THE END
Week Nine
April 29 -May 4, 2019
The poem “Invictus," which means unconquerable in Latin, by William Ernest Henley is both about the poet’s battle with tuberculosis and more generally about the will to overcome adversity. In his describing the many trials and tribulations he was facing, Henley wrote about “the night that covers me.” 

In the next stanza, he writes, “In the fell clutch of circumstance/I have not winced nor cried aloud./Under the bludgeonings of chance/My head is bloody, but unbowed."

Despite his many legitimate complaints, he never gives up or shows signs of weakness. In another stanza, he even thanks the gods for his unconquerable soul. 
 
There were times during the 2019 session where it felt like Henley was looking to the future and watching the Florida Legislature continue its assault on Home Rule. Despite the Legislature's withering attacks, Florida’s municipal officials showed their unconquerable spirit by coming together, standing strong and making their voices heard. In fact, by the end of the session, most of the bad legislation was thwarted, or at least significantly amended to minimize the adverse impacts on municipal operations.

The Legislature brazenly tried to strip the citizens of Florida’s cities of their ability to have a say in the way their cities are run. The efforts by special interests and a compliant Legislature to strip municipal Home Rule powers included a long list of issues, such as...
  • a broad preemption on the regulation of businesses, professions and occupations
  • imposing huge unfunded mandates 
  • limiting and restraining the creation and operation of CRAs
  • placing utility poles in municipal rights of way
  • adding restrictions on impact fees and various zoning and land use regulations 
  • restricting regulations of short-term rentals
  • annexation procedures

They even included determining whether a city’s residents should be able to decide for themselves whether they want scooters running over sidewalks and bike lanes!

When the dust settled on the 61st day of the 60-day session, Florida’s cities were in fact, “bloody, but unbowed.” With your engagement on the important issues, and your willingness to never give up, we were able to make a difference.

Like Henley writes in the next to last line of his poem, we were the "masters of our fate." 
It's over ... but not for long.
Join us LIVE on May 14
Mark Your Calendars!

Join our team on May 14 at 2:00 pm ET for a 1-hour webinar providing you with what happened (and what didn’t) during the 2019 legislative session. We will also provide tips on what to do next as we start preparing for the 2020 legislative policy development process that begins next month. Register now.    
MAJOR BILLS THAT PASSED
Community Redevelopment Agencies (Neutral)
C S/H B 9 (LaMarca) was significantly amended and passed by the legislature and is now awaiting action by the Governor. The bill addresses the accountability and transparency of Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) by increasing audit, ethics training, reporting and accountability measures for CRAs.

Thanks to your advocacy efforts, provisions that would have prohibited the expenditures of TIF funds on festivals, grants to promote tourism, and grants to socially beneficial nonprofit entities, a cap on administrative spending at 18%, a requirement that a lobbying registration program be created for CRAs, and a requirement that new CRAs be created by a county-wide referendum in a primary or general election that requires the approval of two-thirds of the electors' votes to pass were all REMOVED from the final bill.

