Florida SB 214: Special District Funding

Bill Text

214 
Special District Funding 
2026-03-03T08:25:16Z 
Revising agency agreements that provide state financial assistance to recipients or subrecipients to include specified special districts as an entity to which such agency may provide for the payment of invoices under specified circumstances; requiring state agencies to expedite payment requests from certain counties, municipalities, and special districts for a specified purpose; revising the definition of “rural community” to include specified special districts, etc. 
Committee Substitute 2 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c2 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 214 

 By the Committee on Fiscal Policy; the Appropriations Committee 
 on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development; and 
 Senator McClain 

 594-03335-26 2026214c2 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to special district funding; amending 
 3 s. 215.971, F.S.; revising agency agreements that 
 4 provide state financial assistance to recipients or 
 5 subrecipients to include specified special districts 
 6 as an entity to which such agency may provide for the 
 7 payment of invoices under specified circumstances; 
 8 providing construction; requiring state agencies to 
 9 expedite payment requests from certain counties, 
 10 municipalities, and special districts for a specified 
 11 purpose; amending s. 288.0656, F.S.; revising the 
 12 definition of “rural community” to include specified 
 13 special districts; providing an effective date. 
 14 
 15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 16 
 17 Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section 
 18 215.971, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 19 215.971 Agreements funded with federal or state 
 20 assistance.— 
 21 (1) An agency agreement that provides state financial 
 22 assistance to a recipient or subrecipient, as those terms are 
 23 defined in s. 215.97, or that provides federal financial 
 24 assistance to a subrecipient, as defined by applicable United 
 25 States Office of Management and Budget circulars, must include 
 26 all of the following: 
 27 (h) If the agency agreement provides federal or state 
 28 financial assistance to a county or municipality that is a rural 
 29 community or rural area of opportunity as those terms are 
 30 defined in s. 288.0656(2) or a special district located entirely 
 31 within such county or municipality or an independent special 
 32 district that provides water and wastewater services within a 
 33 rural area of opportunity as that term is defined in s. 
 34 288.0656(2), a provision allowing the agency to provide for the 
 35 payment of invoices to such the county, municipality, or special 
 36 district rural area of opportunity as that term is defined in s. 
 37 288.0656(2), for verified and eligible performance that has been 
 38 completed in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth 
 39 in the agreement. The provision is not intended to require 
 40 reimbursement to such county, municipality, or special district 
 41 for invoices paid, but to allow the agency to provide for the 
 42 payment of invoices due. The agency shall expedite payment 
 43 requests in order to facilitate the timely payment of invoices 
 44 received by such county, municipality, or special district. This 
 45 provision is included to alleviate the financial hardships that 
 46 such certain rural counties, and municipalities, or special 
 47 districts encounter when administering agreements, and must be 
 48 exercised by the agency if when a county, or municipality, or 
 49 special district located entirely within such county or 
 50 municipality or an independent special district that provides 
 51 water and wastewater services within a rural area of 
 52 opportunity, as that term is defined in s. 288.0656(2), 
 53 demonstrates financial hardship, to the extent that federal or 
 54 state law, rule, or other regulation allows such payments. This 
 55 paragraph may not be construed to alter or limit any other 
 56 provisions of federal or state law, rule, or other regulation. 
 57 Section 2. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 
 58 288.0656, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 59 288.0656 Rural Economic Development Initiative.— 
 60 (2) As used in this section, the term: 
 61 (e) “Rural community” means: 
 62 1. A county with a population of 75,000 or fewer. 
 63 2. A county with a population of 125,000 or fewer which is 
 64 contiguous to a county with a population of 75,000 or fewer. 
 65 3. A municipality or special district within a county 
 66 described in subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. 
 67 4. An unincorporated federal enterprise community or an 
 68 incorporated rural city with a population of 25,000 or fewer and 
 69 an employment base focused on traditional agricultural or 
 70 resource-based industries, located in a county not defined as 
 71 rural, which has at least three or more of the economic distress 
 72 factors id