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LTC 079-2009 Reports for the First and Second Week of the Legislative Sessionm ,~.-~1AN11BEACH OFFICE O' THE CITY MANAGER NO. LTC# 079-2009 LETTER TO COMMISSION TO. Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission FROM Jorge M. Gonzalez: City Manager DATE. March 25, 2009 (/~ ~UEJECr REPORTS FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND WEEK OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION The purpose of this LTC is to transmit the attached Legislative Reports for weeks one and two of the 2009 session of the Florida Legislature. If you have any questions regarding the Legislative Session, please do not hesitate to contact me. JMG/HFlkc FticmgrtSALD.CROWDER',Intergovernmental}State Legislative IssuestRepons'~009 w2.doc ^~ b i U -n a :-o •~ _. cn ~-s :1i -v L c' ^e ~~ N J RL'TI_F.DGF., F.CF.;VIA & PL•'RA'ELL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION ATTORNEYS Ai\~ COUNSELORS AT LAW RICI LaRII M-ELLIS !Y)ST OI'f ICP. RO%t.il, )Z70?-Oiil HAROLD F. ~. I'LKNELL AIIIN M. I (1('K\VOOD I I'150UTH S10NROE J'TREET. SUITE !V! MARSI IA 1:. RV1.1: \1:\RTIF P. 1.fCDONNELL IALLAHAS3Et. FLONIU.A 33111 ~1 %JI f:\NY'N. NII'fI El1(iE 1. ST'EI'HEN 11 F.N10N ~-~-----~~~ \1:aGGIE M. SCHCLTZ TELEPHONE (Fio)ti&I-v?Ad ----~---- IELhl01'IER(fiiV)~-'IL6SI5 fUV1:NNMISNT:\L ('ON`. MF,MOR.ANDUM T0: Mayor Matti Bower City Connnissioners and City Manager Cionzalcz City of Miami Beach VIA: E-mail to Kevin Crowder FROM: Gary Rutledge Fausto Gomez Bob Levy Margie Menduni Jon Costello Mamiy Reyes DATE: March 9, 2009 SUBJECT. March 2-6 Weekly Report IONATHAN M.COJTELLO The following rcllects activity which has occurred during the first week of the legislative session on the City's priorities. Condominium Reform There has been a lot of press on the problems associated with condominium foreclosures and assessment fees. Representative Kobaina's bill, IiB 1397, is out. 4i•'e have sent the language to the City staff to review. There arc a number of bills which address in different ways the problem associated with Florida Statute 718.116. We arc following all of the bills and will be discussing the various approaches with City sluff to determine our directions. Tour Guide Licensing City of D4iami Beach btarch 2-6, 2(109 Monthly Report Page 2 Representative Bovo's bill, 555, has been referred to four committees. 1i'e are working to have it withdrawn from one committee. Senator Gelber's bill, 1622, has been referred to three committees. Senator Baker's bill, 1556, has been referred to hvo cotmniltees. Its companion, HB 1361 by Eisnaugle, has been filed but not referred. The bill does several things. It provides for a waiver of sovereign immunity for liability in Bert llarris cases. It shortens the notice period 1'or actions on a Bert llarris claim attd it changes the procedure for determining when a government's final action occurs. We met this w•cck with the League of Cities and the Florida Association of Counties and tvc have an appointment with Representative Eisnaugle for next Tuesday. Vb'e will continue to work this issue. Protection of Ocean Lifeguards 4Vc arc planning to amend House Bill 665 by Busch and House Bill 1 14 by Senator Bullard to amend Chapter 784.07 enhancing the penalties for assault and battery on an ocean lifeguard. Aflbrdahle Housing Surtax House Bill 283 by LoperCamera has been referred to three committees. The companion, SB 1960 by Gelber, has been referred to four cotmnittees. Elevator Retrofit This week, we have met with Senator Jones in regard to his bill, SB 1332. Gary Rutledge also hud lunch with the Secretary of DBPR. Those negotiations went well and we will continue to work on this issue. Anchoring and 1liooring House Bill 1423 by Troutman is the legislative package of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The bill establishes a pilot. program related to the study of local authority to regulate anchoring and mooring. The bill allows for up to five local govermnents to pariicipale in the pilot program but does not identify thcnt. The bill also makes changes to Florida Statute 227.46, boating restrictions, in section 9 of the bill. A similar bill, SB 2618 by Constantine, does not have this language and w•e will be in contact with the FWCC legislative director to work on this issue. Retirement We have spoken to Jim Linn, the City's retirement attorney, in regard to SB 1572 by Deulch annd HB 673 by Domino. Jim plans to amend the bill to decrease the fiscal impact to the state if local C'iry~ of Mianu Bead[ il9areh 2-6, 2009 Monthly Report Page 3 govenmtent police and fire fighters participate in the FRS. We will continue to discuss this issue with Jim as directed by the City artd lend our assistance as needed. Economic Stimulus Legislation «•'e met with City staff this week when they attended a meeting by llEP ht "Tallahassee to discuss the local govermnent participation in the federal stimulus money coming to the state tluough the state Drittking Water Kevolving Loart Progrant. 