The bill requires a simple majority vote of the governing body that created the CRA to extend the term of a CRA beyond September 30, 2039. The original version of the bill required a 2/3 vote to extend. The bill has a July 1, 2019 effective date and is awaiting action by the governor. (Cruz)
Mandated Benefits for Firefighters with Cancer (Oppose – Mandate)
CS/CS/SB 426 (Flores) mandates certain benefits for firefighters diagnosed with one of twenty-one cancers. Upon the diagnosis of cancer, a firefighter that meets certain conditions will receive a $25,000 lump sum payment; cancer treatment; reimbursement for out-of-pocket deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance; disability retirement; and a death benefit to the firefighter’s beneficiary. The bill also gives broad rulemaking authority to the Department of Financial Services to adopt rules to establish employer cancer prevention bet practices as it related to personal protective equipment, decontamination, fire suppression apparatus, and fire stations. The bill was signed by Governor DeSantis as Chapter 2019-21 Laws of Florida and takes effect July 1, 2019. The League is OPPOSED to this unfunded mandate. (Hughes)
Communications Services (Oppose – Preemption)
CS/CS/CS/SB 1000 (Hutson) repeals important, agreed to provisions of the 2017 Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act and further strip cities of the ability to regulate the placement of communications equipment in public rights-of-way. The bill requires the small cell “shot-clock” (time frame) to apply to all permit applications for all communications facilities in local government rights-of-way. This shot-clock was put into law in 2017 to expedite collocation of small cell wireless facilities for 5g on existing infrastructure. While the 2017 requirement that communications services providers comply with nondiscriminatory undergrounding ordinances was repealed, local governments retained some discretion over placement and aesthetics of new poles and are somewhat limited on this issue by the existing FCC order related to small cell facilities. The bill also limits what local governments can require during the registration process and awards reasonable attorney fees to the party who prevails. The bill is effective upon becoming law and is awaiting action by the governor. (Hughes)
Federal Immigration Enforcement/Sanctuary Policies (Neutral)
CS/CS/CS/SB 168 (Gruters) addresses local government enforcement of federal immigration laws. The bill creates the “Rule of Law Adherence Act” to require state and local governments and law enforcement agencies, including their officials, agents, and employees, to support and cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. As amended by the Senate in the last days of session, the final bill REMOVED provisions that would have allowed government employees or elected officials who permit sanctuary-city policies to be suspended or removed from office. Provisions that would have allowed fines of up to $5,000 for each day that a sanctuary-city policy is in place were also REMOVED from the final bill. The bill requires if a local governmental entity or local law enforcement agency violates the provisions of the bill, a court must enjoin the unlawful sanctuary policy. The bill also allows a court to have continuing jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter and to enforce its orders with the initiation of contempt proceedings as provided by law. Currently, no city in Florida has a sanctuary policy. (Cruz)
Government Accountability (Neutral)
CS/SB 7014 (Governmental Oversight and Accountability) amends various statutes to enhance government accountability and auditing processes based on recommendations noted in recent reports by the Auditor General. Among other things, the bill authorizes the Governor or Commissioner of Education to notify the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee if an entity fails to comply with certain auditing and financial reporting requirements. Adds tourist development council and county tourism promotion agency to the definition of “local government entity” to clarify that the Auditor General has authority to audit the entities. Requires each agency, local governmental entities and other agencies to establish and maintain internal controls designed to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse and requires counties, municipalities, special districts, and water management districts to maintain certain budget documents on their websites for specified timeframes. The Department of Financial Services is authorized to request additional information from local government entities when preparing its annual verified report. Finally, the bill revises the membership of and restrictions on an auditor selection committee for cities, counties and other entities. The bill takes effect July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (Hughes) 
Sober Homes (Support)
Legislation based on recommendations from the Sober Homes Taskforce is headed to the Governor after a last-minute resurrection. CS/CS/SB 369 (Caruso) passed the full House unanimously last week, but the Senate companion, CS/SB 900, was on life support as it remained in the Senate Appropriations Committee, a committee that was no longer meeting. In a surprising turn of events, the Appropriations reference was removed on the penultimate day of session allowing the full Senate to consider and approve the legislation. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (Cook) 
Vegetable Gardens (Oppose – Preemption) 
