Legislative Reporter | Dec. 30, 2022

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Dec. 30, 2022 | Legislative Reporter Interim committee meetings for the 2023 Legislative Session will resume the week of Jan. 3. The session is scheduled to begin on March 7.

The Bill Tracking Report, as of Dec. 30, can be viewed here. Please review it to see the bills filed that APA Florida is tracking. Note that these tracking reports contain a new feature; if you click on the bill number, you are linked to more information about the bill.

If you want any bills added to this report or information about a specific bill, please contact Stefanie Svisco at fapa@floridaplanning.org.

Of most interest, bills have been filed that would do the following: • Amend ss.163.3167(8), F.S. to add a prohibition against initiatives or referendum related to any amendment to land development regulations. (Currently, this subsection prohibits initiatives or referendums for development orders and certain comprehensive plan or map amendments.) This prohibition would apply retroactively to any initiative or referendum process commenced after June 1, 2011. (HB 41, Rep. A. Garcia.)

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Amend s.206.46 F.S., dealing with the State Transportation Trust Fund, add a new subsection (6) which provides that the Florida Department of Transportation may not annually commit to public transit projects in accordance with Chapter 341 more than 20 percent of the revenues derived from state fuel taxes and motor vehicle license-related fees deposited in the State Transportation Fund. (SB 64, Sen. Hooper.) Note that last year APA Florida opposed SB 398 (Sen. Hooper) that would have amended ss.206.46(3) to place an artificial cap of 25 percent of all state revenues deposited in the State Transportation Trust fund, excluding state revenue used for matching federal grants, that can be committed for public transportation projects.

Dec. 30, 2022 | Legislative Reporter

APA FLORIDA

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Amend ss.509.32(7) F.S., dealing with the preemption of vacation rental regulations, to add language that this subsection does not prohibit a local law, ordinance, or regulation from requiring a vacation rental owner or operator to designate and maintain at all times with the local government the name and contact information of a responsible party who is capable of responding to complaints and other immediate problems related to the vacation rental, including being available by telephone at a publicly listed telephone number. (SB 92, Sen. I. Garcia.)

Additionally, HB 7049 (House Judiciary Committee), which was passed last session, goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2023. The bill: • Gives a governmental agency the option to publish legal notices on the publicly accessible website of a county instead of in a newspaper or on the newspaper's website under specified conditions; • Requires a governmental agency located in a county with a population of fewer than 160,000 people to first hold a public hearing and determine that its residents have sufficient access to the Internet before publishing legal notices on a publicly accessible website; • Eliminates the Florida Press Association's obligations relating to equitable legal notice access by minority populations; • Provides the criteria a newspaper must satisfy to publish legal notices; and • Makes technical and conforming changes.

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Dec. 30, 2022 | Legislative Reporter

APA FLORIDA