Florida HB 87: Homestead Assessments

Bill Text

HB 87 2026

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hb87-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to issuance of special beverage 2
licenses; amending s. 561.20, F.S.; revising the 3
service area square footage and capacity of a bona 4
fide food service establishment that may be issued a 5
special license; providing an effective date. 6
7
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 8
9
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 10
561.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 11
561.20 Limitation upon number of licenses issued.— 12
(2)(a) The limitation of the number of licenses as 13
provided in this section does not prohibit the issuance of a 14
special license to: 15
1. Any bona fide hotel, motel, or motor court of not fewer 16
than 80 guest rooms in any county having a population of less 17
than 50,000 residents, and of not fewer than 100 guest rooms in 18
any county having a population of 50,000 residents or greater; 19
or any bona fide hotel or motel located in a historic structure, 20
as defined in s. 561.01(20), with fewer than 100 guest rooms 21
which derives at least 51 percent of its gross revenue from the 22
rental of hotel or motel rooms, which is licensed as a public 23
lodging establishment by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants; 24
provided, however, that a bona fide hotel or motel with no fewer 25

HB 87 2026

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hb87-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

than 10 and no more than 25 guest rooms which is a historic 26
structure, as defined in s. 561.01(20), in a municipality that 27
on the effective date of this act has a population, according to 28
the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business 29
Research Estimates of Population for 1998, of no fewer than 30
25,000 and no more than 35,000 residents and that is within a 31
constitutionally chartered county may be issued a special 32
license. This special license shall allow the sale and 33
consumption of alcoholic beverages only on the licensed premises 34
of the hotel or motel. In addition, the hotel or motel must 35
derive at least 60 percent of its gross revenue from the rental 36
of hotel or motel rooms and the sale of food and nonalcoholic 37
beverages; provided that this subparagraph shall supersede local 38
laws requiring a greater number of hotel rooms; 39
2. Any condominium accommodation of which no fewer than 40
100 condominium units are wholly rentable to transients and 41
which is licensed under chapter 509, except that the license 42
shall be issued only to the person or corporation that operates 43
the hotel or motel operation and not to the association of 44
condominium owners; 45
3. Any condominium accommodation of which no fewer than 50 46
condominium units are wholly rentable to transients, which is 47
licensed under chapter 509, and which is located in any county 48
having home rule under s. 10 or s. 11, Art. VIII of the State 49
Constitution of 1885, as amended, and incorporated by reference 50

HB 87 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

in s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the State Constitution, except that the 51
license shall be issued only to the person or corporation that 52
operates the hotel or motel operation and not to the association 53
of condominium owners; 54
4. A bona fide food service establishment that has a 55
minimum of 1,200 2,000 square feet of service area, is equipped 56
to serve meals to 80 120 persons at one time, has at least 80 57
120 physical seats available for patrons to use during operating 58
hours, holds itself out as a restaurant, and derives at least 51 59
percent of its gross food and beverage revenue from the sale of 60
food and nonalcoholic beverages during the first 120-day 61
operating period and the first 12-month operating period 62
thereafter. Subsequent audit timeframes must be based upon the 63
audit percentage established by the most recent audit and 64
conducted on a staggered scale as follows: level 1, 51 percent 65
to 60 percent, every year; level 2, 61 percent to 75 percent, 66
every 2 years; level 3, 76 percent to 90 percent, every 3 years; 67
and level 4, 91 percent to 100 percent, every 4 years. A 68
licensee under this subparagraph may sell or deliver alcoholic 69
beverages in a sealed container for off-premises consumption if 70
the sale or delivery is accompanied by the sale of food within 71
the same order. Such authorized sale or delivery includes wine-72
based and liquor-based beverages prepared by the licensee or its 73
employee and packaged in a container sealed by the licensee or 74
its employee. This subparagraph may not be construed to 75

HB 87 2026

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