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Proposed vacation rental legislation fails

Proposed vacation rental legislation fails

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Legislature has failed in its efforts to preempt the regulation of short-term vacation rentals to the state.

During the 60-day legislative session that concluded on May 5, the Florida Senate and House of Representatives both proposed preempting the regulation of short-term vacation rentals (also known as transient public lodging establishments) to the Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation (DBPR).

Doing so would have severely limited city and county governments’ ability to regulate and inspect short-term vacation rentals at the local level. The proposed legislation would have prohibited city and county governments from imposing and enforcing occupancy limits and would have also ended their ability to regulate and enforce short-term vacation rental advertising by online platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

Florida law defines a transient public lodging establishment as any unit, group of units, dwelling, building or group of buildings rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days or one calendar month, whichever is less; or which is advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to guests.

On April 27, the Senate adopted SB 714 on third and final reading by a 28-10 margin. Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) voted in favor of the proposed legislation.

On May 3, the House voted 73-39 in favor of adopting on third reading an amended version of House Bill 833. Rep. Will Robinson Jr. (R-Bradenton) voted in favor of the proposed legislation.

According to Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, a last-minute amendment made to the House bill would have prohibited local governments from suspending for any reason a locally issued vacation rental registration or license.

Proposed vacation rental legislation fails
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy led the city’s opposition efforts. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

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The House amendment resulted in HB 833 no longer being an identical companion bill to SB 714, which in turn resulted in the non-matching House and Senate vacation rental bills both dying. If matching House and Senate bills had passed through their respective governing bodies, the legislation would have been sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis for him to veto or sign into new state law.

Using the city’s contracted lobbyist and the city-owned Home Rule Florida website, Murphy, the Anna Maria City Commission and City Clerk LeAnne Addy led the statewide opposition to the proposed vacation rental legislation. According to Addy, the Home Rule Florida website generated and resulted in approximately 40,000 opposition emails being sent to state legislators during the past two months.

Proposed vacation rental legislation fails
City Clerk LeAnne Addy manages the city’s Home Rule Florida website. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

When contacted Friday, Murphy shared his thoughts on the failed legislation.

“We are pleased that the vacation rental legislation died a natural death. It was poorly thought out and would have been unenforceable by the state,” he said.

“At the same time, we realize this issue will come back again even stronger next year. So, we’re preparing for that fight now. HomeRuleFl.com served a vital role in getting the word out, not just locally, but across the state as well. We plan to expand our coverage over the next few months so as to have greater coverage and an even more diverse universe of users interacting with our website,” Murphy said.

Flag at Veterans Park, Bradenton

Proposed bill threatens freedom of speech

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Manatee County.

TALLAHASSEE – As the Florida legislative session opens this week, lawmakers have two companion bills to consider that critics say would remove longstanding constitutional and judicial protections of freedom of speech and of the press.

If passed, Senate Bill 1220, “Defamation and Related Actions,” filed by Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary), and House Bill 991, “Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likenesses,” filed by Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola), will not only have a chilling effect on free speech in traditional news media outlets but on people who publish their views in social media, according to Bobby Block, executive director of the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation.

“HB 991 is officially called the Defamation, False Light, and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likenesses Bill. But First Amendment activists like me who have read it call it the “Death to Public Discourse Bill,” Block wrote on the foundation’s website news alerts page.

“This legislation would also subject bloggers, community groups, average users of social media – in short everybody who wants their voices heard – to the untold financial and emotional burdens of lawsuits,” according to Block, who suggests that Floridians “protect your freedom of speech by using yours to tell your representatives to throw out HB 991.”

The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a New York-based 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization whose mission statement asserts that it “protects, defends, and empowers public-interest journalism in the 21st century,” views the bills as a threat to a landmark court case protecting a free press.

The 1964 U.S. Supreme Court defamation case, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, “ruled that when suing for defamation, plaintiffs who are public officials have to prove actual malice – that their critics knew their statements were false or recklessly disregarded the truth. Later decisions extended the requirement to other public figures at the center of newsworthy debates,” wrote Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the foundation, in a guest column for the Tampa Bay Times.

The difficult-to-prove standard is necessary, in the court’s opinion, written by Justice William J. Brennan Jr., because “debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide open,” including “vehement, caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.”

In addition to judicial protection, “The freedom of speech and of the press is enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution and is necessary to promote the vigorous dialogue necessary to shape public policy in a representative democracy,” according to a recent article in the Federal Communications Law Journal advocating state legislation to protect those freedoms.

The proposed Florida bills would have the opposite effect.

Bills would undermine defamation law

If the House bill passes, a statement by an anonymous source – such as the FBI’s Mark Felt (“Deep Throat”), who helped Washington Post reporters uncover the Watergate scandal during the Nixon ad- ministration – would be presumed false in a defamation action. HB 991 also provides that a public figure does not necessarily need to prove actual malice to win a defamation lawsuit, which has long been the standard under Times v. Sullivan. It also removes non-elected public employees from the definition of “public figure,” enabling them to more easily win defamation lawsuits.

The bill also extends the definition of “defamation” from traditional media to include any “utterance on the Internet.”

Of particular concern to Florida news organizations is how the bill, and its companion in the Senate, would change how reporters work with anonymous sources.

According to Florida law (Flori- da Statute 90.5015), a professional journalist is “a person regularly engaged in collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting or publishing news, for gain or livelihood, who obtained the information sought while working as a salaried employee of, or independent contractor for, a newspaper, news journal, news agency, press association, wire service, radio or television station, network, or news magazine.

