Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1180
Ì3537621Î353762
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
01/27/2026 .
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The Committee on Community Affairs (Arrington) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 125.572, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended to read:
7 125.572 Regulation of synthetic turf.—
8 (3)(a) Upon the Department of Environmental Protection
9 adopting rules pursuant to subsection (4), a local government
10 may not:
11 1.(a) Adopt or enforce any ordinance, resolution, order,
12 rule, or policy that prohibits, or is enforced to prohibit, a
13 property owner from installing synthetic turf that complies with
14 Department of Environmental Protection standards adopted
15 pursuant to this section which apply to single-family
16 residential property.
17 2.(b) Adopt or enforce any ordinance, resolution, order,
18 rule, or policy that regulates synthetic turf which is
19 inconsistent with the Department of Environmental Protection
20 standards adopted pursuant to this section which apply to
21 single-family residential property.
22 (b) This subsection does not apply to the adoption or
23 enforcement of any resolution, order, rule, or policy by a
24 community development district to enforce deed restrictions.
25 Section 2. Subsection (7) of section 190.003, Florida
26 Statutes, is amended to read:
27 190.003 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
28 (7) “Compact, urban, mixed-use district” means a district
29 consisting of a maximum of 75 acres which is located within a
30 municipality, and within either a qualified opportunity zone
31 designated by the United States Department of the Treasury
32 pursuant to 26 U.S.C. s. 1400Z-1 or a community redevelopment
33 area created pursuant to s. 163.356, which district that
34 consists of a maximum of 75 acres, and has development
35 entitlements of:
36 (a) At least 400,000 square feet of retail development and
37 500 residential units; or
38 (b) At least 250,000 square feet of commercial development
39 and 500 residential rental units that are affordable for very
40 low-income, low-income, or moderate-income persons, as defined
41 in s. 420.0004, s. 420.602, or s. 420.9071.
42 Section 3. Section 190.0071, Florida Statutes, is created
43 to read:
44 190.0071 Community development district recall.—
45 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
46 (a) “Clerk,” as the context requires, means:
47 1. If the community development district was established by
48 ordinance of a local general-purpose government pursuant to s.
49 190.005(2), the clerk of such local general-purpose government.
50 2. If the community development district was established by
51 rule of the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission
52 pursuant to s. 190.005(1), the clerk of the circuit court of the
53 county that contains a majority of the qualified electors of the
54 district.
55 (b) “District” means the area or region of a community
56 development district from which a member of the governing board
57 is elected by such area’s or region’s electors.
58 (2) APPLICATION.—Any member of the governing body of a
59 community development district who is elected to the governing
60 body by the qualified electors of the community development
61 district may be removed from office by the electors of the
62 community development district. If the member represents a
63 district and is elected only by electors residing in that
64 district, only electors residing in that district are eligible
65 to sign the petition to recall that member and are entitled to
66 vote in the recall election. If the member represents a district
67 and is elected at large by the electors of the community
68 development district, all electors of the community development
69 district are eligible to sign the petition to recall that member
70 and are entitled to vote in the recall election. Members may be
71 removed from office pursuant to the procedures provided in this
72 section.
73 (3) RECALL PETITION.—
74 (a) Petition content.—A petition must contain the name of
75 the person sought to be recalled and a statement of grounds for
76 recall. The statement of grounds may not exceed 200 words, and
77 the stated grounds are limited solely to those specified in
78 paragraph (d). If more than one member of the governing body is
79 sought to be recalled, regardless of whether such member is
80 elected by the electors of a district or by the electors of the
81 community development district at large, a separate recall
82 petition must be prepared for each member sought to be recalled.
83 Upon request, the content of a petition may be, but is not
84 required to be, provided by the proponent in alternative
85 formats.
