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Home My Public Portal AboutLTC 190 -2023 - Florida 2024 Legislative Session - Committee Week ReportBAL HARBOUR - VILLAGE - OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER To: From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager Date: December 29, 2023 Subject: Florida 2024 Legislative Session - Committee Week Report LETTER TO COUNCIL NO. 190-2023 Mayor Jeffrey P. Freimark and Members of the Village Council 6-07-ici The purpose of this Letter to Council (LTC) is to transmit the attached Florida Legislative Committee Week Report provided by Ron L. Book for this past week. As a reminder, the 2024 Florida Legislative Session is scheduled to begin in January 2024. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me. JMG/MH Ronald L Book, P. II. IflUI OFFICE! P@OFESi10111)l fl O0glIOO 12/11-12/15 Committee Week Report During the final committee week leading into the next session, members convened to take votes on priority bills for leadership. As we move into the Legislative Session which begins January 9th, we will continue to add legislation that affects local government. Please let us know if you have questions on issues included in this report, or on any other issue of concern. We will be happy to provide information to you. • Bills of interest to local governments (Please note, bills will continue to be filed through the first week of Session. o Condominium Windstorm Pilot Program — HB 655 by Representative Cassel o Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation — HB 893 by Representative Lopez o Vacation Rentals — SB 280 by Senator DiCeglie o Residential Building Permits — HB 267 by Representative Esposito o Workplace Heat Exposure Requirements — HB 433 by Representative Esposito o Sovereign Immunity — SB 472 by Senator Brodeur o Municipal Water and Sewer Utility Rates — HB 47 by Representative Robinson o Governing Body Meetings — HB 157 by Representative Caruso o Limitation of Local Fees for Virtual Offices — HB 503 by Representative Fabricio o Municipal Water and Sewer Utility Rates, Fees, and Charges — HB 777 by Representative Brackett o Preemption of Recyclable and Polystyrene Materials — SB 498 by Senator Stewart Condominium Windstorm Pilot Program — HB 655 by Representative Cassel (SB 802 by Senator Rodriguez) HB 655 has been filed by Representative Cassel, with an identical companion SB 802 filed by Senator Rodriguez. The bill establishes a five year pilot program that would give actual cash value coverage to residential condominium associations for a roof, rather than a replacement cost valuation. To qualify for the program, an association will have to conduct a vote of the majority of its members, meet reserve requirements under Florida law to insure said roof, and conduct biannual roof inspections that are submitted to OIR. HB 655 and SB 802 have not been heard to date. Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation — HB 893 by Representative Lopez Authorizes the corporation to amend wind -eligible areas considering specific factors in developing new eligibility criteria and rates for policies that provide wind -only coverage. ➢ HB 893 was filed on 12/14. Vacation Rentals — SB 280 by Senator DiCeglie Highlights of this bill are as follows: • Does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011 • Permits local laws, ordinances, or regulations adopted on or before June 1, 2011, to be amended to be less restrictive or to comply with local registration requirements. • Does not affect vacation rental ordinances in jurisdictions located in an area of critical state concern. • Provides that a local law, ordinance, or regulation may restrict the maximum occupancy for rented residential properties if the restriction applies uniformly without regard to whether the residential property is used as a vacation rental. • Preempts the regulation of advertising platforms to the state. An advertising platform is a person, which may be an individual or a corporation, who electronically advertises a vacation rental to rent for transient occupancy, maintains a marketplace, and a reservation or payment system. • Allows a local government to require vacation rentals to be registered, however, the registration fee may not exceed $150 per vacation rental unit. There was a lengthy discussion, including several questions asked of the sponsor by committee members. Senator Pizzo began by asking Senator DiCeglie why the bill he filed contained the same language from last Session's House bill that had 5 separate violations over 5 or more days compared to the 3 days proposed by the Senate bill. Senator DiCeglie expressed an openness to having a dialogue or negotiation about the language of the bill, and noted that this was simply the starting point. Both discussed their desire to address bad actors in the industry and Senator DiCeglie re-emphasized the need for DBPR to have a database for local governments to identify bad actors. Senator Pizzo built off of that point by asking why the filed version of SB 280 this year does not include the same provision from last session that would have allowed for local governments to reject certain applications for vacation rentals, or requirements that vacation rentals comply with local ordinances about parking or trash