2023 Florida Legislative Priorities

Here are the 2023 Florida Legislative Priorities for the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association.

Click Here to download the 2023 CFHLA Legislative Agenda

Tourist Development Tax (TDT)

In 1977, the Florida Legislature passed the "Tourist Development Tax" (F.S.125.0104) at the request of Florida lodging executives. The purpose of the tax was to create dedicated revenue for tourism promotion and investment.

Now more than every, CFHLA strongly opposes adding any additional approved uses for Tourist Development Tax (TDT) revenues. Adding additional approved uses will only serve to dilute the effectiveness of these dollars, which are statutorily established for the promotion and marketing of tourism.

VISIT FLORIDA Funding

CFHLA supports increased funding for VISIT FLORIDA in the amount of $100 million. Following Hurricane Ian and Tropical Storm Nicole, funding will be especially important to ensure Florida continues to be top of mind as a leading vacation destination.

CFHLA also opposes any efforts to replace VISIT FLORIDA funding from the state budget with County-level TDT revenues. Local TDT revenues are committed to vital projects and organizations that generate visitation - providing local economic development and job creation.

Vacation Home Rentals and Advertising Platforms

While vacations home rentals have long been available in Florida, the option to list available units online through advertising platforms has caused this lodging sector to explode by more than 50,000 units in Central Florida. Florida’s statutes need to be updated to accommodate the changing lodging industry, creating balanced and rational regulations that protect our visitors, residents, and communities.

CFHLA strongly supports the following:

Requiring advertising platforms to confirm the licensing/registration of vacation home rentals with the State Department of Revenue and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation prior to listing;
Requiring advertising platforms to collect and remit all taxes due to their county Tax Collector and submit reports to the State for confirmation;
Requiring initiatives that ensure vacation home rentals on advertising platforms also practice the same safety standards as traditional lodging to protect visitors and their experience. These standards include, but are not limited to; human trafficking awareness and prevention, fire and life safety inspections, regular health inspections, and COVID-19 hygiene and cleaning procedures.
An option for local registration so that our local governments can better understand and respond to what is happening in our community;
Reasonable and effective penalty provisions for noncompliance, such as higher monetary penalties and vacation rental license revocation provisions; and

Clear and consistent audit provisions to allow for accurate assessment of compliance.

Workforce Housing

CFHLA supports full funding for the Sadowski Fund, as the Central Florida community has a dire need for more reliable and affordable rental housing.

In addition to existing State Apartment Incentive Loan dollars (usually known as SAIL), CFHLA would like to see the legislature increase the percentage of State Housing Incentive Partnership dollars (usually known as SHIP) that can be used for rental housing.

CFHLA also encourages the Legislature to consider creating incentives to encourage innovative approaches to affordable housing development. For example: incentives for development of high-quality rental properties in key areas or incentives and tax credits for businesses to create housing for their own staff.

Data Privacy

CFHLA believes that customers deserve to have control over their personal information. However, any regulations upon individual companies should not be unreasonable, as the cost of compliance could be significant for small and medium-sized businesses. Additionally, businesses must be given an adequate opportunity to correct any errors and respond to complaints without the threat of costly litigation.

Florida Timeshare Act

CFHLA supports ARDA’s legislative proposal, which seeks the clarification and modernization of several provisions in the Florida Timeshare Act. Beneficial revisions for owners’ associations include the option for meetings to be held virtually, an exemption from current requirements to deliver notices to an owner’s unit rather than address of record, clearer authority to act in an emergency, and streamlining the trustee foreclosure process to make it less time consuming. The proposal would also allow developers to deliver certain documents to purchasers electronically and clarify provisions regarding the delivery and filing of other required documents. These proposed changes would help bring the statute up to date relative to the current business model and available technology.

OTHER ISSUES CFHLA IS MONITORING
• Hurricane Recovery
• Ride Safety
• Transportation & Infrastructure
• Human Trafficking
• Special Districts

2022 Florida Legislative Report

2023 Florida Legislative Priorities

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