Florida Could Block Tougher Hurricane Building Rules
By Giulia Carbonaro
Anew bill moving through the Florida legislature wants to give developers in the state more time to adapt to stricter rules about rebuilding after hurricanes—even if that means further delaying better protection for homeowners' properties.
Why It Matters
No state in the country is more vulnerable to devastating hurricanes than Florida. With climate change making extreme weather events more frequent and more severe, residents of the Sunshine State are facing a growing risk of being hit by natural disasters that could destroy or significantly damage their homes. This same threat is bringing up home insurance premiums in the state, as carriers transfer higher costs to customers.
This two-front crisis has left lawmakers in Tallahassee effectively trying to put out several fires at the same time, as they attempt to immediately help residents struggling with rising costs while stabilizing the fragile home insurance industry and housing market and finding a long-term solution to a problem that is only likely to exacerbate in the coming years.
What To Know
Senate Bill 180, which passed both the Florida House and Senate with nearly unanimous support, tries to "bolster hurricane relief and recovery and enhance response efforts" in the state, according to a Senate press release issued on May 2.
Its declared goal is to streamline the permitting system for rebuilding homes after a hurricane "to ensure families can make the repairs they need without being hit with a higher tax bill," while also increasing disaster management planning, emergency resource coordination, and financial transparency.
But the bill would also prevent local governments in Florida from adopting any amendment that could impose tougher rules to rebuilding stronger structures after a hurricane for two years. If signed into law, the provision would apply retroactively from August 1, 2024, through October 1, 2027.
Aerial View Hurricane Florida
An aerial view of a home sitting on a road on October 13, 2024, in Manasota Key, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Under part of the bill, cities and counties identified by the federal government as disaster areas for Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton won't be able to adopt stricter legislation about where and how to rebuild after a storm hits.
Another part of the bill wants to stop local governments listed in a federal disaster declaration and located within 100 miles of a hurricane's path from introducing tougher regulations within a year after a storm strikes their communities.
That means that, within that same time frame, developers would be allowed to rebuild destroyed or damaged homes under the same codes that had failed to build properties strong enough to withstand a hurricane. Under the bill, local governments could also be sued by developers if they try to introduce changes considered "burdensome or restrictive."
State Representative Fiona McFarland of Sarasota, a Republican, told the Miami Herald that the bill is meant to avoid overregulation after a hurricane.
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"When there's a tragedy, people demand action. Lawmakers and policymakers sometimes feel that they need to pass a law to prevent this from ever happening again." she told the newspaper.
"For one year after a disaster, let's take a pause. That's what the thinking was."
What People Are Saying
Paul Owens, president of nonprofit organization 1000 Friends of Florida, said in a recent opinion piece: "We'll give legislators the benefit of the doubt, and assume they didn't realize the deeply damaging impact of this provision when they voted for the bill. After all, the final version is 48 pages, with nearly 1,400 lines of text. And it was amended no less than 10 times between its introduction and final passage, likely making its details a mystery to many of the members who voted to approve it.
"This is but one example of the deeply flawed process that repeatedly leads to laws laced with unintended consequences."
State Senator Nick DiCeglie, a Republican representing Indian Rocks Beach, said in a press release: "Multiple major hurricanes ravaged Florida last year, leaving extensive damage statewide. After a storm, Floridians need a clear path to recovery.
"We're fighting for families to focus on rebuilding without additional delays or burdens, especially for those who sustained damage or lost their homes. Working with our state and local emergency responders, we can streamline restoration efforts and improve emergency response coordination, fortifying and strengthening our communities before the next storm."
President of the Florida Senate Ben Albritton said in a press release: "Florida has set a high bar as the nation's model in storm response and recovery, It's a testament to our first responders and emergency personnel, as well as the strength and resilience of Floridians in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. We can always do better.
"We are incorporating lessons learned and identifying new opportunities to support community restoration and enhance disaster management through proactive planning and coordination. Through these initiatives, Floridians can focus on what matters most: rebuilding their homes, their lives, and their communities."
What Happens Next
Critics of the new bill have expressed concerns that local governments won't be allowed to implement changes that would protect their communities from the growing risk of natural disasters.
But its supporters, including its sponsors, say that the bill won't have a negative impact on local governments' ability to control development in their territory and the legislation can be fixed in the next session.
"We're back in session in January. If OPPAGA [the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability] comes up with some alternative ideas for local governments to make changes to their comp plans, I'm absolutely open to making changes," DiCeglie told the Miami Herald.
"I'm not convinced that this is going to have a significant negative impact on the ability of local governments to deal with development."
The bill is now headed to Governor Ron DeSantis' desk.
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