Public-policy groups have expressed relief over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto of legislation that would have allowed businesses to sue local governments when ordinances lead to profit losses of 15% or more.
“Local governments do overstep their authority and unreasonably burden businesses through policies that range from the merely misguided to the politically motivated,” DeSantis said in his veto message about Senate Bill 620, authored by state Sen. Travis Hutson (R-St. Augustine). “... However, the broad and ambiguous language of the bill will lead to both unintended and unforeseen consequences and costly litigation.”
Jane West, the policy and planning director of 1,000 Friends of Florida, a growth-management group, told the Florida Record that the bill would have prohibited local regulation of puppy mills, something that generated opposition to the measure. It would also have had a chilling effect on cities and counties, keeping them from approving needed development decisions due to financial concerns about the resulting civil lawsuits.
““It would have been a hot mess to try and figure that out,” West said. “It would have been really expensive for local governments. … They would just be really loath to take that step (of passing regulations) out of fear of being sued.”
The bill was also problematic because it contained a long list of exceptions for different situations and could have led to numerous unintended consequences, she said.
Florida TaxWatch acknowledged that local ordinances can have a negative impact on job creation and business productivity but said the veto will prevent local tax increases or local service reductions as a result of the measure’s provisions.
“... In an already exceptionally litigious state like Florida, it would have resulted in an influx of financially motivated and malicious lawsuits, costing local governments more than $900 million annually,” Dominic Calabro, TaxWatch’s president and CEO, said in a prepared statement.
In his veto message, DeSantis suggested state lawmakers would be better off enacting a more targeted bill that addresses situations when local governments undermine the rights of Floridians. And West expects a revised version of the legislation to be proposed in the future.