HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 201 Sales Tax Holiday for ENERGY STAR & WaterSense Products
SPONSOR(S): Daley and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 356
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Ways & Means Committee 18 Y, 0 N Berg Aldridge
2) Commerce Committee
3) Appropriations Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The bill provides for a temporary sales tax holiday for the sale of certain energy and water efficient appliances
during the period from April 22, 2022 through April 24, 2022. Eligible items must bear either an ENERGY
STAR or WaterSense label, and must have been certified as water or energy efficient, as applicable, by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency by April 1, 2022.
The Revenue Estimating Conference estimated that the bill will have a non-recurring impact of -$4.4 million on
General Revenue and -$1.3 million on local government revenue in FY 2021-22.
The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2022.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Current Situation
Sales Tax
The state of Florida generally levies a 6 percent sales and use tax on the retail sale or rental of most
tangible personal property, admissions, transient lodging rentals, rental of commercial real estate, and
a limited number of services.1 In addition, Florida authorizes several local option sales taxes that are
levied at the county level on transactions that are subject to the state sales tax and are in addition to
the state sales tax. 66 counties have a local option sales tax with rates ranging from half a percent
(0.5%) to one and a half percent (1.5%). Generally, sales tax is added to the price of the taxable goods
or services and collected from the purchaser at the time of sale.
ENERGYSTAR and WaterSense Programs
The federal government, through the Environmental Protection Agency, certifies a number of products
for their efficiency under two similar programs. The ENERGY STAR program certifies products that are
energy efficient,2 and the WaterSense program certifies products that are water efficient. 3 Products in
each of these programs are normally affixed with a label noting their certification under the applicable
program.4
Sales Tax Holidays for Energy and Water Efficient Products
Since 1998, the Legislature has enacted more than two dozen temporary periods (commonly called
“sales tax holidays”) during which specified items were exempted from sales tax. One of these holidays
was related to sales of energy efficient products, and one was related to sales of energy and water
efficient products.
From October 5 through October 11, 2006, Florida exempted the following energy efficient products
priced under $1,500 and that met or exceeded the requirements of the federal ENERGY STAR
program and were sold for noncommercial home or personal use:5
 Refrigerators,
 Dishwashers,
 Clothes washers,
 Air conditioners,
 Ceiling fans,
 Light bulbs,
 Dehumidifiers, and
 Thermostats.
From September 19, 2014 through September 21, 2014, Florida exempted the first $1,500 of the sales
price for the following new ENERGY STAR product or WaterSense products.6 The following items were
exempted in each category:
1 The Legislature reduced the sales tax rate on commercial rentals to 5.5% effective January 1, 2020. See s. 5, ch. 2019-42, L.O.F
2 Information about this program is available at https://www.energystar.gov/about (last accessed January 10, 2022).
3 Information about this program is available at https://www.epa.gov/watersense (last accessed January 10, 2022).
4 See https://www.epa.gov/watersense/watersense-label and https://www.energystar.gov/products for more information about labeling
and qualifying products (both sites last accessed January 10, 2022).
5 S. 6, Ch. 2006-230, L.O.F.
6 S. 21, Ch. 2014-38, L.O.F.
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 ENERGY STAR products: WaterSense products:
 Room air conditioners,  Bathroom sink faucets,
 Air purifiers,  Faucet accessories,
 Ceiling fans,  High-efficiency toilets and urinals,
 Clothes washers,  Showerheads, and
 Clothes dryers,  Weather or sensor-based irrigation
 Dehumidifiers, controllers.
 Dishwashers,
 Freezers,
 Refrigerators,
 Water heaters,
 Swimming pool pumps, and
 Light bulbs.
A person was limited to a single purchase for each specific type of item listed above with a sales pric e
over $500 during the holiday. A second purchase of the same type of product was subject to tax on the
entire price. There was no requirement that the purchase be for personal use, or any specific
prohibition against purchases for commercial use beyond the limit on the number of items that could be
purchased without paying tax.
Proposed Changes
The bill provides that no sales tax will be collected on the retail sale of a new ENERGY STAR product
or WaterSense product during the period beginning on April 22, 2022, and ending on April 24, 2022. To
qualify for the program, the product must bear the applicable label and must have been certified by
April 1, 2022.
ENERGY STAR products eligible for this sales tax holiday are:
 Room air conditioners,
 Air purifiers,
 Ceiling fans,
 Clothes washers,
 Clothes dryers,
 Dehumidifiers,
 Dishwashers,
 Freezers,
 Refrigerators,
 Water heaters,
 Swimming pool pumps, and
 Light bulbs.
WaterSense products eligible for this sales tax holiday are:
 Bathroom sink faucets,
 Faucet accessories,
 High-efficiency toilets and urinals,
 Showerheads, and
 Weather or sensor-based irrigation controllers.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1: Provides an exemption from sales and use tax for the retail sale of certain energy or
water efficient appliances during a specified period.
Section 2: Provides an effective date.
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 II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
The Revenue Estimating Conference estimated that the bill will have a non-recurring impact of
negative $4.4 million on General Revenue in FY 2021-22.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
The Revenue Estimating Conference estimated that the bill will have a non-recurring impact of
negative $1.3 million on local government revenue in FY 2021-22.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
The sales tax holiday will provide tax relief to Florida consumers.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not applicable.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
The bill provides the Department of Revenue with emergency rulemaking authority to administer the
sales tax holiday.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
The effective date of the bill is after the holiday has ended.
WaterSense products are approved by the federal government on a rolling basis, but the approval
database provided by the EPA does not include the date of approval. It may be difficult for a dealer to
confirm if a particular product was approved before or after the April 1, 2022 cutoff date. The ENERGY
STAR database includes a date of certification for each item, so those products do not have this issue.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
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