pickup. Senator DiCeglie said he would add that to his list of things to look into placing back into the bill. Senator Hooper asked about the foreclosure provision in the bill, which would allow for local governments to foreclose on a lien on a property that is not paying fines. Senator DiCeglie noted that there is a concern about this provision that was brought up by Chair Gruters, based on feedback he received from vacation rental owners. The Florida Retail Lodging Association spoke neutrally on the bill, stating that they seek to make changes to the data transparency portions of the bill before they can support it. The Florida League of Cities spoke in opposition to the bill and specifically asked that the language that authorizes vacation rental owners to sue local governments for burdensome regulation be removed. Several local elected officials and city managers were also present and spoke against the bill, referring to their respective local ordinances and regulations surrounding vacation rentals. Of note, there is not a House companion bill at this time. SB 280 passed its first committee, 4 — 0. Building Regulations - HB 267 by Representative Esposito (SB 684 by Senator DiCeglie) A ,proposed committee substitute with a delete all amendment added for HB 267 passed out of the House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee on Wednesday by a vote of 9-6. The noteworthy Nay vote came from Representative Holcomb, a member of the majority party. The key provision of this bill worth noting is found in section 1 of the bill, which reduces the limit for approving permits for residential buildings from 10 days to 5 days before a final plat is recorded. Any county with more than 75,000 residents or cities with more than 30,000 residents would be required to set up a program to expedite building permitting by August 15, 2024. That process must include an application to identify the percentage of planned homes that the government must issue, up to 50%. Both the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Association of Counties spoke against the bill but expressed their gratitude to the bill sponsor for sitting down to continue meeting with them and hearing their concerns. HB 267 passed its first committee, 9 — 6. 2 Workplace Heat Exposure Requirements - HB 433 by Representative Esposito A proposed committee substitute for HB 433 failed to pass, resulting in the temporary postponement of the bill. The original filed text of HB 433 contained two noteworthy sections: section 1 and section 2. Section 1 was an preemption on political subdivisions attempting to control or affect wages and benefits offered by vendors. Section 2 was a preemption of all labor regulations (terms and conditions of employment) to the state. Both sections were removed in the PCS for the bill that was temporarily postponed on Wednesday. ➢ HB 433 was temporarily postponed in its first committee. Sovereign Immunity - SB 472 by Senator Brodeur (HB 569 by Representative McFarland) SB 472 increases the amount payable in tort claims by the state and its subdivisions from $200,000 to $400,000. It also raises the amount payable in total with all other claims or judgements from $300,000 to $600,000. The bill adds sexual battery of a minor as a protected claim that is not limited by a time restriction for a written claim submittal. ➢ SB 472 and HB 569 have not been heard to date. Municipal Water and Sewer Utility Rates — HB 47 by Representative Robinson (SB 104 by Senator Jones) Requires municipality to charge customers receiving its utility services in another municipality same rates, fees, and charges as it charges consumers within its own municipal boundaries. ➢ HB 47 and SB 104 have not been heard to date. Municipal Water or Sewer Utility Rates, Fees, and Charges — HB 777 by Representative Bracket Removes provisions authorizing municipalities serving consumers outside their boundaries to add surcharges to rates, fees, and charges. Requires municipalities to conduct rate studies by January 1, 2027 and every 7 years thereafter. ➢ HB 777 has not been heard to date. Governing Body Meetings — HB 157 by Representative Caruso (SB 894 by Senator Bradley) Authorizes governing bodies of municipalities to convene meetings and conduct official business via teleconferencing or other technological means, no more than two times per year. However, those meetings cannot include formal action on ordinances or are quasi-judicial hearings. These limitations may be suspended during a state of emergency issued by the Governor. ➢ HB 157 and SB 894 have not been heard to date. Limitation of Local Fees for Virtual Offices — HB 503 by Representative Fabricio (SB 578 by Senator Ingoglia) Prohibiting a county, municipality, or local governmental entity from imposing, levying, or collecting tax, fees or other charges relating to the utilization of a virtual office. ➢ HB 503 and SB 578 have not been heard to date. Preemption of Recyclable and Polystyrene Materials — SB 498 by Senator Stewart Removing the preemption of local laws regarding the regulation of auxiliary containers, wrappings, or disposable plastic bags; removing the preemption of local laws regarding the use or sale of polystyrene products to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. ➢ SB 498 has not been heard to date. 3