86 (b) Requisite signatures.—The petition must be signed by at
87 least 10 percent of the total number of registered electors of
88 the community development district or of a district thereof. All
89 signatures must be obtained as provided in paragraph (e) within
90 a period of 30 days, and all signed and dated petition forms
91 must be filed at the same time, no later than 35 days after the
92 date on which the first signature is obtained on the petition.
93 (c) Recall committee.—Electors of the community development
94 district making charges contained in the statement of grounds
95 for recall, as well as those signing the recall petition, must
96 be designated as the recall committee. A specific person must be
97 designated in the petition as chair of the committee, and this
98 person shall act on behalf of the committee. The recall
99 committee and the officer being recalled are subject to chapter
100 106.
101 (d) Grounds for recall.—The grounds for removal of elected
102 members of the governing body of a community development
103 district are, for the purposes of this act, limited to the
104 following and must be contained in the petition:
105 1. Malfeasance;
106 2. Misfeasance;
107 3. Neglect of duty;
108 4. Drunkenness;
109 5. Incompetence;
110 6. Permanent inability to perform official duties; or
111 7. Conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude.
112 (e) Signature process.—Only electors of the district or the
113 community development district are eligible to sign the
114 petition. Each elector signing a petition shall sign and date
115 his or her name in ink or indelible pencil. Each petition must
116 contain appropriate lines for each elector’s original signature;
117 printed name; street address; city; county; voter registration
118 number or date of birth; Florida driver license number, Florida
119 identification card number issued pursuant to s. 322.051, or the
120 last four digits of the elector’s social security number; and
121 the date signed.
122 (f) Filing of signed petitions.—All signed petition forms
123 must be filed at the same time, no later than 35 days after the
124 date on which the first signature is obtained on the petition.
125 The person designated as chair of the committee shall file the
126 signed petition forms with the clerk. The petition may not be
127 amended after it is filed with the clerk.
128 (g) Verification of signatures.—
129 1. No more than 60 days after the date on which all
130 petition forms are filed, the clerk shall submit the petition
131 forms to the supervisor of elections, who shall promptly verify
132 the signatures in accordance with s. 99.097 and determine
133 whether the requisite number of valid signatures has been
134 obtained for the petition. The committee seeking verification of
135 the signatures must pay in advance to the supervisor of
136 elections the actual cost of signature verification. If the
137 community development district lies in more than one county, the
138 clerk shall submit each petition form to the respective
139 supervisor of elections with jurisdiction over the elector that
140 signed the individual petition.
141 2. Upon filing with the clerk, the petition and all
142 subsequent papers or forms required or permitted to be filed
143 with the clerk in connection with this section must, upon
144 request, be made available in alternative formats by the clerk.
145 3. If the supervisor determines that the petition does not
146 contain the requisite number of verified and valid signatures,
147 the clerk, upon receipt of such written determination, must
148 certify such determination to the governing body of the
149 community development district and file the petition without
150 taking further action, and the matter ends. No additional names
151 may be added to the petition, and the petition may not be used
152 in any other proceeding.
153 4. If the supervisor of elections determines that the
154 petition has the requisite number of verified and valid
155 signatures, the procedures outlined in subsection (4) must be
156 followed. If the community development district lies in more
157 than one county, the supervisor of elections of each county
158 shall confer as to whether the requisite numbers of verified and
159 valid signatures have been submitted and the supervisor of
160 elections of the county in which the clerk is located shall make
161 a determination whether the petition has the requisite number of
162 verified and valid signatures.
163 (4) RECALL PETITION AND DEFENSE.—
164 (a) Notice.—Upon receipt of a written determination that
165 the requisite number of signatures has been obtained, the clerk
166 shall at once serve upon the member sought to be recalled a
167 certified copy of the petition. Within 5 days after service, the
168 member sought to be recalled may file with the clerk a defensive
169 statement of not more than 200 words.
