Bill Tracking & Summaries Here

As the Florida Legislature finishes out week 5 of the legislative session House and Senate committees are beginning to wind down the sub-committee work and turn their focus to crafting the state budget. Both chambers released their respective budgets this week with a spending gap of over $4.4 billion between the House and Senate proposals. The main driver of the $4 billion difference is the House Speaker’s proposal to cut the state sales tax nearly 1%. If successful, Florida will become the only state in the nation to permanently reduce its sales tax, cutting the rate from 6% to 5.25% and delivering nearly $5 billion in annual savings to Floridians.

The Senate’s proposed budget appropriates $117.36 billion, or $1.3 billion less than the adjusted total budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year ($118.6 million). The budget dedicates significant resources for Florida’s environment, including Everglades Restoration, citrus recovery, clean water resiliency, and the preservation of working farms and ranches along Florida’s Wildlife Corridor to support Florida’s vital agriculture supply chain. The Senate budget also authorizes early pay off over $600 million in state debt.

The House proposed budget is $6 billion less than the current year budget and $2.7 billion less than Governor Ron DeSantis’ proposal. The House funds essential areas like education, health care and the environment, and also makes possible Speaker Perez’s proposal to permanently slash Florida sales tax rate.

Several bills that FlaSEIA is tracking were heard in the House and Senate this week. SB 1002 Related to Utility Restrictions by Senator Truenow prohibiting municipalities, counties, special districts, boards, agencies, commissions, authorities, and community development districts from enacting or enforcing any measures that limit or prohibit specific types or fuel sources of energy utilized. The bill would also void any existing restrictions that a local government had in place prior to July 2021.

HB 1595 Related to Solar Decommissioning by Rep. Koster had it’s first hearing in the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. The bill authorizes counties to adopt ordinances requiring the decommissioning of solar facilities at the end of their useful life and to require the owners of such facilities to provide financial assurances to ensure proper decommissioning. It was amended to only apply to solar facility plans submitted to a local government after July 1, 2025. The bill was not heard in the Senate this week.

Finally, HB 1071 Related to Alternative Plan Review by Rep. Benarroch, which would enable SolarApp to be used statewide, was heard at it’s second stop. The bill enhances the regulations for alternative plan reviews and inspections by making the following changes:

• Revises definitions of "permit application" and "single-trade inspection" to include automated or software-base assessments by private providers for one-trade focus in areas like plumbing and electrical systems.
• Authorizes private providers to perform single-trade inspections, including for single and two-family dwellings, either virtually or in person.
• Mandates local building officials to act within specific timeframes for certain permits, reducing the maximum wait time for a single-trade plans review to 2 business days from 20.
• Stipulates that permits related to single-trade plans reviews for private dwellings must be processed by officials within 2 business days; plan deficiencies must be handled within the remaining time plus an additional 5 business days after resubmittal.
• Allows electronic submissions and signatures on affidavits certifying compliance with applicable codes.
• Positions private providers to use advanced systems to ensure code compliance during plan reviews.
• The bill, if approved by the Governor, would become effective July 1, 2025

Bill Tracking & Summaries Here