Collier County Commissioners Receive 2022 Legislative Update

John Mullens, Director of Communications, Government and Public Affairs presented an After-Action Report on the just finished 2022 state legislative cycle. It was another busy year as over 3,700 bills were proposed and filed, an increase of about 600 from last year. A total of 285 bills were passed as compared to 275 last year. Governor DeSantis has 15 days from receipt of a bill to sign or veto – otherwise it becomes law without his signature. Collier County was tracking 641 of these bills.

The Environment was a big winner in the budget. Everglades Restoration received $885.9 million and Water Quality Improvement $782.4 million. Also approved was 33 staffing positions for Environmental Permitting to help alleviate the backlog. The Flood and Sea-Level Rise Program received $200 million in Federal Funds, bringing that to $470.9 million in total. Other areas receiving money were the Blue Green Algae Task Force, Innovative Technology Grants for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), Florida Forever Land Acquisition and Beach Restoration Projects. There are also opportunities for additional funding through grant programs set up by the state and Nonrecurring Federal Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds. In addition to money towards land acquisition, $300 million was given for Land Acquisition with priority given to “lands that preserve, protect or enhance wildlife habitats or corridors or linkages, or agricultural or rural lands.” 

There is also $400 million under the Broadband Opportunity Program that will expand broadband service to urban areas throughout the state and possibly benefit our area.

The Florida Housing Finance Corporation receives $362 million for the SHIP (State Housing Initiatives Partnership) and SAIL (State Apartment Incentive Loan) programs plus Florida Hometown Hero Housing Program, a new addition.

Affordable Housing Legislation was passed as well. SB 962 says “notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county or municipality may approve the development of any residential development project, including mixed-use, on any parcel zoned for commercial or industrial use if at least 10% of the project’s units are reserved for housing that is affordable.”

Locally, the county will be receiving $500K for the Golden Gate City Water Resource Protection and Restoration Master Plan. Improvements include septic-to-sewer, well water to municipal water, fire hydrant installation, sidewalk installation and lighting and stormwater flood protection and water quality. The estimated completion date for all these projects is 2031.

The county requested and received $256,436 towards restoration of the historic Mar-Good Cottages in Goodland. Three of the cottages will have their exteriors restored to the 1920’s fish camp architectural style. One cottage will be restored on the interior as well and be accessible for public tours. 

Another local boost comes from the Federal government. The Federal Omnibus Spending Package gave $987k to Phase Three of the Immokalee Community Sidewalk Safety Project.

The popular Sales Tax Holidays for 2022 were announced and approved. They are:

• Disaster Preparedness tax holiday May 28 through June 10 for specified items for families and pets.
• Freedom Week tax holiday July 1 through July 7 for specified recreational items and activities.
• Back to School tax holiday July 25 through August 7 for certain clothing, school supplies, learning aides and personal computers.
• Tool Time tax holiday September 3 through September 9 for tools and equipment needed in skilled trades.
• Motor Fuel Relief tax holiday in October is a tax decrease of 25.3 cents/gallon.

Approved Sales Tax Exemptions include:

• Two-year exemption for impact-resistant windows, doors and garage doors for residential properties
• One-year exemption for babies’ and children’s clothing, shoes and diapers.
• One-year exemption for certain ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators, water heaters, and washers and dryers.
• Three-month exemption for children’s books.
• Perpetual exemption from the sales tax on admissions to Formula One Grand Prix races, World Cup matches and the Daytona 500.

A special guest was on hand to make the official site selection process announcement for a State Veterans Nursing Home. Lance Corporal John Randall Kington served in Vietnam from 1965-1966 where he was shot in the neck and paralyzed. Kington, just 19 when he got hurt, said that the VA “helped him build his first house, helped him get his first car and found him a wife” as he met his wife Patty while in the VA hospital. He was thrilled to present the General Appropriations Act Proviso Language which states: “The department of veterans affairs will make a recommendation on the location of the ninth and tenth state veterans’ nursing home to the Governor and the Cabinet no later than August 1, 2022.” Collier County is being considered and, as Lance Corporal Kington mentions, is “this close to making this thing happen.” The county has already paid for and provided a 10-acre campus as well as agreeing to put 30 million dollars into the process. 

There were some bills that did not make it through and could be brought up again next year. One of importance to Collier County revolved around vacation rentals. According to Mullens, it went “about halfway through the session before it started to die out.” He goes on to say that “efforts to regulate the advertising platforms fell short.” However, there was language in the bill on local registration of a responsible party that he said was “consistent with our ordinances here in Collier County (and) stayed in the language throughout the process. So, we are pretty confident that next time around, that will be included in any draft moving forward, which is a positive result.” To date, the City of Marco has not adopted the county ordinance.

Lisa Hurley, county lobbyist from Smith, Bryan and Myers noted that while the 2023 legislative session will start in March instead of January, the work for commissioners starts now to “develop and bring forth our platform for next year.”