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Martin County commissioners weigh lawsuit over Senate Bill 180, staff urges push for ‘glitch’ fixes
Summary
County staff briefed commissioners on operational impacts of Senate Bill 180 and recommended pursuing a legislative “glitch” bill to fix problematic sections; some municipalities are joining a lawsuit but the board did not vote to join.
Martin County commissioners discussed potential legal and legislative responses to Florida’s Senate Bill 180 during their Sept. 23 meeting, with staff recommending crafting a legislative “glitch” bill rather than immediately joining a statewide lawsuit.
County staff said they had identified provisions in SB 180 that could interfere with the county’s floodplain and CRS (Community Rating System) obligations to FEMA and that some sections could limit the county’s ability to adopt more restrictive local land‑use or stormwater regulations after the statute’s effective dates. Staff asked the board to make those changes a legislative priority and work with the county’s delegation this winter.
The county attorney’s office reported that a coalition of municipalities and two counties is organizing litigation challenging parts of SB 180 and that a local government law firm has been coordinating the effort. The county attorney said the lawsuit organizers were seeking injunctive relief and that initial participation would carry an up‑front cost for municipalities (summarized in the meeting as about $10,000 to join the initial filing and $5,000 for each appeal stage).
Commissioners debated outcomes and timing. Commissioner Hetherington and others urged an aggressive push with the county’s legislative delegation to pursue corrective language in the next legislative session, saying a “glitch” bill is a common method to fix items in recently enacted laws. Commissioner Campe (pronunciation in the record varies) and another commissioner said they preferred not to commit county funds to litigation at this time and favored trying the legislative route first; staff noted that lawsuit participation likely could still be considered later if a legislative fix fails.
No formal motion was made to join the pending lawsuit during the meeting. Instead, staff will proceed to work with the county’s legislative delegation on specific statutory language changes and return to the board as that work advances.
The discussion included repeated references to the balance between preserving local home‑rule authority and maintaining compliance with state and federal programs; commissioners asked staff to identify precise statutory sections that would need amendment and to quantify operational impacts before any vote to join litigation.
