2015 Florida Legislative Session Wrap-Up

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About Jack Berlin

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2015 Florida 
Legislative 
Session 
Wrap-Up
May 2015
Dear Fellow Taxpayer,
Each spring, the elected members of the Florida Legislature return to Tallahassee 
to perform their roles as the representatives of the people of the Sunshine State. 
Surrounded by interest groups both large and small, regular citizens and high-powered 
lobbyists, our senators and representatives propose and debate new laws and attempt to 
meet the needs of their constituents. 
The 2015 Regular Session will be remembered as a unique one, with an unusual 
ending that has not been seen in Florida in decades.  On top of the progress of many 
bills coming to an abrupt end, the Legislature failed to pass its only required piece of 
legislation: a budget.
During Session, Florida TaxWatch provides on our website the public a weekly recap of 
bills related to the issues that we are following, including economic development, health 
care, criminal and juvenile justice, and education policies and programs. 
This publication is a final look at the legislation followed by TaxWatch this Session, but 
does not address the budget, which is scheduled to be completed by the Legislature in 
June.
For more information on any research topic highlighted in this publication, please visit 
http://www.floridataxwatch.org. 
Sincerely,
Dominic M. Calabro 
President & CEO
1
Introduction
The 2015 Legislative Session was certainly not a 
normal one.  The session effectively ended three 
days early when the House unexpectedly declared 
â€œsine dieâ€ and went home, leaving a lot of work 
undone and creating more acrimony among 
lawmakers.  Senate Democrats even asked the 
Supreme Court to compel the House to return, 
claiming the Houseâ€™s unilateral adjournment 
violated the Florida Constitution, with which 
the Court ultimately agreed on principle, but 
acknowledged that there was little that could be 
done about it, as Session was set to end on the day 
of its ruling regardless.
It was already apparent that the one job the 
Legislature is required to do, the budget, was not 
going to get done on time and a special session 
would be needed.  The main reasons for the budget 
stalemate, Medicaid expansion and federal funding 
of the Low-Income Pool to reimburse hospitals for 
indigent care, seemed no closer to a compromise.  It 
was expected lawmakers would finish most of the 
policy work, but most of the major issues remain 
unresolved, including many priorities of the two 
chambersâ€™ leadership.  
Prison reform, a statewide water policy, the 
implementation of Amendment 1, and more 
opportunities for persons with disabilities are just a 
few of the issues on which some kind of resolution 
was expected.  Omnibus legislation (or â€œtrainsâ€) in 
areas such as education, health and human services 
and economic development also withered on the 
vine, killing many separate issues.   
 
A final tax cut package was also not passed.  
While taxes will certainly be part of the budget 
negotiations in special session, tax cuts are no 
longer a sure thing this year.
The Legislature did manage to pass 231 bills (the 
fewest since at least 2000).  A number of bills 
addressing Florida TaxWatch recommendations 
were considered and some were passed, including 
bills advancing justice reform, a first step in local 
pension reform and several measures relating to 
cost savings, and accountability recommendations.  
In addition, if there is ultimately an agreement on a 
tax cut package, a reduction in the communications 
services tax, a Florida TaxWatch priority, 
will likely be part of it.  There were also some 
disappointments, as state pension reform and the 
collection of sales taxes on remote sales were again 
not addressed.  Other Florida TaxWatch-supported 
measures, including bills relating to flexibility 
under the class size amendment, telehealth, medical 
tourism, justice reform, and enterprise zones 
advanced but ultimately did not pass.
The Legislature will return to Tallahassee on June 1 
and leaders expect to finish their work by June 20, 
just 10 days before the start of the new fiscal year.  
The official proclamation, which will enumerate the 
issue that can be considered, has yet to be released.  
The special session will likely be mostly limited 
to the budget and the budget implementing and 
conforming bills, but more issues could be added.  
Other unresolved issues that have a bearing on the 
budget may find their way into conforming bills.  
