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State legislative proposals would tighten CRA powers; Martin County staff monitor two competing bills
Summary
Martin County staff told the NAC April 28 they are monitoring two state bills — a House-origin package now part of CS SB 110 and a separate Senate bill (SB 1242) — that would change CRA governance, activities and sunset provisions.
Susan Correia of the Office of Community Development briefed the advisory body April 28 on two state legislative measures under consideration that would change how CRAs operate in Florida.
"We have 2 bills, 1 was House Bill 9 91," Correia said, adding that the House measure had been amended and is now packaged as CS SB 110. She said the House-origin measure includes broad changes that would restrict some CRA activities and that the Senate bill (SB 1242) contains different, more favorable provisions for existing CRAs.
Key provisions described by staff
- Governance and membership: the Senate bill would require CRA governing-board membership to be the county commissioners for new CRAs, with the commissioners allowed to appoint two additional community members; staff emphasized that CRAs already in existence as of 2025-10-01 (Martin County's CRA is already established) would not be required to restructure.
- Limits on CRA activities: under the proposed changes, CRAs would be restricted from amending or modifying redevelopment plans related to boundary increases or time extensions; CRAs would also be barred from directly or indirectly sponsoring festivals, concerts, parades or similar events.
- Termination/time-certain provisions: Correia explained that a provision would require CRAs to terminate on the time certain specified in their authorizing documents rather than allowing some of the prior longer sunset options; Martin County received a 10-year extension in 2018 and staff said that extension remains valid under the discussed language.
Staff context and next steps
Correia said the bills were still in flux late in session and that the main legislative focus remained the state budget. She said the county has advocated with lawmakers and engaged a lobbyist; staff do not expect immediate changes to the county's existing CRA governance because Martin County's extension pre-dates the effective-change date described in the Senate draft.
"The senate bill is really much, much better for us, certainly," Correia said, while noting the House-origin package would be more disruptive to CRA operations if adopted in that form. Staff advised the advisory council that outcomes could still change in the final days of session.
Ending: Staff said they will continue to track the bills and provide updates; advisory members asked whether there were actions they could take to influence the outcome and staff said they had already engaged senators and the county lobbyist.