In Florida, professional journalists have “a qualified privilege not to be a witness concerning, and not to disclose the information, including the identity of any source, that the professional journalist has obtained while actively gathering news. This privilege applies only to information or eyewitness observations obtained within the normal scope of employment and does not apply to physical evidence, eyewitness observations, or visual or audio recording of crimes. A party seeking to overcome this privilege must make a clear and specific showing that:

• The information is relevant and material to unresolved issues that have been raised in the proceeding for which the information is sought;

• The information cannot be obtained from alternative sources; and

• A compelling interest exists for requiring disclosure of the information.”

Both the House and Senate bills remove the professional journalist’s privilege regarding anonymous sources in defamation lawsuits.

If passed, the bills would take effect on July 1.

Castles in the Sand

Legislators toss condo rules out

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

For a while there I thought we would have one more headache to worry about in addition to insurance rates and hurricanes. On March 11, Florida legislators failed to reach an agreement on a bill to improve building structures. So, one less headache but far less oversight.

Therefore, let’s take a quick review of what is going on. Because of the Champlain Towers South collapse on the east coast, everyone woke up to the possibility of older condos, especially those on or adjacent to barrier islands, being in jeopardy. Florida lawmakers attempted to pass legislation that would require specific inspections for condo buildings. However, at the end of the legislative session, they were not able to come to an agreement. Some of the legislators cited hardships on condo owners and associations who are not in a financial position to bear the brunt of the inspection results.

These discussions have been going on for a while and about a month ago the Florida House passed a bill outlining measures to help alleviate the possibility of older condo buildings being neglected. It was passed in the Florida Senate to little avail since they closed the session without any agreement between the two houses. This came as a surprise since most of the legislators and the governor expected something to come out of the negotiations.

The House bill stated that condo buildings that are three stories or taller need to be inspected and recertified at 30 years of age. In addition, those that are within 3 miles of the coast would require recertification at 25 years of age. After that, recertification would be required every 10 years. The Senate bill was similar, changing the benchmark to 20 years for buildings near the coast and inspections every seven years thereafter.

I wouldn’t get too excited about the end of this legislation. First of all, it could easily come back in the next legislative session. In addition, it’s possible that insurance companies and financial institutions may now impose reserve requirements on buildings, stepping in where the state official has been absent.

In spite of what happens or does not happen in Tallahassee, Manatee County’s real estate is still rolling along. These are the February sales statistics published by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Single-family homes closed 4.3% more homes in February this year compared to last February. The median selling price was $478,000, up 25.8% above last February and almost the same as January of this year. The average sale price was $693,229, up 25.3% from last February. The median time for properties to get into contract is six days of being listed.

Condos closed 16.8% fewer units in February compared to last February. The median sales price was $325,000, up 41.3% compared to last February, and the average sale price was $371,367, up 36.1% from last year. The median time for properties to get into contract is five days of being listed.

The primary problem our market faces is low inventory which is resulting in fewer closed sales. With mortgage rates going up, that will put more pressure on the market from buyers looking to purchase before they go up even further. According to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, the imbalance of supply and demand contributes to the rapidly increasing prices.

This is Florida, and for all our success in attracting new residents and having improving housing prices, we still have everything related to living on the water to contend with. I predict this isn’t the end of condo recertifications and a review of condo reserves.

More Castles in the Sand

 

Surfside: More collateral damage

 

When will the real estate market return to normal?

 

Feng shui your entry

Castles in the Sand

Florida legislators work on condo inspections

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

At the risk of stating the obvious, we’re living in a very polarized political environment. Everyone in government, national and local, is going to their corner and waiting to make their next move; therefore, it’s gratifying to see cooperation among our elected officials.

Since June of last year when the Champlain Towers South condos in Surfside collapsed, there have been non-stop conversations in Tallahassee, on Anna Maria Island and in other waterfront communities all over Florida about inspections and regulations on how to make our older waterfront condominium communities safer.

A couple of weeks ago, Florida legislators began work on updating the state’s condominium regulations by advancing a bill through the Florida Senate imposing inspections and stricter standards for buildings near the coastline. The bill, SB 1702, was unanimously approved by the Senate Community Affairs Committee as a baseline to attach to other condo-related reforms.

Briefly, the bill would establish a mandatory structural inspection program for multi-family residential buildings that are greater than three stories and larger than 3,400 square feet. This is estimated to affect as many as 2 million residential condos in Florida. At this point, I have not found an absolute clear yes or no answer as to whether three stories is two living levels above under-building parking or three living levels above under-building parking. This makes a real difference to condos on Anna Maria Island and in Cortez, where many are configured with two living levels above under-building parking.

The outline of the state’s proposal is based on Miami-Dade and Broward counties’ inspection regulations requiring buildings 30 years old or older to be inspected and then every 10 years thereafter. Inspections must be done by licensed architects or engineers and the cost paid by the condo association. It has also been suggested that there should be a requirement for minimum education for board members, which I personally think would be a very good idea.

One of the flaws is that based on state law, once the repairs are identified, there is nothing that requires condo associations to assess their residents to pay for the repairs. As we now know, Champlain Towers did have a 40-year recertification which identified major repairs. However, because of the estimated $15 million required in repairs, the condo board and residents took a long time to make a decision for the assessments, which probably contributed to the building failure even after repairs were underway.

