Headlines

Abortion: This week, after two days of grueling and heated debate, parental consent for minors’ abortions was voted to become law by the Florida House. SB 404 by Senator Kelli Stargel is now headed to Governor DeSantis’ desk for review and signature. Florida law currently requires that parents or guardians are notified if a minor gets an abortion, however, minors can also obtain a judicial waiver to bypass that requirement. This new legislation, effective July 1, 2020, will require both parental consent and notification if a minor gets an abortion. The judicial waiver requirement remains in effect. The House members passed the legislation in a 75-43 vote split amongst party lines.

Amendment 4 Unconstitutional: This week a federal appeals court ruled that it was unconstitutional to force Florida felons to first pay off their financial obligations before registering to vote. This requirement was decided last year by the Republican led legislature who instituted a poll tax and stripped the voting rights of convicted felons due to this financial obligation requirement. The three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Amendment 4 proponents, backing the more than 65% of Floridians who voted in 2018 for re-enfranchisement. Unfortunately, Amendment 4 being upheld won’t automatically make voting easier for returning citizens, however, it is a start to restoration of their rights.

Vacation Rentals: This week HB 1011 by Representative Jason Fischer passed favorably in the Commerce Committee in a 14-9 vote. Vacation rental platforms such as Airbnb, HomeAway, etc., must now collect and remit taxes on vacation rental properties, ensure that only properly licensed rentals are advertised, and provide the state with specific information about the rentals. Regulation is now preempted to the state, largely preventing local governments from regulating vacation rentals. Local governments could only regulate the rentals in the same way as other properties in neighborhoods, a restriction that cities and counties strenuously oppose. Many feel that a requirement like this is best left up to local officials and not up to the state. The Senate companion, SB 1128 by Senator Manny Diaz, is now in Rules waiting to be heard.

Occupational Licensing: This week HB 3 by Representative Michael Grant passed favorably on the House floor in a 78-40 vote. This legislation would preempt local governments from requiring occupational licenses that are not mandated by the state. It would bring “uniformity” to a broad range of trade classes including, “flooring, cabinetry, painting, interior, remodeling, driveway or tennis court installation, decorative stone, tile, marble, granite, or terrazzo installation, plastering stuccoing, caulking, canvas awning, installation, and ornamental iron installation.” The Senate companion, SB 1336 by Senator Keith Perry, was temporarily postponed in its second committee of reference, Innovation, Industry, and Technology.

Tallahassee Updates

Contamination: This week SB 1350 by Senator Dennis Baxley passed favorably in its second committee stop, Judiciary, in a unanimous vote. There is a companion bill in the House, HB 609, by Representative Daniel Perez. This legislation provides changes to Florida’s brownfield program which include but is not limited to: providing sales tax exemptions for building materials for construction projects abutting designated brownfield areas that set aside certain portions of the project for affordable housing; revising a corporate income tax credit for 25% of the total rehabilitation costs for a brownfield site, not to exceed $500,000, for projects that include residential portions, if the developer agrees to set aside at last 20% of the housing units for affordable housing, etc.

A brownfield is a property of which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Unsafe levels of environmental contamination on a brownfield may result from past or current industrial, commercial, residential, agricultural, or recreational uses and practices. Contaminants may be found in soil, water or air. A committee substitute was filed by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee removing the expanded application of the sales tax exemption and the corporate income tax exemption for building materials for construction as it relates to affordable housing. SB 1350 has one more committee stop, Appropriations, before reaching the Senate floor.

Special Neighborhood Improvement Districts: This week HB 1009 by Representative Wengay Newton passed favorably on the House floor in a 113-0 vote. Neighborhood Improvement Districts (NIDs) are authorized under the Safe Neighborhoods Act of 1987 to address deteriorating business and residential neighborhoods and help revitalize them. By definition, a NID must use more than 75% of the land within its boundaries for either residential purposes or commercial, office, business, or industrial proposes, excluding land used for public facilities. This bill increases the number of members that can serve on special NID boards to allow three, five, or seven members and increases board member terms to four-year staggered terms. The bill requires members to be landowners in the proposed area who are subject to ad valorem taxation. The bill also requires counties or municipalities to specify the number of members in the ordinance creating the NID. The next stop for this legislation is to be heard on the Senate floor for a vote. If the Senate vote is favorable, the next stop for this legislation is the Governor’s desk.

There is a companion bill, SB 1424, by Senator Joe Gruters, that passed favorably in the Innovation, Industry, and Technology Committee, in a 9-0 vote. SB 1424 has one more committee stop, Rules, before reaching the Senate floor.

Dissolution of Municipalities: This week HB 1209 by Representative Jason Fischer passed favorably in the Ways & Means Committee in a 15-1 vote. A municipality may be dissolved subject to a special act of the legislature or an ordinance passed by the governing body of the municipality approved by the voters at a referendum. This bill would require any municipality that meets one or more specified criteria to hold a referendum on municipal dissolution. Those criteria include but are not limited to:

• The municipality was determined to be in a state of financial emergency subsequent to June 17, 2004 and has been in a state of financial emergency for two or more years.
• The municipality has failed to comply with the terms of any signed agreement with the Governor’s office as part of a financial emergency where a financial emergency board has been established.

