HomeMy Public PortalAboutLTC 029-2020 Legislative Session Week 5-6 ReportsBAL HARBOUR
- VILLAGE -
OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER
To:
From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager
Date: February 21, 2020
Subject: Legislative Session Week 5-6 Reports
LETTER TO COUNCIL
NO. 029-2020
Mayor Gabriel Groisman and Members of the Village Council
The purpose of this Letter to Council (LTC) is to transmit the attached Legislative Session
Week 5-6 Reports provided by Ron L. Book.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact
me.
JMG/MH
Ronald L Book, P. A.
BIB OE(I(ES
PROiSIOOOE 0SS0(IOi100
Session 2020 Report
Weeks 5 and 6
Enclosed is our Session Report for week 5 and 6 which includes an update on funding requests and legislative
issues. Please let us know if you have questions on any issue included in this report, or on any other issue of concern.
We will be happy to provide further information.
➢ FUNDING REQUEST UPDATE:
This week, as it pertains to the budget, the House and Senate are gearing up for the budget conference meetings to
begin. Meaning, there has been no change in the funding request status.
We have continued our meetings with appropriation subcommittee chairs, the full appropriations committee chairs,
the Speaker and his staff, and the Senate President and his staff, on funding issues. We expect allocations of total
funding amounts that each appropriations subcommittee can use, to be issued in the upcoming week. After that is
issued and conference committee members are announced, budget conference would begin. As you know, through
the Conference process the Legislature will work toward one budget, reconciling the differences between the two.
Below are the current funding levels as they stand pre -conference, in the Senate and House budgets.
• Bal Harbour Village Storm Water System Improvements (HB 2877/LFIR #1114)
Sponsors: Senator Pizzo, Representative Geller
Senate: $250,000 line 1635A House: $100,000 line 1635A
➢ LEGISLATIVE ISSUES: Below are several bills of interest to local governments. As we progress through
Session, we will add legislation that is moving through committees.
Tax Cut Package: (HB 7097) Language in the newly released, 89 -page proposed House tax cut package legislation
addresses the CST among other issues relating to local governments. This proposal was released and discussed in
the House Ways and Means Committee during week 6. Attached is a detailed staff analysis of this proposed
committee bill. Highlights of the bill are as follows:
• Communications Services Tax: The bill provides for a 0.5 percentage point reduction in the state
communications services tax.
• Future sunset of the Charter County and Regional Transportation System Sales Surtax currently levied
in Miami -Dade County, and a requirement that any future levy of the tax in any eligible county be limited to
20 years in duration
• Corporate Income Tax: the bill provides for a one-time increase of $8.2 million available for the brownfields
tax credit program equal to the amount of the current backlog of approved tax credits.
• Tourist Development, Convention Development, and Local Option Food and Beverage Taxes Levied in
Miami -Dade County restructure of authorized uses.
• Tourist Development Taxes in all Counties: The bill also expands the allowable uses for TDT in all counties
to allow for water quality improvement and parks and trails projects
• Sales Tax: Several provisions related to sales tax are included
o A reduction in the tax rate for commercial property rentals from 5.5% to 5.4%;
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o A three-day "back -to -school" tax holiday in early August 2020 for certain clothing, school supplies, and
personal computers; and a seven-day "disaster preparedness" tax holiday in May and June of 2020 for
specified disaster preparedness items
o A requirement that School Capital Outlay sales surtaxes approved in the future be proportionately shared
with charter schools;
o A repeal of the Sports Development Program
o A change in distributions made under the Tax Collection Enforcement Diversion Program
Communications Services Tax: (HB 701:by Fischer and SB 1174 by Hutson) This legislation would reform the
communications services tax (CST) reduce the local CST rate to 5% or less by January 1, 2021 and 4% or less by
January 1, 2022. The bills also reduce the state CST rate from 4.92% to 4.9% and the noncharter county CST rate
to 2% by January 1, 2022. The bills repeal the local option sales surtax conversion that is levied on communications
services.
See Tax package summary above and attached staff analysis.
HB 701 has not been heard to date. SB 1174 passed its first of three committees. However, this is an issue addressed
in the proposed tax relief package mentioned above, summary attached.
Vacation Rentals: (SB 1128 by Diaz and HB 1011 by Fischer) We continue to work closely with the League of
Cities to oppose this bill, however, it is evident that both House and Senate leadership have prioritized this bill for
passage this Session. The bills are moving through committee and is likely to pass this year. At this time, the bills
do the following:
• Preempt to the state the regulation of vacation rentals, including licensure and inspections
• Require that any local ordinance must be applied uniformly to all residential properties
• Clarify that local regulations cannot prohibit all rentals locally, can impose occupancy limits on rental
properties, or require inspections or licensing of rentals.
• Preempt all regulation of vacation rentals to the state with local ordinances in place before June 1, 2011
exempt.
• The House amended the bill to add a recurring appropriation to fund 19 full time positions at DBPR to carry
out the mandates within the bill.
SB 1128 has passed two of three committees and we expect the bill to be heard in the Senate Rules committee next
week.
Vacation Rental continued: HB 1011 has passed all of its committees. In the House bill, HB 1011, local
governments continue to be preempted from licensing, inspections, and regulating the platforms, anything regulated
at the municipal level post 2011. The House bill does the following:
• Regulations in place prior to June 1, 2011 remain grandfathered in.
• Any pre -2011 regulations can be amended only if it is less restrictive.
• Preemption to the State for licensing and inspections (post 2011).
• Any local regulations would be required to apply uniformly across all residential properties
• The Keys as defined in their designation of a critical area of state concern would be exempt from the
preemption.
• 24 hour notification of the Sheriff for any sexual predator using a vacation rental (does not include the
category of sexual offender).
• Enacts a preemption on local regulation of any advertising platforms.
• A vacation rental license must be displayed on the premises and in any advertisements
• A Platform must adopt anti -discrimination policies and inform users that it is illegal to discriminate.
• Platforms must collect and remit taxes to the DOR or County.
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