170 (b) Content and preparation.—Within 5 days after the date
171 of receipt of the defensive statement or after the last date a
172 defensive statement could have been filed, the clerk shall
173 prepare a document entitled “Recall Petition and Defense,” which
174 consists of the recall petition, including copies of the
175 originally signed petitions and counterparts. The Recall
176 Petition and Defense must contain lines that conform to
177 paragraph (3)(e) and the defensive statement or, if no defensive
178 statement has been filed, a statement to that effect. The clerk
179 shall make copies of the Recall Petition and Defense which are
180 sufficient to carry the signatures of 30 percent of the
181 registered electors. Immediately after preparing and making
182 sufficient copies of the Recall Petition and Defense, the clerk
183 shall deliver the copies to the person designated as chair of
184 the committee and take his or her receipt therefor.
185 (c) Requisite signatures.—Upon receipt of the Recall
186 Petition and Defense, the committee may circulate the petition
187 to obtain the signatures of 15 percent of the electors. All
188 signatures must be obtained and all signed petition forms filed
189 with the clerk no later than 60 days after delivery of the
190 Recall Petition and Defense to the chair of the committee.
191 (d) Verification of signatures.—Within 30 days after
192 receipt of the signed Recall Petition and Defense, the
193 supervisor of elections shall determine the number of valid
194 signatures and certify whether 15 percent of the qualified
195 electors of the community development district have signed the
196 petition. The supervisor of elections must be paid by the
197 persons or committee seeking verification the actual cost of
198 signature verification. If the community development district
199 lies in more than one county, the supervisor of elections of
200 each county shall confer as to whether the number of valid
201 signatures required have been submitted. The supervisor of
202 elections of the county in which the clerk is located shall make
203 a determination whether the petition has the requisite number of
204 verified and valid signatures.
205 (e) Reporting.—If the supervisor of elections determines
206 that the requisite number of signatures has not been obtained,
207 the clerk must certify such determination to the governing body
208 and retain the petitions. The proceedings must be terminated,
209 and the petitions may not be used again. If the supervisor of
210 elections determines that at least 15 percent of the qualified
211 electors signed the petition, the clerk must immediately serve
212 notice of that determination upon the member sought to be
213 recalled and deliver to the governing body a certificate as to
214 the percentage of qualified electors who signed. If the
215 community development district lies in more than one county, the
216 supervisor of elections of each county shall confer as to
217 whether the total number of requisite signatures has not been
218 obtained.
219 (5) RECALL ELECTION.—If the member designated in the
220 petition files his or her written resignation within 5 days
221 after the last-mentioned notice, the resignation is irrevocable.
222 The governing body shall then proceed to fill the vacancy
223 according to the applicable law. In the absence of a
224 resignation, the chief judge of the judicial circuit in which
225 the community development district is located shall fix a day
226 for holding a recall election for the removal of any member not
227 resigning. Any such election must be held not less than 30 days
228 or more than 60 days after the expiration of the last-mentioned
229 5-day period and at the same time as any other general or
230 special election held within the period; but if no such election
231 is to be held within that period, the judge must call a special
232 recall election to be held within the period aforesaid.
233 (6) BALLOTS.—The ballots at the recall election must
234 conform to the following: With respect to each person whose
235 removal is sought, the question must be submitted: “Shall ....
236 be removed from the office of .... by recall?” Immediately
237 following each question there must be printed on the ballots the
238 two propositions in the following order:
239 “...(name of person)... should be removed from office.”
240 “...(name of person)... should not be removed from office.”
241 (7) FILLING OF VACANCIES; SPECIAL ELECTIONS.—
242 (a) If an election is held for the recall of members
243 elected only at large, candidates to succeed such members for
244 the unexpired terms must be voted on at the same election and
245 must be elected in the same manner as provided by the
246 appropriate law for the election of candidates at general
247 elections. Candidates may not be elected to succeed any
248 particular member. If only one member is removed, the candidate
249 receiving the highest number of votes must be declared elected
250 to fill the vacancy. If more than one member is removed,
251 candidates equal in number to the number of members removed must
252 be declared elected to fill the vacancies; and, among the
253 successful candidates, those receiving the greatest number of
254 votes must be declared elected for the longest terms. Cases of
255 ties, and all other matters not herein specially provided for,
256 must be determined by the rules governing elections generally.
