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Week Four
February 4, 2022
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The following is a brief synopsis of the key legislative actions and bill summaries for this week.
Thanks for all you do!
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Key Legislative Actions & Bill Summaries |
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Business Damages Bill Substantially Amended and Passes Second Committee
On Tuesday, CS/CS/HB 569 (McClure) passed the Senate Local Administration & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on a vote of 11-6. As we anticipated, the bill was amended to conform to the Senate bill to address many of the League's concerns. The bill authorizes businesses to sue municipalities for business damages caused by municipal ordinances or charter provisions. As amended, the bill would allow a business engaged in a lawful business within a municipality for at least three years preceding enactment of the ordinance or charter provision to claim business damages from the municipality if the ordinance or charter provision causes a reduction of at least 15% of the business' profit as applied on a per-location basis within the jurisdiction. There are now three ways for a municipality to cure the business' claim and avoid paying damages: repeal the ordinance or charter provision; amend the ordinance or charter provision; or grant a waiver to the business from enforcement of the ordinance or charter provision. The amended bill also provides multiple exemptions from business damages claims for various ordinances and charter provisions. In addition, the bill was changed to authorize courts to award attorney fees and costs to either prevailing party in an action for business damages. The bill is effective upon becoming law and applies to ordinances and charter provisions enacted or amended after that date. With the amendment, the League's position on the bill is now "neutral." (O'Hara)
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PFAS Bills Gaining Traction (Support)
HB 1475 (McClure) and SB 1418 (Albritton) require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adopt rules for cleanup target levels for per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) in soil and groundwater, and prohibit agency enforcement action relating to PFAS contamination until such rules are adopted and then ratified by the Legislature. HB 1475 passed the House Environment, Agriculture & Flooding Subcommittee unanimously on Thursday. SB 1418 has been temporarily postponed twice by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee, but CS/SB 7012 (Brodeur), establishing a PFAS task force, was amended Wednesday with a "delete everything" amendment that now conforms the bill to HB 1475. Thus amended, CS/SB 7012 passed the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government unanimously and heads to its final committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee. (O'Hara)
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Smoking in Public Parks Continues to Move – Senate Bill Up Next Week (Support)
On Thursday, HB 105 (Fine), relating to smoking in public parks, passed the Environment, Agriculture & Flooding Subcommittee on a vote of 16-0. The bill would allow cities to restrict smoking within the boundaries of any public beach or park they own. The Senate companion, SB 224 (Gruters), will be heard in its second committee of reference, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee, on Monday, February 7. (Taggart)
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Private Property Rights to Prune, Trim and Remove Trees – FLC Priority – Up Next Week (Support)
HB 1555 (McClain), relating to tree protection ordinances, will be up in the House Local Administration & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Monday, February 7. This bill is a League priority and would amend current law provisions that prohibit local governments from requiring permits for the removal of "dangerous" trees on residential property. The Senate companion, CS/SB 518 (Brodeur), is waiting to be heard in the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee. (Branch) (O'Hara)
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Bill Prohibiting Liquidated Damages in Solid Waste & Recycling Contracts Substantially Amended (Oppose)
CS/HB 1241 (Hawkins) and SB 1944 (Baxley) prohibit local governments from assessing liquidated damages against a solid waste or recycling entity that fails to perform under its contract with a local government during a local, state or federal emergency. The bills also cap liquidated damages in non-emergencies to 50% of a residential customer's daily fee. CS/HB 1241 was amended in the Local Administration & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee to remove the section limiting liquidated damages to 50% during non-emergencies. The amended bill also specifies the emergency must "materially affect" the entity's ability to perform the contracted residential services. The bill passed the subcommittee 15-2. SB 1944 has not yet been heard in committee. (O'Hara)
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Short-Term Rentals Amended in Second Committee Stop (CS/HB 325 – Oppose; CS/SB 512 – Neutral)
On Tuesday, CS/SB 512 (Burgess) was amended and passed through the Senate Community Affairs Committee on a vote of 6-3. The bill, as amended, prohibits local governments from charging more than $50 for an individual vacation rental registration or $100 for a collective vacation rental registration. The amendment now makes it more difficult for a vacation rental license to be suspended by requiring code enforcement violations to be found by a code enforcement board. We anticipate the House companion, CS/HB 325 (Fischer), will get its second hearing in the House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday, February 9. We will keep you updated as we know more. (Taggart)
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Sovereign Immunity: Big Differences Between House and Senate (CS/HB 985 – Oppose; CS/SB 974 – Support)
On Monday, CS/SB 974 (Gruters) was amended and passed unanimously through the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill, as amended, changes the current statutory limits for claims from $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident to $300,000 per person and $400,000 per-incident. CS/SB 974 (Gruters) will be heard in the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Tuesday, February 8. CS/HB 985 (Beltran) still contains the language that would increase limits for claims to $1 million per person and no per-incident cap. The House bill will retroactively apply these new limits to any pending claims that have not been settled by the effective date of the bill (July 1, 2022); the Senate bill no longer contains this language. (Cruz)
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PTSD Workers' Compensation Bills Move Through Committee
On Tuesday, two bills relating to workers' compensation benefits for first responders passed unanimously through the Senate Banking & Insurance Committee. The first, CS/SB 664 (Bradley), would expand workers' compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for first responders to also include correctional and other law enforcement officers. The House companion, HB 425 (Fischer), will be heard in Insurance & Banking Subcommittee on Monday, February 7.
The second bill, CS/SB 1066 (Burgess), specifies that a PTSD claim must be noticed within 52 weeks after the qualifying event or the diagnosis of the disorder, whichever is later. CS/SB 1066 will be up in the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Tuesday, February 8. The House companion, HB 689 (Giallombardo), is waiting to be heard in the State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee. (Cruz)
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Cybersecurity: House Plan Provides $67 Million for Local Governments (Support)
On Thursday, a proposed committee bill, HB 7055 (State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee), relating to cybersecurity, passed on a vote of 14-0. The bill would appropriate $37 million to the Florida Center for Cybersecurity to provide cybersecurity training to local government employees, as well as another $30 million for a grant program that would provide cybersecurity technical assistance to cities and counties. HB 7055 requires local governments to adopt cybersecurity standards, outlines reporting requirements for cyber and ransomware incidents and prohibits local governments from paying ransom demands.
Linked to the bill above, HB 7057 (State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee) creates a public record exemption for all information related to a cybersecurity or ransomware incident held by a local government, state agency or sheriff. The bill also creates a public meeting exemption for any meeting that would reveal information on a local government’s IT resources or data. (Taggart)
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Stay Informed. Stay Engaged. |
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