HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 1307 Housing Developments
SPONSOR(S): Redondo
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1552
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special 14 Y, 0 N Darden Darden
Districts Subcommittee
2) Ways & Means Committee
3) State Affairs Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
State affordable housing programs are administered by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC).
Among the programs operated by FHFC is the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) Program. FHFC draws
and administers funds from federal programs through federal tax credits, United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development grants, and from the state through the State Housing Trust Fund and Local
Government Housing Trust Fund. Both state trust funds are funded by documentary stamp taxes, ad hoc
individual legislative appropriations, and through program income, which consists primarily of funds from
successful loan repayments that are recycled into the program from which they originate.
The bill amends the definition of “urban infill” in the Community Planning Act to include the development or
redevelopment of mobile home parks and manufactured home communities that otherwise meet the criteria to
be considered urban infill.
The bill revises eligibility criteria for grants under the Resilient Florida Grant Program and the Statewide
Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan to allow community development districts that were authorized to
fund the construction or reconstruction of critical assets, either in the enabling ordinance that created the
district or by a county or municipal development order, to be added to the list of governmental entities eligible
for grants.
The bill makes the following changes to affordable housing programs:
 Amends the definition of “moderate income persons” to include households with incomes up to the
greater of 140 percent of the statewide median income or area median income in counties with a
population in excess of 1,000,000;
 Requires FHFC to review certain projects based on plans presented by the developer which includes
factors related to existing or proposed zoning, financing, and the housing supply needs of the county in
which the project is located;
 Provides that projects funded under the Live Local Program and general revenue service charge funds
redirected to the SAIL program may not be required to use federal low-income housing tax credits or
tax-exempt bond financing as part of the financing structure for the project; and
 Revises eligibility for the property tax exemption for the use of property in certain multifamily projects as
affordable housing to apply to properties used for moderate-income housing.
This bill may be a county or municipality mandate requiring a two-thirds vote of the membership of the
House. See Section III.A.1 of the analysis.
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:
Present Situation
Community Planning Act
The Community Planning Act1 provides counties and municipalities with the power to plan for future
development by adopting comprehensive plans.2 Each county and municipality must maintain a
comprehensive plan to guide future development.3
All development, both public and private, and all development orders approved by local governments
must be consistent with the local government’s comprehensive plan.4 A comprehensive plan is
intended to provide for the future use of land, which contemplates a gradual and ordered growth and
establishes a long-range maximum limit on the possible intensity of land use.
A locality’s comprehensive plan lays out the locations for future public facilities, including roads, water
and sewer facilities, neighborhoods, parks, schools, and commercial and industrial developments. A
comprehensive plan is made up of 10 required elements, each laying out regulations for a different
facet of development.5
Resilient Florida Grant Program
Established within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2021, the Resilient Florida
Program enhances efforts to protect Florida’s inland waterways, coastlines, and shores, which s erve as
invaluable natural defenses against sea level rise (SLR). 6 The program includes a selection of grants
that are available to counties, municipalities, water management districts, flood control districts, and
regional resilience entities.7 To effectively address the impacts of flooding and SLR that the state faces,
eligible applicants may receive funding assistance to analyze and plan for vulnerabilities as well as
implement projects for adaptation and mitigation. The Resilient Florida Program creates grant funding
opportunities under the Resilient Florida Grant Program and the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level
Rise Resilience Plan.8
Under the Resilient Florida Grant Program, subject to appropriation, the DEP may provide grants to a
county or municipality to fund:
 Costs of community resilience planning and necessary data collection for such planning,
including comprehensive plan amendments and necessary corresponding analyses that
address Peril of Flood requirements;
 Vulnerability assessments that identify or address risks of inland or coastal flooding and SLR; 9
 The development of projects, plans, and policies that allow communities to prepare for threats
from flooding and SLR; and
 Preconstruction activities for projects to be submitted for inclusion in the Statewide Flooding and
Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan that are located in a municipality that has a population of 10,000
or fewer or a county that has a population of 50,000 or fewer. 10
Affordable Housing
1 Ch. 163, part II F.S.
2 S. 163.3167(1), F.S.
3 S. 163.3167(2), F.S.
4 S. 163.3194(3), F.S
5 S. 163.3177(6), F.S.
6 DEP, Resilient Florida Program , https://floridadep.gov/ResilientFlorida (last visited Jan. 29, 2024).
7 DEP, Resilient Florida Grants, https://floridadep.gov/Resilient-Florida-Program/Grants (last visited Jan. 29, 2024).
8 Ss. 380.093(3) and 380.093(5), F.S.
9 Ss. 380.093(3)(b)(2) and 380.093(3)(c), F.S.
10 S. 380.093(3), F.S.
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 Housing is considered affordable when it costs less than 30 percent of a family’s gross income. 11 A
family paying more than 30 percent of its income for housing is considered “cost burdened,” while those
paying more than 50 percent are considered “extremely cost burdened.” Severely cost burdened
households are more likely to sacrifice other necessities such as healthy food and healthcare to pay for
housing, and to experience unstable housing situations such as eviction.
