HomeMy Public PortalAboutLTC 080-2023 - Legislative SessionBAL HARBOUR
V I L L A G E -
OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER LETTER TO COUNCIL
NO. 080-2023
To: Mayor Jeffrey P. Freimark and Members of the Village Council
From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager VPG'
Date: May 19, 2023
Subject: End of the Florida Legislative Session 2023
The purpose of this Letter to Council (LTC) is to transmit the attached reports provided
by our Village lobbyist Ron L. Book.
• End of Session 2023 Report
• The Florida Senate 2023 Summary of legislation Passed Committee on Regulated
Industries —Condominium and Cooperative Associations
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact
me.
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End of Session 2023 Report
Enclosed is our 2023 end of Session report. Please note this report is submitted before many of the items
within have been acted upon by the Governor. Please let us know if you have questions on issues included
in this report, or on any other issue of concern.
• Housing: SB 102 has been signed into law, Chapter No. 2023-17
• School Choice/Universal Voucher: HB 1 has been signed into law, Chapter No. 2023-16
• Civil Remedies: HB 837 has been signed into law, Chapter No. 2023-15
Legislative Issues:
• Environmental Protection: (HB 1379 passed)
• Solid Waste Management (HB 975/SB 798 did not pass)
• Sovereign Immunity: (SB 604/HB 401 did not pass)
• Recall of County Officers and Commissioners: (SJR 1066/HJR 131/HB 209 did not pass)
• Financial Disclosure for Elected Officials: (SB 774 passed and has been signed by the Governor)
• Local Ordinances/Business Impact Estimate: (SB 170 passed)
• Condominium and Cooperative Associations: (SB 154 passed)
• Homestead Tax Exemption/Senior/Low-income/Long-term Residents: (SB 126/HB 159 did not
pass)
• Vacation Rentals: (SB 714/HB 833 did not pass)
• Local Regulation of Nonconforming or Unsafe Structures: (SB 1346/HB 1317 did not pass)
• Public Nuisance/threatening actions/hate crime: (HB 269 passed and has been signed by the
Governor)
• Municipal Utilities: (HB 1331/SB 1712 did not pass)
• Land Use and Development Regulations: (SB 1604 passed and has been signed by the Governor)
• Careless Driving / The Anthony Reznik Act: (SB 544 did not pass)
Environmental Protection: (SB 1632/HB 1379) Language contained in this bill renames this grant
program the Water Quality Improvement Grant and expands eligibility for a myriad of projects and
locations around the state. This bill addresses a number of topics, however, specific to local governments,
this bill expands the wastewater grant program to include areas and types of waterbodies that would be
eligible, expands the types of projects to include additional wastewater projects, stormwater projects, and
regional agricultural projects, removes the requirement that each grant have a minimum 50% local matching
funds but it does allow DEP prioritize those with the local matching funds, and requires DEP to coordinate
with local governments to identify the most effective and beneficial water quality improvement projects.
Regarding sanitary sewer services, the bill requires local governments to develop a plan to provide sanitary
sewer services for developments of more than 50 residential lots that have more than one OSTDS per acre
within a 10-year planning horizon (not required for rural areas of opportunity), requires local governments
to update their comprehensive plans to include the sanitary sewer planning element by July 1, 2024, and
requires local governments that are subject to a BMAP (or located within the basin of waters not meeting
applicable nutrient -related water quality standards) to provide DEP with an annual update on the status of
the construction of sanitary sewers to serve such areas.
HB 1379 has passed.
CS/CS/HB 1379 engrossed and enrolled:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1379/BillText/er/PDF
Solid Waste Management (HB 975/SB 798) This legislation stalled, having been heard in only one
committee, and a Senate similar companion bill which was not been heard.
Did not pass.
Sovereign Immunity: (SB 604/HB 401) The bills as drafted would have substantially raised the sovereign
immunity caps for damages sought against local governments. The cap amounts were in negotiations but
stalled mid -Session. We expect this issue to be filed next Session.
Did not pass.
Recall of County Officers and Commissioners: (SJR 1066/HJR 131/HB 209) Senate and House joint
resolutions propose an amendment to the State Constitution to authorize in statute the recall of County
officers and Commissioners. HB 209 would implement this into statute.
