Florida Housing Coalition Helps Local Governments and Nonprofits Navigate the Live Local Act
Branded as a “comprehensive statewide workforce housing strategy,” the Live Local Act proposes multiple strategies to address Florida’s longstanding struggle to provide enough attainable housing for its growing population.
The Live Local Act, also referred to as SB 102, represents a comprehensive and far-reaching workforce housing initiative and is supported by the Florida Housing Coalition. The Act aims to significantly bolster the availability of affordable housing options for Florida’s dedicated workforce, allowing them to reside in the very communities they tirelessly serve. This groundbreaking legislation not only allocates historic levels of funding to workforce housing but also introduces a wide array of novel programs, incentives, and prospects. It endeavors to reshape Florida’s housing strategy with a singular focus: enhancing accessibility to housing for all.
The Florida Housing Coalition stands ready to assist local governments, nonprofit organizations, and other entities to implement strategies to maximize the impact of the Live Local Act within the communities they serve. We are committed to the advancement of affordable housing options and innovative solutions across all housing markets in Florida.
The Live Local Act contains an array of funding and incentives including:
- Funding and tax credits. Up to $811 million for affordable housing programs.
- Tax incentives. Three new property tax incentives and sales tax exemption for specified affordable housing developments.
- Land use tools & role of local government. Facilitating affordable housing in commercial, industrial, and mixed-use areas & more.
- Publicly-owned land. Encouraging local governments to adopt best practices.
- State housing strategy. State guidance on affordable housing policy.
This page contains multiple resources and will be updated as a clearinghouse for information and assistance.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Live Local Act Amendment Bills Introduced
For immediate release: 3/6/2024
Senator Alexis Calatayud and Representative Vicki Lopez introduced bills, SB 328 and HB 1239, to amend the affordable housing land use preemption and missing middle property tax exemption created by the #LiveLocalAct.
As of February 28, 2024 the House and Senate have officially passed Senate Bill 328 – the 2024 Legislative Session’s Live Local Act amendment bill. This bill amends the Live Local Act’s land use preemption, the “Missing Middle” Property Tax Exemption, and funds the Hometown Hero Housing Program at $100 million. The next step is for this bill to be sent to the Governor’s desk for final signature. Note that the bill will go into effect right upon it becoming a law – it will not need to wait until July 1 like most other bills.
For a comprehensive overview, view our summary at:
https://flhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FHC-Summary-of-Senate-Bill-328-final.pdf
Questions can be directed to Kody Glazer, the Coalition’s Chief Legal and Policy Officer, at glazer@flhousing.org.
Resources
Overview of the Live Local Act
Click here to download the presentation.
If you have further questions about this overview or would like assistance in presenting this information, contact Kody Glazer, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at glazer@flhousing.org.
Summary of SB 102 (the Live Local Act)
The Live Local Act is a comprehsnive, 98-page piece of legislation. The Florida Housing Coalition has developed a seven page summary of the Act’s key points, providing context and explaining how the coalition can support this legislation and in which areas.
Click here to download the Coalition’s Summary on SB 102: The Live Local Act.
Live Local Act: Resources on Specific Provisions
The Florida Housing Coalition has published positioning statements and presentations on specific components of the Live Local Act.
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Identifying Publicly Owned Lands that are “Appropriate” for Affordable Housing: Florida law at s. 125.379 and s. 166.0451 of the Florida Statutes requires counties and municipalities to identify parcels they (and their dependent special districts) own in fee simple that are “appropriate for use as affordable housing.” Parcels identified as “appropriate” for affordable housing must be placed on a local affordable housing inventory list and adopted by the city or county commission via a resolution. The adopted inventory must then be made publicly available on the local government’s website to encourage potential development. Parcels placed on the affordable housing inventory list may be used for affordable housing purposes, although a parcel does not need to be placed on the inventory list before using it for affordable housing. The purpose of these statutes is to increase accountability, transparency, and the number of publicly owned parcels used to address local affordable housing needs.
This positioning statement explains the impact of this aspect of the act and the impacts to local municipalities, nonprofits, and other related organizations. Click here to download the positioning statement.
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The New Property Tax Exemptions for Affordable Housing in the Live Local Act: The Live Local Act ushered in a new era in how the state approaches affordable housing policy. Not only did the Act fully fund our state’s core Sadowski affordable housing programs in SHIP and SAIL at $511 million, but it contained a variety of tax incentives, land use policies, publicly owned land tools, and other strategic initiatives aimed at building more affordable homes in Florida. This document summarizes the three new property tax exemptions contained in the Live Local Act. The first two property tax exemptions provided below must be utilized by local property appraisers if a property owner follows the various processes laid out in the Act. The third exemption is a new optional local property tax incentive that cities and counties have the discretion to adopt.
This positioning statement explains the impact of this aspect of the act and the impacts to local municipalities, nonprofits, and other related organizations. Click here to download the positioning statement.
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Dissecting the Land Use Tools and Property Tax Exemptions in the Live Local Act: On June 15, 2023, the Florida Housing Coalition held a webinar and discussion forum on the various Land Use Tools and Property Tax Exemptions that are an integral part of the legislation.
The slides for this presentation are available. Click here to download the slides. If you have any questions regarding the content, or would like assistance presenting this material to others, please contact Kody Glazer, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at glazer@flhousing.org.
Training and Webinar Recordings
On June 15, 2023, the Florida Housing Coalition held a webinar to discuss the Land Use Tools and Property Tax Exemptions that are a part of the Live Local Act. Topics included were:
- Land use provisions
- Affordable housing land use preemption (s. 125.01055(7)/166.04151(7)
- House Bill 1339 tool (s. 125.01055(6)/166.04151(6)
- Property tax incentives
- Local option property tax exemption
- Nonprofit land exemption
- “Missing middle” property tax exemption
- Key themes
- Policy considerations
- Connecting the LLA incentives
The presentation may be viewed by clicking the video to the left. If you have any questions regarding this presentation, please contact Kody Glazer at glazer@flhousing.org.
OVERVIEW OF THE LIVE LOCAL ACT (SB 102)
On May 9, 2023, the Florida Housing Coalition held a webinar to provide members with an overview of the Live Local Act and to discuss how the coalition can provide support. Topics included were:
- Funding
- Property Tax Incentives
- Land Use & Zoning
- Using Publicly-owned Land for Affordable Housing
- Amendments to State Housing Strategy & Other Reforms
The presentation may be viewed by clicking the video to the left. If you have any questions regarding this presentation, please contact Kody Glazer at glazer@flhousing.org.
Request Assistance
For questions, technical assistance, or consulting requests, please complete this form or contact contact Kody Glazer at glazer@flhousing.org.
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