Affordable housing is defined in terms of household income. Resident eligibility for Florida’s state and
federally-funded housing programs is governed by area median income (AMI) or statewide median
family income,12 published annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD).13 The following are standard household income level definitions and their
relationship to the 2023 Florida statewide AMI of $85,500 for a family of four (as family size changes,
the income range also varies):14
 Extremely low income – earning up to 30 percent AMI (at or below $ 24,850);15
 Very low income – earning from 30.01 to 50 percent AMI ($24,851 to $41,450); 16
 Low income – earning from 50.01 to 80 percent AMI ($41,451 to $66,350); 17 and
 Moderate income – earning from 80.01 to 120 percent of AMI ($66,351 to $102,600). 18
Florida Housing Finance Corporation19
The Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) was created in 1997 as a public-private entity to
assist in providing a range of affordable housing opportunities for Floridians. 20 FHFC is a corporation
held by the state and housed within the Department of Commerce. FHFC is a separate budget entity
and its operations are not subject to control, supervision, or direction by the department.21
The goal of FHFC is to increase the supply of safe, affordable housing for individuals and families with
very low to moderate incomes by stimulating investment of private capital and encouraging public and
private sector housing partnerships. As a financial institution, FHFC administers federal and state
resources to finance the development and preservation of affordable rental housing and assist
homebuyers with financing and down payment assistance. 22
State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) Program
The SAIL program is administered by FHFC and provides low-interest loans on a competitive basis to
multifamily affordable housing developers.23 These funds often serve to bridge the gap between the
11 S. 420.0004(3), F.S.
12 The 2023 Florida SMI for a family of four was $ 85,500. U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Income Limits, Access
Individual Income Limits Areas, available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html#2022 (last visited Jan. 29, 2024).
13 HUD User, Office of Policy Development and Research, “Income Limits,” available at
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html#2022 (last visited Jan. 29, 2024) (SMI and AMI available under the "Access Individual
Income Limits Area” dataset).
14 U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Income Limits, Access Individual Income Limits Areas, available at
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html#2023 (last visited Jan. 29, 2024).
15 S. 420.0004(9), F.S.
16 S. 420.0004(17), F.S.
17
S. 420.0004(11), F.S.
18 S. 420.0004(12), F.S.
19 See generally National Council of State Housing Agencies, Ab out HFAs, https://www.ncsha.org/about-us/about-hfas/ (last visited
Jan. 29, 2024); See generally State of Florida Auditor General, Florida Housing Finance Corporation Audit Performed Pursuant to
Chapter 2013-83, Laws of Florida, available at https://flauditor.gov/pages/pdf_files/2017-047.pdf (last visited Jan. 29, 2024) (pursuant to
Ch. 2013-83, Laws of Fla., codified as s. 420.511(5), F.S., the Florida Auditor General conducted an operational audit of the accounts
and records of FHFC in November 2016).
20 Ch. 97-167, Laws of Fla. From 1980 through 1997, the former Florida Housi ng Finance Agency, placed within the former Department
of Community Affairs, performed similar duties.
21 S. 420.504(1), F.S.
22 See Fla. Housing Finance Corp., Ab out Florida Housing, https://www.floridahousing.org/about-florida-housing (last visited Jan. 29,
2024).
23 S. 420.5087, F.S.
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 development’s primary financing and the total cost of the development. SAIL program dollars are
available for developers proposing to construct or substantially rehabilitate multifamily rental housing. 24
At a minimum, developments financed by the SAIL program must set aside 20 percent of units for
households at or below 50 percent of AMI, or if the development also receives Low Income Housing
Tax Credits 25 (LIHTC), 40 percent of units for households up to 60 percent of AMI. 26 Loan interest rates
are set at 0 percent for those developments that maintain 80 percent of their occupancy for
farmworkers, commercial fishing workers, or homeless people. The interest rates are set at 1 percent
for all other developments. Generally, loans are issued for 15 years and cover approximately 25 to 35
percent of the total development cost.