Did not pass.
Financial Disclosure for Elected Officials: (SB 774/HB 37) The bill would require mayors and municipal
elected officials to begin filing Form 6 for the annual financial disclosure starting January 1, 2024. Current
law requires that these officials file only the limited disclosure of financial interests, Form 1, and current
law requires that state legislators file Form 6. This bill does not include non -elected managers. SB 774
would take effect upon becoming law. ,
SB 774 has passed and has been signed by the Governor, Chapter No. 2023-49
Local Ordinances/Business Impact Estimate: (SB 170/HB 1515) The bill requires counties and cities to
produce a "business impact estimate" before passing a local ordinance and authorizes courts to assess and
award reasonable attorney fees and costs and damages in civil actions filed against local governments
specific to this legislation.
SB 170 has passed.
CS/CS/SB 170 engrossed and enrolled: hops://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/170/BillText/er/PDF
Condominium and Cooperative Associations: (SB 154/HB 1395) SB 154 addresses the following issues:
• Further revises the milestone inspection requirements.
• Requires the Florida Building Commission to establish by rule, a building safety program to implement
the milestone inspection requirements. This must include inspection criteria, testing protocols,
standardized inspection and reporting forms that are adaptable to an electronic format, and record
maintenance requirements for the local authority having jurisdiction.
• The bill amends s. 627.351, F.S., to exempt unit owner polices from the flood insurance requirement
for Citizens personal lines property coverage. The bill also revises the provision requiring flood
insurance coverage to base the dates by which flood insurance coverage must be obtained on the
dwelling replacement cost instead of property value.
• Revises the reserve funding requirements relating to condominium and cooperative associations.
• Revises structural integrity reserve study requirements
• Revises and clarifies those who have access to records — both any association member and any
authorized by the association
• Appropriates $1,301,928 in recurring funds and $67,193 in nonrecurring funds from the Division of
Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes Trust Fund to the Department of Business and
Professional Regulation, and to authorize 10 full-time employees.
SB 154 has passed.
CS/CS/SB 154 engrossed and enrolled: hiti}s://www.flsenate.2ov/Session/Bill/2023/154/BillText/er/PDF
Homestead Tax Exemption for Senior, Low-income, Long-term Residents: (SB 126/HB 159) SJR 126
proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution to raise the eligible real estate value for the optional
full homestead exemption on long-term, low-income seniors from $250,000 to $300,000. If adopted by the
Legislature, the proposed amendment will be submitted to Florida's electors for approval or rejection at the
next general election in November 2024. If approved by at least 60 percent of the electors, the proposed
amendment will take effect on January 1, 2025
Did not pass.
Vacation Rentals: (SB 714 and HB 833) We continued this year to voice opposition to further regulation
on vacation rentals. This bill was slow to begin movement this Session, and as it moved, working with the
Florida League of Cities and lobbyists representing affected municipalities, we continued work on this
legislation. As has happened in the past, as a collective group, we were able to voice enough opposition to
both the House and Senate, and neither were able to come to an agreement on language.
The later iterations of this legislation had various facets, including the ability for local governments to levy
fines for non -registration and regulation on parking and garbage requirements (for all areas, not only the
vacation rentals); would have required local governments to accept or deny a registration application in 15
days, and allowed for "grandfathered" local ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011. The later
versions allowed local governments to restrict maximum occupancy, if applied across all rented properties
within their jurisdiction, allowed a fee for inspections after registration, though never settling on a specific,
agreed upon amount. The Senate bill included a limited amount of funding and six full time positions for
DBPR to implement this legislation.
SB 714/HB 833 — SB 714 passed the full House Wednesday of the last week of Session with a bad
amendment by Representative Duggan, (bar code 433635). Along with the League of Cities and others, we
worked to secure no votes on the amendment, however House leadership whipped the votes on both the
amendment and the bill and it passed the House by a vote of 73 — 39. At that point, it was sent in messages
back to the Senate. On the last day of Session, Friday, May 5, the Senate refused to concur with the Duggan
amendment and requested the House to recede. The House did not, and the bill did not pass.
Did not pass.