1~4'c arc expecting connnents from City staff on this meeting and will be meeting with Appropriations Chairman Llorentc on this issue. Budget Issues F.nlertainment lnduslry Tncenlives "The Governor's budget recommends $l0 million for an incentive program for the entertainment industry. The Scnatc Select Committee on Economic Development has released the draft bill +vhich includes language for com•erting the incentive program to a corporate tax refund. The language does not place a statewide cap on the exemption. We will forward that language in the draft bill to the City's Film Cotrunissioncr. Fortcited Property We are monitoring activity on HB 427 by Fetterman and SB 1178 by Olerich which deal with the disposition of liens and forfeited property. As directed, we will support language which donates proceeds froth forfeited property to the State Attorney with jurisdiction for the judicial circuit in which a violation occurred and whose olTicc prosecuted the case. The House Bill is tiled bu[ not referred. The Senate Bill has four committees of rcl'crcncc. Preemption Bills SB 2282 by Bennett prohibits local governments from imposing lases, charging fees or seeking reimbursement costs for certain first responder services. The House companion is HB 1043 by Thompson. RL'TLEDGE, EL'ENIA & PUR:VELL PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIAI-lON ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LA~V SI'1•.I'l llin A- ECF.n IA R. DAVID PRESCOTT RICHARD N ELLIS PUS9'UrITCI•. IIUX 531, 323nL0331 IIAROLU i•.X. PI IINI:LI. JOHN AS. LOCK\\'OOD 119 SOUTH ~tOVROE STREET, SIIiT[ 202 MARSH,1 L, RCLL \t:\R'I'In 1'. NI'1RMnR LI. IALLAHASJE6. FLORIDA 3301-16.11 GARI' R. RUTLEDU'E l 3TGPHEn 11En TUN - --- h1AliOlh. M. Sflll.la'/. TELEPHOVE1A50)451-4?88 ------- IY.LECOPlElt1h30)Ux1.4313 GOVERN>1 EVTAL COFSULTAVTJ' JUn.4TlIAN M. ('US'INLIA h1.1RG\RE'1' A. NI;VUUVI MEMORANDUM TU: Mayor Matti Bower City Conunissioners and City Manager Gonzales. City of 1~4iami Beach ViA: F.-mail to Kevin Crowder FROM: Gary Rutledge Fausto Gomez Bob Levy Margie Menduni Jon Costello Manny Reyes DATE: March 16, 20UI SUBJECT: >\'irch 9-13 Weekly Report The following reflects activity which has occurred during the second week of the legislative session on the City's priorities. Bert llarris bVc met, along with the League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties, with Representative Eiscnauglc whose 11B 1361 removes the sovereign immunity provision from the Bert Harris Act in addition to other changes. The freshman legislator was somewhat surprised by our opposition to the bill. He was under the impression that all parties had come to an agreement on the bill at the end of last session and that there would he no opposition to the bill. 4Ve will follow up with a detail of objections to the bill provided by the City Attorney's Office. Elevator Retrofit We continue negotiating with DBPR in rogard to this issue. City of-Miami Beach March 9-l3, 2(1(19 Monthly Report Page 2 Preemption Bills Scna[c Bill 252 by Constantine, which sets a standard of conduct for officers and employees of local governments passed its last cormnittee and has been placed on the Calendar. The companion bill, HB 1089 by Kiar, has not been heard and is referenced to four committees. llouse Bill 107 by Anderson which preempts local regulation of locksmith's services passed from its trst committee and has liver additional connnittees of rofcrence. lts companion, Senate Bill 1844 by Crisl has not been heard and is referred to live committees. "faxes llouse Bill 385 by Rivera, a Joint Resolution which places a limitation on aggregate ad valorem taxes on real property to 1.3~% of the highest possible value of the property passed favorably liom Military and Local Affairs Committee this seek. It has two more committees of reference. The companion bill, Senate Bill 738 by Bcmictt, is scheduled to be heard in Community Affairs on 3/17 as the first of four committees. Senate Bill 1906 by Haridopolos, which is a Joint Resolution, proposing tax on state and local government revenue and requiring a super majority vote of the electorate prior to imposing new taxes or assessments, passed its first corrunittee and is referenced to four additional. A similar bill, HB 1253 by Flores, is referenced to three connnittees. Retirement Senate Bill 1572 by Deutsch passed through the first committee and is referenced to 3 additional. The amendment by Jim Lim which would elimurate the fiscal impact to the state was adopted. 