CS/SB 82 (Bradley) preempts any local ordinance or regulation of vegetable gardens on residential property. Some cities have adopted ordinances that regulate the size or placement of vegetable gardens in the front yards of homes. While local governments would be preempted from prohibiting vegetable gardens, the bills allow for local ordinances to regulate the use of water during droughts, fertilizer use or invasive species control. The bill would not apply to homeowner’s association regulations or deed-restricted communities. The bill was amended to define vegetable garden to include vegetables, fruits, herbs or flowers grown for human consumption. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (Cruz)
Impact Fees (Oppose – Preemption) 
CS/HB 207 (Donalds) requires the collection of impact fees occur no earlier than the issuance of a property’s building permit. The bill also codifies the ‘dual rational nexus test’ for impact fees as articulated in case law. This test requires an impact fee to have a reasonable connection, or rational nexus, between 1) the proposed new development and the need and the impact of additional capital facilities and, 2) the expenditure of funds and the benefits accrued to the proposed new development. Additional conditions of the bill include earmarking impact fee funds for capital facilities that benefit new residents and prohibiting the use of impact fee revenues to pay existing debt unless specific conditions are met. The bills exempt water and sewer connection fees from the provisions of the legislation. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (Cruz)
Attorneys Fees and Costs (Oppose – Mandate)
CS/CS/CS/HB 829 (Sabatini) provides for prevailing party attorney fees to be awarded in actions where a local government ordinance is alleged to be preempted by state law. The bill takes effect July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (O’Hara)
Property Development 
CS/CS/HB 7103 (Commerce Committee/Fischer), is a comprehensive bill that makes various changes to growth management law, including sections on inclusionary housing ordinances, development approvals, impact fees, and private providers. The bill also includes a provision that entitles the prevailing party in a lawsuit to have their legal fees reimbursed by the opposing side. Citizen groups that sue developers, for example, would have to pay the defendant's legal fees if they lose. The bill is effective July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (Branch)
Medical Marijuana (Neutral)
At the request of the Governor, the legislature expanded medical marijuana laws to authorize the product in a smokable form. This legislation was limited in scope and did not grant cities any more flexibility in regulating the location or number of retail dispensaries. CS/CS/CS/SB 182 (Brandes) was signed by the governor on March 18 and is now referred to as Chapter No. 2019-1 laws of Florida. (Cook)
Local Options Surtax Referenda (Neutral)
CS/CS/HB 5 (DiCeglie) requires any referendum to levy a local option sales surtax to be held at a state general election. The bill puts additional requirements, including a performance audit, on surtaxes that are placed on the ballot by petition. The bill does not require the referenda to be approved by two-thirds of voters for passage. The bill also revises the method and rules for collecting signatures for constitutional ballot initiatives. The bill is effective upon becoming law.   (Hughes)
Tax Package (Neutral)
CS/HB 7123 (Ways and Means) is the tax package for the 2019 session. The bill includes a five-day back-to-school and a seven-day disaster preparedness sales tax holiday. The bill reduces the sales tax on commercial leases from 5.7 to 5.5 percent. The bill also includes multiple provisions to help the agriculture industry that was impacted by Hurricane Michael including a reduction of the assessment of agriculture equipment rendered unusable due to the hurricane; a refund of sales tax paid on fencing materials used to repair or places farm fences, and building materials used to repair or replace nonresidential farm building; and a refund of fuel tax used for agricultural shipment or hurricane debris removal after the hurricane. (Hughes)
School Safety (Neutral)
The topic of school safety generated a significant buzz at the Capitol. The majority of the conversation focused on arming teachers, but tucked within CS/SB 7030 (Diaz) was language authorizing school districts to transfer additional funds from the Florida Education Finance Program towards school safety expenditures and expanding the authorized uses of the safe schools allocation. In addition to allowing armed teachers, the bill would give school boards the power to establish Guardian programs without the approval of local sheriffs and permit schools to contract with security companies for guards. It also would grant the state commissioner of education more power to punish school districts that don't comply with safety requirements and would tighten requirements for reporting data to the state. Sheriffs who don't want to train guardians can ask other sheriffs to lead the training under the legislation. Charter schools can request a sheriff to train guardians, even if the charter school's district doesn't participate in the program. The bill takes effect upon becoming law. (Cook) 
Utility Storm Hardening (Neutral)
CS/CS/SB 796 . (Gruters) allows utilities to charge customers for storm-hardening projects and requires utilities to submit an annual report documenting storm-hardening costs. The bill takes effect upon becoming law and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)
Micromobility Devices and Motorized Scooters (Support)
HB 453 (Toledo) dealing with micromobility devices (scooters), passed the Florida Legislature. The bill allows municipalities to regulate scooters locally without any preemption from the state. (Branch) 
Wireless Communications While Driving (Support)