Local Regulation of Nonconforming or Unsafe Structures: (S13 1346/HB 1317) The bills provided that
a local government cannot prohibit, restrict, or prevent the demolition of the following structures for any
reason other than public safety: nonconforming structures located within one-half mile of the coastline
which are also within zones V, VE, AO, or AE, as identified in the Flood Insurance Rate Map issued by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, any structure determined to be unsafe by a local building official,
any structure ordered to be demolished by a local government that has proper jurisdiction.
Additionally, the bill provided that a local government must authorize replacement structures to be
developed to the maximum height and overall building size authorized by local development regulations.
It also would prohibit a local government from imposing additional regulatory or building requirements on
a replacement structure to be built on the property where a structure was demolished. The bill provided that
a local government may review an application for a demolition permit only administratively, for compliance
with applicable building and safety codes.
In committee, Senator Jones offered an amendment to include federally designated and locally designated
historic districts (not simply federally designated historic properties and single family homes). Senator
Avila indicated that the amendment was unfriendly, and Senator Jones withdrew his amendment as
anticipated, in order to maintain the language as available at a future point in time. Before he withdrew the
amendment, Senator Jones discussed the critical need for this modified language. Federally and locally
designated historic districts include various historic areas of historic Florida, and in multiple locations, the
Federal government does not only designate individual structures, but districts.
The following provisions were added to the Senate bill before it passed the Senate and was sent to the
House in messages. These provisions would have excluded the following areas:
• A structure individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Individual properties not
historic districts)
• A single-family home.
• A structure located within an area of critical state concern designated pursuant to s. 380.05. (The Florida
Keys)
• A structure located within a municipality that has a total population of 10,000 or less according to the
most recent decennial census. (Small coastal cities across the State)
• A structure located in a municipality within which there are at least three buildings that were originally
erected more than 200 years ago. (St. Augustine)
As the legislation progressed and was heard on the Senate floor, Senator Powell offered the amendment to
included federally designated and locally designated historic districts, but the amendment failed and the bill
passed the Senate, 33 - 6
In the House, the bill passed all committees but was not added to the floor agenda, nor was similar language
offered as an amendment on other bills moving forward that were germane and this bill did not pass the
House.
Did not pass.
Public Nuisance/threatening actions/hate crime: (SB 994/1113 269) Among many threatening actions,
this bill would prohibit the distribution of materials that involves religious or ethnic intimidation, threat, or
intent to harm, to desecrate or destroy any religious cemetery, gravesite, or grave marker, including any
Holocaust memorial of any type, school or community center, public or private property, and various other
heinous acts detailed in the legislation. The bill was amended to reflect the following:
• Revises elements of new offenses relating to littering, harassment, and criminal mischief, including
damaging any cemetery, grave, or memorial or any school or community center, unlawfully projecting
images on buildings. It also revises the current offense relating to disturbing a school or place of
worship to increase the penalty from a second degree misdemeanor to a first degree misdemeanor.
Some offenses require evidence of religious or ethnic animus.
• Creates s. 810.098, F.S., which provides it is a first degree misdemeanor for a person to trespass on the
campus of a state university or Florida College System institution for the purpose of threatening or
intimidating another person, and the person is warned to depart and refuses to do so.
• The Senate bill specifies what constitutes prima facie evidence for the purpose of hate crimes penalty
reclassification.
• Requires hate -crime reporting.
• Changes effective date from October 1, 2023 to upon becoming a law.
HB 269 has passed and was signed into law by the Governor: Chapter No. 2023-24
Municipal Utilities: (HB 1331/S13 1712) The bill places limits on the portion of municipal utility revenues
that may be used to fund or finance a municipality's non -utility related general government functions. In
doing so, the bill limits the rate of transfer for municipal electric, natural gas, and water or wastewater
utilities. Under the bill, the greater the proportion of customers outside of city boundaries that a municipal
utility serves, the lower the cap is on transfers. Both bills remove a provision allowing water or sewer
utilities to add, for consumers outside of its boundaries, a surcharge of up to 25 percent of the rates, fees,
and charges imposed on consumers within its boundaries.
Did not pass.