As stated, there are an estimated 2 million residents in the state of Florida who reside in more than 912,000 condominium units that are 30 years or older. In addition, it is estimated that there are probably another 250,000 units in the state that are either 20 to 30 years old or more than 50 years old. It is true that non-waterfront condos may have fewer issues as they age, but nevertheless, this involves an enormous number of people and work on the part of the state.

Local incorporated cities like Holmes Beach are already taking some action as far as inspections. And maybe the best way to handle this is for the state to set guidelines to help cities and counties to perform their own inspections.

Don’t expect anything from the state any time soon. It is an ambitious plan with many moving parts. It’s just nice to see government at least trying to make a difference by working together.

Reel Time: Dangerous seagrass bill advances

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Environment, Outdoors, Reel Time.

Florida Senate Bill 198 (Sen. A. Rodriguez, R- Doral) would allow permits that will impact seagrass and allow for replacing them elsewhere in state waters. Why is that a problem?

I posed that question to Dave Tomasko, the executive director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. Tomasko has more than 30 years of experience in water quality assessments and the development of science-based natural resource plans in the Gulf of Mexico and internationally. With a Ph.D. in biology from the University of South Florida, a Master of Science in marine biology from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science in biology from Old Dominion University, Tomasko is uniquely qualified to accurately assess these kinds of proposals.

Dangerous seagrass bill advances
Manatees feed on seagrass, which is theatened by state legislation in Tallahassee this month. – Rusty Chinnis | Sun

“The biggest issue is that the track record of transplanting seagrasses is poor,” Tomasko said. “Even if transplant areas gain some seagrass after planting, those that survive typically have lower densities than what they replaced. Typically, seagrass grows where it can, and for someone to grow new seagrass, something has to change – water quality must improve (very hard) or areas have to be made shallow enough to support seagrass (expensive) or wave attenuation devices have to be installed (also expensive and a nuisance to navigation). Many believe we can’t afford more losses, and so a system that makes it seem ‘acceptable’ for impacts because they can be ‘mitigated’ is not thought to be supportable by the facts or track record of such efforts. Seagrass restoration efforts in Florida have had a history of being both expensive and complex, with few success stories.”

The bill would make the destruction of seagrass permittable in Florida with mitigation banks. The bill might also open the door to allow healthy, undisturbed seagrass areas to be impacted by the construction of boat basins and navigation channels that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) has routinely denied for more than 30 years. There are many other mitigating factors. Considering the massive losses of seagrass in Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay, as well as statewide, and the unprecedented death of manatees in the Indian River Lagoon, this bill seems almost laughable to this author. Besides holding the potential of being a virtual death sentence for manatees, advancing legislation like this is unwise. To advocate planting seagrass without fixing the underlying impaired water affecting seagrasses statewide seems absurd.

Dangerous seagrass bill advances
Seagrass in the Intracoastal Waterway/Sarasota Bay could be impacted by proposed state legislation. – Cindy Lane | Sun

Despite all these issues, coupled with the apprehensions of environmentalists, the bill was approved by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee by a vote of 3 to 2 on Jan. 18. A House companion bill, HB 349, filed by Rep. Sirois (R-Merritt Island), passed its first committee of reference on Dec. 6, 2021, and is now headed to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee.

I had a firsthand experience recently that drove home the potential harm of legislation like this on a trip to the east coast when my friend and fellow conservationist Captain Rodney Smith, of Satellite, took me to a popular manatee viewing area at DeSoto Park in Satellite Beach. The sight of hundreds of manatees grouped together in a shallow canal was mesmerizing. When I expressed my delight at seeing so many manatees at one time, nearby environmental filmmaker Dylan Hansen informed me that just a few years ago there were twice as many manatees there. Suddenly the plight of these manatees came into sharp focus.

Citizens who care about water quality both as a quality of life issue and from an economic perspective must speak out. The best way to do that is to contact your state Senator and your state Representative and encourage them to vote “no” on these potentially disastrous bills. It might have been argued at one time that we need to strike a balance on issues like this, but that time has passed. We’ve kicked the can down the road until we’ve run out of road. Either we take the initiative or we suffer the consequences that inaction may bring.

State legislation threatens ability to adopt local ordinances

State legislation threatens ability to adopt local ordinances

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – City officials remain concerned about the potential ramifications of two proposed state laws pertaining to the adoption of city ordinances and the related recovery of attorneys’ fees.

They’re also concerned about proposed legislation that would limit annual vacation rental registration fees to $50.

Senate Bills 280 and 620 were both introduced by State Sen. Travis Hutson, a Republican from Palm Coast.

State legislation threatens ability to adopt local ordinances
Sen. Travis Hutson has proposed legislation that could significantly impact city and county governments’ ability to adopt local ordinances. – Florida House | Submitted

House Bill 403 is the companion bill to SB 280 and was co-introduced by Rep. Mike Giallombardo, a Republican from Lee County, and Rep. Daisy Morales, a Republican from Orange County.

HB 569 is the companion bill to SB 620 and was introduced by Rep. Lawrence McClure, a Republican from Hillsborough County.

The two Senate bills work hand in hand with one another, as do the two House bills.

Bill language

Senate Bill 620 contains language that says, “A business that has engaged in a lawful business in this state for at least three years may claim business damages from a county or municipality if the county or municipality enacts or amends an ordinance or a charter that will cause a reduction of at least 15% of the business’ revenue or profit.”

According to the bill, a city or county would not be liable for business damages caused by an ordinance or charter provision that’s required to comply with state or federal law; for local emergency ordinances and orders adopted under the State Emergency Management Act; a temporary emergency ordinance that remains in effect for no more than 90 days or an ordinance or charter provision that increases economic freedom.

