This bill amends various sections of Florida Statutes concerning growth management and impact fees, introducing the term "plan-based methodology" to describe a study approach that employs recent and localized data to project growth and assess capacity impacts over a five-year period. It also defines "extraordinary circumstances" as measurable effects of development that require local governments to mitigate impacts that exceed current fee amounts within a specified timeframe. The bill mandates that any study demonstrating the need for increased impact fees must utilize this plan-based methodology and outlines specific conditions for establishing extraordinary circumstances.

Additionally, the bill revises the voting requirement for ordinances that increase impact fees from a unanimous vote to a two-thirds majority. It prohibits local governments from using outdated data to justify fee increases and from deducting previous impact fees in new calculations. The legislation limits local governments and school districts from raising impact fees by more than 100% within a four-year period and ensures that prevailing parties in legal disputes over impact fees can recover reasonable attorney fees and costs. Furthermore, the bill allocates surtax revenues to eligible charter schools based on their share of total school district capital outlay enrollment and requires proper documentation of financial transactions related to these funds. Unencumbered funds will revert to the school sponsor if a charter is not renewed or is terminated, with the act set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
S 548 Filed: 163.3180, 212.055