2021 Legislative Report #12 DATE: April 16, 2021

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THIS WEEK IN REVIEW:

There are now two weeks left in the 2021 Legislative Session. Tuesday the 20th is the last day for Committee meetings to be held. Legislation is passing off of both Chamber floors on a daily basis. The House and Senate will begin budget conference meetings next week to start coming to agreements on differences in their respective versions.

The State of Florida is looking to put $115 million into the closing of the now infamous Piney Point reservoir. After making the news for its possible failing and wastewater management crisis in Manatee County, Governor DeSantis is working with Florida Department of Environmental Protection to treat the existing water and then decommission the site. It is a remnant of the phosphate mining from HRK Holdings over 30 years ago. Senate President Wilton Simpson has suggested using some federal funds from the American Rescue Plan to assist with cleanup and retirements of the site. The House and Senate are also in talks to put money in the current 2021-22 budget to start the process.

The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill this week to allow counties to spend some of the “bed tax” money that is collected on issues such as combatting sea-level rise and flooding issues. Under current law, all of the tourist development tax money collected has to be used on tourism promotion, beach improvements, convention centers, and other items that directly bring in tourism. This will allow more flexible spending to make sure that communities can work on environmental issues that affect their tourism economy as well. The Senate version has been stalled in committee.

Senate President Wilton Simpson hinted that there may be a Special Session on a new gaming compact this summer. This week there was a Senate Committee meeting to discuss a new gaming compact that would have the Seminole Tribe restart its payments to the state of Florida in return for certain gaming rights as well as other changes to gaming laws in Florida. Acknowledging the late start this session, President Simpson said that he isn’t sure a deal can be reached before the April 30th end date of Session. When asked, House Speaker Chris Sprowls was less optimistic about the prospect.

The eighth week of Session will begin Monday, April 19, 2021 and the 2021 Legislative Session will end on April 30, 2021

FNPN SPECIFIC ISSUES Each of these will be updated weekly during session