HB 569 contains similar language.

SB 280 works in unison with SB 620 by providing for the recovery of attorneys’ fees for lost business revenues.

As of Monday, the latest amended version of SB 280 contained the following language: “If a civil action is filed against a local government to challenge the adoption of a local ordinance on the grounds that the ordinance is arbitrary or unreasonable, the court may assess and award reasonable attorney fees and costs and damages to the complainant if successful. An award of reasonable attorney fees or costs and damages may not exceed $50,000.”

HB 403 contains similar language.

For a bill to become state law, matching House and Senate bills must pass through their respective committees, be supported by a majority vote of their respective legislative bodies and be signed into law by the governor.

Bills progressing

On Nov. 30, the Senate Judiciary Committee ruled favorably on SB 620 by a 7-4 margin. Republican Sen. Jim Boyd of Manatee County was among those who voted in support of the bill being ruled favorable and advanced to its next committee.

State legislation threatens ability to adopt local ordinances
Sen. Jim Boyd has already voted in favor of Senate Bill 620. – Florida Senate | Submitted

SB 280 passed through the Senate’s Community Affairs Committee by a 6-2 vote and has been placed on the Senate Rules Committee’s Thursday, Jan. 20 agenda. Boyd is also a member of the Rules Committee.

As of Monday, both House bills were making their ways through their preliminary subcommittees.

City concerns

Anna Maria staff member Amy Moriarty serves as the city’s legislative liaison. Working with lobbyist Chip Case, Mayor Dan Murphy and City Attorney Becky Vose, Moriarty is closely monitoring the 60-day legislative session scheduled to end on March 11.

Moriarty provided the city commission with a legislative update on Thursday, Jan. 13.

“It’s not good. I’m sorry to say Senate Bill 280, after passing its first committee yesterday, was removed from one of its committees and has been fast-tracked,” Moriarty told the commission.

She said SB 620 was also fast-tracked.

State legislation threatens ability to adopt local ordinances
City staff member Amy Moriarty is monitoring the legislative actions. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“These bills are major preemption priorities for Senate leadership. What 280 and its House counterpart will do is remove your ability to set common set ordinances without publishing a business impact statement – and you have to publish the business impact statement at the same time that you post on the agenda that you will be considering an ordinance. Which means you have to have a staff member look at any impact the ordinance would have on businesses – not just the businesses here in your community, but businesses from outside of your community that would come in and do business here,” Moriarty explained.

She noted this legislation would pertain to the annual setting of the city’s property tax millage rate. She also said the city may have to hire an expert to provide business impact statements, and that expert may be called to testify in court if a business owner challenges a proposed ordinance.

“This is going to not only limit your ability as commissioners to set policy in the community, it’s also going to cost a lot of money,” Moriarty said.

Moriarty said there is unfulfilled hope that SB 280 and HB 403 will be amended in a manner that would require a business owner to first come before the city commission to express their concerns before filing a legal challenge.

Vacation rental bills

City officials are also concerned about two vacation rental bills, SB 512 and HB 325, which propose limiting annual vacation registration fees to $50 per unit.

Anna Maria’s 2021 annual registration fees were based on $58.52 per year for each occupant allowed. The registration fee for a one-bedroom vacation rental with two additional guests was $234. The annual fee for a six-occupant rental was $351, and $585 for a 10-occupant rental.

Call to action

Moriarty and Murphy urge residents and concerned citizens to contact state legislators and implore them to amend or abandon these harmful legislative efforts. Murphy said legislative staffs keep close tabs on the number of emails received in opposition or in favor of specific legislation and legislators are well aware of where public opinion stands.

“These are onerous bills, but we are not sitting back and wringing our hands saying the sky is falling,” Murphy said.

“There is a tool to fight back,” he added, in reference to the city-owned and managed Home Rule Florida website, which provides easy access to state legislators and provides templates for email letters.

Vacation rental bills appear to be dead

Vacation rental bills appear to be dead

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Business, Featured, Tourism.

TALLAHASSEE – Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy and City Commission Chair Carol Carter flew to Tallahassee Monday morning, March 2, planning to address the Florida Senate Rules Committee regarding proposed vacation rental legislation.

Murphy and Carter planned to speak about Senate Bill 1128, a bill originally filed by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Miami/Dade, in an attempt to preempt to the state all regulation of short-term vacation rentals and vacation rental advertising.

The House companion bill, HB 1011, co-sponsored by Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, and Rep. Mike LaRosa, R-St. Cloud, aligned with Diaz’s efforts to also require all vacation rentals advertised at online advertising platforms like Airbnb and VRBO to be registered with the state.

If adopted as proposed, that state legislation would eliminate the local vacation rental regulations and registration programs that currently exist in Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach.

The House bill already successfully passed through its three committee stops and was awaiting potential advancement to the House floor for a final vote.

The Senate bill passed through two committee stops and was scheduled to make its third and final committee stop with the Rules Committee on Monday.

Legislation derailed?

Upon their arrival Monday morning, Murphy and Carter learned from the city’s lobbyist, Chip Case, that Sen. David Simmons, R-Longwood, filed a proposed amendment that morning that sought to protect the local vacation rental ordinances and regulations already in place.

Murphy, Carter and Case were present when the Rules Committee meeting began at noon.

To their surprise, the anticipated discussion on SB 1128 was postponed with no explanation after the committee held a short opening discussion about a shark fin harvesting prohibition.

