Florida HB 979: Dental Therapy

Bill Text

CS/CS/HB 979 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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 infill redevelopment; creating s. 2
163.2525, F.S.; providing a short title; providing 3
legislative findings; providing definitions; providing 4
applicability; requiring a local government to permit 5
the development of certain qualifying parcels up to a 6
certain density and intensity; requiring a local 7
government to approve an application for the 8
subdivision of a qualifying parcel under certain 9
circumstances; prohibiting a local government from 10
using the subdivision process to restrict development 11
in a certain manner; requiring developers of 12
qualifying parcels to maintain a specified buffer 13
between new developments and single-family homes and 14
townhouses under certain circumstances; providing 15
requirements for such buffer areas; requiring 16
developers of qualifying parcels to establish that 17
certain recreational facilities and areas reserved for 18
recreational use have not been in operation or use for 19
a certain timeframe, to pay double the parks and 20
recreational facilities impact fees for a certain 21
purpose, and to provide certain written notice to 22
certain property owners; requiring property owners who 23
receive such written notice to exercise an option to 24
purchase certain parcels or portions thereof within a 25

CS/CS/HB 979 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

specified timeframe or forfeit the option; limiting 26
the price at which such parcels or portions of parcels 27
may be offered to the property owners for purchase; 28
requiring the administrative approval of certain 29
proposed developments; authorizing local governments 30
to apply certain local regulations under certain 31
circumstances; requiring development on qualifying 32
parcels to meet concurrency requirements; requiring 33
each local government to maintain a certain policy on 34
its website; providing applicability; providing 35
construction; prohibiting a local government from 36
adopting or enforcing certain local laws, ordinances, 37
or regulations; providing a directive to the Division 38
of Law Revision; providing an effective date. 39
40
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 41
42
Section 1. Section 163.2525, Florida Statutes, is created 43
to read: 44
163.2525 Infill Redevelopment Act.— 45
(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the "Infill 46
Redevelopment Act." 47
(2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that this 48
state's urban areas lack sufficient land for the development of 49
additional residential uses, which has led to a shortage of 50

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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

supply; that parcels of land within or near urban areas are 51
difficult to develop or redevelop because of environmental 52
issues and local regulations; and that facilitating the 53
expedited permitting of such parcels, particularly in areas in 54
which multiple local governments have jurisdiction, serves 55
important public interests in remediating environmentally 56
challenged land and increasing the supply of housing. 57
(3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 58
(a) "Adjacent to" means located next to another parcel of 59
land or portion thereof, including where the parcels are 60
separated only by a roadway, railroad, or other public or 61
private right-of-way or easement. 62
(b) "Density" has the same meaning as in s. 163.3164. 63
(c) "Designated agricultural land" means a parcel of land 64
within a zoning district that allows for agricultural uses such 65
as farming, raising livestock, or aquaculture as the main 66
permitted uses and which land is classified as agricultural land 67
under s. 193.461. 68
(d) "Environmentally impacted land" means a parcel of land, 69
any portion of which: 70
1. There is a detection of a containment or pollutant 71
above the applicable local, state, or federal residential clean 72
up levels; 73
2. Is, or, prior to or concurrent with development, would 74
be subject to environmental cleanup or site rehabilitation 75

CS/CS/HB 979 2026

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requirements pursuant to chapter 376, chapter 403, or local 76
environmental ordinances or regulations, as a result of the 77
presence of environmental containment or pollution present above 78
applicable cleanup target levels; or 79
3. Is located in a brownfield area designated pursuant to 80
s. 376.80. 81
(e) "Local government" means a county, municipality, 82
special district, or p