The Senate has backed St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie’s push scaling back “unintended consequences” of last year’s hurricane recovery law, calling on the House to take action.
The Senate approved SB 840 with a 38-0 vote after bipartisan praise on the floor and repeated calls for House members to take up the bill before the end of Session. A comparable bill (HB 1465) has been filed by Pensacola Rep. Alex Andrade but has not yet been considered by a House Committee.
SB 840 would revise portions of SB 180, a 2025 law that limited local governments’ ability to impose land-use restrictions after hurricanes. DiCeglie said the original law was designed to prevent moratoriums that could stall rebuilding, but its implementation swept too broadly.
“Senate Bill 840 is about balance, clarity and responsible recovery,” DiCeglie said.
“Last year with SB 180 this body acted to prevent local governments from imposing sweeping land use restrictions after hurricanes that could slow rebuilding and economic recovery. That policy was well-intentioned and broadly supported, but as implemented it cast too wide a net and created uncertainty for local governments and property owners alike.”
The bill narrows the 2025 law’s footprint, reducing the radius from 100 miles to 50 miles from a hurricane’s track and limiting application to areas covered by a federal disaster declaration. It also clarifies that local governments may impose moratoriums when necessary to protect critical infrastructure, and make other land-use decisions not affecting hurricane recovery efforts.
“It makes clear that local governments may impose moratoriums when necessary to protect critical infrastructure, including stormwater systems, potable water supply and sanitary sewer capacity,” DiCeglie said. “Public safety must always come first. At the same time, the bill prevents local governments from changing development review rules simply to delay rebuilding after a storm.”
Lawmakers said the bill responds to widespread concerns raised after SB 180 took effect, praising DiCeglie for responding to constituents while still preserving the original intent of the law he proposed last year. It also accelerates the sunset of 2025’s SB 180 from 2028 to this year.
“This was truly an unintended consequence,” Melbourne Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield said. “I appreciate you coming back and correcting that, and I just hope that the House will take this so that we can get this passed.”
Bradenton Republican Sen. Jim Boyd echoed that sentiment, pinning fault for the bill’s unintended consequences on negotiations with the House during last year’s Session. Manatee County is one of several local governments that filed a lawsuit against the state over SB 180 last year.
“Last year we had a good bill, and then it took a little bit of a turn when we had to deal with it with our friends across the hall,” Boyd said. “Since then, you have been so diligent, so helpful, so open to talking to our communities and trying to craft the right fix and solution to the unintended problems that we created. I thank you, my community thanks you. This is a good bill.”
Hollywood independent Sen. Jason Pizzo urged members to use their influence to ensure the measure advances in the House as the companion bill has stalled.
“This is where you exercise a little bit of political will and influence over your House members to get this moving,” Pizzo said. “It’s an absolutely essential bill. It’s a really good one, so if you’ve got any friends over there down the hall, do what you can to get this bill passed.”
DiCeglie said the issue was personal given the impact of the 2024 hurricane season on his district.
“Every time I run a bill and put my name on a piece of legislation, I always want to have the ability to answer the question: ‘What problem are we trying to fix?’ This one was easy. We know exactly what problem we’re trying to fix,” he said.
If approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, the legislation would take effect July 1.
–Jesse Mendoza, Florida Politics
Deborah Coffey says
Credit where credit is due. Keep hope alive!