Florida Senate - 2025                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 954
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì726196GÎ726196                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/22/2025           .                                
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       The Committee on Rules (Gruters and Rouson) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 31 - 63
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsections (15) and (16) are added to section
    6  397.487, Florida Statutes, to read:
    7         397.487 Voluntary certification of recovery residences.—
    8         (15)(a)By January 1, 2026, the governing body of each
    9  county or municipality shall adopt an ordinance establishing
   10  procedures for the review and approval of certified recovery
   11  residences within its jurisdiction. The ordinance must include a
   12  process for requesting reasonable accommodations from any local
   13  land use regulation that serves to prohibit the establishment of
   14  a certified recovery residence.
   15         (b)At a minimum, the ordinance must:
   16         1.Be consistent with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of
   17  1988, 42 U.S.C. ss. 3601 et seq., and Title II of the Americans
   18  with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 12131 et seq.
   19         2.Establish a written application process for requesting a
   20  reasonable accommodation for the establishment of a certified
   21  recovery residence, which application must be submitted to the
   22  appropriate local government office.
   23         3.Require the local government to date-stamp each
   24  application upon receipt. If additional information is required,
   25  the local government must notify the applicant in writing within
   26  the first 30 days after receipt of the application, and allow
   27  the applicant at least 30 days to respond.
   28         4.Require the local government to issue a final written
   29  determination on the application within 60 days after receipt of
   30  a completed application. The determination must:
   31         a.Approve the request in whole or in part, with or without
   32  conditions; or
   33         b.Deny the request, stating with specificity the
   34  objective, evidence-based reasons for denial and identifying any
   35  deficiencies or actions necessary for reconsideration.
   36         5.Provide that if a final written determination is not
   37  issued within 60 days after receipt of a completed application,
   38  the request is deemed approved unless the parties agree in
   39  writing to a reasonable extension of time.
   40         6.Require that the application include, at a minimum:
   41         a.The name and contact information of the applicant or the
   42  applicant’s authorized representative;
   43         b.The property address and parcel identification number;
   44  and
   45         c.A description of the accommodation requested and the
   46  specific regulation or policy from which relief is sought.
   47         (c)The ordinance may establish additional requirements for
   48  the review or approval of reasonable accommodation requests for
   49  establishing a certified recovery residence, provided such
   50  requirements are consistent with federal law and do not conflict
   51  with this subsection.
   52         (d) The ordinance may not require public hearings beyond
   53  the minimum required by law to grant the requested
   54  accommodation.
   55         (e)The ordinance may include provisions for the revocation
   56  of a granted accommodation of a certified recovery residence for
   57  cause, including, but not limited to, a violation of the
   58  conditions of approval or the lapse, revocation, or failure to
   59  maintain certification or licensure required under this section,
   60  if not reinstated within 180 days.
   61         (f) The ordinance and establishment of a reasonable
   62  accommodation process does not relieve the local government from
   63  its obligations under the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988,
   64  42 U.S.C. ss. 3601 et seq., and Title II of the Americans with
   65  Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 12131 et seq. The regulation for
   66  which the applicant is seeking a reasonable accommodation must
   67  not facially discriminate against or otherwise disparately
   68  impact the applicant.
   69         (16)The application of this section does not supersede any
   70  current or future declaration or declaration of condominium
   71  adopted pursuant to chapter 718; any cooperative document
   72  adopted pursuant to chapter 719; or any declaration or
   73  declaration of covenant adopted pursuant to chapter 720.
   74  
   75  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   76  And the title is amended as follows:
   77         Delete lines 3 - 19
   78  and insert:
   79         amending s. 397.487, F.S.; requiring, by a specified
   80         date, the governing body of each county or
   81         municipality to adopt an ordinance to establish
   82         procedures for the review and approval of certified
   83         recovery residences; requiring that such ordinance
   84         include a process for requesting reasonable
   85         accommodations from any local land use regulation that
   86         serves to prohibit the establishment of a certified
   87         recovery residence; specifying criteria for the
   88         ordinance; providing that the ordinance may establish
   89         additional requirements for the review and approval of
   90         reasonable accommodation requests; prohibiting the
   91         ordinance from requiring public hearings beyond the
   92         minimum required by law; providing that the ordinance
   93         may include provisions for revocation of a granted
   94         accommodation for cause, if the accommodation is not
   95         reinstated within a specified timeframe; requiring
   96         that such additional requirements be consistent with
   97         federal law and not conflict with the act; providing
   98         construction; amending