Pasco County planning and legal staff told the delegation that a provision in Senate Bill 180, adopted during the previous session, could be read to preempt local land-development regulations and fees beyond the stated intent to ease rebuilding for properties damaged by hurricanes. County staff asked legislators to consider clarifying language.

Why it matters: Staff said the drafting could expose counties to litigation or prevent enforcement of impact fees and procedural rules; commissioners and staff asked the delegation to review the language and, if needed, craft a clarification that preserves the legislature's intent while protecting local planning tools.

One staff member noted that the bill's moratorium protection language explicitly referenced properties damaged by hurricanes, but that an identical qualifying clause was omitted from other preemption sections covering comprehensive plan amendments, land-development regulations and permitting procedures. The result, staff said, could allow developers to argue the county cannot adopt "more restrictive or burdensome" local rules through a specified date (the statute was made retroactive).

Commissioners asked county staff to send a short memo and suggested drafting clarification language that would carry the motor language into the other sections or correct the drafting omission. Representative Maggard and other delegation members said they would review the proposed language and pursue a fix through committee or deletion if the language is inconsistent with legislative intent.

Ending: County staff agreed to draft proposed clarifying language and share it with legislators and Florida Association of Counties representatives to determine whether the correction could be carried by the delegation or an association-led fix during the upcoming session.