Chamber Advocacy Update

Florida lawmakers reached the halfway point of the annual 60-day Legislative Session, which is deep into the sausage making with hundreds of active bills and the Florida Budget for 2025/2026. Governor DeSantis and House Speaker Perez have offered up big-ticket tax relief items, whether it be a permanent reduction in the State sales tax from 6% to 5.25% (Perez) or significantly lowering/eliminating property taxes (DeSantis) – both estimated to cost $5 BILLION. St. Johns County has an entirely new State Legislative Delegation this year (contact information below), please contact them directly on issues of importance to your business. Below is an update on some of the important issues the Chamber is engaging on that will have a direct impact on St. Johns County businesses, with regular updates throughout the 60-day Legislative Session:

Elimination of the state sales tax on commercial rents

The State of Florida has taxed the value of commercial rents/leases for many years. Beginning in the mid-2010’s, the Legislature began the slow process of reducing that tax from 6% to 2% (plus ½% SJC local sales tax as of July 1, 2024). Governor DeSantis has proposed the elimination of this sales tax in his 2025 budget, and it is likely that the Legislature will follow suit and either vote to further reduce the sales tax or eliminate it entirely. The Chamber has strongly supported the elimination of this tax as a way to keep the SJC business community competitive by growing and attracting new businesses to the county. The House is moving forward with another reduction effort from the current 2% to 1.25% and the House Ways and Means Committee favorably moved the bill forward on April 2. The Chamber is working through the Florida Chamber’s Commercial Rent Tax Coalition to completely eliminate this tax on business. Final action on the commercial rent tax reduction/elimination will not occur until the closing days of the Session, bundled into the tax/budget process.

Why does this matter to me?

Florida is the only state in the US that taxes the value of commercial rent. Adding the 2.5% tax to a commercial lease every month is money out of your pocket or at a minimum, a negotiable point during lease discussions. This tax becomes an added cost for operating or starting up a new business in SJC.

What can you do?

Write or call the SJC State Legislative Delegation and urge their strong support for the repeal of the remaining 2.0% sales tax on commercial rents. (Contact information below)

Support St. Johns County legislative infrastructure funding requests

SJC has a huge backlog of unfunded road and infrastructure needs. St. Johns County has requested significant State funding (supported by the Chamber) to widen SR16, upgrade SR206, SR207, SR 208, CR210 and the extension of CR2209 and SR312/313 to increase mobility County-wide. In addition, St. Johns County has requested funding to address beach erosion south of the Guana Reserve. Finally, the Chamber strongly supports funding for the completion of the feasibility study for a transit rail line between the City of Jacksonville and the City of St. Augustine.

Why does this matter to me?

Anyone who drives in St. Johns County knows firsthand the frustrations of not being able to get from Point A to Point B in a reasonable amount of time. Businesses are negatively affected as employees cannot get to work in a reasonable amount of time; consumers are hesitant to get on the roads to go about their daily activities; and the quality of life suffers as we spend more time in traffic. State funding requests will go a long way to upgrading our infrastructure and road needs as SJC is continuing to grow and prosper.

What can you do?

Contact our SJC state legislative delegation members; thank them for their requests and urge their continued support for high priority road and infrastructure investments.

Attainable/Affordable housing

St. Johns County has an ongoing affordable/attainable housing crisis where the median price of a new home is over $530,000 (as of January, 2025) and many County residents simply cannot afford to live or move here. In 2023, the State Legislature approved the “Live Local Act” designed to offer incentives to builders and developers to produce more attainable/affordable housing. In 2024, the Legislature approved a number of amendments to the Live Local Act to further encourage developers and local governments to remove roadblocks to the construction of attainable/affordable housing. A number of bills have been introduced to further “refine” incentives that can be offered to developers to create additional affordable/attainable housing:

Legislation we are following:

HB 923/SB1594

Live Local Act Amendments (Lopez/McClain) Florida is in the midst of a housing affordability crisis, particularly impacting the “missing middle”—those who earn too much for traditional affordable housing but too little for market-rate homes. This challenge is pushing young professionals and essential workers including teachers, healthcare professionals, and first responders, out of the communities they serve and out of Florida, leading to a loss in workforce retention and hindering Florida’s long-term economic growth.