HB 107 (Toledo) dealing with texting while driving passed the Florida Legislature. The bill would make texting while driving a primary offense. If signed by the governor, the law will include a grace period in which police will issue warnings through the end of the year while the state conducts an education campaign. (Branch)
Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance (M-CORES) Program (Neutral)
SB 7068 (Infrastructure & Security Committee) passed the Florida Legislature. The bill creates the Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance (M-CORES) Program within the Florida Department of Transportation. The program is designed to advance construction of regional corridors that will accommodate multiple modes of transportation and multiple types of infrastructure. The proposed bill identifies the following three corridors comprising of the M-CORES Program: Southwest-Central Florida Connector, Suncoast Connector and Northern Turnpike Connector. The bill also provides increase funding for the Small County Road Assistance Program, the Small County Outreach Program and the Transportation Disadvantaged Trust Fund. (Branch)
Financial Disclosure (Neutral)
CS/HB 7021 (Public Integrity & Ethics Committee) requires mandatory electronic filing of full and limited financial disclosures by January 2022 and January 2023, respectively. The bill is effective upon becoming law and is awaiting action by the governor. (O’Hara)
Election Administration (Neutral)
SB 7066 (Ethics and Elections Committee) makes extensive changes to the Florida Election Code relating to voting systems, ballot counting and format, vote-by-mail requirements, provisional ballots, voter signatures, election contests, restoration of felon voting rights, etc. The bill takes effect July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (O’Hara)
Environmental Regulation (Neutral)
CS/CS/HB 771 (Overdorf) addresses contamination in residential recycling and imposes a moratorium on local regulations on single-use plastic straws. The bill takes effect July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (O’Hara)
Private Property Rights (Oppose – Preemption)
CS/HB 1159 (La Rosa) imposes restrictions on enforcement of local government tree ordinances and imposes notice requirements on county property appraisers. The bill takes effect July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (O’Hara)
Coastal Management (Support)
CS/HB 325 (LaMarca) revises criteria for ranking beach management and erosion projects for purposes of annual funding priority. The bill takes effect July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (O’Hara)
Red Tide (Support)
SB 1552 (Gruters) establishes an Initiative as a partnership between the FWCC and Mote Marine Lab to test and implement strategies to combat Red Tide. The bill takes effect July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (O’Hara)
Anchored Vessels (Support)
CS/CS/CS/SB 1666 (Flores) provides for a two-year study on the impacts of long-term stored vessels on local communities and the state. The bill takes effect July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (O’Hara)
Death Benefits (Neutral)
CS/SB 7098 (Senate Appropriations Committee) implements Amendment 7 to the State Constitution, which was approved by the voters in November 2018 to require the payment of death benefits to the survivors of certain first responders, Florida National Guard members, and members of the United States Armed Forces. The bill is effective on July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (Hughes)
Unemployment Compensation (Neutral)
CS/HB 563 (Joseph) Prohibits certain victims of domestic violence from being disqualified for benefits for voluntarily leaving work. The bill is effective July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (Hughes)
Florida Retirement System (Neutral)
SB 7016 (Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee) establishes the contribution rates paid by employers participating in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) beginning July 1, 2019. These rates are intended to fund the full normal cost and the amortization of the unfunded actuarial liability of the FRS. The bill is effective July 1, 2019 and is awaiting action by the governor. (Hughes)
Local Government Financial Reporting (Neutral)
HB 861 (Roach) requires counties and municipalities to post their annual budgets to their respective websites for at least two years and tentative budgets to their websites for at least 45 days. Beginning October 15, 2019, the bill requires each county and municipal budget officer to file an annual report to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR), in a format and on forms prescribed by EDR. The bill is effective upon becoming law and is awaiting action by the governor. (Hughes)
Lis Pendens (Neutral)
CS/CS/HB 91 (Altman) clarifies that a notice of lis pendens precludes the enforcement of liens or other interests against a foreclosed property until the instrument transferring title to the property is recorded. This change is a response to a recent appellate court opinion that could be read to make a purchaser of property at a foreclosure sale responsible for liens recorded on the property after the sale but before the new title is recorded. The bill also changes the statutes regulating service of process. This bill takes effect upon becoming law and is awaiting action by the governor. (Cruz)
BUDGET ITEMS OF IMPORTANCE TO CITIES
Record Budget Passes 
The Legislature is poised to approve the General Appropriations Act, HB 2500, on Saturday, once the 72-hour cooling off period ends. HB 2500 appropriates $91.1 billion for fiscal year 2019-20, which is the largest budget ever for the state of Florida. The budget represents $34.0 billion from general revenue and $57.1 billion from trust funds.
 
