May 5, 2025
In a legislative season fraught with theatrics, surprises, and necessary acrobatics, week 8 of this year’s regular session ended on an almost anticlimactic and quiet note. Regular session concluded just shy of 11 p.m. Friday with the House and Senate passing a joint resolution to extend session through June 6 to complete the budget. Legislators will get some much-needed rest this week and will return next week to resume this budget work.
Though the final minutes of session were relatively idle, session itself, and most especially its last week, were anything but. The final week of session saw intense debate, late evening lobbying, and even dead bill language being amended onto other bills in an effort to administer parliamentary CPR. In the end, the construction industry chalked up (subject to the Governor’s decisions yet to occur) a number of outstanding victories.
The extraordinary circumstances impact fee, mitigation banking, platting, emergencies, utility pre-emption, and Live Local 3.0 bills all passed and are headed to the Governor for consideration. Equally important we were able to defeat many terrible bills including those that would have stripped away subcontractor and materialman lien rights, created special rules for hybrid zoning, and imposed duplicative heat illness prevention regulation. The omnibus DBPR deregulation bills did not make it across the threshold, but they may resurface in some fashion next year.
Be on the lookout next for my annual publication, New Laws to Live By, which will provide more comprehensive detail on how these and other construction industry bills change the game. In the interim, should you have any questions or desire more information, please never hesitate to contact me.
Justin R. Zinzow, CEO
Zinzow Law, LLC
ZinDocs, LLC
(727) 787-3121
