2012 Legislative Review: What Passed and Failed this Session? FLC Webinar May 24, 2012

1. 2012 Legislative Review: What Passed and Failed this Session? FLC Webinar May 24, 2012

2. Bills that passed

3. Numeric Nutrient Criteria • HB 7051 allows the Legislature to exempt from legislative ratification the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) numeric nutrient criteria program. • Under current law, any rule that exceeds a specified dollar threshold must be ratified by the legislature.

4. Reclaimed Water • CS/HB 639 (Young) revises the definition of reclaimed water to ensure that it is not subject to regulation by a water management district (WMD) until it has been discharged into “waters of the state” as defined in Florida statute. • reclaimed water projects are eligible for alternative water supply funding

5. Reclaimed Water • Prohibits a WMD from specifying, in a Consumptive Use Permit (CUP), any user to whom a reuse utility must provide reclaimed water or restricting the use of reclaimed water provided to a utility’s customers. • If a proposed use of water includes surface water or groundwater, a CUP for those water sources may include conditions that govern their use in relation to the feasibility or use of reclaimed water.

6. Communications Services Tax • CS/HB 809 (Grant) makes numerous changes to the communication services tax (CST) • Amends definition of “sales price” to allow a communication’s dealer to bundle together goods and services that are subject to various taxes (e.g., CST and sales tax) and only identify the portion subject to CST in their “books and records.”

7. Communications Services Tax • removes the liability of a dealer, who incorrectly assigns a customer to a local CST taxing jurisdiction, to pay the underpayment and any interest or penalties unless certain conditions are met • removes the ability of the department to deny the dealer’s collection allowance because of incorrectly assigned customers if the dealer has used one of the methods described in FL statutes, regardless of due diligence

8. Communications Services Tax • creates the nine-member CST Working Group. Tasked with reviewing tax policy, historical revenue trends, usage of the revenue stream by local governments, fairness of the tax structure and administrative burdens • working group is to identify options for removing competitive advantages within the industry and submit a report to the governor, Senate President and Speaker of the House by February 1, 2013

9. Communications Services Tax • FLC appointees to CST Working Group Mayor Gary Resnick, Wilton Manors Sharon Fox, Internal Auditor, Tampa First meeting is June 11 in Tallahassee

10. Local Business Tax Exemption • HB 7125 exempts real estate sales associates and broker associates licensed under Chapter 475, Florida Statutes, from paying the local business tax or obtaining a local business tax receipt

11. Tangible Personal Property Taxes • CS/HJR 1003 (Eisnaugle) is a proposed constitutional amendment dealing with the ad valorem taxation of tangible personal property (TPP) • Amendment would provide an additional exemption (current law is $25,000) from ad valorem on TPP valued between $25,000 and $50,000

12. Tangible Personal Property Taxes • Includes a local option component that allows municipalities to offer additional tax relief for tangible personal property at their discretion

13. Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouse of Military or First Responders • CS/HJR 93 (Harrison) is a proposed constitutional amendment that would give ad valorem tax relief to a surviving spouse of a military veteran who died from service-connected causes while on active duty or a surviving spouse of a first responder who died in the line of duty

14. Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Deployed Service Members • CS/CS/SB 922 (Bennett) provides an exemption for service members who are deployed outside the continental United States, Alaska or Hawaii in support of certain named military operations

15. Effective Public Notice • CS/CS/HB 937 (Workman) addresses legal notice requirements for local govts - FLC priority • requires legal notices published in the newspaper to also be placed on the newspaper’s website. • requires the Florida Press Association to create a website on which legal notices from every paper in the state must be published. • limits the amount that can be charged for legal notices under certain conditions

16. Public Safety Telecommunicators • FLC priority • CS/HB 1227 (Drake) exempts sworn law enforcement officers from the public safety telecommunicator certification course provided the officer can pass the certification exam • allows cities to use sworn law enforcement officers as temporary public safety telecommunicators once they have passed the certification exam

17. Agriculture • CS/HB 1197 (Horner) preempts local govt. from adopting ordinances dealing with beekeeping and farm signs