Land Use and Development Regulations: (SB 1604) The bill changes to current law relating to
comprehensive planning, development agreements, and electrical substations, including:
• Increases the length of required planning period to 10 years and 20 years
• Revises the comprehensive plan evaluation and appraisal process to ensure timely updates
• Prohibits a local government from requiring building design elements for specific residential structures
in planned unit developments, master planned communities, or communities with a design review board
or architectural review board created on or after January 1, 2020.
• Precludes independent special districts from complying with the terms of any development agreement
which is executed within three months preceding a law modifying the manner of selecting members of
the governing body of the special district from election to appointment or appointment to election. The
newly elected or appointed governing body of the special district must review within four months of
taking office any development agreement and vote on whether to seek readoption of the agreement.
These provisions expire on July 1, 2028, unless reviewed and reenacted by the Legislature.
• Revises standards for electric substation approval to apply to all new and existing electric substations
SB 1604 has passed and has been signed by the Governor, Chapter No. 2023-31
Careless Driving / The Anthony Reznik Act: (SB 544) This bill would revise the definition of aggressive
careless driving and would provide penalties for a number of violations outlined in the bill. However, there
was no House companion bill and this bill did not receive a hearing. This bill did not pass.
➢ 2023 Regular Legislative Session Dates: March 7 through May 5
6
THE FLORIDA SENATE
2023 SUMMARY OF LEGISLATION PASSED
Committee on Regulated Industries
CS/CS/SB 154 — Condominium and Cooperative Associations
by Fiscal Policy Committee; Regulated Industries Committee; and Senators Bradley and
DiCeglie
The bill revises the milestone inspection requirements for condominium and cooperative
buildings that are three or more stories in height to:
• Limit the milestone inspection requirements to buildings that include a residential
condominium or cooperative;
• Provide that the milestone inspection requirements apply to buildings that in whole or in
part are subject to the condominium or cooperative forms of ownership, such as mixed -
ownership buildings;
• Clarify that all owners of a mixed -ownership building in which portions of the building
are subject to the condominium or cooperative form of ownership are responsible for
ensuring compliance and must share the costs of the inspection;
• Require a building that reaches 30 years of age before December 31, 2024, to have a
milestone inspection before December 31, 2024;
• Delete the 25-year milestone inspection requirements for buildings that are within three
miles of the coastline;
• Authorize the local enforcement agencies that are responsible with enforcing the
milestone inspection requirements the option to set a 25-year inspection requirement if
justified by local environmental conditions, including proximity to seawater;
• Authorize the local enforcement agency to extend the inspection deadline for a building
upon a petition showing good cause that the owner or owners of the building have
entered into a contract with an architect or engineer to perform the milestone inspection
and it cannot reasonably be completed before the deadline;
• Permit local enforcement agencies to accept an inspection and report that was completed
before July 1, 2022, if the inspection and report substantially comply with the milestone
requirements; however, associations must still comply with the unit owner notice
requirements, and if a local enforcement agency accepts a previous inspection as a
milestone inspection, the deadline for a subsequent 10-year re -inspection is based on the
date of a previous inspection;
• Provide that the inspection services may be provided by a team of design professionals
with an architect or engineer acting as a registered design professional in responsible
charge;
• Provide that the condominium or cooperative association is responsible for all costs
associated with the inspection attributable to the portions of the building for which it is
responsible under the governing documents of the association;
• ' Require associations to give unit owners notice about the inspection deadlines,
electronically or by posting on the association's website, within 14 days after they receive
the initial milestone inspection notice from local enforcement agency;
• Require the milestone inspector to submit a phase two progress report to the local
enforcement agency within 180 days of submitting the phase one inspection report; and
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
CS/CS/SB 154 Page: 1
2023 Summary of Legislation Passed Committee on Regulated Industries
Clarify that an association must distribute a copy of the summary of the inspection
reports to unit owners within 45 days of its receipt.
The Florida Building Commission is required by the bill to establish by rule a building safety
program to implement the milestone inspection requirements within the Florida Building Code.
The commission must specify the minimum requirements for the commission's building safety
program by December 31, 2024, including inspection criteria, testing protocols, standardized
inspection and reporting forms that are adaptable to an electronic format, and record maintenance
requirements for the local authority having jurisdiction.
The bill exempts unit owner policies from the requirement that all personal lines residential
policies issued by the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation must include flood coverage.