SAIL program funding is distributed by FHFC through a competitive solicitation process. 27 Each year
FHFC issues several requests for application, formal offers of funding that require aspirant developers
to give FHFC detailed information related to the development. These requests for application vary by
geography and the needs of the community, based on a statewide market study. 28 Applications are
then reviewed and scored by FHFC based on a number of criteria, and awards are made from the
highest scoring applications.29
Set-asides for affordable housing set two limits on an apartment: the rent is limited to make the
apartment affordable to someone at the target income, and potential renters must submit proof of
income beneath the target before becoming eligible renters. Set-asides are generally governed by a
Land Use Restrictive Agreement (LURA), which is recorded by the county clerk’s office and runs with
the land. A LURA can also include a time period associated with restriction compliance enforced by the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), HUD, or other housing authority.30 Both FHFC and local governments
utilize LURAs to enforce requirements that developers receiving funding do go on to provide affordable
housing.
The same competitive solicitation process is used to distribute many different types of funding routed
through FHFC. FHFC is the state’s administrator for all federal affordable housing programs, which
include LIHTC, HOME Investment Partnerships Programs, the National Housing Trust Fund program
through HUD, and Multifamily Mortgage Revenue Bonds. The process is also used for other state
programs such as the Elderly Housing Community Loan Program. 31 Certain funding sources can also
be paired to ensure a greater number of projects are funded.
Funding for Affordable Housing
FHFC draws and administers funds from federal programs through federal tax credits and HUD 32 and
from the state through the State Housing Trust Fund and Local Government Housing Trust Fund. 33
Both state trust funds are funded by documentary stamp taxes, ad hoc individual legislative
appropriations, and through program income, which consists primarily of funds from successful loan
repayments that are recycled into the program from which they originate.
Documentary Stamp Tax
24 See Florida Housing Finance Corporation, State Apartment Incentive Loan, available at
https://floridahousing.org/programs/developers-multifamily-programs/state-apartment-incentive-loan (last visited Jan. 29, 2024).
25
Low Income Housing Tax Credits are a financial instrument administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that
provide financing for low income housing developments. Credits are allocated to states on a per capita basis and state -level
administration is performed by FHFC. Eligible developments are income-limited similarly to SAIL requirements.
26 S. 420.5087(2), F.S.
27 S. 420.5087(1), F.S.
28 Id., see also Fla. Admin. Code R. Ch. 67-60.
29 For the full list of statutory criteria, see s. 420.5087(6)(c), F.S. Additional criteria and scoring mechanics can be set by FHFC.
30 Commercial Real Estate Finance Company of America, Multifamily Housing – Land Use Restrictive Agreement (LURA) LIHTC,
available at https://www.crefcoa.com/land-use-restrictive-agreement.html (last visited Jan. 29, 2023).
31 See generally Florida Housing Finance Corporation, 2021 Annual Report, Jan. 30, 2022, available at
https://issuu.com/fhfc/docs/2021_annual_report (last visited Jan. 29, 2024).
32 See ss. 420.507(33) and 159.608, F.S.
33 S. 201.15, F.S.
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 The documentary stamp tax imposes an excise tax on deeds or other documents that convey an
interest in Florida real property. The tax comprises two taxes imposed on different bases at different tax
rates. The first tax rate is 70 cents on each $100 of consideration for deeds, instruments, or writings
whereby lands, tenements, or other real property or interests are granted, assigned, transferred,
conveyed, or vested in a purchaser.34 The second tax rate is 35 cents per each $100 of consideration
for certificates of indebtedness, promissory notes, wage assignments, and retail charge account
agreements.35 Revenue collected from the documentary stamp tax is divided between the General
Revenue Fund and various trust funds 36 according to the statutory formula in ch. 201, F.S.
Housing Trust Funds
The State Housing Trust Fund, administered by FHFC,37 is “to be used for new construction and
substantial rehabilitation of housing, to improve the state’s ability to serve first-time homebuyers, and to
increase the affordability and availability of the housing stock in the State of Florida.”38 The 1992
Sadowski Act increased documentary stamp tax rates and provided for a certain proportion of
documentary stamp tax revenues to be distributed to the State Housing Trust Fund. A large portion of
these funds are utilized in the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) Program.
The Local Government Housing Trust Fund, administered by FHFC, 39 is used to fund the State
Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program, which was created “for the purpose of providing funds
to local governments as an incentive for the creation of partnerships to produce and preserve
afforda