From holding down property taxes on homes rebuilt after hurricanes to new post-storm rules for elections supervisors, the Florida House on Tuesday started moving forward with a proposal to address issues whipped up during the damaging 2024 hurricane season.
The House Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee unanimously approved a wide-ranging bill (HB 1535) that also seeks to look at shelter regulations, address debris cleanup in rural “fiscally constrained” counties and direct how cranes are positioned when storms approach landfall.
Bill sponsor Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, said the proposal is the product of “feedback from our local governments. It's feedback from the Realtors. It’s feedback from homeowners associations, from builders, from environmentalists, emergency managers, and all of that is boiled into this bill.”
Rep. Lindsay Cross, D-St. Petersburg, suggested more clarity for long-term local government plans.
“The time after a storm is maybe one of the only opportunities when communities can look at being more resilient or being more proactive, when residents finally understand what it means to be impacted and how this could not only happen in the future but be worse,” Cross said.
The bill would prohibit counties under federal disaster declarations from Hurricane Debby, Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton from imposing moratoriums that affect rebuilding storm-damaged properties through Oct. 1, 2027.
Local governments, school districts and special districts would also be prohibited from imposing impact fees when post-storm rebuilding doesn’t change previous land-use designations.
Also, residents would be allowed to rebuild homesteaded property up to 130 percent larger than the pre-hurricane “footprint” without facing increases in their appraised property values.
“Many of our residents that are in the coastal area had to lift as they had to elevate as they rebuild,” McFarland said. “And it's almost impossible to lift your home and not have the footprint increase, whether it's adding an external stairway or, you know, more provisions for your utilities. Almost everyone who is lifting their home to rebuild has to increase their footprint.”
The proposal also calls for state agencies to work with local governments to streamline permitting to repair and rebuild damaged structures.
Also under the proposal, if an emergency is declared by the governor within 60 days of an election, county elections supervisors could change locations of early voting sites, expand the early voting period to the day before an election and request approval from the secretary of state that early voting locations be used on election day.
Supervisors could also take steps such as sending vote-by-mail ballots to displaced people. Contingency plans would need to be set in case elections are suspended, delayed or rescheduled due to an emergency.
Amy Keith, executive director of Common Cause Florida, called the proposal a “step in the right direction” for voters and a “strong start” for elections supervisors.
“No disaster-affected voters should be forced to submit more paperwork or drive across the county just to cast their ballot,” Keith said. “What they need is accessible voting options and easy access to information about those options.”
The legislation also addresses a construction crane that wasn’t taken down before Hurricane Milton slammed St. Petersburg last year. The crane collapsed into an office building.
The bill would require that 24 hours before anticipated hurricane impacts, all hoisting equipment would have to be secured to comply with manufacturer recommendations, which could include removing advertising, laying down fixed booms where feasible and setting towers in a “weathervane position.”
The legislation also would require the Florida Division of Emergency Management to conduct a study on the statewide needs of emergency shelters, including accommodations for people with developmental disabilities and the availability of space for pets. The division would also be directed to coordinate debris removal with fiscally constrained counties in areas where emergencies have been declared.
Hurricane Debby and Hurricane Helene made landfall last year in rural Taylor County, while Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota County.
Rep. Jason Shoaf, a Port St. Joe Republican whose district includes Taylor County, described the bill as “much needed” for North Florida’s Big Bend region. Shoaf added he looked forward to “getting a grip on the fiscal” impacts.
McFarland said she “cherry picked’ ideas from other bills in the House and Senate and intends to continue revising the bill. It needs to clear two more House panels before it could go to the full House.