Affordable Housing
  • $200.6 million in housing appropriations from the Housing Trust Funds
  • $46.6 million State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program
  • $39 million for the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program
Homelessness Funding
  • $4.5 million Homelessness Housing Funds 
  • $3.2 million for Challenge Grants to be disbursed to the local homeless coalition throughout the state
Transportation Funding
  • Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles: $498.4 million
  • Florida Department of Transportation: $10.8 billion (of which $9.8 billion is earmarked to the FDOT 5-Year Work Plan to build and repair Florida’s highway infrastructure)
  • Small County Outreach Program (SCOP): $71 million
Municipalities in Rural Areas of Opportunity-$9 million
Municipalities and Counties Hit by Hurricane Michael-$15 million
  • Small County Resurface Assistance Program (SCRAP): $29.3 million
  • Seaport and Intermodal Development Grants-$229.2 million
  • Local Transportation Initiatives Projects-$85.3 million
Economic Development Funding --$1.7 Billion
  • Florida Job Growth Grant Funding: $40 million
  • Visit Florida: $50 Million
  • Enterprise Florida-$16 million
Environmental Funding
  • Florida Forever: $33 million
  • Everglades Restoration: $285.3 million
  • Northern Everglades Restoration: $32.9 million
  • EAA Reservoir: $64 million
  • Herbert Hoover Dike: $50 million
  • Beach Management Funding Assistance: $50 million
  • Hurricane Beach Recovery: $11.2 million
  • Springs Restoration: $100 million
  • Local Water Projects: $49.1 million
  • Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration: $50 million
School Safety Appropriations from CS/SB 7026 (The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act)
  • Safe Schools Allocation: additional $180 million
  • Mental Health Assistance Allocation: $75 million
  • Mental Health Awareness and Assistance Training: $5.5 million
  • School Hardening Grants Program: $50 million
Hurricane Housing/Rental Recovery Program
  • $115 million to fund the Hurricane Housing Recovery Program for eligible counties and municipalities based on Hurricane Michael Federal Emergency Management Agency damage assessment data and population
MAJOR BILLS THAT FAILED
Bert Harris Act/Private Property Rights (Oppose)
CS/HB 1383 (J. Grant) and SB 1720 (Lee) would have significantly amended the Bert J. Harris Act to substantially handicap local government ability to resolve these claims. The bills required any settlement reached on a Harris claim that involves the issuance of a variance or exception to a regulation on a residential property be automatically applied by the government entity to all similarly situated residential properties that are subject to the same rules or regulations. The House bill provided that business losses could have been included in any Harris claim.
Governmental Powers (Oppose – Preemption) 
CS/CS/CS/HB 1299 (Roach) was a very broad bill that included a wide variety of issues, most of which would have adversely impacted municipalities. A municipality would have been prohibited from purchasing real property within another municipality's jurisdictional boundaries without the other municipality's consent. Additionally, the bill would have prohibited a governmental entity from attempting to annex an area within another municipality jurisdiction without the other municipality’s consent. The bill also included prohibitions on the levying of taxes on cigarettes, cigars and nicotine products by municipalities after July 1, 2019; regulating single-use plastic straws; and regulating over-the-counter proprietary drugs and cosmetics, such as sunscreen. The bill also would have preempted alternate generated power sources for motor fuel dispensing facilities to the state and the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Finally, the bill would have established that the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products and nicotine products is preempted to the state. 
