Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The 2025 Florida Legislative Session commenced on Tuesday, March 4, with over 1,800 pieces of legislation filed. During the 60-day session, many of these bills will be considered, potentially impacting your business or industry in various ways.

Each week, the Rotunda Report will provide a high-level summary of what occurred in Session during the prior week. A practicing attorney in the related industry will also provide a deeper analysis of a single piece of legislation in our Legislation Spotlight. In Week 7’s Legislation Spotlight, Stearns Weaver Miller attorneys Elise Batsel and Kevin Reali provide an analysis of SB 180 and HB 1535, which address Florida’s statewide and local responses to emergency and natural disasters.

Week 7 Recap

The House and Senate released their Tax Packages. Each version provides differing provisions seeking to provide relief to everyday Floridians.

The Senate Finance and Tax Committee introduced and discussed SPB 7034 on Tuesday, April 15. The Senate’s tax package is estimated to reduce state revenues by $2.12 billion according to the staff analysis. Some key provisions include:

• Sales and Use Tax - Permanently Exempts:
• Certain clothing and shoes with a sales price of $75 or less per item.
• Gold, silver, or platinum bullion, or any combination, with a sales price of less than $500.
• Sales and Use Tax – Temporarily Exempts:
• “Disaster Preparedness” items and supplies necessary for disaster preparation and the evacuation of pets from May 15, 2025 through May 31, 2025.
• “Back-to-School” items including bags and backpacks, school supplies, learning aids and puzzles, personal computers and computer accessories from August 1, 2025 through August 10, 2025.
• Corporate Income Tax or Insurance Premium Tax:
• Creates the Rural Community Investment Program, which allows investors to earn tax credits against the corporate income tax or insurance premium tax by investing in a rural fund.
• Updates Florida’s corporate income tax by adopting the federal Internal Revenue Code effective January 1, 2025.
• Motor Vehicle Registration Fees:
• Creates a one-year, one-time credit for the annual license tax and select fees for motor vehicle registrations.

The House Ways and Means Committee introduced and discussed HB 7033 on Wednesday, April 16. The House’s tax package is estimated to have a much lower impact on state revenues compared to the Senate’s tax package. However, an additional House bill, HB 7031, reduces the state sales tax from 6% to 5.25%, and would have a $4.886 billion reduction in state revenues. Some key provisions of HB 7033 include:

• Repeals the Live Local Act ad valorem opt-out provision enacted in 2024.
• Permanently exempts the sales of bullion from sales and use tax.
• Affirmatively repeals the aviation fuel tax and clarifies that aviation fuel continues to be exempt from sales and use tax.
• Allows certain Tourist Development Tax revenues to be used for beach lifeguards and public facilities.
• Additional provisions include: delaying the effective date of natural gas fuel taxes; adopting the current Federal Internal Revenue Code and exempting charitable trusts for corporate income tax purposes; reducing the pari-mutuel tax on cardrooms; extending the operation of a local economic incentive; and redirecting a distribution related to the horse industry.

Legislation Spotlight:

Emergency Preparedness and Declarations 

Elise Batsel and Kevin Reali

SB 180, filed by Senator DiCeglie, and HB 1535, filed by Representative McFarland, address Florida’s statewide and local responses to emergency and natural disasters. The Senate favorably passed SB 180, which is now in messages in the House; the House favorably passed HB 1535 out of its last committee stop, State Affairs, which is now heading to the House floor. The two bills seek to re-enact provisions relating to the prohibition of local governments enacting moratoriums and more burdensome regulations in the aftermath of storms.

Over the last 5 years, Florida counties have faced many difficulties when recovering from hurricanes. After suffering from the impacts of 2022’s Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, during the 2023 Regular Session the Florida Legislature enacted SB 250 to better assist state and local governments in recovery efforts following natural disasters. The measure became effective on July 1, 2023.

Along with the provisions to assist local governments, the legislation also prohibited counties and municipalities affected by the storms from:

• proposing or adopting moratoriums on construction, reconstruction or redevelopment of any property damaged by the hurricane;
• proposing or adopting more restrictive or burdensome amendments to the local government’s comprehensive plan or land development regulations; and,
• proposing or adopting more restrictive or burdensome procedures concerning review, approval or issuance of a site plan, development permit or development order.

In August 2023, shortly after SB 250 became effective, Hurricane Idalia hit North Florida. The legislature subsequently met in a special session, enacting HB 1C, which similarly provided assistance to those communities affected by the hurricane. HB 1C also sought to clarify and amend provisions in SB 250 that prohibited certain counties and cities from imposing specified restrictions before October 1, 2024, regarding the construction or redevelopment of property damaged during the 2022 Hurricane Season. Neither SB 250 nor HB 1C contained an enforcement mechanism for business or property owners to take action against the local jurisdiction for violations. Despite the laws enacted in 2023, several cities and counties have floated the idea of enacting restrictions that would harm recovery efforts.

In response, during the 2025 Session, the Legislature seeks to re-enact the prohibitions on moratoriums as detailed above, which would ensure that local governments allow their communities to rebuild. However, the 2025 version creates an enforcement mechanism by private property owners when challenging a local government’s actions.  

Additionally, the 2025 measures seek to:

• Increase funding to strengthen Florida and its state agencies, which will increase the ability of local governments to respond to storms.
• Ensure local governments coordinate properly with federal and state agencies and adequately respond to natural disasters by requiring the Florida Division of Emergency Management to:
• Develop a template for comprehensive emergency management plans, including plans for natural disasters, and guidance on the development of mutual aid agreements as part of its efforts to assist local governments in preparing for emergencies.
• Take steps to maximize the availability and expedite the distribution of financial assistance from the federal government to state and local agencies.
• Ensure local governments are prepared to respond to the rebuilding and recovery after a natural disaster by:
• Requiring counties and municipalities to develop a post-storm permitting plan to expedite recovery and rebuilding by providing for special building permit and inspection procedures after a hurricane or tropical storm.
• Requiring counties and municipalities to publish a hurricane and tropical storm recovery permitting guide to assist homeowners in determining the types of post-storm repairs requiring a permit, the types of repairs not requiring a permit, and the permitting process.
• Preventing a local government, school district, or special district from assessing an impact fee for the reconstruction or replacement of a previously existing structure if the replacement structure is of the same land use as the original structure and does not increase the impact on public facilities beyond that of the original structure.

The Government Affairs Team at Stearns Weaver Miller, in conjunction with the Land Use and Zoning Group, is actively monitoring all aspects of these possible changes.