“Things aren’t as bad as when I was here last time. It was a tough session,” said Shawn Foster of Sunrise Consulting Group to the Brooksville City Council on May 15th.
Foster continued, “it was the most onslaught attack that I’d ever seen on local rule in 20 years as staff or as a lobbyist. I think it’ll be back… The leadership that was there, they’ll still be there next year and they’ll still be in charge.”
FAILED
Part of that onslaught died in committee: CS/HB 17, a Local Regulation Preemption bill and SB 1158 for Regulation of Commerce, Trade, and Labor. HB 17 sought to prohibit “certain local governments from imposing or adopting certain regulations on businesses, professions, & occupations after certain date; preempts to state regulations concerning businesses, professions, & occupations; provides exceptions to preemption.” SB 1158 aimed to reserve “to the state the exclusive right to regulate matters of commerce, trade, and labor under certain circumstances; prohibiting counties, municipalities, and special districts from engaging in specified actions that regulate commerce, trade, or labor, unless otherwise expressly authorized to do so by special or general law; providing that an ordinance, rule, or regulation that violates a specified provision is null and void, etc.”
Although legislation severely limiting the scope of Community Redevelopment Agencies died in the House and Senate, Foster says the bills will be back.
CS/SB 1770 on Community Redevelopment Agencies would have required ethics training for community redevelopment agency commissioners. It would have required existing CRAs to phase out unless their “continued existence is approved by a supermajority vote of the governing bodies of the counties or municipalities which created them.” Also the Department of Economic Opportunity would be required to “declare inactive community redevelopment agencies that have reported no financial activity for a specified number of years, etc.”
A similar bill in the House, CS/CS/CS/HB 13 would have required local government agencies to petition the legislature in order to create a new community redevelopment agency. It also called for ethics training of redevelopment agency commissioners.
Foster expects the medical marijuana legislation to reappear as a special session.
CS/CS/HB 139 on Local Tax Referenda sponsored by Representative Blaise Ingoglia died in the House Ethics and Elections Committee. This bill would have required any local government discretionary sales surtax referenda to be held on the date of a primary or general election. The Hernando County voters passed a 10 year half cent sales surtax referendum during a special election in 2015. Had the school district been forced to put the referendum on a general election ballot, the results may have differed greatly. HB 139 also would have required a “specified percentage of votes for passage and a notice of intent to levy certain local government discretionary sales surtaxes.”
“I expect from what I hear from the sponsor, that bill will come back,” said Foster.
The firefighter cancer presumption bill failed, which presumed that certain cancers resulting in partial or full disability or death were contracted in the line of duty and are work related “unless the contrary is shown by competent evidence.”
PASSED
Foster remarked on the homestead exemption bill that passed, saying it will have a profound affect on local governments. The bill provides an additional $25,000 in homestead exemption from all taxes except school district taxes, so that assessed values greater than $75,000 and up to $100,000 are exempt. If the amendment passes by 60% of voters statewide in November 2018, it will be implemented into the constitution. The City of Brooksville already struggles with a high percentage of residents being exempted from paying property tax.
Voters in the November 2018 election will also have the opportunity to extend the 10% assessment cap on non-homestead property which is set to sunset in 2019. Legislation to put the extension amendment on the ballot passed both the House and Senate.
A wireless telecommunications bill is on its way to the Governor’s desk. Foster says that the final bill was watered down slightly, but still poses a threat to home rule. In essence bills SB 596 and HB 687 give FDOT the authority to dictate where voice/data communications service lines or wireless facilities are placed in a municipality or county. “Micro” wireless devices could be installed on public right- of- ways. Additionally the Florida League of Cities explains, “The bills require a city, at its taxpayers’ expense, to develop engineering and other structural reports on the city’s own structures that a wireless company may or may not decide to use for an antenna.”
Foster spoke about Hernando County’s near exclusion from the newly created Tampa Bay Regional Transport Authority formerly Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA). He said that it came down to the wire, but Hernando County was able to find a last minute place at the table. The transportation authority went from seven to five counties.
“Fortunately we were able to work with the Senate sponsor and the House sponsor…” Foster stated.
APPROPRIATIONS
The City of Brooksville Horse Lake Creek drainage restoration project, an appropriations bill sponsored by Representative Blaise Ingoglia passed. The city requested $350,000 for the project which involves removing 5000 cubic yards of silt from the bottom of Horse Lake Creek, a major stormwater drainage resource for Brooksville. Additionally they will reinforce an 8″ sewer pipe with concrete to prevent future damage. Foster encouraged council members to call Governor Scott to tell him know how important it is for the city.
Representative Ingoglia sponsored several other appropriations bills that ultimately passed, with impacts in Hernando County.
That includes a $1 million grant for the development of Vincent Academy Life Skills Center in Hernando County in association with NAMI Hernando. According to Dianne Steele, Co-Founder of Vincent House in Pinellas Park, “Vincent Academy of the Adventure Coast will not be a residential facility, but will be a place where adults living with a mental illness will be wanted and needed to voluntarily work in areas such as meal preparation, cashier, newsletter, outreach, maintenance and much more. This will help to increase self-esteem, confidence and stamina as well as increase friendships.” They plan to serve at least 75 members daily and over 300 member annually.
A bill allocating $425,000 to The Arc Nature Coast for construction of their Life Skills Center also passed. The new facility will be constructed at their Neff Lake Campus and will serve individuals with greater disabilities. It will be 6105 square feet under air. One side of the building will be devoted to sensory activities while the other side will be devoted to supporting memory, each with large multi-purpose rooms. On the sensory side, there will be a room for sensory therapy, while the memory side will have a computer lab. The building will also have a classroom, a conference room, kitchen, 4 bathrooms and office space. The project is estimated to cost $1.35 million. The Arc Nature Coast is relying heavily on private donations to see the project come to fruition.
An amount of $75,000 was approved for Hernando County Mosquito Control (HB 4093) in order to enhance laboratory surveillance of mosquito borne diseases in Hernando County.
A failing appropriations request sponsored by Ingoglia was $275,000 for the Hunter’s Lake restoration project. The funding would have been used to remove sediment from a canal leading from the county’s public boat launch on Hunters Lake to the main body of water on the lake. The county has already funded $150,000 for the removal of approximately 14 acres of floating tussocks from the lake, and FWC has funded the removal of an additional 5 acres.
The appropriations bills that did pass are awaiting the Governor’s signature.
Foster was not particularly optimistic. “I think we’re going to see the most vetoes we’ve ever seen,” he said.