POLISCOPE
Back to feed
Part ofland use →
SB 218FLORIDA · STATEWIDESession 2026Died in Messages

Proposed Changes to Land Use Rules for Hurricane-Affected Areas

Original title: Land Use Regulations

October 16, 2025

land usedisaster relieflocal governmentFlorida law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Where This Stands

Currently Died in Messages. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Introduced.

Procedural history

14 actions
  1. Feb 25, 2026Senate
    CS by Rules read 1st time
  2. Feb 25, 2026Senate
    Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
  3. Feb 25, 2026Senate
    Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
  4. Feb 24, 2026Senate
    CS by- Rules; YEAS 23 NAYS 0
  5. Feb 19, 2026Senate
    On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/24/26, 12:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
  6. Feb 11, 2026Senate
    Now in Rules
Show 8 earlier actions
  1. Feb 10, 2026SenateCommittee
    Favorable by Judiciary; YEAS 10 NAYS 0
  2. Feb 5, 2026Senate
    On Committee agenda-- Judiciary, 02/10/26, 12:00 pm, 110 Senate Building
  3. Jan 28, 2026Senate
    Now in Judiciary
  4. Jan 27, 2026SenateCommittee
    Favorable by Community Affairs; YEAS 8 NAYS 0
  5. Jan 22, 2026Senate
    On Committee agenda-- Community Affairs, 01/27/26, 3:30 pm, 37 Senate Building
  6. Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroduced
    Introduced
  7. Nov 3, 2025SenateCommittee
    Referred to Community Affairs; Judiciary; Rules
  8. Oct 16, 2025SenateIntroduced
    Filed

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

The Frame

What this does

The bill would have narrowed the geographic reach of specific state land use requirements, potentially exempting local governments not hit by recent major hurricanes from compliance with those regulations starting July 1, 2026.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Local governments in disaster-declared areas

These entities would have been subject to specific land use regulations under the proposed law.

Local governments outside disaster-declared areas

These entities would have been excluded from the application of the specified land use regulations.

What changed

Last recorded activity October 16, 2025.

What's next

Introduced.

Background

  • The bill was introduced during the 2026 legislative session following a series of major hurricane events in Florida. context

Summary

This bill would have restricted the application of certain land use regulations to only those counties and municipalities designated as 's' following Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton. The legislation would have limited the scope of existing state land use laws to areas eligible for both individual and public federal disaster assistance.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an 'impacted local government' under this bill?
It is a county (and its municipalities) that received a federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Debby, Helene, or Milton and was designated as eligible for both individual and public assistance under the .
Did this bill become law?
No, the bill died in the legislative process on March 13, 2026.

Why It Matters

The bill would have narrowed the geographic reach of specific state land use requirements, potentially exempting local governments not hit by recent major hurricanes from compliance with those regulations starting July 1, 2026.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Lobbying Activity

BARNES & THORNBURG, LLP

on behalf of POMONA VALLEY PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION

View filing →

Voting Record

Motion succeededupper3/5/2026openstates_bulkOfficial roll call ↗

Third Reading

Total

39

Yes

36

No

0

Present

0

Not Voting

1

Abstain

0

Motion succeededsenate2/24/2026Official roll call ↗

Favorable with Committee Substitute

Total

28

Yes

27

No

0

Present

0

Not Voting

0

Abstain

0

Motion succeededsenate2/10/2026Official roll call ↗

Favorable

Total

11

Yes

10

No

0

Present

0

Not Voting

0

Abstain

0

Motion succeededsenate1/27/2026Official roll call ↗

Favorable

Total

9

Yes

9

No

0

Present

0

Not Voting

0

Abstain

0

Full roll-call analysis →

Sponsors

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Disaster-Specific Regulatory Relief

The bill attempted to create a tiered regulatory environment based on federal disaster declaration status, effectively exempting non-impacted areas from certain state-mandated land use rules.

Hurricane DebbyHurricane HeleneHurricane Milton

Connected Entities

organizationRules“Committee reviewing the bill”Map →
locationKnott Building“Meeting location”Map →
locationSenate Building“Meeting location”Map →
other23“Vote count”Map →
dollar_amount412“Meeting location”Map →
other37“Vote count”Map →
other110“Vote count”Map →
organizationJudiciary“Committee reviewing the bill”Map →
other10“Vote count”Map →
organizationCommunity Affairs“Committee reviewing the bill”Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance45
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy10
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz15
    Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

Share or embed this record

POLISCOPE publisher tools

Share or embed this record