Public Policy Update
Hello everyone. Another week and another batch of bill signings as we inch closer to the June 30th end of the current fiscal year. All told, the governor signed 46 bills since our last public policy update on June 2nd, including another one of our 2023 legislative priorities, SB 154 – condo safety and transparency.
SB 154 clarifies several measures contained in the condominium reforms that were passed in 2022, such as who can perform milestone inspections, flood insurance requirements, the specific items subject to a structural integrity reserve study, and the resale disclosure requirements associated with milestone inspections, reserve studies and newly added turnover inspection reports.
The governor also signed HB 793 into law which was one of our bills of interest having to do with forced placed insurance coverage. This new law establishes a legal framework for the writing of forced-placed insurance coverage (also known as collateral protection insurance or CPI) on real property in Florida.
Here are our legislative priorities and other bills of interest that have been approved by the governor thus far:
- Priority – SB 102 (Live Local Act): The comprehensive affordable housing bill that was a major priority for Florida Realtors® this year. This bill includes the statewide ban on rent control that we advocated for.
- Priority – HB 7063 (Tax Package): Includes a 1% cut to the Business Rent Tax, bringing it down from 5.5% to 4.5%, saving businesses approximately $260 million. This cut will take effect on Dec. 1, 2023, followed by the planned reduction to 2% in August 2024.
- Priority – HB 761 (Telephone Solicitation): Amends certain provisions of the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) to clarify definitions and written consent requirements to put an end to frivolous lawsuits against brokerages and other businesses.
- Priority – SB 7052 (Insurer Accountability): Contains a number of provisions intended to increase consumer protection and insurer accountability in Florida.
- Priority – HB 881 (My Safe Florida Home Program): Expands eligibility requirements of the home hardening grant program known as My Safe Florida Home and allocates an additional $100 million for the program.
- Priority – SB 154 (Condominium and Cooperative Associations): Clarifies previous condo reforms, such as who can perform milestone inspections, flood insurance requirements, the specific items subject to a structural integrity reserve study, and the resale disclosure requirements associated with milestone inspections, reserve studies and newly added turnover inspection reports.
- Bill of Interest – SB 770 (Residential Loan Alternative Agreements): Created to stop certain very long-term listing agreements that were causing consumer harm. Original bill penalized legitimate real estate practices. Worked with lawmakers to amend the bill so long-standing real estate practices were not prevented.
- Bill of Interest – HB 133 (Fees in Lieu of Security Deposits): Provides the option for a landlord to offer a tenant to pay a fee in lieu of a security deposit.
- Bill of Interest – SB 574 (Termination of Agreements by a Servicemember): Provides clarity about the type of housing eligible for lease termination if a service member receives military orders.
- Bill of Interest – HB 1091 (Licensing Fee Relief): Instructs the Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation (DBPR) to waive 50% of the initial licensing fee and 50% of a licensee’s renewal fee for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years.
- Bill of Interest – HB 1379 (Environmental Protection): Comprehensive water quality bill that focuses on areas of the state with a Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP), reasonable assurance plan or other pollution reduction plan.
- Bill of Interest – SB 678 (Disposal of Property): Allows the Florida Department of Transportation to transfer property to a governmental entity without consideration if the property will be used for affordable housing.
- Bill of Interest – SB 264 (Interests of Foreign Countries): Limits and regulates the sale, purchase and ownership of certain properties in Florida by specific foreign principals, persons and entities.
- Bill of Interest – HB 793 (Collateral Protection Insurance on Real Property): Establishes a legal framework for the writing of forced-placed insurance coverage on real property in Florida. The bill specifies the coverage and premium must be based on a home’s “last known” replacement cost, maintains the separation between lenders or servicers and insurers or insurance agents, and minimizes the possibilities of unfair competition practices in the sale, placement, or solicitation and negotiation of CPI.
In terms of our outstanding priorities, we only have three left to be signed, including the state budget. For a full list of our priority bills and other bills of interest, visit our Legislative Final Report webpage.
Citizens Sees Drop in New Lawsuits
This article was in Florida Realtors news this morning, but I wanted to take a minute to highlight it again as it shows that the steps the Florida Legislature has taken to reduce insurance litigation may be helping.
The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. saw a decrease in new lawsuits during the first three months of 2023, though it still faces a large number of them. In March, it had more than 19,000 pending cases, according to a newly posted document on its website.
In the first quarter – January through March – Citizens was served with 2,229 lawsuits – an average of 743 new lawsuits per month. But that’s down from an average 943 new lawsuits per month during the same period in 2022, according to the document prepared for a meeting Thursday of the Citizens Board of Governors’ Claims Committee.
As of March 31, however, Citizens had 19,627 pending lawsuits – a 9% increase from the same time in 2022.
“As compared to this same time period last year … Citizens has experienced a significant decrease in new incoming lawsuits by over 20%,” the executive summary said. “Meanwhile, pending suit volume has increased by 9%, as expected, as the backlog of lawsuits continues to move through the court system.”
Citizens and other insurers have long blamed lawsuits for driving up insurance costs in the state.
In recent years, lawmakers have taken a series of steps aimed at curbing lawsuits against the industry, including during a December special legislative session.
Of the lowered number of lawsuits in 2023’s first quarter, almost all involved residential property, with two out of three (64%) cases coming from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to Citizens’ update.
Rural Infrastructure and Economic Development Support Bill Signed
On Wednesday, Gov. DeSantis signed House Bill HB 1209 to support rural development and economic opportunity by expanding opportunities for rural communities to be awarded funding through the Rural Infrastructure Fund (RIF). RIF is a grant program funded through the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) which supports rural communities that are planning, preparing, and financing infrastructure projects.
Under HB 1209, DEO will now be able to award 75 percent of the infrastructure project cost. And for fiscally constrained counties or rural areas of opportunity, DEO will be able to award 100 percent of the total project cost. Additionally, this bill will allow more rural communities to apply for funding through the RIF program and remove barriers that currently prevent local communities from qualifying. Read the full announcement here.
Digital Bill of Rights Signed Into Law
On Tuesday, Gov. DeSantis signed SB 262, creating the Digital Bill of Rights. The newly created Digital Bill of Rights includes:
- The right to control personal data, including the right to confirm, access, and delete your personal data from a social platform;
- The right to know that your personal data will not be used against you when purchasing a home, obtaining health insurance, or being hired;
- The right to know how internet search engines manipulate search results;
- The right to opt out of having personal data sold; and
- The right to protect children from personal data collection.
For the full announcement, click here.
Please reach out to us at publicpolicy@floridarealtors.org with any questions you may have.