Florida SB 284: Fraudulent Proof of Vaccination

Bill Text

284 
Assessment of Property Owned and Used by Small Businesses 
2025-10-23T12:05:09Z 
Providing that real property owned and used for commercial purposes by small businesses will be assessed at just value after a certain date; prohibiting the annual change in assessed value from exceeding a specified amount; requiring that the assessed value of the property be lowered to the just value of the property under certain circumstances; providing that a change in ownership or control of the property will cause the property to be assessed at just value, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 284 

 By Senator Bernard 

 24-00666-26 2026284__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to the assessment of property owned 
 3 and used by small businesses; creating s. 193.1553, 
 4 F.S.; defining the term “small business”; providing 
 5 that real property owned and used for commercial 
 6 purposes by small businesses will be assessed at just 
 7 value after a certain date; prohibiting the annual 
 8 change in assessed value from exceeding a specified 
 9 amount; requiring that the assessed value of the 
 10 property be lowered to the just value of the property 
 11 under certain circumstances; providing that a change 
 12 in ownership or control of the property will cause the 
 13 property to be assessed at just value; requiring and 
 14 authorizing the Department of Revenue to adopt rules; 
 15 providing criminal and civil penalties; providing a 
 16 contingent effective date. 
 17 
 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 19 
 20 Section 1. Section 193.1553, Florida Statutes, is created 
 21 to read: 
 22 193.1553 Assessment of property owned and used by small 
 23 businesses.— 
 24 (1) As used in this section, the term “small business” has 
 25 the same meaning as in s. 288.703. 
 26 (2) Real property owned and used for commercial purposes by 
 27 a small business will be assessed at just value as of January 1 
 28 of the year following the year in which the property first 
 29 qualifies as property owned and used by a qualifying small 
 30 business. Thereafter, the annual change in assessed value may 
 31 not exceed the lesser of: 
 32 (a) Three percent of the assessment for the prior year; or 
 33 (b) The percent change in the Consumer Price Index for All 
 34 Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, all items 1967=100, or a 
 35 successor index, for the preceding calendar year as initially 
 36 reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of 
 37 Labor Statistics. 
 38 (3) If the assessed value of the property as calculated 
 39 under subsection (2) exceeds the just value, the assessed value 
 40 of the property must be lowered to the just value of the 
 41 property. 
 42 (4) A change in ownership or control of the property, as 
 43 provided in s. 193.1554(5), which results in the property no 
 44 longer qualifying as owned and used by a small business, will 
 45 cause the property to be assessed at just value as of January 1 
 46 of the following year. 
 47 (5) The department shall prescribe by rule the application 
 48 and certification process for receiving an assessment limitation 
 49 under this section. The department may also adopt rules for 
 50 procedures for auditing small businesses receiving the 
 51 assessment limitation and revocation of improperly granted 
 52 assessment limitations. 
 53 (6) A person who knowingly files false information to 
 54 obtain or retain the limitation provided by this section commits 
 55 a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 
 56 775.082 or s. 775.083, and is subject to payment of back taxes, 
 57 penalties, and interest as provided by general law. 
 58 Section 2. This act shall take effect on the effective date 
 59 of the amendment to the State Constitution proposed by SJR 282 
 60 or a similar joint resolution having substantially the same 
 61 specific intent and purpose, if such amendment is approved at 
 62 the next general election or at an earlier special election 
 63 specifically authorized by law for that purpose.