Preemption of Local Business Regulation (Oppose – Mandate & Preemption)
CS/CS/CS/HB 3 (Grant, M.) and SB 1748 (Perry) would have prohibited local governments from adopting or imposing new regulations, not authorized by general law, on a business or business entity after July 1, 2019 and required that the regulation sunset 2 years after the date of adoption. The bills would have also required any regulation on business be passed by a two-thirds vote of the entire membership of the governing body, except when the regulation concerns zoning regulations, regulations that increase building costs by less than $750, nuisance ordinances, and ordinances related to alcohol or tobacco.
Local Business Tax (Oppose – Mandate)
SB 868 (Hutson) and HB 1387 (Donalds) would have capped the local business tax to $25 per taxpayer per year.
Sales Tax for E-Commerce (Support)
CS/SB 1112 (Gruters) would have required retailers with no physical presence in Florida to collect Florida’s sales tax on sales of taxable items delivered to purchasers in Florida if they make a substantial number of sales into Florida.
Repeal of Constitution Revision Commission (Neutral)
CS/HJR 249 (Drake) and SB 362 (Brandes) would have repealed the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC). The sponsors cited the need for constitutional amendment due to the 2018 CRC’s bundling of unrelated constitutional proposals on the 2018 ballot, and the political appointment process of CRC members.
Growth Management/Private Property Rights (Oppose – Unfunded Mandate)
CS/CS/HB 291 (McClain) and CS/SB 428 (Perry) would have required local governments to adopt a new mandatory element in their comprehensive plans to address the protection of private property rights.
Short-Term Rentals (Oppose – Preemption)
Two bills preempting cities from regulating short-term rentals, CS/CS/HB 987 (Grant, J.) and SB 824 (Diaz) died after lawmakers expressed concerns over taking away local authority. We expect that similar bills will be filed next year.
Possession of Real Property (Support)
SB 54 (Rouson) would have r epealed provisions relating to a governmental entity’s establishment of recreational customary use on a portion of a beach above the mean high-water line on private property.
Tax Increment Revenues (Neutral)
HB 605 (Casello) and SB 1038 (Rader) would have allowed TIF funds to be used to fund the costs of law enforcement, fire suppression and emergency response, and code enforcement.
Taking Claims within Areas of Critical State Concern (Neutral)
HB 1019 (Altman) and SB 1694 (Flores) would have required the state and local governments to pay attorney’s fees for any claim for inverse condemnation, or any other property rights related action in an area of critical state concern. 
Small-Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendments (Neutral)
HB 6017 (Duggan) and SB 1494 (Perry) would have removed the acreage limitations that apply to small-scale comprehensive plan amendments.
Monuments and Memorials (Oppose – Preemption) 
HB 97 (Hill) and SB 288 (Baxley) would have prohibited the removal of war monuments.
Ethics & Elections
  • Single Subject Limit for Constitutional Amendments – HJR 53 (Byrd, Payne); SJR 690 (Rodriguez, J.); SJR 74 (Bradley); SJR 86 (Rodriguez, J.)
  • Percentage of Voters Required to Amend Constitution – SJR 232 (Baxley); HJR 57 (Roth)
  • Citizen Initiative Process – SB 7096 (Judiciary Committee); CS/HB 7111 (Judiciary Committee)
General Government
  • State Shared Revenues – SB 594 (Hutson)
  • Legislative Preemption – HJR 1273 (Goff-Marcil); SJR 1698 (Berman)
Utilities and Natural Resources