During Florida’s 2023 legislative session, local governments suddenly faced the Legislature’s impatience with efforts (or lack of effort) to deliver more affordable housing within their respective communities. This was the Live Local Act of 2023 (or Senate Bill 102, as it was initially known). The Live Local Act was broad, sweeping legislation to increase housing opportunities for low- to middle-income households by introducing new statewide programs and policies. The Live Local Act allocated hundreds of millions of dollars in new annual funding and tax donation packages to bolster affordable housing programs administered by the Florida Housing Finance Corp. Additionally, to ease the local approval and permitting processes for new affordable housing units to be constructed, the Live Local Act also preempted specific aspects of the local government’s authority to regulate land use if 40% of the proposed dwelling units are “affordable.” (For purposes of the Live Local Act, a housing unit is “affordable” if rent and utility payments do not exceed 30% of the income from a household earning up to 120% of the area median income within the community.) The Live Local Act even provided landowners with exemptions from ad valorem tax obligations in exchange for providing affordable units.

After a year of implementation, the Florida Legislature adopted Senate Bill 328 during its 2024 session, reasserting its commitment to the Live Local Act. Senate Bill 328, or what many people refer to as the “Enhancement Bill,” was adopted with only one vote against it. The Enhancement Bill focuses mainly on the Live Local Act’s preemption of local government land use power by clarifying numerous provisions that had caused confusion or uncertainty and, in many cases, disagreement and dispute.

Housing Crisis Prompts State Action