Florida SB 840: Land Use Regulations for Local Governments Affected by Natural Disasters

Bill Text

840 
Land Use Regulations for Local Governments Affected by Natural Disasters 
2025-12-10T03:13:17Z 
Prohibiting impacted local governments from enforcing certain moratoriums, requiring the repair or reconstruction of certain improvements to meet certain requirements, or enforcing changes to specified procedures; revising circumstances under which impacted local governments may enforce certain amendments, site plans, development permits, or development orders; deleting provisions related to filing suit against an impacted local government for injunctive relief, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 840 

 By Senator DiCeglie 

 18-00753C-26 2026840__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to land use regulations for local 
 3 governments affected by natural disasters; amending s. 
 4 252.422, F.S.; revising the definition of the term 
 5 “impacted local government”; prohibiting impacted 
 6 local governments from enforcing certain moratoriums, 
 7 requiring the repair or reconstruction of certain 
 8 improvements to meet certain requirements, or 
 9 enforcing changes to specified procedures; revising 
 10 circumstances under which impacted local governments 
 11 may enforce certain amendments, site plans, 
 12 development permits, or development orders; providing 
 13 applicability; authorizing impacted local governments 
 14 to require a property owner to provide specified 
 15 documentation; deleting provisions related to filing 
 16 suit against an impacted local government for 
 17 injunctive relief; providing construction; deleting 
 18 obsolete language; amending chapter 2025-190, Laws of 
 19 Florida; revising the timeframe within which certain 
 20 counties are prohibited from proposing or adopting 
 21 certain moratoriums, amendments, or procedures; 
 22 revising a future expiration date; providing an 
 23 effective date. 
 24 
 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 26 
 27 Section 1. Section 252.422, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 28 read: 
 29 252.422 Restrictions on county or municipal regulations 
 30 after a hurricane.— 
 31 (1) As used in this section, the term “impacted local 
 32 government” means a county listed in a federal disaster 
 33 declaration located entirely or partially within 50 100 miles of 
 34 the track of a storm declared to be a hurricane by the National 
 35 Hurricane Center while the storm was categorized as a hurricane 
 36 and which was listed in a federal major disaster declaration 
 37 pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 38 Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 5121 et seq., or a municipality 
 39 located within such a county. 
 40 (2) For 1 year after a hurricane makes landfall in this 
 41 state, an impacted local government may not propose or adopt: 
 42 (a) Enforce a moratorium that prevents or delays the repair 
 43 or on construction, reconstruction, or redevelopment of an 
 44 existing improvement damaged by such hurricane, unless the 
 45 moratorium is imposed for the purpose of addressing stormwater 
 46 or flood water management, potable water supply, or necessary 
 47 repairs to or replacement of sanitary sewer systems any 
 48 property. 
 49 (b) Require the repair or reconstruction of an existing 
 50 improvement damaged by such hurricane to comply with an A more 
 51 restrictive or burdensome amendment to its comprehensive plan or 
 52 land development regulations which was first effective after 
 53 such hurricane made landfall in this state. 
 54 (c) Enforce a change to a more restrictive or burdensome 
 55 procedure concerning review, approval, or issuance of a site 
 56 plan, development permit, or development order, to the extent 
 57 that those terms are defined in s. 163.3164, which increases the 
 58 timeframe for the impacted local government to take final action 
 59 on such review, approval, or issuance and which is effective 
 60 after such hurricane makes landfall in this state. 
 61 (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a comprehensive plan 
 62 amendment, land development regulation amendment, site plan, 
 63 development permit, or development order approved or adopted by 
 64 an impacted local government before or after June 26, 2025, may 
 65 be enforced if: 
 66 (a) The associated application is initiated by a private 
 67 party other than the impacted local government and the property 
 68 that is the subject of the application is owned by the 
 69 initiating private party; 
 70 (b) The proposed comprehensive plan amendment was submitted 
 71 to reviewing agencies pursuant to s. 163.3184 before landfall; 
 72 or 
 73 (c) The proposed comprehensive plan amendment or land 
 74 development regulation is approved by the state land planning 
 75 agency for an area of critical state concern designated pursuant 
 76 to chapter 380; pursuant to s. 380.05. 
 77 (c) The adoption of the comprehensive plan amendment or 
 7