Policy and Advocacy
2020 Legislative Session Session Is Over ...
March 13 was scheduled to be the last day of session, but the session was extended to March 19 to allow a vote on the budget. The final budget proposal was distributed on Sunday evening, triggering the mandatory 72-hour review period required before a vote can be taken. Both the House and Senate have scheduled floor sessions for noon on Thursday.
This session, a total 1,883 bills were filed, not including the 1,634 appropriations project bills filed in the House. Of this total, 207 bills passed both chambers, an additional 42 one-chamber resolutions passed the House, and 26 one-chamber resolutions passed the Senate.
APA Florida’s legislative program aims to harness all the planning profession offers into a resource that is an asset to the Legislature. It is the goal of the APA Florida legislative program to educate elected officials on planning issues and advocate for excellence in planning by providing expert review of legislative proposals as well as advocate for issues based on our adopted Legislative Platform. APA Florida members add value to legislative deliberations and creditability to APA Florida as a resource and statewide network of planning professionals.
APA Florida’s legislative program also provides numerous resources to chapter members to help them learn about major policy shifts at the state level and to follow planning related legislation through the legislative session. Throughout the Legislative Session, APA Florida provides numerous resources to planners.These include:
Public Policy Workshop - A one day workshop on statewide policy and key issues that are expected to arise during the upcoming session
Session Summary - summary of major planning related bills passed during the session
Bill Tracking Reports - Listing of planning related bills that is updated weekly during the Legislative Session
Legislative Reporter - APA Florida's electronic newsletter on legislative issues, sent out during the legislative session
APA Florida’s Legislative Platform represents the chapter’s views on professional planning issues especially related to the state’s annual Legislative Session. The Legislative Platform is adopted annually by the members. It guides the work of the chapter’s Legislative Policy Committee, Executive Committee, Executive Director and Legislative Representative in advocating for legislation consistent with the Legislative Platform.