Becker’s State Lobbying Update – Week 5: February 9th-13th, 2026

Week five saw the conclusion of House subcommittee meetings for the Session. The week was highlighted again with the hope of a preliminary budget being released by both Chambers. On Thursday the Senate said that they would not release their proposal until the House did so first and signaled it would be next week. Hours later, the House released their proposal, and the Senate quickly scheduled meetings for Friday to do the same. The House proposal totals $113.6 billion.  At the time of the writing, the Senate total will be known later today. The Governor’s overall budget came in at $117.4 billion. The Chambers will begin voting on their proposals in committee next week.

Local Government

HB 105 – Local Government Enforcement Actions by Representative Brackett
SB 588 – Local Government Enforcement Actions by Senator McClain

HB 105 establishes a uniform standard for local government enforcement actions and provides remedies for actions deemed arbitrary or unreasonable. HB 105 creates the Local Government Regulatory Accountability Act. The bill prohibits counties and municipalities from initiating or threatening enforcement actions and requires local governments to establish a review process and regulations for enforcement actions. The bill further allows individuals or businesses to file legal action and affords whistle blower protection. HB 105 passed the House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 17-0 and now heads to the floor. The Senate bill has yet to be heard and it likely dead.

HB 509 – Code Inspector Body Cameras by Representative Partington
SB 504 – Code Inspector Body Cameras by Senator Burgess

HB 509 by Representative Partington and SB 504 by Senator Burgess allow code inspectors to wear body cameras and establishes procedures for their use, maintenance, storage, and release of audio and video data. Additionally, this bill requires counties to properly train personnel who will use body cameras. HB 509 passed the State Affairs Committee by a vote of 26-0 and now heads to the floor. Senate Bill SB 504 passed the Senate Floor with a vote of 39-0.

HB 1139 – Impact Fees by Representative Gentry 

HB 1139 by Representative Gentry revises the process for calculating and collecting impact fees by requiring impact fees for transportation capacity, providing interlocal agreements for mitigating transportation and requiring the use of plant-based methodology, prohibiting municipalities from increasing impact fees, and providing for the interest of payment of interest and petitioner attorney fees. HB 1139 passed the House State Affairs Committee by a vote of 25-0 and now heads to the floor.

SB 218 – Land Use Regulations by Senator Gaetz
HB 217 – Land Use Regulations by Rep Abbott

SB 218 by Senator Gaetz amends certain provisions in Section 28 of SB 180 which passed the legislature last year dealing with disaster rebuilding. The bill narrows the geographic area subject to SB 180’s restrictions by defining what “impacted local governments” are and applying restrictions to them only; resulting in 13 counties and their municipalities no longer subject to the restrictions. SB 218 passed the Senate Judiciary with a vote of 10-0 and now moves to the Senate Rules Committee.

SB 692 – Cybersecurity Standards and Liability by Senator Leek
HB 635 – Cybersecurity Standards and Liability by Representative Giallombardo

SB 692 by Senator Leek provides protection from liability for a cybersecurity incident for counties or private entities. The bill provides liability protection on the condition that they have implemented policies that align with specific cybersecurity standards, have implemented a cybersecurity disaster recovery plan, implemented multi-factor authentication, and comply with applicable state and federal laws. SB 692 passed the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 9-2 and now moves to the Appropriations Committee.

SB 1014 – Provision of Municipal Utility Service to Owners Outside the Municipal Limits by Senator Mayfield 

SB 1014 by Senator Mayfield prohibits municipal water and wastewater utilities from declining to extend service to a residential property outside of the corresponding municipality’s corporate limits. SB 1014 passed the Community Affairs Committee by a vote of 8-0 and now moves to the Rules Committee.

HB 1001 – Official Actions of Local Governments by Representative Black
SB 1134 – Official Actions of Local Governments by Senator Yarborough

HB 1001 by Representative Black and SB 1134 by Senator Yarborough prohibit counties and municipalities from adopting or funding DEI measures and requires contractors to certify non-use of public funds for such initiatives. The bill also allows a county or municipality to authorize civic and community events as long as requirements are met. Additionally, the bill provides guidelines for court action and regulations for these counties and municipalities. HB 1001 passed the House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee with a vote of 12-4 and now heads to the House State Affairs Committee. SB 1134 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with a vote of 8-3 and now heads to the Senate Rules Committee.

Retail

SB 1004 – Sale of Dogs and Cats by Senator Gaetz
HB 1521-Domestic Animals by Rep Weinberger

SB 1004 by Senator Gaetz implements consumer protections related to the sale of cats and dogs that are financed. The bill requires that if a purchase is canceled, the financing agreement must be terminated at no cost to the customer. Additionally, this bill requires that all financing terms be disclosed to a customer, requires a pet dealer to provide copies of certain medical records to a consumer purchasing a cat or dog, and implements a three-day waiting period between signing an agreement and taking possession of the animal if a financing agreement is involved. SB 1004 passed the Rules Committee by a vote of 24-0 and now heads to the floor.

Child Welfare

SB 1690 – Child Care and Early Learning Services by Senator Calatayud

SB 1690 by Senator Calatayud makes several statutory changes relating to early childhood education and childcare regulation and directs initiatives to enhance early childhood education. The bill streamlines childcare requirements, expands license exemptions, revises insurance provisions, and creates a dedicated early learning endowment. SB 1690 passed the Senate Education Pre-k-12 with a vote of 8-0 and now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.