When contacted at 12:17 p.m., Murphy said, “This means they don’t intend to hear the bill today, but they could bring it back up before 6 p.m. We’re sitting tight lest they try to sneak this in.”

A short time later, Murphy said Case and others were trying to figure out if the postponement meant the Senate bill and this year’s legislative efforts regarding vacation rentals were dead.

At 12:56 p.m., Murphy said, “It appears to be dead. Today provides brief relief in defending our rights to home rule, but it’s too soon to let our guard down.”

At 4:15 p.m., Murphy said, “They could have another meeting on Thursday and put that legislation back on the docket. We don’t think that’s probable, but it’s possible. Our lobbyist is on top of it and he’ll let us know what happens. If it’s not on Thursday’s agenda, it’s not likely to be heard,” Murphy said.

The 2020 legislative session is scheduled to end on Friday, March 13 and committee meetings are expected to conclude this week.

Murphy said he and Carter were headed home Monday night and would return Thursday if needed, and if given enough advance notice.

“They could schedule the meeting with four hours’ notice, which would preclude our participation, but our lobbyist would be there. It’s a wait and see situation,” Murphy said.

At 4:33 p.m. Bradenton Beach City Attorney Ricinda Perry received a text message from Bradenton Beach’s lobbyist, David Ramba.

“It looks dead as of today,” Ramba told Perry regarding SB 1128.

Governor’s concerns

To become state law, matching Senate and House bills must be adopted by their respective legislative branches and then supported and signed by the Florida Governor.

On Feb. 24, Gov. Ron DeSantis was interviewed by Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida and asked about preempting vacation rental regulations to the state.

According to the video of that interview, DeSantis said, “I haven’t made a final decision. I’ve expressed privately to some members of the legislature I have concerns about that. We’re going to be in charge of this as a state? For us to be micro-managing vacation rentals, I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do. My view would be, probably, that should be determined locally. That’s where I’m leaning now. I’m going to listen to some more arguments if the bill passes, but I do have some concerns about that.”

Vacation rental bills progressing

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured, Manatee County.

TALLAHASSEE – Two bills filed by Florida legislators during the 2020 legislative session seek to strip local governments of their ability to regulate vacation rentals.

As was the case in recent years, with no success, the matching House and Senate bills again seek to give the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) the sole authority to regulate short-term vacation rentals.

This year’s efforts also include a new twist – providing the state and DBPR the sole authority to regulate vacation rental advertising, with a focus on online rental platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO.

To become state law, matching bills must be adopted by the House and Senate during the 60-day legislative session scheduled to end on March 13.

Bills’ progress

Filed by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Miami/Dade, Senate Bill 1128 was ruled favorable by the Florida Senate’s Committee on Innovation, Industry and Technology by an 8-2 vote on Jan. 13. It was then referred to the Senate’s Commerce and Tourism Committee chaired by Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota.

Diaz

As of Monday, Feb. 3, the Commerce and Tourism Committee had not yet discussed SB 1128, nor was it on the agenda for the committee’s Tuesday, Feb. 4 meeting.

LaRosa

Co-sponsored by State Rep. Jason Fischer, R- Jacksonville, and State Rep. Mike LaRosa, R-St. Cloud, HB 1011 is the House companion to the SB 1128. HB 1011 was ruled favorable by the House’s Workforce Development and Tourism Subcommittee on Jan. 21 by a 10-5 vote margin. It was then referred to the Government Operations and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee and included on the agenda for that committee’s Tuesday, Feb. 4 meeting.

Fischer

Senate bill discussed

When introducing his bill on Jan. 13, Diaz said, “Unlike years past, the goal of this vacation rental bill is to bring accountability over the Florida vacation rental industry by ensuring for the first time that only properly registered and licensed vacation rentals are listed on advertising platforms and that the state and local governments have the information they need to ensure taxes are remitted.”

Diaz said this would be achieved by defining what an advertising platform is and placing those advertising platforms under DBPR regulation. Diaz said his bill would require vacation rental advertising platforms to provide local tax collectors the information they need to ensure that all rental-related taxes are paid.

Diaz said this would be achieved by requiring sales tax registration and tourist development tax numbers to be included in any public advertising of a vacation rental. Quarterly reports submitted to DBPR would also be required.

Diaz claimed his legislation would not diminish the power of local governments to address vacation rental issues because it would preserve grandfathered vacation rental prohibitions or restrictions enacted before June 2011.

However, Diaz made no mention of preserving cities’ home rule rights by preserving the 2014 state legislation that returned to local governments the ability to enact local vacation rental regulations and registration programs, while maintaining the 2011 provisions that prevent local governments from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating the frequency or length of those rentals.

“Local governments can continue to pass good neighbor policies within sections of their municipalities to deal with all properties, as long as all properties in those areas are treated the same,” Diaz said.

State law currently allows local governments to adopt local laws and regulations that pertain specifically to short-term vacation rentals.

Diaz said his legislation would also preserve homeowner associations’ and condominium associations’ ability to regulate and/or prohibit short-term rentals.

FLC opposition

Florida League of Cities’ Legal Advocate Casey Cook is among those who opposed the proposed legislation as introduced. Cook offered the Senate committee suggestions on how SB 1128 could be improved.

Cook stressed the need to distinguish between traditional home-sharing properties and investor-owned rental properties. He said the senior citizen or single parent who rents out a spare bedroom to supplement their limited income should be exempt from local rental regulations, as should other homesteaded properties.