Past legislatures have shown that the definition of 
â€œconformingâ€ may be broadly construed.
2
Informal, behind-the-scenes negotiations will be 
taking place over the next couple of weeks, as at 
least a basic framework needs to be agreed upon 
prior to the start of the special session.  Smooth 
sailing is not assured.  The Senate wants to include 
a debate on health care expansion in the session, 
the House wants to exclude it, and neither side has 
a shown any softening of its position.
The following is a summary of the final results 
for legislation of interest to Florida TaxWatch 
and its Centers for Educational Performance & 
Accountability, Health & Aging, Smart Justice, 
Competitive Florida and Government Efficiency.
Taxes
Very few tax bills passed this session.  However, 
while now in doubt, tax cuts are still alive.  While 
no tax package was approved by the Legislature, 
tax cuts will certainly be part of the special session 
budget negotiations. 
Passed 
Corporate Income Tax â€œPiggy-Backâ€ - Florida 
uses federal taxable income as the starting point 
for determining corporate income tax liability.Â  
The Legislature passes an annual â€œpiggybackâ€ 
bill to conform to any changes in the federal tax 
code.Â  The federal Tax Increase Prevention Act 
of 2014 extended two deductions: an increase in 
the first-year expensing deduction from $25,000 
to $500,000 and a 50 percent bonus depreciation 
deduction.Â  Adopting these changes would have 
cost Florida $180 million in FY 2015-16, with 
revenue being recouped subsequent years.  The 
Legislature chose to â€œde-coupleâ€ Floridaâ€™s tax 
code from these federal changes.Â  HB 7009 
requires Florida taxpayers to add-back the federal 
deductions and then subtract from income one-
seventh of these amounts in the next six years.Â  The 
existing federal deductions are treated this way.Â  
Value Adjustment Board (VAB) Petitions â€“ 
Making a minor but worthwhile change, HB 489 
allows a taxpayer to include multiple items of 
substantially similar tangible personal property on 
a single VAB petition and to pay a single petition 
filing fee.Â  Substantial VAB reform was a victim of 
the sudden House adjournment (see below).
Did Not Pass
Tax Cuts â€“ The House passed a $689.2 million 
tax cut package: HB 7141.Â  The Senate did not 
produce a tax package, citing the budget stalemate; 
however, the Senate did advance several tax 
reduction bills.Â  The centerpiece of the House 
proposal is a $470.5 million reduction in the 
communications services tax, a long-time 
Florida TaxWatch recommendation.Â  Other 
provisions supported by Florida TaxWatch 
research include a reduction in the sales tax 
on commercial leases and an increase in the 
research and development tax credit.Â  The 
package also includes three different sales tax 
holidays.Â  The rest is a patchwork of many different 
tax cuts, some of them very small and many that 
had not yet been part of any legislation.Â  A final 
tax cut package will likely be part of the budget 
conference negotiations.  To review the provisions 
of the House tax package (and any Senate action 
on those provisions) see Appendix A.
3
Sales Tax Exemption for Manufacturing 
Machinery and Equipment - The 2013 
Legislature passed a three-year exemption, set 
to expire April 30, 2017.Â  SB 544 and HB 613 
would have made the exemption permanent. This 
is a long-standing recommendation of Florida 
TaxWatch.Â  Recurring tax savings were expected to 
be $142.5 million annually.  This exemption is not 
part of the House tax cut package.Â Â Both bills died 
in committee.
Collection of Sales Taxes on Remote Sales: Once 
again, the Legislature failed to address the non-
collection of sales taxes on sales to Floridians by 
out-of-state sellers, a situation that hurts Florida 
retailers.  Florida TaxWatch has been researching 
this issue and recommending solutions for 
more than 10 years. Â  Many bills have been filed 
to help address this over the years.Â  This year, SB 
310 would have brought Florida fully into the 
Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which 
provides an opportunity for Florida to begin 
collecting money from a compact of sellers that 
voluntarily collect the tax.Â  HB 101 would have 
expanded nexus over remote retailers, requiring 
more retailers to collect tax on sales to Floridians.Â  
HB 1265 was a memorial urging Congress to 
support the Marketplace Fairness Act.Â  None of 
these bills were heard this session. 
