February 28, 2018
 
This Friday, March 2, the House of Representatives will consider two bills of significant concern to cities. 

HOUSE TAX PACKAGE –
OPPOSE REGULATION IN CS/HB 7087

CS/HB 7087 ( Ways and Means / Renner ) will be considered by the full House of Representatives this Friday, March 2, at 10:30 AM.

The bill includes language that would preempt local governments from prohibiting the sale or the offer for sale of any tangible personal property that is subject to a sales tax unless otherwise provided by general law.

Any prior ordinance would be void.
 
For example, cities could not:
  • Prohibit the sale of alcohol beverages at certain times
  • Enact zoning regulations that prohibit retail establishments in residential zones
  • Prohibit the sale of adult materials broadly or in certain areas
  • Prohibit the sale of puppies from puppy mills
  • Determine exclusivity requirements in utility franchise agreements
  • Grandfathered prohibitions on vacation rentals
 
The language is very broad and could impact many existing ordinances that your city has. It is important that you contact your legislator before the House of Representatives convenes on Friday and urge them to keep this regulation out of the Tax package.

Talking Points
  • This preemption limits cities’ ability to address local issues.
  • The bill will affect a city’s ability to adopt local ordinances to address public safety issues (such as limiting the times for alcohol sales, scooter rentals; regulating the sale of dogs from puppy mills, restricting designer drugs like kradom).
  • This bill will impact zoning regulations which cities use to determine the characteristics of a community (such as location of adult establishments that sell goods, vacation rentals, or other commercial activity).
  • Keep this regulation out of the tax package!
 
Should you have any questions, please contact Amber Hughes at ahughes@flcities.com or 850-701-3621.
  INTERRUPTION OF SERVICES -
OPPOSE CS/CS/HB 971
 
CS/CS/HB 971 ( Fine ) will be considered by the full House of Representatives this Friday, March 2, at 10:30 AM.

The bill requires solid waste customers to receive a refund from the provider (the city or its contracted vendor) if collection service is not provided within 4 calendar days of a scheduled service day. If a refund is not provided within 60 days of the next billing cycle, the customer is entitled to receive a fine that is ten times the amount of the refund.
 
The refund must be given, even when the service is ultimately provided. The city or the vendor will incur the same cost for providing the service, even if it is delayed. For cities that provide their own waste services, this means that local taxpayers will have to absorb the cost of providing services to customers who experience delays.
 
The bill makes no exception for natural disasters, which can result in conditions lasting longer than 4 days that render collection service hazardous or impossible (downed lines, trees, flooding). 
 
Outside of natural disasters, missed service is typically and readily handled on the same day when a customer calls and notifies the city or solid waste provider about a missed collection. 
 
The bill has no requirement that a customer even notify a city about missed service. A city has no way to take corrective action and no way to determine when the 4-day “clock” starts.  
 
Without a notification requirement for customers, it will fall to solid waste haulers and cities to install expensive video technology on each truck that is capable of documenting individual curbside collection. For cities that provide their own solid waste services, this will be an extraordinary and expensive unfunded state mandate. 
 
This bill contradicts recommendations made by the House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Recovery (such as discontinuing collection service 48 hours prior to storm and prioritizing service post-storm).
 
Should you have any questions, please contact Rebecca O’Hara at rohara@flcities.com or 850-701-3692. 
Oppose Regulation in CS/HB 7087 (Tax Package)
Oppose CS/CS/HB 971 (Interruption of Services)
You can use the League’s Contact Your Legislator advocacy tool or click here for a list of the full House of Representatives. Let us know you've responded by submitting an online Advocacy Action Report or emailing Allison Payne at apayne@flcities.com .
Thank you for your advocacy efforts!