No. SB 1444
Filed under Local Government.
Preemption to the State; Providing for preemption of all matters relating to the regulation of religious services and gatherings; prohibiting counties, municipalities, and special districts, respectively, from substantially burdening the free exercise of religion by adopting or enforcing certain ordinances, regulations, resolutions, rules, or other policies; prohibiting a local enforcement agency from denying the issuance of a certificate of occupancy to an owner of residential or commercial structure based on noncompliance with Florida-friendly landscaping ordinances in certain circumstances; waiving sovereign immunity in accordance with specified laws, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDLocal governments statewide lose the power to require building permits for home projects costing under $7,500, or for playground equipment, fences, and irrigation systems on single-family lots, regardless of cost.
After a declared natural disaster, local agencies cannot deny certificate-of-occupancy or repair permits to storm-damaged homes, as long as the repairs meet set cost, size, and timing limits.
Counties, cities, and special districts can no longer use zoning or parking rules to restrict religious gatherings on residential or commercial property, or bar related street parking.
Private membership clubs like golf and country clubs must be regulated the same as ordinary businesses, and home-based businesses on large residential lots gain new protection from local parking rules.
AICounties, municipalities, and special districts may not adopt or enforce any ordinance that substantially burdens free exercise of religion. Religious services and gatherings must be allowed in any residential or commercial zone, and related temporary parking on a right-of-way or driveway cannot be restricted. Conflicting local rules are void.
AIA local enforcement agency cannot deny a building permit for altering, modifying, or repairing a single-family home if the work is completed within a year of a natural-disaster emergency, is caused by that disaster, costs no more than half the structure's value, and does not change its footprint.
AIA local enforcement agency cannot require a building permit for playground equipment, fences, or landscape irrigation systems on a single-family lot, no matter the cost. Local governments keep the ability to require a permit only for electrical work done as part of that construction.
AIA local enforcement agency cannot require a building permit for any work under $7,500 on a single-family lot, and cannot treat a bigger project as exempt just because it was split into smaller pieces. Permits are still required for electrical, plumbing, or structural work at any cost.
AIRegulation of mutual benefit corporations, including golf, country, yacht, marina, and fraternal clubs and similar membership-only entities, is preempted to the state. A local government cannot regulate, license, or restrict how these clubs admit guests or host nonmember events any differently than it treats other businesses.
AIA local enforcement agency cannot refuse a certificate of occupancy over noncompliance with a Florida-friendly landscaping ordinance, if the owner got a building permit for the structure within one year after a natural-disaster emergency was declared for that county.
AILocal governments cannot regulate parking of vehicles or trucks tied to a home-based business on residential land larger than two acres, or regulate parked trailers or heavy equipment on residential land larger than five acres.