Dec. 13, 2024 | Legislative Reporter
The 2025 Legislative Session convenes on March 4, 2025, and is scheduled to end on May 2, 2025. The first interim committee meeting week for the House was held last week and for the Senate was held this week. Over these weeks, legislators primarily participated in various orientations and trainings.
Committee meetings will pick up again on Jan. 13. (Based on that schedule, the next Legislative Reporter will be published on Jan. 17.)
The Bill Tracking Report, as of Dec. 13, can be viewed here. Please review it to see the bills filed that APA Florida is tracking. Note that if you click on the bill number, you will be linked to more information about the bill. If you would like any bills added to this report or would like more information about a specific bill, please contact Stefanie Svisco at ssvisco@floridaplanning.org
The following bills of interest have been filed to date:
HB 11 (Rep. F. Robinson) requires a municipality to charge consumers receiving its utility services in another municipality same rates, fees, & charges as it charges consumers within its own municipal boundaries. (Note that Rep. Robinson filed similar bills for the last three years, with last year’s bill dying on the House Floor on Second Reading.)
HB 39 (Rep. Daley) increases the property value exemption for disabled ex-servicemembers and their unremarried surviving spouses from $5,000 to $10,000.
SB 50 (Sen. Garcia) requires the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science to develop design guidelines and standards for green and gray infrastructure and models for conceptual designs of green infrastructure and green-gray infrastructure; and requires the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules for nature-based methods for coastal resilience.
SB 62 (Sen. Rodriguez) defines the term “resilient building” and specifies that owners of resilient buildings are eligible to receive a specified tax credit.
SB 80 (Sen. Harrell) creates the “State Park Preservation Act” and requires public hearings for all updated conservation and nonconservation land management plans.
SB 84 (Sen. Collins) prohibits governmental entities from adopting or enforcing any legislation that inhibits the construction of housing for legally verified agricultural workers on agricultural land operated as a bona fide farm. (Note that Sen. Collins filed a similar bill, SB 1082, last year. The bill was passed by the Legislature but subsequently vetoed by Gov. DeSantis.)
2024 Session Update
Following up on the 2024 legislative session, there were 10 bills passed during that session that go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Of particular interest is HB 267 (Rep. Esposito) which deals with building regulations.
The bill does the following:
• revises the eligibility requirements a person must meet to take an examination for certification as a building code inspector or plans examiner.
• requires the Florida Building Commission to provide an exception in the Building Code relating to sealed drawings by a design professional for replacement windows, doors, and garages in an existing one- or two-family dwelling or townhouse under certain conditions.
• deletes s.553.79 (16)a-e, F.S.
• amends s.553.791, F.S., dealing with alternative plans review and inspections to:
o provide a definition of “private provider firm.”
o delete the requirement that a private provider must provide notice to the building inspector of an inspection no later than the prior business day by 2 pm.
o require that, where the private provider is a licensed professional engineer or architect and seals the required affidavit, the building official must issue the requested permit or provide written notice identifying specific plan features that do not comply with the applicable code, as well as the specific code chapters and sections, within 10 business days of receipt.
o require the local business official to provide with specificity the plan’s deficiencies, reasons the permit failed, and applicable codes being violated in the notice.
o if the specific notice is not provided within the 10-day period, the permit application is deemed approved and must be issued by the building official on the next business day.
o provide that each local building code enforcement agency may not audit the performance of building code inspection services by private providers operating within the local jurisdiction until the agency has created standard operating private provider audit procedures for the agency’s internal inspection and review staff:
the private provider audit procedures must be publicly available online and a printed version must be readily accessible in agency buildings.
the private provider audit results of staff for the prior two quarters also must be publicly available.
the agency’s audit processes must adhere to the agency’s posted standard operating audit procedures.
the same private provider or private provider firm may not be audited more than four times in a year unless the local building official determines a condition of a building constitutes an immediate threat to public safety and welfare, which must be communicated in writing to the private provider or private provider firm.
• amends ss.553.792(1) and (2), F.S., to:
o require a local government to approve, approve with conditions, or deny a complete and sufficient building permit application within the following timeframes unless the applicant waives the limitation in writing:
30 business days for applicants using a local government plans reviewer to obtain the following building permits if the structure is less than 7,500 square feet: residential units, including a singlefamily residential unit or a single-family residential dwelling, accessory structure, alarm, electrical, irrigation, landscaping, mechanical, plumbing, or roofing.
60 business days for an applicant using a local government plans reviewer to obtain the following building permits if the structure is 7,500 square feet or more: residential units, including a singlefamily residential unit or a single-family residential dwelling, accessory structure, alarm, electrical, irrigation, landscaping, mechanical, plumbing, or roofing.
60 business days for an applicant using a local government plans reviewer to obtain the following building permits: signs or nonresidential buildings that are less than 25,000 square feet.
60 business days for an applicant using a local government plans reviewer to obtain the following building permits: multifamily residential, not exceeding 50 units; site plan approvals and subdivision plats not requiring public hearing or public notice; and lot grading and site alteration.
12 business days for an applicant using a master building permit consistent with s. 553.794, F.S., to obtain a site-specific building permit.
10 business days for an applicant for a single-family residential dwelling applied for by a contractor licensed in this state on behalf of a property owner who participates in a Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program administered by the Department of Commerce, unless the permit application fails to satisfy the Florida Building Code or the enforcing agency’s laws or ordinances.
o provide that a local government may not require the waiver of the timeframes as a condition precedent to reviewing the application.
o provide that a local government must meet the timeframes set forth for reviewing building permit applications unless timeframes set by local ordinance or more stringent.
o require a local government to determine if a building permit application is complete within 5 business days of receiving the application, previously set at 10 days; the building permit application is automatically deemed or determined to be properly completed and accepted if the local government does not provide timely notice.
o provide an exception to the existing fee reduction provision for when the parties agree in writing to a reasonable extension of time, when a delay is caused by the applicant, or the delay is attributable to a force majeure or other extraordinary circumstance.
o provide that the local enforcement agency does not have to reduce the building permit fee if it provides written notice to the applicant by e-mail or United States Postal Service within the respective timeframes that specifically states the reasons the permit application fails to satisfy the Florida Building Code or the enforcing agency’s laws or ordinances: the applicant has 10 days to submit revisions and failure to do so will result in a denial of the application.
o if the applicant submits revisions within 10 business days after receiving the written notice, the local enforcement agency has 10 business days after receiving such revisions to approve or deny the building permit unless the applicant agrees to a longer period in writing.
o if the local enforcement agency fails to issue or deny the building permit within 10 business days after receiving the revisions, it must reduce the building permit fee by 20 percent for each business day that it fails to meet the deadline unless the applicant agrees to a longer period in writing.
The bill creates s.553.9065, F.S., dealing with thermal efficiency standards for unvented attic and unvented enclosed rafter assemblies. The bill also amends s.553.80(7), F.S., to allow a local government to use any excess funds, that it is prohibited from carrying forward to rebate and reduce fees, for upgrading technology hardware and software systems used to enhance service delivery.
Legislative News
No pickle ball? Republican lawmaker files 'State Parks Preservation Act' for next year
James Call | USA Today Network | Dec. 5, 2024
Jay Collins files farmworker housing bill after Gov. DeSantis vetoed similar measure
Janelle Irwin Taylor | Florida Politics, | Dec. 9, 2024