Contrary to Diaz’s legislation, Cook suggested DBPR be authorized to subcontract local governments to enforce state-imposed rental regulations.

“There have been a number of articles showing that DBPR is overworked, understaffed, they can’t meet their performance benchmarks currently on the books and they need help. We think locals are positioned to help them on the enforcement side, on the inspection side and going after unlicensed activity,” Cook said.

“I think that you should clarify that noise and trash ordinances should be applied across all residential properties. That makes sense. I don’t know that it works for parking,” he added.

Cook suggested vacation rental-related fines be standardized statewide and be based on a percentage of the nightly rent.

“The $40 bedroom in Wauchula would pay a lower fine than the $10,000-a-night mansion in Miami Beach,” Cook said.

He also said fines and penalties should escalate for repeat violators, to the point where the ability to use the property as a short-term rental could eventually be lost.

Commissioner shares thoughts on 2019 legislative session

Commissioner shares thoughts on 2019 legislative session

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – On Sunday, May 12, Anna Maria Commissioner Carol Carter provided an email recap of the Florida Legislature’s recently-concluded 2019 legislative session.

“We can breathe a sigh of relief. The 2019 legislative session ended and we are ‘safe’ for another year. Attempts by various legislators to pre-empt home rule of short-term rentals failed. Thanks to all of you who emailed, phoned and wrote letters to committee members – it worked,” Carter wrote.

Failed bills

Senate Bill 1720 sought to expand the scope of Bert Harris claims, but it died without a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee and never progressed any further. Its companion bill in the House, HB 1383, passed through three House committees, but without a Senate companion died before it ever reached the House floor for a final vote.

“These bills attempted to expand the Bert Harris Act and would have created a universal application if a city granted a variance to the private property rights of any one property that variance would have applied to all ‘similarly situated’ properties,” Carter wrote.

“There were also two other pre-emptive bills you helped kill this session: SB 824 and its companion, HB 987,” Carter wrote.

These bills were another attempt by the state Legislature to preempt the regulation of vacation rentals to the state and take that authority away from Florida cities and counties. Adoption of these bills would have rendered null and void Anna Maria’s vacation rental ordinance, as well as the vacation rental ordinances adopted in Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach.

“Thankfully, SB 824 was never heard in Senate committee. It was frightening that HB 987 quickly cleared all its committees, but without its companion bill, it too died,” Carter wrote.

Thank you

Carter thanked Senate President Bill Galvano, Senator Joe Gruters and Representative Will Robinson. The three state legislators from the Bradenton-Sarasota area met separately with Carter and Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy in Tallahassee on March 20.

“All three understood our plea to ‘Let Cities Work’ and allow home rule to be effective. Thanks also to our lobbyist in Tallahassee, Chip Case, who did all the behind-the-scenes work for us in Tallahassee and set up the March 20 meetings,” Carter wrote.

It’s not over

“Those who wish to eliminate our home rule rights will be back lobbying in Tallahassee again next year. The three Anna Maria Island cities plan to take a proactive stance prior to the 2020 legislative session,” Carter wrote.

She mentioned creating “thumb-drive videos” that show the impact of short-term rentals and the effectiveness of the local home rule efforts that in Anna Maria include annual inspections and the mandatory registration of short-term rentals.

Carter’s email expressed her belief that these local efforts help protect the health and safety of visitors and residents alike.

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Local vacation rental regulations under fire again

Bill bans plastic straw bans

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors.

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee approved a bill today that would prevent local governments from banning plastic straws while the Florida Department of Environmental Protection studies the environmental impact of plastic.

Senate Bill 588 would prevent local governments from enforcing existing bans on plastic straws or passing new ordinances to ban them for five years while the study is conducted.

The bill would similarly prohibit local ordinances regulating sunscreens with ingredients believed to negatively impact coral reefs.

The original bill provided that a food service establishment could only distribute a single-use plastic straw to a customer on request, but bill sponsor Sen. Travis Hutson (R- Palm Coast) amended the bill today to preempt local bans instead.

“I just stop at government telling businesses what they can and cannot do,” he said during today’s committee meeting.

Hutson said that children and disabled people need plastic straws at public eateries to avoid choking hazards.

“We need to allow municipalities to lead the way locally to do what they need to do locally to protect themselves,” Laura Reynolds, of the Miami-based Plastics Free Coalition, told the committee. “We have plenty of studies out there to tell us single-use plastics are an environmental problem.”

Holly Parker Curry with Surfrider Foundation agreed, saying that plastic straws are a large portion of the trash in Surfrider beach cleanups statewide.

“At this point we don’t need a study, we need action,” she said.

Deborah Foote, of the Sierra Club of Florida, called the bill “unwise” and “disrespectful to local officials.”

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring has long opposed plastic straws because of their impact on sea turtles.

The Sea Turtle Conservancy predicts that without bans on single-use plastics, like straws and cutlery, there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050.

If passed by the Legislature, the bill would become law on July 1.

Anna Maria Pier rendering rear

State funds will assist with pier replacement

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The $88.7 million budget the Florida Legislature adopted on Sunday, March 11 includes $750,000 in state funds for the estimated $4.5 million replacement of the Anna Maria City Pier.

The 2018 legislative session was scheduled to end Friday, March 9, but was extended to give state legislators more time to finalize and adopt Florida’s annual budget.

Anna Maria Pier rendering front
The proposed look of the renovated Anna Maria City Pier.