Corporate Income Tax Reduction - HB 49 
and SB 138 would have increased the standard 
corporate income tax exemption from $50,000 
to $75,000, as was recommended by Governor 
Scott.Â  The exemption was increased from 
$5,000 to $25,000 in 2011 and to $50,000 in 
2013.Â  This higher exemption would eliminate 
corporate income taxes for 2,189 out of 9,934 
taxpayers (22.0 percent), and save $18.7 million 
annually.Â  This is not part of the House tax 
package.  SB 138 passed two committees and 
died in Appropriations.Â  HB 49 was not heard in 
committee.
Value Adjustment Boards (VAB) - HB 695 
and SB 972 would have made several Florida 
TaxWatch-supported changes to the VAB process 
including: taxpayers must sign the petition, interest 
on assessment and refunds would change from 
12 percent to the prime rate and all VAB petitions 
must be resolved by June 1 annually, unless the 
countyâ€™s petitions increased by more than 10 
percent.Â  HB 695 also would have changed the 
composition of VABs from county commissioners, 
school board members, and citizen members to all 
citizen residents of the county appointed by their 
legislative delegation.Â  This is an attempt to remove 
the conflict of interest created by the current 
composition which allows those who benefit from 
higher assessments to make the decisions. Both 
bills were passed by their respective chambers, but 
because of differences, both bills died.
Aviation Fuel â€“ HB 595 and SB 722 would have 
reduced the tax on aviation fuel from 6.9 cents per 
gallon to 5.4 cents per gallon, beginning July 1, 
2018.Â  Also, the bills would eliminate a refund of all 
aviation fuel taxes paid by transcontinental airlines 
that created a certain number of jobs.Â  The idea is 
that the two changes together would be revenue 
neutral and that all airlines would benefit from 
lower taxes.  However, at its last committee stop, 
SB 722 was amended to expand the current refund 
to include at least one other airline, which would 
4
reduce revenues until the refund expired in three 
years.  HB 595 was approved by the full House. Â  
SB 722 died in the Appropriations Committee.
Law Enforcement Services Special Assessment 
-Â SB 780 and HB 919 would have allowed the 
governing body of a municipality to levy this 
assessment to fund all or a portion of its costs of 
providing law enforcement services if the property 
tax millage is reduced by a similar amount.Â  SB 780 
limited the assessment to $200 per parcel.Â   SB 780 
died on second reading.  HB 919 died in the Local 
and Federal Affairs Committee.
The following bills passed one committee, but went no 
further: 
Save Our Homes (SOH) â€œGlitchâ€ Bill - SJR1142 
was a proposed constitutional amendment to 
repeal the recapture provision which allows the 
assessed value of homestead property to increase 
by the SOH cap, even if the market value falls, 
provided that the assessed value does not exceed 
the just value.Â  
Direct Mail Advertising (DMA)- SB 858 would 
have created a sales tax exemption for DMA goods 
and services.Â  
Renewable Energy Source Devices - SJR 400 
and HJR 865 proposed an amendment to the 
state Constitution that would exempt the assessed 
value of these devices from the tangible personal 
property tax and allow the Legislature, by general 
law, to prohibit consideration of the installation of 
such device in determining the assessed value for 
real property taxes.Â It would expire December 31, 
2036.Â  
Property Tax Discount for Spouse of Disabled 
Veterans - SJR 910 proposed an amendment 
to the state Constitution to authorize the living 
spouse of a deceased veteran, who upon death was 
aged 65 or older, partially or permanently disabled 
as a result of combat, and honorably discharged, 
to keep the discount on ad valorem taxes currently 
afforded the veteran.Â  
Low Income Elderly Homestead Exemption 
- SJR 652 proposed an amendment to the state 
Constitution that would revise the current 
homestead tax exemption for low-income, elderly 
people that have lived in their home for at least 
25 years.Â  The current exemption is 100 percent 
of the assessed value of a homestead with a just 
value less than $250,000.Â  The amendment would 
lock in the just value of the home to its value when 
the exemption is originally applied for, meaning 
the taxpayer would not lose the exemption due to 
rising value.Â  
Food Desert Tax Credit - SB 610 provided an 
income tax credit for grocery businesses that sell 
nutrient-dense food items in areas designated as 
food deserts.Â  The credit would be equal to 20 
percent of its annual sales.Â  
For a summary of tax bills that were filed but not 
heard this session see Appendix B. 