This bill has one more committee stop, State Affairs, before reaching the House floor. There is a Senate Companion, SB 1522 by Senator Doug Bronson, that is referred to three committees, however, said bill has not been heard.

Housing: This week SB 998 by Senator Travis Hutson passed favorably in the Infrastructure and Security Committee in a 7-0 vote. This bill addresses several housing issues related to development zoning and impact fees; the provision of affordable housing; and taxation, regulation, ownership, and tenancy related to mobile homes and mobile home parks. With respect to zoning, impact fees, and affordable housing, the bill includes but is not limited to:

• Notwithstanding other laws and regulations, authorizes local governments to approve the development of affordable housing on any parcel zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial use;
• Provides that local governments may adopt an ordinance to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in any area zoned for single-family residential use;

With respect to housing issues related to mobile homes, this bill includes but is not limited to:

• Mobile home buyers will have the option to receive the seller’s prospectus or a new prospectus;
• Requires mobile homeowners to receive written permission from park owner before exterior modifications or additions

There is a companion bill, HB 1339 by Representative Clay Yarborough, that passed favorably in the House Ways and Means Committee with a unanimous vote. This bill has one more committee stop, Commerce, before reaching the House floor. Senator Hutson’s bill is now in its last committee stop, Appropriations, before reaching the Senate floor.

Below you will find a summary of legislation that moved during week five of Session. Each issue discussed has the potential to impact your municipality and organization. In the weeks ahead, we will continue to monitor these bills and others while advocating on your behalf.

Ready to Sign: This week, Governor Ron DeSantis received four bills from the legislature for review and signature. SB 594, 596, 598, and 600 by Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto are bills to adopt the Florida Statutes 2020 by amending, creating, or repealing certain sections of the Florida Statutes. The bills also revise the Statutes by deleting expired or obsolete language, correct-cross references, and remove inconsistencies within the Statutes. Governor DeSantis has until February 17, 2020 to act on these bills.

Remembering Parkland: The Governor ordered flags to fly half-staff Friday, February 14, in respect of the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018. A moment of silence was held in both Chambers to acknowledge the victims’ families, survivors, and others in the community that continue to mourn this devastating loss.

Appropriations: This week, the House and Senate passed their budgets with unanimous votes, sending the legislature to debate over key disparities in their $91 billion-plus spending plans. There is a difference of $1.4 billion with the House and Senate budget with some of those key differences being: the Senate is fully funding the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund with $387 million and $52.5 million for VISIT FLORIDA the House diverges on these two positions, offering $144 million and zero dollars respectively.

In addition, teacher pay, is also discussion that both the House and Senate need to have in order to meet Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ask of raising starting teacher pay to $47,500. Both Chambers agree to raise teacher salary but their formulas for reaching that $47,500 do not coincide.

School Board Term Limits: This week, SB 1216 by Senator Joe Gruters passed favorably in the Education Committee in a 5-3 vote. There is a companion bill in the House, HB 157 by Representative Anthony Sabatini and Representative Matt Willhite, that also passed favorably in its final committee before heading to the floor in an 11-4 vote. This joint resolution proposes that Florida district school board members be subject to an eight-year consecutive service term limitation. The language mirrors the current “eight is enough” term limit that applies to Cabinet members and legislators. The joint resolution, if passed by a 3/5ths vote of each House of the Legislature, will be voted on at the general election in November 2020, unless the legislature authorizes an earlier special election for that specific purpose. The likely earliest date that any currently serving school board member could be “termed out” would be in November 2028.

E-Verify: Governor Ron DeSantis has indicated that E-Verify is one of his top priorities for the 2020 Legislative Session. Various pieces of legislation have been presented on both the House and Senate however, they have been slow to move. SB 664 by Senator Tom Lee would mandate all public and private employers use E-Verify, a federal program that checks the legal eligibility of new workers. Senator Simmons, Chair of the Senate Judiciary, proposed an amendment that would exclude farmers and agricultural employers. House Speaker Jose Olivia has expressed his concerns regarding the legislation in how it would treat individual companies differently from others. Both Chambers understand the importance of this legislation as it is the Governor’s priority and they are working to come to some common ground for passage.

Safety at Pedestrian Crosswalks: This week, the House passed unanimously in the Transportation & Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee HB 1371 Traffic and Pedestrian Safety by Representative Randy Fine and Representative Mike Caruso in a 11-0 vote. This legislation would require pedestrian crosswalks on public highways, streets, or roads that are located at any point other than an intersection to be controlled by traffic signal devices. It also states that these pedestrian control signals must meet specified requirements. Crosswalks will swap out the flashing yellow lights with red lights to help signal that vehicles should come to a complete stop. The Senate companion, SB 1000 by Senator Keith Perry is scheduled to be heard in its second committee on February 18^th.

Common Core Eradicated: This week, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the Common Core curriculum would be officially removed from Florida classrooms as the State Board of Education formally adopted new standards known as the Benchmarks to Excellent Student Thinking, or BEST. Under the new standards, Florida will become the first state to require civics education in all grades and short standardized tests. BEST will offer every high school junior an opportunity to take the SAT or ACT paid for by the state until at least 2022. The standards for BEST were created by Florida teachers for Florida Students.