remove a provision in current law that requires income from conservation lands to be used in a specified way to retain its exemption from ad valorem taxes. In addition, the bills authorize conservation easement agreements to allow recreational activities. (O’Hara)

Critically Eroded Beaches (Support)

SB 1690 (Hutson) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to update its list and report on critically eroded beaches and the associated comprehensive long-term management plans to include certain beaches eroded by Hurricanes Matthew, Irma and Michael and identified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as critically eroded. (O’Hara)

Displacement of Private Waste Companies (Oppose – Unfunded Mandate)

Disposal of Food Waste Materials (Watch)

HB 1369 (Driskell) and SB 1764 (Cruz) require a food outlet, a food service establishment or school to ensure that any food waste materials generated by the entity are recycled at an authorized composting facility, at an anaerobic digestion facility or by another recycling method if specified requirements are met. (O’Hara)

Energy (Watch)

HB 993 (Skidmore) and SB 1362 (Polsky) require the Division of Emergency Management’s statewide emergency shelter plan to identify the capacity of backup power generation systems and fuel types available at each shelter. The bills require the Office of Energy within the Department of Agriculture to develop rules that meet certain requirements for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by specified dates. In addition, the bills require the Department to develop and maintain a greenhouse gas registry and inventory and require state and local governmental entities to track and report greenhouse gas emissions data to the Department by specified dates. (O’Hara)

Energy Security and Disaster Resilience Pilot Program (Watch)

HB 1105 (Goff-Marcil) and SB 1360 (Cruz) create a pilot program within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide for the energy needs of critical disaster resilience facilities and study the effectiveness of grants for distributed energy generation and energy storage technologies. The bills define “critical disaster resilience facilities” to include emergency operations centers owned by state and local governments, public health facilities, transportation facilities, law enforcement and public safety facilities and utility facilities. The bills direct the Department to establish a grant program for the purpose of offsetting costs for the purchase or lease and installation of on-site solar energy storage systems to serve critical disaster facilities. The bills direct the Department to conduct a study on the effectiveness of using solar energy storage technologies and other renewable energy generation and storage technologies and to publish the results of the study by December 2022. (O’Hara)

Energy 2040 Task Force (Support)

SB 136 (Brandes) creates the Energy 2040 Task Force within the Florida Public Service Commission to project the state’s electric energy needs over the next 20 years and determine how to best meet those needs while increasing competition and consumer choice. It directs the Task Force to recommend appropriate electric policies and statutory changes, including consideration of the effects of allowing nonutility retail sales of renewable energy; the use of microgrids; emerging electric technologies and concepts; the impacts of state and local government taxes on government revenues and the electric supply; and the environmental impact of electricity production, generation and transmission. The bill specifies Task Force members, authorizes the Task Force to establish any necessary advisory committees and directs the Task Force to submit its recommendations to the governor and Legislature by January 2023. (O’Hara)

Everglades Protection Area (Watch)

HB 333 (Aloupis) and SB 722 (Rodriguez) prohibit the drilling of wells or use of structures for the production of gas or petroleum products within the Everglades Protection Area. (O’Hara)

Farming Operations/Agritourism (Oppose – Preemption)

Florida Forever Bonds (Support)

HB 1173 (Roth) and SB 1480 (Brodeur) extend the retirement date of bonds issued to fund the Florida Forever Act from December 2040 to December 2054. (O’Hara)

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Watch)

SB 1236 (Rodriguez, A.) and HB 617 (Melo) prohibit state agencies from adopting or enforcing state and regional programs to regulate greenhouse gas emissions without specific legislative authorization. (O’Hara)

Implementation of the Recommendations of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force (Watch)

SB 1522 (Stewart) and HB 1225 (Goff-Marcil) require the Department of Environmental Protection to implement a stormwater inspection and monitoring program by January 2022 to identify improperly functioning or failing systems. The bills require owners of on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems to have the system inspected once every five years beginning July 2024 and direct the Department to adopt rules to administer and enforce the inspection program. The bills require basin management action plans to describe potential increases in pollutant loading due to population growth and agricultural growth and provide a comprehensive analysis of options to mitigate increases in pollutant loading. (O’Hara)

Infrastructure Solutions/Climate Resilience (Support)

SB 1190 (Farmer) is a Senate Joint Resolution expressing the Legislature’s support for investment in resilient infrastructure solutions, projects and policy proposals to support long-term climate resilience. (O’Hara)

Inland and Coastal Flood Control Funding Assessment (Support)

HB 901 (Bartleman) and SB 1252 (Berman) require the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to include within its annual assessment of Florida’s water resources an analysis of future expenditures by local, regional and state governments necessary to improve resilience to flooding. The analysis must identify gaps between projected and estimated revenues, expenditures and needs. (O’Hara)

Insurance-Based Climate Change Task Force (Support)