During the March 8 Anna Maria Commission meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy told commissioners the city’s request was included in the state budget to be sent to Gov. Rick Scott for approval once legislators adopted it.

Murphy said the city now has firm funding commitments for approximately $3 million of the estimated $4.5 million needed to replace the Anna Maria City Pier and the restaurant and bait shop at the pier’s T-end.

“We should be able to do it for less than that, but $4.5 (million) is the worst case,” Murphy said.

Murphy said he anticipates $1.7 million in pending FEMA funds for pier damage sustained during Hurricane Irma in September, which resulted in the pier closure.

He also mentioned the GoFundMe page created by city resident Sissy Quinn, which lists a $100,000 fundraising goal that has generated $2,380 in donations so far.

Murphy also said pier sponsorship plaques may be pursued later in the year.

“We’re not going carve names in the planks,” he said of the sponsorship packages.

The city has already received a commitment for up to $1.5 million in resort tax funds from the Manatee County Commission and will pursue an additional $330,000 in County Commission-controlled surplus beach concession revenues.

“Our delta at this point, if the other pieces come in, is a couple hundred thousand dollars,” Murphy said of the remaining funds needed.

Whitmore pier funds
County Commissioner Carol Whitmore

He then recognized attending County Commissioner, Tourist Development Council member and Holmes Beach resident and former mayor Carol Whitmore for the assistance she’s provided the city regarding the pier funding. In addition to her efforts at the county level, Whitmore also contacted Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) and sought his support and assistance regarding the city’s state appropriations request.

“I want to thank you for all your hard work. You’ve gone above and beyond in terms of helping us in securing the funding for this pier. You’re responsible almost single-handedly for a little bit over $2 million. We appreciate it,” Murphy said to Whitmore, who said later she appreciated the mayor’s remarks.

Commissioner Carol Carter said city resident Jack Brennan was researching the possibility of historic preservation grants being available to further assist with the pier replacement.

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West Manatee Fire Rescue Administration Building

WMFR commissioners seek legislative change

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News.

BRADENTON – West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioners didn’t get quite what they bargained for when Attorney Jim Dye appeared before them to discuss the district’s practice of offering exemptions to assessments for some property owners.

While the district has historically offered assessment exemptions to all people and organizations allowed tax exemptions, Dye said an opinion from the Florida Attorney General to the North River Fire District on the matter says the fire districts don’t have the right to grant exemptions. Dye said his interpretation of the opinion given by the Attorney General is that the only exemptions to assessments allowed are those for government-owned properties used for government purposes that are not leased. Otherwise, the district could face legal action if some property owners are charged the fire assessment fee and others are not.

Historically, the district has given an exemption to everyone who would be exempted from ad valorem taxes – churches and parsonages, public schools, parks and recreation areas, colleges, hospitals, the disabled and disabled veterans of the armed services. Chief Tom Sousa said the exemptions affect about 200 properties in the district, amounting to around $76,000 in assessments. And now that commissioners know there’s a problem, the practice of granting exemptions can’t continue without legislative change at the local and state levels.

“The desire to do this is coming from a good place,” Dye said. “The risk is an audit if the district is found operating outside its scope of authority or ending in a lawsuit because someone gets a break they shouldn’t have and someone else feels they were unfairly assessed.”

He added that it’s unlikely but possible that continuing the practice without legislative change could open commissioners up to personal liability since it’s on the record they received a legal opinion on the matter. For someone who had the assessment exemption and lost it to take the district to court, Dye said, would place the property owner in a legally indefensible position because of the Attorney General’s opinion. He suggested sending a letter to all affected property owners explaining why the exemptions would no longer be granted.

“We just need to fix it,” Commissioner David Bishop said. “I don’t want to be doing something that I feel is wrong. We need to fix it through the Legislature, not just blindly send people a tax bill.”

“It’s a legislative fix,” Dye said. He reminded commissioners that it’s the state Legislature that created and governs special districts, including what powers their leaders have.

To make the exemptions legal, district commissioners need to do two things. The first is to change the district’s enabling act, which currently states assessments are set by board resolution but does not mention exemptions. A line would have to be added to allow for the exemptions even though exemptions are addressed in the assessment resolution. The second is to petition lawmakers in Tallahassee to change the legislation governing special districts to allow for exemptions. With deadlines looming for commissioners to set this year’s tax roll with the Manatee County Tax Assessor’s Office and set an assessment rate, some people who have never gotten a bill from the district for services may get one this year on their property tax statement.

“I think our hands are tied this first year,” Commissioner Randy Cooper said.

Bishop said that while he understands the necessity of the situation, it still doesn’t feel right to him.

“If we collected by ad valorem these people would be exempt,” he said. “We can’t put our heads in the sand. I think we have no choice now at this point than to assess these people.”

Commissioners rallied around Dye’s suggestion of writing a letter to each affected property owner explaining the situation and how the district is attempting to fix it.

“It needs to be a carefully worded letter to help them understand that we have no choice,” Commissioner George Harris said.

Commissioners voted unanimously for Dye to come back to them with suggested language to change the district’s enabling act and to present for discussion to state legislative delegates.

While the district cannot encourage affected property owners to lobby for change with the state legislature, Bishop and Harris both said they hope property owners will support the district in its move for legislative change.

“This needs action,” Harris said.

Chip Case

Vacation rental bills in peril

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Business, Real estate | Development, Tourism.