'the compaction, l1B 673 by llomino has not been heard and has been rofcrrcd to four cornmittecs. This bill would allow local government employees to become part of the FRS. Comprehensive Planning Senate Bill 360 by Bennett was not taken up in its final committee this week. The House Military and Community Affairs released and discussed their gro~ulh management PCB. The House version dismantles the Deparhnenl of Community Affairs and places the Division of Emergency Management under the Governor's Office and transfers the growth management and housing responsibilities to the Department of State. In terms of growth management changes, the House Bill appears to be better for the local governments in regard to transportation concurrency, exception areas and does not eliminate DRis. A lot of slate review Alarming has been delegated to large local governments. On the negative side, the bill does prohibit local governments from establishing standards for security which require private entities to expend funds. The proposal by the Ketail Federation stems primarily from Cutler Bay's recent ordinance requiring security rnnerus for certain establishments. The bill also provides a 3-year City of Miami Beach March 9-13, 2069 Monthly Report Page 3 extension to any construction or operating permit, development order, building or environmental permit or other land use application. Timeshare Resort Taz Senate Bill 392 by Haridopolos which clarifies the provisions imposing faxes on timeshare resorts passed its first committee and is further referenced to two committees. A compazablc bill, House Bill GI by Precourt which has passed its first committee is further referenced to three cotntnittccs. Revenue Stream Representative Bogdanofl; ('hair of the House Finance and 'l'ax Committee publicly oppose) the cigarette tax. The Revenue Estimating Conference met on March 13. Initial figures show a $1.1 billion revenue deficit for 2008-2009. The 2009-10 Budget starts with a deficit of S1.1 billion. Revenue deficits azc 52.3 billion. An additional $1.G billion is needed for Medicaid and prisons. All of this totals $G. l billion. Scnatc Chairs have asked the agencies under their purvie+v to present next week an additional 10% budget cut beyond the 10% cut already requested. llogs in Restaurants House Bill 425 by Plakon +ahich is a general Department of Business and Professional Regulation package makes changes to Florida Statute 509.233 relating to dogs being present in outdoor sections of restaurants. "1'he language currently has a 3-year pilot program which will expire on July 1, 2009, unless changed. The bill removes the pilot program section and leaves the language as a pctmancnt part of the statutes. Federal Stimulus Package The Miami-Dade School District +vill he receiving $100.G million from Title T grants to educational agencies. The Agency for Workforce Innovation in a presentation to the Senate 1Yansportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee reported that they estimate Florida's share of the stimulus package +vill be $2.1 billion. Of this $105.3 million wilt be for early learning services. $1G5 million will he for work force formula grants through the regional work force boards. Boards will have 5100 million for training, S43 million for youth employment and S22 million for one-stop centers. The agency anticipates $I billion for emergency wtcmployment compensation benefits and $345 million for unemployment compensation +veekly benefit payments of 525. They expect to receive an additional $31.7 million for unemployment City of"Miami Aeach March 9.13, 2009 Monthly Report Page 4 compensation administration. The state could receive $444.3 million in unemployment insurance modernization iY the state expands unemployment compensation eligibility. The agency is creating a web page and awaiting further guidance from the federal government.