257 (b) If an election is held for the recall of members
258 elected only from districts, candidates to succeed such members
259 for the unexpired terms must be voted on at a special election
260 called by the chief judge of the judicial circuit in which the
261 districts are located not less than 30 days or more than 60 days
262 after the expiration of the recall election. The qualifying
263 period, for purposes of this section, must be established by the
264 chief judge of the judicial circuit after consultation with the
265 clerk. Any candidate seeking election to fill the unexpired term
266 of a recalled community development district member must reside
267 in the district represented by the recalled member and qualify
268 for office in the manner required by law. Each candidate
269 receiving the highest number of votes for each office in the
270 community development district recall election must be declared
271 elected to fill the unexpired term of the recalled member.
272 Candidates seeking election to fill a vacancy created by the
273 removal of a member are subject to chapter 106.
274 (c) If an election is held for the recall of members of the
275 governing body composed of both members elected at large and
276 elected by and representing a district, candidates to succeed
277 such members for the unexpired terms must be voted on at a
278 special election as provided in paragraph (b).
279 (d) In any recall election held pursuant to paragraph (b)
280 or paragraph (c), if only one member is voted to be removed from
281 office, the vacancy created by the recall must be filled by the
282 governing body according to the applicable law for filling
283 vacancies.
284 (8) EFFECT OF RESIGNATIONS.—If the member of the governing
285 body being recalled resigns from office before the recall
286 election, the remaining members must fill the vacancy created
287 according to the applicable law for filling vacancies. If all of
288 the members of the governing body are sought to be recalled and
289 all of the members resign before the recall election, the recall
290 election must be canceled, and a special election must be called
291 to fill the unexpired terms of the resigning members. If all of
292 the members of the governing body are sought to be recalled and
293 any of the members resign before the recall election, the
294 proceedings for the recall of members not resigning and the
295 election of successors to fill the unexpired terms must continue
296 and have the same effect as though there had been no
297 resignation.
298 (9) WHEN PETITION MAY BE FILED.—A petition to recall any
299 member of the governing body of a community development district
300 may not be filed until the member has served one-fourth of his
301 or her term of office. A person who is removed by a recall, or
302 resigns after a petition has been filed against him or her, is
303 not eligible to be appointed to the governing body within a
304 period of 2 years after the date of such recall or resignation.
305 (10) RETENTION OF PETITION.—The clerk shall preserve all
306 papers comprising or connected with a petition for recall for a
307 period of 2 years after they are filed.
308 (11) OFFENSES RELATING TO PETITIONS.—A person may not
309 impersonate another, purposely write his or her name or
310 residence falsely in the signing of any petition for recall or
311 forge any name thereto, or sign any paper with knowledge that he
312 or she is not a qualified elector of the community development
313 district. A person may not employ or pay another to accept
314 employment or payment for circulating or witnessing a recall
315 petition. A person who violates this section commits a
316 misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
317 775.082 or s. 775.083.
318 (12) INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that the
319 recall procedures provided in this section be uniform statewide.
320 Therefore, all special law provisions that are contrary to the
321 provisions of this section are hereby repealed to the extent of
322 this conflict.
323 (13) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions of this section apply to
324 all community development districts.
325 Section 4. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (3) of
326 section 190.006, Florida Statutes, to read:
327 190.006 Board of supervisors; members and meetings.—
328 (3)
329 (e) Any board member elected to the board of supervisors by
330 the qualified electors of the district pursuant to this
331 subsection is subject to the recall procedures provided for in
332 s. 190.0071.
333 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.
