Miami Rep. Vicki Lopez’s latest bill to fine-tune the Live Local Act she and Miami Sen. Alexis Calatayud passed in 2023 is bound for the House floor after clearing its final committee stop.

Before the House Commerce Committee’s 20-3 vote on HB 943, Lopez made several amendments to the measure so it better aligns with its Senate counterpart while still containing “a few key differences.”

She said the changes that HB 943 contemplates are meant to bolster the Live Local Act and stem the tide of rising unaffordability across Florida, particularly in populous areas like Miami-Dade County where long-term residents are being priced out of their homes.

“Our retirees are having to leave after they have made an investment in living in Florida, but more importantly, our young people who have grown up here and have studied here (are) leaving, and so is now our workforce,” she said.

“We actually have cities who have said, ‘We don’t want affordable housing in our cities.’ What’s next?”

HB 943 and its upper-chamber analog (SB 1730) by Calatayud are the second update to the Live Local Act lawmakers enacted in 2023 to enable developers to build more residential projects that contain affordable housing without having to abide by certain city and county requirements that previously impeded them.

Proponents of the measure, which Republicans Lopez and Calatayud updated last year to include clearer guidelines and special considerations for the Keys, say it’s necessary to surmount barriers born of NIMBYism and deliver much-needed units to Florida’s affordable housing inventory.

Opponents say the changes expose localities to overdevelopment incongruous with their growth plans and give developers too much power while requiring comparatively little of them in return.

HB 943, among other things, would:

— Prohibit local governments from adopting or enforcing any law, ordinance, rule or other measure that limits or prohibits most forms of affordable housing.

— Require local governments to authorize multifamily and mixed-use residential developments on public and church-owned lands zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed use if at least 40% of the projects are rental units offered at affordable rates for at least 30 years.

— Authorize local governments to approve housing developments on any parcel owned by a religious institution that contains a house of worship, regardless of the underlying zoning, if at least 10% of the project’s units are for affordable housing.

— Prohibit local governments from requiring more than 10% of a mixed-use residential project to be for non-residential purposes.

— Require counties and cities to allow construction of accessory dwelling units — independent living spaces added to homes or properties sometimes referred to as “granny flats” — in areas zoned for single-family residential use, and prohibit localities from “unreasonably increasing” the cost to build them.

— Require county governments to, upon request of an applicant, reduce the parking requirement for a proposed development by 20%.

— Require the Florida Housing Finance Corp. to fund housing near U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities.

— Exempt several specific areas — including the Wekiva Study Area, Everglades Protection Area, Florida Keys Area of Critical Concern, City of Key West Area of Critical State Concern — from Live Local Act requirements.

— Exempt contributing structures and buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

— Require annual reporting on Live Local Act progress, which Lopez said will enable policymakers “to understand whether or not we are actually building affordable housing.”

— Allow any parcel previously used as a golf course, tennis court or swimming pool to be used for the development of an affordable housing building of up to three stories in height.

— Maintain local requirements for public hearings over developments that involve the demolition and replacement of locally designated historic properties and structures classified as “contributing” to historic structures in a local property database on or before July 1, 2023.

That last provision earned plaudits from Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who passed along a message of “sincere gratitude” through the city’s intergovernmental affairs liaison, Peter Lissarrague.

“This amendment provides critical protections for historic buildings within Miami Beach’s nationally designated Architectural District, the most celebrated collection of art deco architecture in the United States,” the statement said. “This is a meaningful step in the right direction.”

Other supporters of the bill included the Florida Chamber of Commerce, AARP and real estate company Wendover Housing. The Florida Association of Counties and Florida League of Cities signaled opposition.

Democratic Reps. Kevin Chambliss, Christine Hunschofsky and Felicia Robinson voted against the bill. But Hunschofsky, a Parkland lawmaker who is slated to lead House Democrats in the 2027-28 term, praised Lopez for refining it to better protect historic areas.

“There are still significant preemptions to municipalities and, additionally, the adding of the golf courses and the recreation areas into this — especially where I live, where we’ve had a lot of issues with these areas — leave me to be a ‘no’ today,” she said. “But I do want to commend that certain areas you did make better, and I do want to thank you for your work.”

Chambliss, of Homestead, said he appreciated what HB 943 seeks to accomplish, but smaller municipalities he’s spoken with worry that developers, armed with even more power, will come in and all but take control.

“Unfortunately, developers don’t take an oath of office. They run a business,” he said. “And some of my cities are concerned that if they don’t have an opportunity to make sure that the development is the right development for a city, that gives them pause.”

Orlando Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani thanked Lopez for meeting with her and Orlando stakeholders. While the legislation isn’t “exactly what we all wanted,” she said, it still strikes “a balance between respecting environmental concerns while also trying to incentivize and build housing that’s below market value.”

