Legislative News
Legislative Update – May 27, 2020
After the legislative session ended in March, it was recognized that Governor DeSantis had to focus on Florida’s response to COVID-19 and the Florida Legislature waited to submit enrolled bills to him for action. The submittal of bills is now resuming.
Please continue to check this page for updates. If you want to directly follow Governor DeSantis’s bill actions, go to flgov.com and click on the icon reading “2020 Bill Actions”.
Of note, the following bills that APA Florida was tracking were recently submitted to the Governor’s Office:
SB 716 - County Boundaries (Sen. Mayfield): alters the boundary lines of Indian River County and St. Lucie County. Effective Date: Upon becoming law. Actions: Governor must act on this bill by June 10.
HB 969 - Broadband Internet Service (Rep. Drake): creates the Florida Office of Broadband within DEO’s Division of Community Development for purposes of developing, marketing, and promoting broadband Internet service in the state. Effective Date: July 1,2020. Actions: Governor must act on this bill by June 10.
HB 1339 - Community Affairs (Rep. Yarborough): addresses several affordable housing related issues and programs, including authorizing local governments to approve the development of affordable housing on any parcel zoned for residential, commercial or industrial use. Effective Date: July 1, 2020. Actions: Governor must act on this bill by June 10.
SB 1714 - Sale of Surplus State-owned Office Buildings and Associated Nonconservation Lands (Sen. Bradley): provides that funds received through the sale of surplus state-owned office buildings and associated nonconservation lands are deposited into the Architects Incidental Trust Fund as opposed to the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, and must be used for the acquisition, lease, planning, entitlement, design, permitting, construction, or maintenance of state-owned office buildings. Effective Date: July 1, 2020. Actions: Governor must act on this bill by June 10.
SB 7018 - Essential State Infrastructure (Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee): provides that any utility permit application required by a county or municipality having jurisdiction and control of the right-of-way of any public road must be processed and acted upon within the expedited time frames of the “Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act,” s. 337.401(7)(d)7.,8., and 9., F.S. Effective Date: July 1, 2020. Actions: Governor must act on this bill by June 10.
APA Florida Requests Veto of SB 410
On April 2, APA Florida sent a letter (pdf download) to Governor DeSantis outlining serious concerns with SB 410, and requesting a gubernatorial veto. This bill, if becoming law, will preempt and erode the authority of local government to effectively plan for their communities.
If you would like to add your voice, you can reach Governor DeSantis in the following ways:
- Phone him at 850-717-9337
- Email him at GovernorRon.DeSantis@eog.myflorida.com
- Mail him at Gov. Ron DeSantis, The Capitol, 400 S. Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
2020 Legislative Session Review Webinar Now Online
If you missed our 2020 Legislative Session Review Webinar on March 31, it's now available for distance learning 1.5 Law CM.