Regarding the governance of condominium or cooperative, the bill:
• Clarifies that any unit owner and any person authorized by any owner as his or her
representative may inspect the official records of the association; and
• Excludes insurance premiums from the calculation which permit members to petition for
a substitute budget if assessments increase by 115 percent.
The reserve funding requirements relating to condominium and cooperative associations are
revised by the bill to:
• Require associations that are subject to the structural integrity reserve study (SIRS)
requirement to base a budget adopted on or after January 1, 2025, on the findings and
recommendations of the association's most recent SIRS;
• Clarify that reserves are required for the SIRS items for which the association is
responsible under the condominium declaration;
• Clarify that reserves for replacement costs do not need to be maintained for any item with
an estimated remaining useful life of greater than 25 years, but the SIRS study may
recommend a deferred maintenance expense amount for such item;
• Permit associations that are not subject to the SIRS requirement to waive reserves if
approved by a majority vote of the total voting interests of the association;
• Permit multicondominium associations to waive reserves if an alternative funding method
has been approved by the division; and
• Provide that reserve assessments may be adjusted for inflation.
The bill amends the SIRS requirements to:
• Limit the SIRS requirement to residential condominiums and cooperatives;
• Clarify that the SIRS recommendation must include a reserve funding schedule;
• Include the building structure as a SIRS building component, consisting of load -bearing walls
and other primary structural members and primary structural systems as those terms are
defined in s. 627.706, F.S., and delete "floor" and "foundation" from the list;
• Permit the visual inspection portion of the SIRS to be verified by an engineer or architect;
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
CS/CS/SB 154 Page: 2
2023 Summary of Legislation Passed Committee on Regulated Industries
Permit persons who have been certified as a reserve specialist, or professional reserve
analyst by the Community Associations Institute or the Association of Professional
Reserve Analysts to perform or verify the visual inspection portion of the SIRS;
Exempt from the SIRS requirement:
o Single-family, two-family, or three-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable
stories above ground; and
o Any portion or component of a building that has not been submitted to the
condominium or cooperative form of ownership; or any portion or component of a
building that is maintained by a party other than the condominium or cooperative
association.
Permit associations that are required to complete a milestone inspection on or before
December 31, 2026, to complete the SIRS simultaneously with the milestone inspection,
but the associations must complete the SIRS by December 31, 2026; and
Permit associations to satisfy the SIRS requirement with a previous milestone inspection,
or an inspection performed for a similar local requirement, if the inspection had been
performed within the previous five years.
Effective July 1, 2027, the bill permits condominium and cooperative unit owners to use the
mediation process in this section for specified disputes related to compliance with the milestone
inspection or SIRS requirements.
Regarding the turnover inspection report that a developer must provide to the association when
condominium and cooperative unit owners other than the developer are authorized to elect the
majority of the board, the bill permits reserve specialists and professional reserve analysts to
prepare the turnover report in addition to engineers and architects, and adds the turnover
inspection report to the required presale disclosures.
The bill also provides additional presale notice requirements in contracts for sales of a unit by a
developer or nondeveloper. A developer and a nondeveloper must give a prospective buyer of a
condominium or cooperative unit a copy of a turnover inspection report completed on or after
July 1, 2023, if applicable, and a copy of the inspector -prepared summary of the milestone
inspection, if applicable. This provision is similar to current contract notices to unit owners
obligated to furnish certain governing documents to the prospective buyer of a unit more than
three days before closing for sales by a nondeveloper or 15 days before closing for sales by a
developer. A contract that does not conform to these notice requirements is voidable at the option
of the purchaser prior to closing.
The bill also provides an appropriation ($1,301,928 recurring and $67,193 nonrecurring) to the
Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshare, and Mobile Homes within the Department of
Business and Professional Regulation to implement the requirements in the bill, including funds
for 10 additional full-time employees.
This summary is provided for information onlyand does not represent the apinion of any Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
CS/CS/SB 154 Page: 3
2023 Summary of Legislation Passed Committee on Regulated Industries
If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor's signature, these
provisions take effect upon becoming law.
Vote: Senate 39-0; House 118-0
This summary is provided for information only and does not represent the opinion of my Senator, Senate Officer, or Senate Office.
CS/CS/SB 154 Page: 4