334
335 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
336 And the title is amended as follows:
337 Delete everything before the enacting clause
338 and insert:
339 A bill to be entitled
340 An act relating to community development districts;
341 amending s. 125.572, F.S.; providing that specified
342 provisions regarding synthetic turf do not apply to
343 community development districts enforcing deed
344 restrictions; amending s. 190.003, F.S.; revising the
345 definition of the term “compact, urban, mixed-use
346 district”; creating s. 190.0071, F.S.; defining terms;
347 providing that certain members of the governing body
348 of a community development district may be removed by
349 the electors of the community development district;
350 providing that only specified electors are eligible to
351 sign the petition and are entitled to vote to recall
352 such members under specified circumstances; requiring
353 that a petition to recall a member contain specified
354 information; requiring separate petitions for each
355 member sought to be recalled; requiring a specified
356 percentage of electors to sign the petition; requiring
357 that such signatures be obtained and submitted within
358 specified timeframes; requiring the designation of a
359 recall committee and chair of such committee;
360 providing that the committee and the member to be
361 recalled are subject to specified provisions;
362 providing the grounds for removal of elected members;
363 requiring each elector to sign and date petitions;
364 requiring that each petition contain specified
365 information; requiring that a petition be filed with
366 the clerk in a specified manner by the chair of the
367 committee; prohibiting the petition from being amended
368 after it is filed; requiring the clerk to submit the
369 forms to the supervisor of elections to promptly
370 verify signatures and make a certain determination
371 within a specified timeframe; requiring the committee
372 to pay in advance for such verification; providing for
373 the duties of supervisors in each county if the
374 community development district lies in more than one
375 county; requiring that specified papers and forms be
376 available in alternative formats upon request;
377 requiring the clerk to make a certain certification
378 under specified circumstances; requiring the clerk to
379 serve a certified copy of the petition upon the person
380 sought to be recalled under a specified circumstance;
381 authorizing such person to submit a certain response
382 within a specified timeframe; requiring the clerk to
383 prepare a specified document within a specified
384 timeframe; specifying requirements for such document;
385 requiring the clerk to deliver such document to the
386 chair of the committee and take his or her receipt
387 therefor; authorizing the committee to circulate the
388 petition; requiring that all signatures be obtained
389 and all forms filed with the clerk within a specified
390 timeframe; requiring the supervisor to determine the
391 number of valid signatures and certify that the
392 requisite percentage of electors signed the petition;
393 requiring that the supervisor be paid a specified sum
394 for each name checked; providing for the duties of the
395 supervisor of each county if the community development
396 district lies in more than one county; requiring the
397 clerk to certify specified determinations made and
398 provide a certain notice to the governing body of the
399 community development district; requiring that, under
400 a specified condition, recall proceedings be
401 terminated and petitions not be used again; providing
402 that a member designated in the petition may resign
403 and that such resignation is irrevocable; requiring
404 the governing body to fill certain vacancies according
405 to the applicable law; requiring the chief judge of
406 the judicial circuit to fix a day for holding the
407 recall election, which must be held within a
408 prescribed timeframe under specified conditions;
409 requiring that the ballots include specified
410 information; prescribing procedures for holding
411 special elections to fill vacancies created by the
412 recall petition; providing for the filling of a
413 vacancy created by a member resigning before the
414 recall election; prohibiting a member from being the
415 subject of a recall petition until the member has
416 served a specified portion of his or her term of
417 office; prohibiting a member removed by recall or
418 resignation from being eligible to be appointed to the
419 governing body for a specified timeframe after his or
420 her removal; requiring the clerk to preserve the
421 petitions and related papers for a specified
422 timeframe; prohibiting a person from impersonating
423 another, purposely writing his or her name or
424 residence falsely, or signing any paper with certain
425 knowledge; prohibiting a person from employing or
426 paying another to accept payment for circulating or
427 witnessing petitions; providing criminal penalties;
428 providing legislative intent; providing applicability;
429 amending s. 190.006, F.S.; providing that certain
430 board members of community development districts are
431 subject to specified election recall provisions;
432 providing an effective date.