5
Economic 
Development
Passed 
Freight Mobility and Logistics - HB 257Â defines 
a freight logistics zone and allows a county, or 
two or more contiguous counties, to designate 
one. Projects within freight logistics zones, 
which are consistent with the Department of 
Transportationâ€™s Freight Mobility and Trade Plan, 
may be eligible for priority in state funding and 
certain incentive programs.Â Â  Florida TaxWatch 
research has highlighted the importance of 
freight mobility to Floridaâ€™s economy.
Did Not Pass
Start-up and Second-stage Companies â€“ HB 
7067 would have created the â€œStartup Florida 
Initiative,â€ which would encourage start-up and 
second-stage company growth. Prior to the 
session, Florida TaxWatch released a report 
that highlighted the benefits of second-stage 
companies, including the creation of 394,000 net 
new jobs in Florida from 2009 to 2013.  HB 7067 
was approved by the full House but the Senate 
economic development package (SB 1214) did not 
include this provision.
Enterprise Zones Program - There was much 
discussion of the Enterprise Zone program this 
session, as the program is scheduled to sunset 
in December 2015.Â  Florida TaxWatch testified 
at several committee hearings, referencing 
our recent analysis of the program.Â  The report 
calls on the Legislature to revise and extend the 
stateâ€™s Enterprise Zone program, designed to 
revitalize and redevelop distressed, blighted areas 
in Florida.Â However, the stateâ€™s enterprise zone 
program will not be renewed.Â  Bills to extend 
and revise the program (HB 903, SB 1556, 
and SB 392) were not heard.Â  HB 7067 would 
have replaced the state program with a Local 
Enterprise Zone Program.Â Â Late in the session, 
language was added to SB 1214 that would have 
permitted businesses located in enterprise zones 
that have active economic development contracts 
to continue to apply for enterprise zone state tax 
programs and the child care facility property tax 
exemption for three years.
Economic Development Programs â€“ Both 
chambers had omnibus economic development 
bills that would have made numerous changes 
to several programs.Â  SB 1214 and HB 7067 
became â€œtrains,â€ with more provisions added as 
the session progressed. Â  SB 1214 standardized 
the incentives application process, limited most 
incentive agreements to 10 years and required 
capital investment to remain in the state for the 
duration of the contract.Â  It also set approval 
requirements for different thresholds such as 
allowing the Governor to approve projects 
requiring less than $2 million without legislative 
notice or approval.Â  The bill also makes additional 
changes to the Quick Action Closing (QAC) Fund 
and the Qualified Target Industry Business (QTI) 
Tax Refund.Â Â  HB 7067 also makes numerous 
changes including creating a new approval process 
for performance-based cash incentive programs 
andÂ capping economic development incentive 
programs at $60 million annually.Â   While the two 
6
chambers could not agree on this legislation, it is 
likely some of these provisions will show up in a 
budget conforming bill during the Special Session.
Seaports â€“ HB 7039 and SB 1554, in addition 
to several provisions related to the Florida 
Department of Transportation, increased the 
funding for the Florida Seaport and Economic 
Development (FSTED) Program from $15 million 
to $25 million per year.  HB 7039 passed the full 
House.Â  SB 1554 died in committee.  This funding 
may be addressed in Special Session.