SB 1872 (Rouson) and HB 1623 (Diamond) direct the Commissioner of Insurance Regulation to convene a Climate and Resiliency Task Force to consider the impact of climate change on Florida’s insurance market. The bills direct the Task Force to identify protection gaps in Florida’s insurance market and recommend approaches for reducing, managing and mitigating climate-related risk. The bills direct the Task Force to issue a report to the governor and Legislature every three years, beginning January 2023. (O’Hara)

Land Acquisition Trust Fund (Support)

SB 1510 (Stewart) and HB 1211 (Altman) extend the date of retirement of bonds issued for the Florida Forever Program from December 2040 to December 2054. The bills provide for $100 million to be appropriated annually from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to the Florida Forever Trust Fund. In addition, SB 1510 specifies that moneys distributed from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund may not be used for agency executive direction and support services or technology and information services. (O’Hara)

Articles in this section: 24

The 2021 regular Legislative Session commences on March 2 and will adjourn on April 30. Below are summaries of all the bills with municipal impact that have been filed to date.

Back Issues

01-RADAR BILLS

Combating Public Disorder (Oppose – Impact on Municipal Operations)

COVID-19 Civil Liability Protection (Support)

Home-Based Businesses (Oppose – Preemption)

Sales and Use Tax (Support)

Vacation Rentals (Oppose – Preemption)

Wastewater Discharges (Oppose – Mandate)

02-PREEMPTIONS

Attorney General Designation of Matters of Great Governmental Concern (Oppose – Preemption)

Broadband Internet Infrastructure (Oppose – Preemption)

Cottage Food Operations (Oppose – Preemption)

County and Municipal Code Enforcement (CS/SB 60 – Watch, HB 883 Oppose – Preemption)

Elections (Oppose – Preemption)

Emergency Management Powers of Political Subdivisions (Oppose – Preemption)

Farming Operations/Agritourism (Oppose – Preemption)

Home-Based Businesses (Oppose – Preemption)

Impact Fees (Oppose – Preemption)

Law Enforcement Equipment (Oppose – Preemption)

Local Licensing (Oppose – Preemption)

Preemption of Local Occupational Licensing (Oppose – Preemption)

Prohibited Governmental Transactions with Technology Companies and for Chinese Products (Oppose – Preemption)

Prohibition of Public Funds for Lobbying (Oppose – Preemption)

Public Records (Oppose – Preemption)

Public Safety Emergency Communications Systems (Oppose – Preemption)

Public Works Projects (Oppose – Preemption)

Renewable Energy (Oppose – Preemption)

Solar Electrical Generating Facilities (Oppose – Preemption)

State Preemption of Energy Infrastructure Regulations (Oppose – Preemption and Unfunded Mandate)

State Preemption of Seaport Regulations (Oppose – Preemption)

Traffic Infraction Detectors (Oppose – Preemption)

Tree Pruning, Trimming or Removal on Residential Property (Oppose – Preemption)

Vacation Rentals (Oppose – Preemption)

03-MADATES

Building Design (Oppose – Mandate)

Concealed Carry of Firearms by First Responders (Oppose – Mandate)

Displacement of Private Waste Companies (Oppose – Unfunded Mandate)

Florida Building Code (Oppose – Mandate )

Law Enforcement Officer Body and Vehicle Dash Cameras (Oppose – Mandate)

Local Government Fiscal Transparency (Oppose – Mandate)

Preemption of Firearms and Ammunition (Oppose – Mandate)

Renewable Energy (Oppose – Mandate)

Tolling and Extension of Permits and Other Authorizations During States of Emergency (Oppose – Mandate)

Transparency in Government Spending (Oppose – Mandate)

Wastewater Discharges (Oppose – Mandate)

BUILDING CODES/CONSTRUCTION

Application for and Issuance of Building Permits (Watch)

Building Design (Oppose – Mandate)

Building Inspections (Watch)

Fees for the Enforcement of Florida Building Code (Watch)

Florida Building Code (Oppose – Mandate )

Public Works Projects (Oppose – Preemption)

Other Bills of Interest

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Enterprise Zone Boundaries (Support)

Florida Tourism Marketing (Support)

Sports Facility Development (Watch)

Other Bills of Interest

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

ETHICS & ELECTIONS

Candidate Qualifying and Campaign Expenditures (Watch)

Elections (Oppose – Preemption)

Government Accountability (Watch)

Local Government Ethics Reform (Watch)

Prohibition of Public Funds for Lobbying (Oppose – Preemption)

Other Bills of Interest

FINANCE & TAXATION

Constitutional Amendment: Property Assessed for Elevated Properties (Watch)

Implementing Bill: Property Assessed for Elevated Properties (Watch)

Local Government Fiscal Transparency (Oppose – Mandate)

Nonprofit Property Tax Exemptions (Watch)

Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Housing and Government (Support)

Property Tax Exemption - Nonprofit Homes for the Aged (Watch)

Rental of Homestead Property (Watch)

Sales and Use Tax (Support)

Tangible Personal Property Tax Returns (Watch)

Tax Administration (Watch)

Taxation of Property Used for Agriculture (Watch)

Transparency in Government Spending (Oppose – Mandate)