DeBary legislative director warns state bills could reduce city revenue and constrain local land-use rules

Sherry Simmons, director of communications, economic development and government affairs for the City of DeBary, delivered a legislative briefing on federal and state bills that she said could affect the city’s revenues and land-use authority.

Simmons explained the federal budget situation and its local implications: “They passed a very long CR until March 14…What actually happened is something that had the smallest odds, and that is they passed a budget for the rest of the fiscal year till September of 2025,” she said, adding that projects with unobligated earmarks from FY24 can lose remaining funds. She also warned that the FEMA Homeland Security Grant Program was being curtailed, affecting mitigation funding the city had been tracking.

The nut graf: Simmons said proposed state legislation could directly reduce municipal revenue sources and restrict local control over growth and stormwater policy — issues the council will need to monitor as the session continues.

On state measures, Simmons described several bills of concern. She said a set of proposals targeting the business tax receipt (BTR) would prevent cities from collecting more than a baseline amount and would allow the state auditor general to audit cities for compliance. “This bill will prohibit the cities from having an increased total revenue from BTR,” she said. Simmons cautioned that some BTR revenues are being used locally for business grants.

Simmons also summarized bills that would raise sovereign immunity caps (the statutory liability limits for municipalities): “Current limits are 200,000 per person and 300,000 per incident. The current bill would take that up to a million per person and 3,000,000 per incident,” she said, and added that higher caps could raise municipal insurance premiums substantially.

She described a local-delegation bill on stormwater and code fees that “would prohibit a city from receiving state grants or appropriations for stormwater maintenance or repair…until the local government has expended all code enforcement funds and has no excess funds available for stormwater management system improvements.”

On housing and land-use changes, Simmons said multiple bills would expand the Live Local act, reduce local review and public hearing requirements, and lower thresholds for projects qualifying as “live local.” “Previously…40% of apartments or minimum of 70 apartments must be part of the project to fall under this act…now you need just 1,” she said, summarizing language in some drafts.

Council members praised the in-person lobbying by city leaders and asked Simmons to continue close monitoring. Vice Mayor Butland noted the Tallahassee work’s long hours and said the delegation represented the city well. Simmons said staff and the Florida League of Cities are continuing analysis and advocacy. She told the council that some items may stall during budget reconciliation if they are not scheduled soon.

Ending: Simmons asked council members to email for details and said staff will continue tracking bills and grant programs so the city can respond as session activity evolves.