Government Efficiency and Accountability

LEGISLATION THAT PASSED

Sovereign Immunity Caps – HB 145 increases the limits on the recovery of awards against a governmental entity. The House and Senate offered different bills. Beginning October 1, 2026, the House proposed increasing the per person cap from $200,000 to $500,000 and the cap for multiple judgments arising out of the same incident is increased from $300,000 to $1,000,000. The House bill would increase the caps again on October 1, 2031, rising to $600,000 and $1,200,000.  SB 1366 proposed new limits of $350,000 and $500,000 with no future increase. In addition, the House proposed allowing local governments to settle claims in excess of these limits without further legislative action. Both bills reduced the timeframe for presenting tort claims to an agency from 3 years to 18 months and the statute of limitations for negligence suits from 4 years to 2 years. The House passed HB 145 on the third day of session. In Week 9, the Senate replaced the House bill with the Senate language. The House concurred with the Senate amendment.

Local Government Spending – HB 1329 will increase transparency in local government budgeting by extending online posting requirements and adding interactive public access to budget data. The bill also mandates that cities and counties undertake a 10 percent budget-cutting exercise at least 14 days before final adoption of the budget. Integrating efficiency and cost savings into both the state and local government budget processes is a bedrock Florida TaxWatch recommendation. HB 1329 passed the House. It was amended in the Senate and the House concurred.

LEGISLATION THAT DID NOT PASS

IT Procurement Reform – HB 1197 includes several measures recommended by Florida TaxWatch to increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of the state’s IT procurement. The bill creates the Bureau of Enterprise Project Management and Oversight within the Florida Digital Service and directs it to develop standardized governance frameworks and reporting requirements for major IT projects. It requires all state agencies to follow new project planning processes and submit certain procurement and performance data for IT projects costing $10 million or more. It enhances vendor performance tracking; enhances contract standards to reduce vendor dependency and safeguard the state’s investments in IT. The bill passed the full House but the Senate had a different IT bill (see Technology section).  Neither passed.

Local Government  Regulatory Accountability Act – HB 105 would have established a uniform process and remedies to prevent arbitrary or unreasonable regulatory enforcement actions by counties, municipalities, and special districts. Local governments and special districts would be prohibited from initiating or threatening enforcement actions deemed arbitrary or unreasonable and unauthorized by ordinance. Citizens or businesses could request a review of such enforcement actions, and a response would be required within 30 days. Legal actions could be taken within 180 days, and prevailing plaintiffs could recover attorney fees, costs, and damages up to $50,000 per occurrence. HB 105 passed the House but not the Senate. 

Stopping Local Government Utility Revenue Sweeps – SB 1566 also included the cost savings exercise provision (HB 1329) until it was amended out in Week 5. However, it was replaced by another TaxWatch recommendation, requiring city and county run utilities to reinvest all utility revenue back into the system, instead of sweeping utility revenue into the General Fund. However, that provision was amended out of the bill in Week 7.

Fleet Management – SB 7032 would have streamlined state agency fleet management by eliminating Department of Management Services approval requirements and authorizing agencies to independently purchase, manage, and dispose of vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft under specified conditions. The bill was reported favorably by Governmental Oversight and Accountability but then stalled.

Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight – SB 1572 and HB 1303 would have created the agency within the Department of Financial Services to identify unnecessary spending and conduct audits of local governments that propose new or increased taxes. Annual financial ethics training would be required for agency employees, elected officials, and volunteers, and whistle-blower protections would be extended to those reporting information to the new oversight agency. Local governments would be required to submit yearly Local Government Efficiency Reports to the Department of Financial Services. These bills did not advance.