Legislative Session: Week 1 Wrap-Up

The Florida Legislature started its 2020 Legislative Session this week and lawmakers are set to consider a number of bills over the course of the 60-day period that relate to the building industry. With January 15 as the final day to file a bill to be heard this session, it appears that legislators will have just over 3,000 bills to consider this year- 3,382 to be exact. Of those, 958 bills have been filed in the Senate with the remaining 2,424 being filed in the House, and 1,634 of those pertaining to appropriations.

FHBA advocates have been busy in preparation for session, and this week was no exception. On Wednesday, the House Local, Federal and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee passed HB 637, pertaining to impact fees, in a 13-1 vote. As a reminder this bill is intended to ensure that building permits are not subject to surprise fee increases effective following the submission of the application for the permit, defines โ€œinfrastructureโ€ to ensure impact fee calculations only include the trust costs of infrastructure, requires that the โ€œmost recent and localized dataโ€ for impact fee calculations are collected within the last 36-months, provides more flexibility for redeeming impact fee credits, limits school impact fees to what the State allows, and establishes an Impact Fee Review Committee.

Later Wednesday afternoon, the House Business & Professions subcommittee unanimously passed FHBA priority bill, HB 459. The legislation prevents local governments from bypassing Floridaโ€™s building code amendment process and prohibits local governments from adopting design and aesthetic ordinances for single and two-family dwellings.

As the busy week progressed, FHBAโ€™s legislative team also represented your interests in the House Commerce Committee, Civil Justice Subcommittee, Ways and Means Committee and State Affairs Committee. Our team continues to work hand in hand with allied professions and legislators in ensuring FHBA interests are heard as the myriad of bills affecting the industry are discussed and amended.

As the countdown to March begins, there are just 54 days remaining this session. Stay tuned to FHBA news and social media for weekly, and daily updates on our progress and achievements.

Want to be more involved? Sign up now to attend the FHBA Legislative Conference in Tallahassee February 3-5. Click here to learn more.

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