May 2  • 10:30 P.M.

Special session schedule change
The special session on property taxes originally scheduled for the first week of June has been moved back to June 12-22. House and Senate leaders called the special session when it became clear that a deal couldn’t be worked out in the remaining 48 hours of the regular session. "The issue is too important to our state and to our taxpayers for us to give them a product they would not be proud of," said Senate President Ken Pruitt (R-Port St. Lucie) . "We have laid a great foundation." Pruitt noted that both sides have already agreed on two FAR-supported tax relief measures—$25,000 exemption on personal intangible property for small businesses and some form of Save Our Homes portability. Details of the portability discussions were not released.

FAR President Nancy Riley, who will be in Tallahassee until the Legislature adjourns on Friday evening, urges Florida Realtors to use the time between now and June 12 to communicate the Realtor position to their legislators. “While I am disappointed the Legislature didn't finalize the property tax reform plan during the regular session, the 30 days they will be home before the June special session allows us even more time to make our voices heard,” says Riley. “It is my hope that a special legislative session devoted entirely to this issue will be able to deliver even more comprehensive tax reform than what could be negotiated in the waning hours of the regular session. The legislature will be able to roll back rates immediately and, if we remain strong, we will get our special election this year for portability and other constitutional issues that must be ratified by the voters.”

Home inspector bill set for final vote. The House tonight made a minor change to SB 2234, a bill that would require home inspectors, mold remediators and mold assessors to be licensed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, setting the stage for a final vote in the Senate.

Condo bill on its way to the governor. A bill that came about because of Hurricane Andrew passed the Legislature today and is on its way to the governor. SB 314 by Sen. Steve Geller (D-Hallandale Beach) seeks to enable condos to be sold with less 100 percent approval of owners. What’s the 1992 storm have to do with this legislation? Condo buildings damaged beyond repair following Andrew took nearly a decade to raze, since condo associations can only be dissolved through unanimous consent. Tracking down owners displaced by the same presented another challenge. SB 314 would, in part, allow 80 percent as the minimum required owners to approve dissolving a condominium association in cases where a property is damaged by storms or severely aged. Florida has about 1.4 million condos, many of them in coastal areas.