18. Agriculture • prohibits municipalities from collecting stormwater fees on a bona fide farming operation if that farm has a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), environmental resource permit or follows the best management practices authorized by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

19. Beach Management • CS/HB HB 691 (Frishe) streamlines the permitting process for coastal construction permits, including beach restoration and nourishment projects • reduces the number of permits required for such projects

20. Energy • CS/CS/HB 7117 (Plakon) is the 2012 energy package supported by the House/Senate leadership as well as Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam and the Florida League of Cities • requires utilities to address existing and proposed renewable energy production and purchases in their 10-year site plan

21. Energy • allows local governments, by referendum, to issue rebates to residential or commercial property owners who make energy efficiency improvements to their residential or commercial property from the local government infrastructure surtax

22. Environmental Regulation • CS/CS/CS/CS/HB 503 (Patronis) is a comprehensive regulatory streamlining bill • prohibits a municipality from requiring, as a condition of processing a development permit, that an applicant obtain a state or federal permit prior to obtaining the local permit

23. Environmental Regulation • prohibits local governments from charging fees on development orders or permits that were extended under the Community Planning Act of 2011. The permit extensions are valid for a period of two years after their previously scheduled date of expiration for any permit issued by the DEP or by a water management district that has an expiration date from January 1, 2012, through January 1, 2014.

24. Septic Tanks • CS/CS/CS/HB 1263 (Hudson), is a comprehensive Department of Health reorganization bill • repeals the statewide septic tank inspection program administered by the Department of Health • allows cities to adopt septic tank inspection programs, provided the program complies with certain restrictions set forth in the bill.

25. Contracting/Businesses linked to Cuba or Syria • CS/CS/HB 959 (Bileca) prohibits a state agency or local governmental entity from contracting for goods and services of $1 million or more with a company that has business operations in Cuba or Syria. • contracts entered into after July 1, 2012, must contain a provision that allows for termination of the contract if the company is found to have business operations in Cuba or Syria.

26. Contracting/Businesses linked to Cuba or Syria • requires a company to provide a certification upon submission of a bid or proposal for a contract, or before a company enters into or renews a contract, with an agency or governmental entity that the company is not engaged in business operations in Cuba or Syria

27. Economic Development • HB 7087 (Precourt) is a comprehensive economic development bill that increases the current corporate income tax exemption from $25,000 to $50,000 of net income • modifies the number of qualified employees businesses must have in certain circumstances to be eligible for tax credits

28. Economic Development • creates back-to-school sales tax holiday for August 3-5 • requires a local vendor preference for printing services but excludes local governments from this requirement

29. Financial Emergencies • SB 368 (Gaetz) provides that specified governing board members who fail to resolve a financial emergency may be suspended from office by the governor. • allows municipalities in a state of financial emergency to consult with other local governments regarding the consolidation of administrative and support services

30. Financial Emergencies • requires a plan to end a financial emergency to include the implementation of consolidation or discontinuance of specific services • requires local governments to respond to request from the Governor within 45 days and establishes consequences for their failure to respond

31. Dept of Highway Safety bill • CS/CS/HB 1223 (Albritton) prohibits swamp buggies from operating on public roads other than the state highway system, unless specifically allowed to do so and posted accordingly by the local government • authorizes municipalities to use golf carts and utility vehicles to cross the State Highway System and operate on sidewalks adjacent to state highways under specified circumstances

32. Dept of Highway Safety bill • provides for the dismissal of a traffic citation for failure to stop at a red light when the motor vehicle owner is deceased at the time of the violation and an affidavit with specified supporting documents is filed with the issuing governmental entity (YES, we really actually needed a law for this!!)