HB 923/SB 1594 addresses these critical issues by removing development barriers through tax exemptions for nonprofit developers and pre-certification for affordable housing projects. The legislation provides incentives for mixed-use and multifamily developments, creating diverse housing options to meet the needs of the workforce.

HB 923/SB 1594 ensures long-term affordability by preventing displacement as tenants’ incomes rise, allowing workers to build stability without being priced out. The bill also promotes adaptive reuse of existing structures, maximizing the potential of underutilized properties.

HB 247/SB 184

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) (Conerly/Gaetz) Requiring, rather than authorizing, local governments to adopt an ordinance to allow accessory dwelling units in certain areas; authorizing a local government to provide a density bonus incentive to landowners who make certain real property donations to assist in the provision of affordable housing for military families; requiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to evaluate the efficacy of using mezzanine finance and the potential of tiny homes for specified purposes, etc. Latest action: Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development approved unanimously; Senate Rules Committee approved unanimously on April 1, 2025. Placed on the Senate calendar on April 2. 

Why does this matter to me?

The lack of attainable housing negatively affects businesses’ ability to expand and hire workers, public agencies unable to recruit firefighters, law enforcement officers and teachers whose salaries simply cannot meet the minimum required to buy or even rent a home in SJC. Without additional reasonably priced housing options, businesses will continue to find it difficult to attract employees and if they do, they will be forced to pay more just to hire and keep employees. 

What can I do?

Contact our SJC State Legislative Delegation members and urge them to support further amendments to the Live Local Act to bring badly needed attainable housing options to our SJC residents.

Workforce Development

The Chamber has been actively involved in workforce development for many years. Through our partners at FCTC, SJRSC, the SJCSD and private sector employers, our goal is to produce a well-educated, homegrown talent pool that can power our businesses well into the future. Whether it be private/public partnerships between our public schools and commercial employers, support for the SJCSD’s career academies or support for State appropriations/grants designed to encourage homegrown talent for our County’s employers, the Chamber has been at the forefront of encouraging local workforce development options for our workforce of the future.

Legislation we are following:

HB 571/SB 1094 (Rep. Kendall/Sen. Simon)  Career Planning Opportunities for students  This bill strengthens Florida’s K-12 education system and talent development by integrating career planning, work-based learning, and apprenticeships, expanding access to paid opportunities for students over 16 through career fairs, and creating a framework for awarding postsecondary credit for apprenticeship-related education, enhancing career mobility and educational advancement. Approved unanimously by the House Careers and Workforce Subcommittee and is now headed to two more committees.

Why does this matter to me?

Employers need a steady stream of qualified workers to fuel their growth and prosperity. Developing homegrown talent not only provides jobs for St. Johns County residents, but it also helps guarantee a solid future for our economy going forward. We need young people to stay in St. Johns County, find work in St. Johns County and keep our momentum moving forward. 

What can I do?

Contact Chamber SVP Scott Maynard (scott.maynard@sjcchamber.com) to learn how you and your company can take advantage of the many workforce development programs currently operating in St. Johns County. Additionally, lend your support to state and federal grant requests for workforce development for SJC.

Tourism

As the single largest element of St. Johns County’s employment and revenue, a healthy tourism/hospitality industry is vital to the economic well being of the region. The Chamber has long supported the state-level VisitFlorida program which is designed to assist small and medium size locales to bring in out-of-state tourism dollars to the County. Additionally, the Chamber strongly opposes any effort to divert local tourist tax revenues away from localities or to fund non-tourist related purposes.

