SB 1000 – Relating to Communication Services

On Tuesday, April 9, SB 1000 by Senator Travis Hutson (R-Palm Coast) was heard before the Senate Finance and Tax Committee and was reported favorably with 5 yeas 2 nays. AIF stood in support of this legislation.

This bill changes the way the use of public rights-of-way by providers of communications services are governed. Specifically:

• Prohibiting a local government from instituting permits for collocation of small wireless facilities or related poles.
• Deleting the authority for a local government to require performance bonds and security funds.
  • Instead, the bill allows them to require a construction bond limited to no more than 1 year after the construction is completed;
• Requiring a local government to accept a letter of credit or similar instrument issued by any financial institution authorized to do business within the U.S.;
• Allowing a provider of communications services to add a local government to any existing bond, insurance policy, or other financial instrument, and requiring the local government to accept such coverage;
• Prohibiting a local government from requiring a permit applicant to provide inventories, maps, or locations of communication facilities in the rights-of-way, unless it is necessary to avoid interference with existing facilities
• Providing additional requirements for a local government’s permit registration and application process for communications services providers’ use of public rights-of-way

SB 1000 will now move to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AIF supports legislation that will both reduce the communications services permitting process and have a positive financial impact on Florida’s consumers, many of whom are businesses that pay for cable or satellite service.

Proposed Committee Bill WMC 19-02 – Relating to Taxation

On Thursday, April 11, PCB WMC 19-02, sponsored and heard by the House Ways and Means Committee, was reported favorably with 14 yeas and 2 nays. AIF’s Senior Vice President of State and Federal Affairs, Brewster Bevis, stood in support of this legislation.

The bill provides for several tax reductions and other tax-related modifications designed to directly impact both families and businesses. Specifically, this bill provides:

• A reduction in the tax rate for commercial property rentals from 5.7% to 5.35%,
• A three-day “back-to-school” holiday for certain clothing, school supplies, and personal computers, and
• A seven-day “disaster preparedness” holiday for specified disaster preparedness items. Regarding property taxes, the bill includes the following:
• The timing of payments to local governments in fiscally constrained counties and Monroe County to offset property tax refunds granted to homeowners due to hurricanes in 2016 and 2017 would be slightly delayed in fiscal year 2019-20 to allow for the related state appropriation to be based on actual data, instead of an estimate.

SB 1000 will now move to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AIF supports legislative actions that reduce taxes on businesses which allows further growth and employment opportunities.