TALLAHASSEE – Behind the scenes maneuvering by lobbyist Chip Case, Anna Maria City Attorney Becky Vose and her son, attorney Wade Vose, may have helped derail two vacation rentals bills being debated by state legislators.

Defeating either bill would preserve local governments’ ability to regulate vacation rentals.

During the House of Representatives’ Thursday, Feb. 22, Government Accountability Committee meeting, Rep. Jay Fant (R-Jacksonville) introduced a sexual predator/offender amendment to Rep. Mike La Rosa’s (R-St. Cloud) vacation rental bill, HB 773. With La Rosa’s support, the committee adopted the amendment with no objection.

According to Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, the amendment was drafted by the Voses, tweaked by Case’s staff and introduced by Fant, who utilizes Case as a political consultant.

The amendment proposes that sex offenders or sexual predators be required to register with the local county sheriff’s office 48 hours prior to arrival at a vacation rental and the rental owner/operator would have to notify all property owners within 1,000 feet 24 hours before the guest’s arrival. Violating owner/operators would be subject to fines or the suspension or loss of their vacation rental license.

The amendment proposes that all online advertisements and rental postings prominently display the rental unit’s complete street address and include a link to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s sexual predator and offender website. Fant said the amendment would apply only to vacation rentals, and not to hotels or other public lodgings.

“If this is what we need to do to protect children and make people feel comfortable, we absolutely need to do it,” La Rosa said.

During Thursday’s Anna Maria Commission meeting, Murphy discussed the amended House bill and its potential impact on both the House and Senate bills.

“It doesn’t match the Senate bill (CS/SB 1400), and it’s a very onerous thing for the vacation rentals to have to go through this notification process. The Senate will probably not take that bill up because of that amendment, so we maybe have dodged a bullet,” Murphy said.

With Becky Vose present, Murphy thanked the trio for their “work, diligence and creativity.”

Additional amendment

The House committee adopted a second amendment proposed by David Santiago (R-Deltona) that would apply to all public lodging establishments, including hotels. This amendment pertains to sexual predators only. According to Florida law, a sexual predator has been convicted of a first-degree felony sex crime or two second-degree felony sex crimes. A sexual offender has been convicted of a sex offense involving a minor.

The amendment proposes that public lodging operators must ask at check-in if any guest is a sexual predator. If so, the operator shall immediately inform all the lodging’s other guests.

Rep. Cary Pigman (R-Sebring) asked if this would create a circumstance where he, his wife and his teenaged children are asked if they’re sexual predators when checking into a Disney hotel.

“While I laud your efforts, I get bogged down in how we’d execute this without making Florida the weirdest state in the world to get a hotel room,” Pigman said.

“This would make things a little bit weird, but it would make it safe,” La Rosa said before the Santiago amendment was adopted with no objection.

By a 13-11 vote, the committee reported favorably on the amended House bill and forwarded it to the Commerce Committee chaired by Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton). The amended bill was not listed on the committee’s Monday, Feb. 26 meeting notice.

Homestead amendment

The House committee rejected by an 8-14 vote an amendment proposing that local governments continue regulating vacation rental properties not homesteaded as primary residences. La Rosa opposed the amendment, but said he heard good points made during that discussion. He acknowledged his bill needed more work and withdrew the strike-all amendment that would have matched his bill to the Senate bill – except for the sexual predator/offender amendments. La Rosa’s bill still differs significantly from the Senate bill’s attempt to give all vacation rental regulation to the state.

As of Monday, the Senate rental bill was not on the meeting notice for the Appropriations Committee’s Feb. 27 meeting. The legislative session is scheduled to end on March 9, but could be extended.

Holmes Beach legislative session

Commissioners prepare for state legislative session

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Lobbyist Cari Roth is heading back to Tallahassee to fight for the right of municipalities to govern vacation rentals during the upcoming Florida legislative session.

Roth visited Holmes Beach to meet one on one with city leaders and present her plans to fight against state removal of home rule over vacation rental properties on the city’s behalf. Her goals for the upcoming legislative session, she said, are to continue collaborative efforts with the Florida League of Cities and pursue vacation rental legislation that allows for a grandfathering of “reasonable” existing municipality regulations.

Roth said that after review, she feels the city’s vacation rental ordinance, which requires owners of short-term rentals to undergo inspection and licensing, qualifies as reasonable regulation. In preparing for the January start of the 2018 legislative session, Roth is compiling data from both city code enforcement and the Holmes Beach Police Department on issues found in vacation rentals and officer response to resident complaints.

Other allies Roth hopes to work with to combat local deregulation of vacation rentals are the lobbyists representing the hotel industry. While online rental company Airbnb has put $1 million in a PAC fund to remove local regulations, Roth said the hotel industry is helping to fund the movement to “level the playing field” and create regulations that treat vacation rentals as businesses, forcing them to adhere to the same regulations and tax payments hotel owners face.

Last year’s vacation rental bill, which passed the state House of Representatives by a narrow margin of 63 to 56 votes, has been refiled for consideration during the 2018 legislative session by Rep. Mike La Rosa. With 2018 being an election year, Roth said she expects the topic of vacation rental regulations to be a prominent item during the 60-day session.

“There are a lot of extra politics in the mix this year,” she said.

Mayor Bob Johnson said he believes the key to success in Tallahassee will be having “representatives who communicate well within the Legislature.” He said by working with the feedback received from the previous session and keeping lines of communication open between Tallahassee and interested parties on the local level, he hopes the voices of municipal leaders will be heard by state leaders.

The 2018 legislative session begins on Tuesday, Jan. 9.