33. Dept of Transportation bill • CS/CS/CS/HB 599 (Pilon) is the Florida Department of Transportation’s (DOT) comprehensive legislative package • imposes more stringent rules and responsibilities on local govts for bus benches and transit shelters on state rights-of-way that are not in compliance with ADA standards

34. Dept of Transportation bill • as of July 1, 2012, a local govt authorizing an installation must require the supplier or installer to indemnify, defend and hold harmless DOT from any liability and costs relating to the installation, and annually certify to DOT that this requirement has been met • under current law, utility owner is required to pay for relocation to alleviate the interference

35. Dept of Transportation bill • if the utility facility is one that was initially installed to exclusively serve the authority (state or local government), and the authority directs the utility owner to relocate it to alleviate an interference, then the authority will be required to pay for the utility work

36. Dept of Transportation bill • limits the application of the statutory 1.5 percent landscaping earmark from a per project to a statewide basis and limits the expenditure of landscaping funds to new highway construction projects (thus no landscaping dollars would be spent on repaving or similar maintenance projects);

37. Dept of Transportation bill • addresses other issues onsite or offsite stormwater treatment for seaports • broadens the permissible uses of local option gas tax revenues

38. Dept of Transportation bill • Requires that only one metropolitan planning organization (MPO) be designated for each urbanized area or group of contiguous urbanized areas • where more than one MPO exists in an urbanized area, the MPOs must coordinate in the development of regionally significant project priorities

39. Dept of Transportation bill • authorizes, under specified conditions, a motor vehicle to be operated with “autonomous technology,” without the active control or monitoring by a human operator • authorizes local govts to regulate the use of personal mobility devices (Segways) on sidewalks

40. Dept of Transportation bill • Environmental mitigation standards and requirements: • prohibits a govt entity from creating or providing environmental mitigation for a project other than its own unless govt entity uses land that was not previously purchased for conservation and unless the govt entity provides the same financial assurances as required for mitigation banks and regional offsite mitigation areas

41. Growth Management/ DRIs • CS/CS/HB 979 (Diaz) addresses DRIs • In local govt jurisdictions that are not designated as dense urban land areas, certain proposed developments which are the subject of a qualified target industry business tax refund agreement are exempt from the DRI review process

42. Growth Management/ DRIs • allows certain agricultural enclaves between 500 and 640 acres to change to the zoning designation that surrounds it, without approval from local govt • limits the reviewing agencies’ ability to comment on a DRI, under certain conditions

43. Growth Mgmt Glitch bill • CS/HB 7081 (Workman) addresses technical glitches from last session’s comprehensive growth management legislation • authorizes local govt to retain certain initiative or referendum processes in regard to any development order or to any local comprehensive plan amendment or map amendment that was in effect as of June 1, 2011

44. Growth Mgmt Glitch bill • prohibits regional planning council from providing consulting services to a private developer if the council will serve in a reviewing capacity in the future • allows military base commanders to provide “advisory” comments to any comprehensive plan amendments of land that surrounds military installations

45. Growth Mgmt Glitch bill • removes criteria that exempts certain municipalities from being signatories to the school interlocal agreement as a prerequisite to implementing school concurrency because school concurrency is now optional

46. Growth Mgmt – Military Bases • HB 7075 (Workman) amends s. 163.3175, F.S., to clarify provisions relating to military commanding officer comments on proposed land use changes that may have an impact on the mission of a military installation • commanding officer comments on proposed land use changes are advisory to the local govt, • advisory comments must be based upon appropriate data and analyses

47. Campus Development Agreements • HB 5201 (O’Toole) allows universities to enter into local development agreements to identify and negotiate plans to mitigate the effects of specific projects and the corresponding effects on local govts

48. Special Districts/Merger, Consolidation and Dissolution • CS/CS/CS/HB 107 (Caldwell) creates a new procedure that allows two or more contiguous independent special districts with similar functions and governing bodies to voluntarily merge

49. Building Construction and Inspection • CS/CS/SB 704 (Bennett) is a comprehensive building construction package which: • modifies how local govt code enforcement boards serve notices on property owners • requires public bodies to open sealed bids for construction and repairs to public buildings at a public meeting

50. Building Construction and Inspection • authorizes building and fire code administrators to accept electronically transmitted construction plans and related documents for permit approval purposes • when denying a building permit, the bill requires local enforcing agencies and local building code administrators and inspectors to provide denied applicants with the specific building codes or sections that were out-of-compliance