Entertainment Industry Financial Incentive 
Program â€“ This program, which tries to bring 
film and television productions to the state by 
offering sales and corporate income tax credits, has 
received a lot of attention this session.Â  A report 
by the Office of Economic and Demographic 
Research, which reviewed the return on 
investment for many of the stateâ€™s economic 
development programs, said the entertainment 
program is not recouping the stateâ€™s investment 
(in terms of produced state revenue).Â  SB 1214 
and HB 451 would have made numerous changes 
to the program.Â  Florida TaxWatch was asked by 
the sponsor to review HB 451 and we found it 
makes significant improvements to the current 
program, including changing from a first-come 
first-served process to one that prioritizes 
based on expected economic return.Â  Both 
bills transferred and renamed the Office of Film 
and Entertainment under the Department of 
Economic Opportunity as the Division of Film 
and Entertainment under Enterprise Florida. The 
Senate bill reduced the size of the Florida Film and 
Entertainment Advisory Council and the House 
bill eliminated the Council.Â  SB 1214 also created 
the Entertainment Action Fund Program to 
respond to extraordinary opportunities. A similar 
fund was removed from the House bill.Â  SB 1214 
set a sunset date of July 1, 2021 and July 1, 2025 
for the action fund. Â  Under HB 451, the program 
would still expire July 1, 2016.Â  Both bills died on 
second reading.Â 
Qualified Television Revolving Loan Fund - HB 
237 and SB 196 would have created a qualified 
television revolving loan fund - an â€œevergreenâ€ 
fund privately managed under state oversight, 
which offers loans (term limited to 36 months) for 
qualified television content production throughout 
the state. The program would use state money 
and private funds raised by a third-party loan 
administrator. Neither the bill nor the current 
House budget contain an appropriation for the 
fund. Â HB 237 died on second reading.  SB 196 was 
not heard in committee.
These bills, containing potentially valuable concepts, 
did not get a hearing: 
Freight Mobility and Trade - HB 331 and SB 958 
would have directed a portion of motor vehicle 
fees, such as title fees, to be set aside for specified 
freight mobility and trade projects. 
Incentives for Small Technology Companies 
â€“ SB 1090 would have authorized the provision 
of loans to small technology companies through 
the Microfinance Guarantee Program.Â  The bill 
appropriated $50 million for these loans.
7
New Small Business Tax Credit â€“ SB 128 and 
HB 517 would have created a corporate income 
tax credit for new small businesses.Â  If qualified, 
the business would receive a $1,500 credit for 
each employee, up to a maximum total credit of 
$21,000.
Community Creative Grant Program - SB 
1030 would have created this alternative to the 
expiring Enterprise Zone program.Â  The program 
was a competitive process through which cities 
and counties could apply for grants to fund local 
economic development projects.Â  
Education
Passed 
Testing, Student Assessments & Teacher 
Evaluations â€“ HB 7069 will reduce testing time in 
Florida schools, capping the time students spend 
on state and local tests at 5 percent of their school 
hours, or up to 45 hours. Â The legislation also 
reduces the reliance on test results in evaluating 
teacher performance from 50 percent to 33 percent 
of an evaluation. The bill eliminates the 11th-grade 
language arts test (ELA) and the Postsecondary 
Education Reading Test (PERT).Â  It eliminates 
the requirement that a school district administer 
a local end-of-course assessment for each course 
that is not assessed by a statewide, standardized 
assessment.Â  It codifies the rollout schedule for 
statewide, standardized computer-based testing 
and paper testing options through the 2017-2018 
school year and requires independent verification 
of validity of statewide, standardized assessments 
before the results can be used to determine third 
grade retention or high school graduation.Â  The bill 
has been signed into law by the Governor.
