With only six weeks remaining in the State Legislative session, the Fernandina Beach city commission is trying to decide whether it should take a proactive role in supporting or opposing proposed bills that impact the city.
Part of that decision also is reaching consensus on positions to take regarding each piece of legislation.
The issue came up Tuesday when City Manager Sarah Campbell distributed a list of 11 proposed bills to commissioners, she said the city should consider taking action on.
In the past, the city commission has only been proactive in supporting legislative bills regarding funding for city projects.
"We have not previously taken a position on any of these pieces of legislation," Campbell said. "It's really the privilege of the commission if you'd like to weigh in on any of these or not at all."
A majority of commissioners favored the city taking measures to make their position clear with legislators, but several needed more time to review the proposed bills on Campbell's list.
"Some of these are very effecting to us, in a very, very negative way. It would be my view that we need to take a more active role," said Commissioner Genece Minshew. "I very much support this list of recommendations."
Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue, who is also the chairman of the local Republican Party, opposed the city becoming directly involved. "I don't see the need for us to jump into the fray," he said.
Among the bills Ayscue doesn't want to become involved with is Senate Bill 1118 which contains a defnition of ethanol as fermentation and not chemical manufacturing. If passed, that would undermine the city's denial of Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) application for a building permit for a bioethanol plant at its Gum Street complex. That bill is among those identified by Campbell and provided to commissioners. She favors the city opposing the bill.
Minshew pushed back with "I firmly believe individuals and small cities we can make a difference. We can charge our lobbyist to engage on some of these and we can engage on them formally ourselves. I'd like to say I'm calling you on this bill as a city commissioner because that's my job."
The city contracts yearly with local attorney Buddy Jacobs as its legislative lobbyist in the capacity of garnering support for bills that include funding for city projects.
Mayor James Antun said he needed more time to review the list of proposed bills and Campbell's recommended stance for each one. The item will be on the April 1 meeting agenda.
Minshew voiced concern over any delays in taking action.
"Tallahassee will be done pretty soon," she said.
Campbell told commissioners she would keep track of the progress of each bill and report back to the commission on April 1.
"Some of them may be dead by then, some of them may be amended by then. I'll give you an updated list," she said.
Campbell provided commissioners with the following list and her recommendations:
HB 503 (Botana) and SB 1196 (Truenow) seeks to cap the rates and revenue of local governments generated by LBT. These revenues play avital role in funding essential services for businesses, including public safety, zoning, permitting, and code enforcement. Additionally, these revenues contribute to economic development programs that directly benefit businesses. Recommend OPPOSE
CS/HB 991 (Giallombardo) and SB 1242 (McClain) require all community redevelopment agencies (CRAs) in existence as of July 1, 2025, to terminate by the earliest charter expiration date or by September 30,2045. The bills prohibit CRAs from initiating new projects or issuing new debt after October 1, 2025, and prohibit the creation of any new CRAs after July 1,2025. Recommend OPPOSE
House Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee heard CS/HB 1523 (Busatta) and passed the bill on a 14-4 vote. CS/HB 1523 and SB 1704 (Calatayud) cap municipal utility enterprise fund transfers and eliminate authority to impose a 25% surcharge for extraterritorial water and wastewater service. CS/HB 1523 is now in the House Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee and SB1704 is still waiting to be heard in its first committee. Recommend OPPOSE
HB703 (Robinson,W.) and SB818 (McClain) revise utility owners' duties after they are notified that their utility is unreasonably interfering with the use or maintenance of a public road or rail corridor. HB703 was heard Wednesday in the House Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee and passed with an 18-0 vote.SB 818 has yet to be placed on the agenda for its first committee of reference. Recommend OPPOSE
HB 1035(Esposito) and CS/SB1128(Ingoglia) prevent single-family home building permits from expiring before the next update of the Florida Building Code and provide that permit applications in areas affected by a state of emergency within the past 24 months if certified by a licensed architect or engineer are deemed approved. CS/SB 1128 was heard in the Senate Community Affairs Committee and passed with a7-0 vote. The House companion has yet to be heard in or placed on the agenda for its first committee of reference. Recommend OPPOSE
CS/CS/SB 184 (Gaetz) and CS/HB247 (Conerly) require local governments to allow accessory dwelling units by-right in any area zoned for single-family residential use, except tor areas designated as planned unit developments or master planned communities. Both bills were heard Tuesday -the Senate bill in the Senate Appropriation Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development and the House bill in the House Housing, Agriculture, and Tourism Subcommittee. CS/CS/SB 184 passed on a 15-0 vote and CS/HB 247 passed on a 15-2 vote. Recommend OPPOSE
SB 1118 (McClain) and HB 1209 (Steele) are broad growth management bills that reduce local government authority over land use and development regulations, favoring developers. A key concern for municipalities is the requirement for administrative approval of certain developments within agricultural enclaves, overriding any local prohibitions in the future land use map or comprehensive plan. This bill was amended to include language that defines ethanol processing. SB passed in Community Affairs 5-3. HB 1209 is still waiting to be heard in its first committee. Recommend OPPOSE
HB 1125 (Owen) and SB1 264(Collins) propose removing Regional Planning Councils from Florida Statutes. This is waiting to be heard by multiple committees in each house. The Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council opposes this legislation. Recommend OPPOSE
SB 110 (Simon) and HB 1427 (Griffitts) invest $119 million in economic development, infrastructure, and housing to boost rural communities, which would include municipalities located within fiscally constrained counties. SB 110 was heard Thursday in the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee and passed on a 19-0 vote. The House companion is still waiting to be heard or placed on its first committee. Recommend SUPPORT
SB466 (Leek) and HB659 (Michael) finalizes the location of the State's Black History Museum in St. Augustine. The Northeast Florida Regional Council supports this legislative priority. Recommend SUPPORT
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