“I also empathize with the preemption concerns, but I think to some degree we are also combating NIMBYism every day,” she said. “I see it in my district where we have some really great projects being proposed, but then, due to misinformation and other types of perceptions of affordable housing, it gets pushed back.”

Sweetwater Republican Rep. David Borrero said Florida needs to act fast to counteract a troubling population decline in the state’s most populous county. He noted that despite an influx of transplants to Florida, Miami-Dade has steadily shed residents in recent years amid spiraling housing unaffordability.

“That’s very alarming. At a time where more residents are moving into our state, we see people fleeing Miami-Dade County, and the No. 1 reason is because it’s so darn expensive,” he said.

“The No. 1 culprit (is) local governments. They have caused so many people to leave through … onerous zoning regulations, permitting requirements. It used to be that you could get through … local government approvals to build a project within three to six months. Now the average time you’re looking at is about two (to) five years. … This has created a huge crisis.”

HB 943 now awaits scheduling for a House floor vote. SB 1730 is similarly positioned after advancing through its last Senate committee stop last week.

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The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee advanced a measure that seeks to diversify Florida’s energy sources, including renewable natural gas. But it could pass costs on to customers.

St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie presented the bill (SB 1574) and explained that there needs to be a push for Florida to be more energy resilient.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s most recent data shows that Florida is the second-largest producer of electricity in the nation after Texas. In 2024, 75% of Florida’s electricity was generated by natural gas.

“As Florida’s economy, energy demands and population continue to grow, we need to recognize energy solutions that are diverse, secure, affordable and reliable,” DiCeglie said. “Florida currently uses seven times more energy than it actually produces, causing us to rely heavily on other states to fill the gaps.”

DiCeglie explained that to advance Florida’s energy solutions, the bill would direct the Public Service Commission (PSC) to establish an experimental mechanism for energy infrastructure investments in gas, specifically renewable natural gas, also known as RNG.

“This would allow a public utility to request recovery of costs for RNG infrastructure in the state of Florida,” DiCeglie said. “The bill’s intention is to encourage utilities to invest in and advance Florida’s energy resources to be more resilient, while also providing a waste solution that is an economic benefit to its communities.”

One amendment was adopted that clarifies that production of RNG mentioned in the bill is within the state of Florida.

“There was a question in the last committee stop, so that clarifies that, and then directs the PSC to adopt rules that ensure public utility customers benefit from tradable energy credits and tax-savings from these investments and address the revenue from gas sales,” DiCeglie said. “This is modeled after the Virginia law, which proved to lower customer bills.”

Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones raised a question around how the legislation will impact customer bills.

“Do you see any impact on residents, whether or not rates will go up or down with this legislation?” Jones asked.

In response, DiCeglie said that the bill speaks to RNG, which is a biomethane derived from biological sources and organic matter.

“So, this is the first step in introducing a new energy source to the state of Florida, very similar to natural gas several years ago,” DiCeglie said. “So, I think, you know, this does not correlate to an increase in rates when it comes to general electric bills that we enjoy.”

DiCeglie reiterated that the bill strictly speaks to RNG, not natural gas, which is obtained by drilling and the use of fossil fuels and is not renewable.

“It’s a very unique and specialized energy, if you will,” DiCeglie said. “And again, the amendment that we laid out today, really makes sure that the PSC understands the intent of this legislation where if there is an opportunity to decrease the cost of renewable natural gas, through the rate process with the PSC, this clearly lays that out.”

However, in the bill’s analysis, it states in the measure’s fiscal impact statement that public utilities “will likely expand their use and sale of RNG” and adds that the costs would be “authorized to be passed through to the utilities’ customers.”

Jacksonville Democratic Sen. Tracie Davis asked what experimental mechanisms would be used by the PSC to determine rates.

“Could you just take a moment to explain what that experimental mechanism is, and are there costs associated now that the PSC is required to do this?” Davis asked.

DiCeglie explained this is the first step in introducing an energy source to Florida and noted that the experimental mechanism allows the PSC to have the ability to conduct limited scope pilot programs, which makes experimental rates for a limited geographical area for a limited period of time.

“They’re going to get a whole bunch of data from the utility company, in this case, the producer of RNG,” DiCeglie said. “They’re going to collect that data and they’re going to determine exactly what those rates are going to be, where the geographical area is going to be, and as they continue getting that data, they can stop it dead in its tracks if they find that it’s not in the public’s interest or they can continue it because its successful.”

In closing, DiCeglie said this was the third time he has introduced similar legislation.

“Third time is the charm,” DiCeglie said. “I do think this one is even more consumer friendly than the previous ones, and those were really consumer friendly.”

The bill will now make its way to the Senate floor. A companion bill (HB 1239) sponsored by Bartow Republican Rep. Jennifer Kincart Jonsson is currently making its way through committees.

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