Legislative Update: April 24, 2015
It was a busy end of the week, and we’re pleased to report that four real estate-related bills passed both chambers and are headed to the governor:
Flood Insurance
Legislators listened to Realtors who attended Great American Realtor Days earlier this year and passed Sen. Jeff Brandes’ flood insurance bill, SB 1094. The bill continues an effort started last year to establish a private, primary flood insurance market that will provide property owners with an alternative to the National Flood Insurance Program. The bill does this by allowing insurers to offer “flexible” flood insurance coverage that, among other things, may be for an agreed upon amount, cover just the principle building and exclude personal property or additional living expenses.
Tenant Agreements on Foreclosed Property
The federal law that protected tenants in foreclosed property from eviction for 90 days expired on Dec. 31, 2014. HB 779 (by Rep. Mia Jones) requires buyers of such properties to provide a notice to the tenant that has the effect of a lease termination. The bills allow the tenant to remain in possession of the property for 30 days following the receipt of the notice.
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)
SB 608 (by Sen. Kelli Stargel) addresses a number of small but important DBPR-related issues. The bill (1) fixes a glitch in the law regarding how brokers are replaced in emergency situations; (2) provides FREC with the discretion to reinstate null and void licenses in case of illness or economic hardship; and (3) clarifies certain appraiser and appraisal management company recordkeeping requirements.
Recovery Residences
Last, but not least, a fourth bill with real estate implications passed the Legislature on a very busy Friday. HB 21 (by Reps. Bill Hager and Gayle Harrell) establishes a voluntary process for recovery residences—also known as “sober homes” and often located in residential areas—to become state certified. The bill requires the Florida Department of Children and Families to publish a list of all recovery residences and recovery residence administrators on its website, although there are exemptions under certain circumstances.
Here’s the status of Florida Realtors’ top legislative initiatives for the session, as well as other real-estate related bills:
Fees Charged for Estoppel Certificates
After days and nights of maneuvers and countermeasures, SB 736 (by Sen. Kelli Stargel) was heard on the Senate floor this week and passed, with one amendment. The cap that associations can charge unit owners who are current in their assessment was lowered from $250 to $200, and the cap that associations can charge delinquent owners was raised from $100 to $200. The cap for expedited orders remains unchanged at $100, but this is likely to become less important after August 1, when the Integrated Mortgage Disclosure rule becomes effective.
The House bill, HB 611 (by Rep. John Wood) is on second reading and awaits it Senate companion. Once SB 736 reaches the House, the strategy will be to substitute it for HB 611 and pass the Senate bill.
Housing/Homelessness
This week, language from Sen. Jack Latvala’s housing bill, SB 1500, was added to SB 1214, an economic development bill also sponsored by Sen. Latvala. SB 1214 preserves the 65 percent portion of housing funding that goes toward homeownership (SHIP), and also includes codification of homelessness grants. The amended bill is on second reading on the Senate floor. The House economic development bill HB 7067, passed the full House today and is on its way to the Senate, but does not include the housing/homelessness language in SB 1214.
Florida Insurance Guarantee Fund (FIGA)
SB 836 (by Sen. Jack Latvala) has passed the Senate and is now “In Messages” to the House. The bill lengthens the amount of time insurance companies have to pay assessments to FIGA to pay claims of an insurer that goes bust. It’s hoped that this change will attract private market capital to the state.
Drones
SB 766 (by Sen. Dorothy Hukill) relates to the operation of drones, and was amended to exempt a “person or entity engaged in a business or profession licensed by the state” from the broad prohibitions and civil liability included in the bill. While the commercial operation of a drone is essentially prohibited today, this exemption will prove valuable to Realtors, appraisers and their customers when such activities are permitted.SB 766 passed the Senate and is flying over to the House, where it will be paired with HB 649 (by Rep. Larry Metz).
Statewide Water Policy
This week, the House amended Rep. Cary Pigman’s Environmental Control bill, HB 653, to include the statewide water policy language that appears to have been agreed upon by the House and Senate.The Senate’s version, SB 918 (by Sen. Charlie Dean) is on second reading by the full Senate.The bills establish springs protection zones and provide consistency in pollution regulations regarding water flowing into and out of Lake Okeechobee. They also require wastewater improvements to clean up water flowing into Florida’s springs.The House water policy bill passed in the first week of session, just after Great American Realtor Days, and awaits Senate consideration. At this point, the House has passed two versions of its statewide water policy. We expect the Senate to work with both bills this week to create a statewide water policy that’s acceptable to both chambers.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
HB 715 (by Rep. Holly Raschein) was the first Realtor-related bill to pass both legislative chambers and is headed to the governor. The bill allows Citizens to continue insuring homes located seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line or within the Coastal Barrier Resources System when they are rebuilt, repaired, restored or remodeled to increase the total square footage of finished area by more than 25 percent. These properties are currently ineligible to receive Citizens coverage and have no other source of property insurance.
Affordable Housing License Plate
SB 7072 (by Sen. Jeff Brandes) passed its final committee this week. It is now scheduled for second reading on the Senate floor. Its House companion, HB 7079 (by Rep. Keith Perry) has been rolled over to second reading in that chamber. These bills increase the minimum license plates sales requirements from 1,000 to 4,000. If the bills pass, Florida Realtors’ “Support Homeownership for All” specialty license plate would be eliminated if it does not reach 4,000 by 2017 (House) or by 2020 (Senate). Florida Realtors had several meetings with the bill sponsors, but they are unwilling to reduce the minimum sales requirement; they feel Florida has too many specialty license plates.