2019 Legislative Session

The 2019 Legislative Session convenes on March 5 and is scheduled to end on May 3.  Interim committee meetings began in earnest next week and go through mid-February.  A calendar of the important dates throughout the session can be viewed here.

APA Florida will provide information to our members throughout the session.  Every Friday, a Bill Tracking Report and short update will be posted on the Legislative Page of the website.  The Bill Tracking Report provides a link to bill language, identifies the actions taken on the bill by various committees, and identifies related bills.

Beginning in January, a bi-weekly Legislative Reporter is emailed to our members.  This publication provides a short summary of individual bills and their amendments, identifies any action the chapter is taking relative to that bill, and provides an updated bill tracking report.  At the end of the session, the chapter will prepare and distribute a summary of the major planning related bills passed by the Legislature.  This summary will include a detailed summary of the bill provisions and will include a link to the enrolled bill language.  This summary will also be posted on the chapter website.

If you do not deal with legislative issues on a daily basis, the information you receive from us may be confusing.  A number of materials are available at the Online Sunshine Information website to help you understand the legislative process and vocabulary:

            How An Idea Becomes A Bill  (Senate Document)
            Glossary of Legislative Terms  (Senate Document)  (House Document)
            Frequently Asked Questions   (Senate Document)  (House Document)

If you are interested in looking at specific bill language, you can easily search for a bill using the Senate and House webpages.  You can search by bill number, statutory references or subject.  You can search for both House and Senate bills on either of these sites.  You will also have access to filed amendments and staff reports. 

The most recent Bill Tracking Report, dated Jan. 4, can be viewed here.  If at any point there is a bill that you would like to add to this tracking report or you have a question related to a bill, simply email the Chapter Office at fapa@floridaplanning.org with the request.