Legislation we are following:

HB1221/SB664 (Rep. Miller/Sen. Trumbull) Local Option Taxes including Bed Tax

HB1221/CS/SB 1664 requires that any local discretionary sales surtax, tourist development tax, or local option food and beverage tax that is subject to approval in a referendum that is in effect on June 30, 2025, be renewed on or before January 1, 2033, in accordance with existing requirements for a referendum. The bill generally creates a new 8-year duration for those taxes. Future levies that will be pledged for debt service are subject to a maximum 30-year duration. If approved, this Local Option Tax legislation could require local Tourism Development Taxes (like our SJC Bed Tax) to be reauthorized by voter referendum every 8 years.

Why does this matter to me?

Out of county/out of state tourists bring in billions of dollars in spending to St. Johns County every year, supporting many sectors of the economy. According to St. Johns County, in 2023 tourists spent over $2.4 billion right here at home. In addition, the County’s Tourism Development Tax (paid primarily by out of state/out of county visitors) provides over $23 million annually to support our tourism sector. These dollars support our vital tourism sector allowing them to hire additional workers and maintain and improve their facilities – all with dollars coming from outside St. Johns County.

What can I do?

Contact our SJC State Legislative Delegation members to let them know how important continued tourism funding is for St. Johns County. Tell them to support continued funding of VisitFlorida, the state agency that has provided badly needed assistance after hurricanes ravaged NE Florida just a few years ago.

Property Insurance

If you’ve recently received a renewal notice of your businesses’ property insurance policy, you don’t need an additional reminder that insurance rates have skyrocketed in recent years. While the focal point in Tallahassee has been on residential property insurance rates, business insurance rates have risen in lock step, costing businesses scarce dollars that could be otherwise used for staff, inventory and building maintenance.

On March 14, at the direction of House Speaker Danny Perez, the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee held a hearing following the Speaker’s call for an investigation into what he described in his opening-day speech of the 2025 legislative session as “accounting tricks” insurance companies used “to hide substantial profits while telling us they were in a crisis.” We anticipate hearings will continue through March as the Legislature grapples with this important issue.

Legislation we are following:

HB 1551(Cassel)

HB 1551Property Insurance Attorney’s Fees  Requires court to award attorney fees to prevailing parties in civil actions brought against surplus lines insurers & insurers by named or omnibus insureds or named beneficiaries; provides guidelines to determine prevailing parties; provides applicability of prevailing party attorney fee provision to specified insurers, insurance policies or coverage types, & rate standards & to claims presented to specified guaranty associations. House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee advanced House Bill 1551 – Attorney Fee Awards in Insurance Actions by Rep. Cassel by a vote of 16-1; approved by House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee; approved by House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee; pending in House Judiciary Committee.

Other bills of general interest:

Florida Museum of Black History in St. Augustine

SB 466 (Leek)

SB 466 Florida Museum of Black History

The Senate Committee on Community Affairs reported the bill favorably on March 11; Senate Appropriations approved the bill unanimously on March 26; Senate Rules approved the bill unanimously on April 1 and it has been scheduled for floor action. This bill provides for the creation of the Florida Museum of Black History Board of Directors, including a selection process for board members. It directs the board to oversee the commission, construction, operation, and administration of the museum, working jointly with the Foundation for the Museum of Black History, Inc. and the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, which will provide administrative support and staffing to the board for preconstruction activities.

Contact information for SJC State Legislative Delegation

Chair: Senator Tom Leek
4475 US 1 South
Suite 404
St. Augustine, FL 32086
(386) 446-7610
Contact Senator Leek

State Representative Kim Kendall (Northern St. Johns County)
PMB 223
Suite 108, 2220 County Road 210 West
St. Johns, FL 32259-4060
(904) 295-1620
Contact Rep. Kendall

State Representative Sam Greco (Southern St. Johns County)
Suite 1
4877 Palm Coast Parkway Northwest
Palm Coast, FL 32137-3677
(386) 446-7644
Contact Rep. Greco

State Representative Judson Sapp (Western St. Johns County)
Suite 4
620 South State Road 19
Palatka, FL 32177-3945
(386) 249-7060
Contact Rep. Sapp