Did Not Pass
Class Size Requirements - SB 818 and HB 665 
would have revised the method for calculating 
the penalty for failure to comply with the class 
size requirements by performing the calculation 
at the school average instead of at the classroom 
level.Â  Florida TaxWatch released a report 
showing that adjusting the way class sizes are 
calculated will result in significant savings to 
Florida taxpayers, which can then be reinvested 
in measures that have been proven to improve 
student achievement.Â  Floridaâ€™s class size limits 
have cost taxpayers more than $30 billion since 
voters approved them in a 2002 constitutional 
amendment. The report encourages the Legislature 
to adjust Floridaâ€™s class size calculation to a school 
wide average. Applying the school level average 
calculation across all of Floridaâ€™s public schools 
would allow school districts to comply with the 
class size reduction mandate, while reinvesting the 
savings into measures to improve teacher quality 
and student achievement.Â HB 665 passed the full 
House and even though it was identical, SB 818 
died on second reading.
Charter Schools/School Choice â€“ HB 7037 
aimed to increase charter school accountability 
and increase student access.Â  It also changes some 
funding provisions.Â  It required charter schools 
to begin submitting monthly financial statements 
upon approval of the charter contract, and clarifies 
that charter schools that earn two consecutive 
8
grades of â€œFâ€ are automatically terminated.Â  
It removed the limit on replication of high-
performing charter schools if the school is created 
to serve high-need areas.Â  The bill also created the 
Florida Institute for Charter School Innovation 
at Florida State University to provide technical 
assistance, conduct research on policy and practice 
and provide opportunities for aspiring teachers to 
experience teaching in charter schools.Â  The bill 
earmarked $1 million annually for the institute.Â   
HB 357 established the Principal Autonomy 
Pilot Program Initiative (PAPPI) to provide 
the principals of schools in participating school 
districts with increased autonomy and authority 
regarding allocation of resources and staffing, 
similar to charter schools.Â   SB 1552 and HB 1145 
expanded school choice by allowing a student to 
attend an out of district school, provided it has 
capacity and the parents provide transportation.Â  
The bills also included the PAPPI program and 
SB 1552 included the charter school institute 
provisions.Â  All the House bills were approved by 
the House. SB 1552 died on the Special Order 
Calendar.
Digital Classrooms â€“ SB 1264 directed the 
Agency for State Technology (AST) to establish 
information technology architecture standards 
for purposes of implementing the stateâ€™s new 
digital classroom funding allocation.Â  AST was 
required to collaborate with the Departments of 
Education and Management Services to identify 
state procurement options and shared services 
available through the State Data Center to facilitate 
implementation digital classrooms.Â  AST must also 
do an annual assessment and provide planning 
assistance to address issues identified by the 
assessment.Â  The bill appropriated $10 million to 
the Agency for State Technology.Â Â  This language 
was also added to SB 948, the Senate education 
â€œtrain.â€Â  Both bills made it to the floor but did not 
get to a vote.
Reducing Educational Facility Costs - HB 181 
and SB 1262 aimed to provide cost savings to 
school districts by allowing them to implement 
exceptions to the State Requirements for 
Educational Facilities (the public education 
building code).Â  These exceptions relate to the 
use of wood studs in interior nonload-bearing 
walls, paved walkways, roadways, driveways, and 
parking areas, covered walkways for relocatable 
buildings, and site lighting.Â  A school board must 
hold a workshop and then the resolution must pass 
by a supermajority vote at a public meeting.Â  The 
school board must conduct a cost-benefit analysis 
prepared according to a professionally accepted 
methodology that describes how each exception 
achieves cost savings, improves the efficient 
use of school district resources, and impacts 
the life-cycle costs and life span for the facility. 
The cost-benefit analysis must also demonstrate 
that implementation of the exception will not 
compromise student safety or the quality of 
student instruction.Â Â This language was also added 
to SB 948, the Senate education â€œtrain.â€Â  All three 
bills made it to the floor but did get to a vote.