from Florida Home Builders Association
The Florida Home Builders Association says it achieved almost its entire legislative agenda, including promoting the passage of bills that increase fines, penalties, and enforcement actions against unlicensed contractors and allocate $250,000 to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to conduct stings and sweeps in search of unlicensed activity.
According to FHBA Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Zac Extejt of Port Charlotte and chief lobbyist Doug Buck, the session's biggest disappointment was the Legislature's annual sweep of Sadowski Act funds earmarked for affordable housing, an issue that could become the cornerstone of FHBA's 2014 legislative agenda.
However, the FHBA did well, and victories include:
• Change the state's drug re-packaging law in a way that should save businesses about 1 percent on their workers compensation rates.
• Save remodelers the time and expense related to receiving Department of Health approval when a small remodeling job does not require expansion of a septic tank system.
• Speed up the mortgage foreclosure process, leading to a reduced inventory of distressed properties and a more favorable environment for new home sales.
• Preempt local "sick leave" ordinances and relieves employers of the burden of providing sick leave to non-fulltime employees.
• Better define the calculations for determining transportation concurrency, mobility fees, and proportionate share aspects of growth management regulations, allowing developers to more effectively "pay as they go."
• Prohibit local governments from passing "Baby Hometown" laws that would require voter referenda on comp plan and land use changes.
• Set aside $40 million in down payment assistance from funds from a national mortgage fraud settlement (although the funds are limited to existing homes).
• Create new rules governing home owners associations.
• Fund statewide building code education ($925,000) and the training for the next generation of construction professionals ($250,000 for the Future Builders of America program) barring any line-item vetoes by Governor Rick Scott.