HB 7123 – Relating to Taxation

On Thursday, April 25, HB 7123, sponsored by the House Ways and Means Committee, was read on the House floor and passed with a vote of 69 yeas and 44 nays.

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. 
  
  

HB 7173 is now in Senate messages.

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

SB 1000 – Relating to Communication Services

On Friday, April 26, SB 1000 by Senator Travis Hutson (R-Palm Coast) was read on the Senate floor and passed with a vote of 34 yeas and 3 nays.

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

• Creating a civil cause of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of the right-of-way statute;
• Prohibiting a local government from instituting, “either expressly or de facto, a moratorium or other mechanism that would prohibit or delay” 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;
• 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.
  
  

SB 1000 is now in House messages.

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.