burn ban and Tallahassee legislative priorities
What the county recorded
This item is not from the published agenda
It is a stretch of the recording that this archive identified as a separate matter — a call to order, a recess, or something taken up that the agenda does not list. There is no official title, no staff recommendation and no disposition, because the county never recorded one. Everything below is inferred.
The source document
The county’s agenda for Board of County Commissioners, Feb 3, 2026
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
The county’s minutes for Board of County Commissioners, Feb 3, 2026
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
What was said
Machine transcription of 14m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 100% of 57 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
County Administrator. Thank you, sir. Just a couple quick items. One, uh, this is just a verbal reminder to the board that uh on January 27th, uh, we instituted a burn ban due to the drought and dry conditions that we're experiencing. Actually, at the moment I was signing it, uh, fire rescue was actually out fighting a brush fire, so the the threat is real. Um and so that's stay in place until uh conditions change. Um the um don't forget you do have pictures immediately following this as as a board for for your annual pictures and
then uh I'd like Ralph just to come up we have on the calendar that uh obviously heading to Tallahassee uh this week for Pasco day and and meeting with uh with our legislative delegation but uh we'd like Ralph just to give us a quick teaser on what's uh what we've got going on.
And can he also go over some of the bills that we need to keep our eye on because I've seen a few that are very scary.
Yeah we can we can have that discussion too if there's some things that that we want but uh Ralph why don't you go ahead and tee up and then we'll see what commission uh questions.
Uh good morning commissioners Ralph Lair and our governmental affairs officer. Uh so After the board meeting today we will head to Tallahassee uh for our meetings with the elected officials and go over our priorities for this year um before the legislature. Um beginning tonight if you get in in time, uh, and it it is on your calendar, it's not on the itinerary. Um but Uh there is a reception today for or this
evening for the Pasco County uh Greater Chamber. Uh it's their annual trip that they went up for the day. uh their learning session of the process. So they will be meeting tonight for a reception. Um they expect to have b the CFO there, all the elected officials from the delegation. uh as well as other members of the legislature joining them. So it should be a nice evening. And then our day begins tomorrow. Uh I have put
your itinerary in folders with you uh at your da at the dais. Um I'm happy to carry those up if you do not want to carry them, but uh they uh please don't forget to bring them. Uh when you come up. Um we do have a uh a packed agenda. Um they are still our team in Tallahassee is still working on appointments, so there might be a few that come in stragglers, but we will update you in the morning. We're gonna start our day um with a briefing and meeting to go over
our discussions with uh all the individuals that we have scheduled, talk about uh not only our priorities, bills of interest that we would like to discuss Um and I will have um a electronic version on uh carried with me um and and we can easily get stuff printed up as needed. Uh we did have staff weigh in the past week. on several bills that we're tracking, over 200 bills. I couldn't make a hard copy of that because it was 119 pages, but
a lot of good input from staff uh on bills where we are, we we prioritize them as red light, green light, and yellow light. Um red light, no, bad bill, green light, good bill, yellow light, good bill, but couldn't have changes. So uh I like I said I do have an electronic version with me on that. If you have any questions, happy to respond. Yes sir.
Chairman Mari So Senate Bill Fifteen Forty eight. On the red light list. So that's affordable that's Live Local 4.0.
Yes.
It
is.
And it's troublesome to me that the legislature now uh is is trying to tell cities and counties on publicly owned land that we have to put subsidized affordable housing on those properties. So no secret.
Correct.
What's part of it? It's an evolution of of that piece of awful legislation.
Um good thing is is Moving in one chamber, one hearing, not moving in the other chamber. I think at the end of the day Um as you know, they file over thousands of bills, maybe two hundred to three hundred bills pass at the end of the day. Like last session. the sides are not getting along, so things are not moving as quickly. Um the biggest focus that they're um working on now is that they get a budget
done before June 30th. Um They're they're saying it might not happen within the 60 days. So I think that's her biggest focus. So you'll see one side with movement on bills. Um but we will continue to monitor them to uh make sure. Yeah, our red light bills
are addressed. It's concerning because, you know, we're making investments in parkland and we just got low there for two rivers. Depending on the language and the timing, we could have subsidized apartments on on the two two rivers property that's set aside for for a district park. So um anyway, I just figure I'd share my concerns.
Also just for observation and meetings that I had last week with legislators. Um Um they have addressed that next session. uh the plan is to go back and and address live local, how they do that. Devil's in the details, but uh they have made that commitment on both sides of the aisle. Or both sides of uh both chambers.
Well if they're gonna go back and revamp it it's disappointing that they there's an evolution in a From its original to now we're on four point oh, right. So correct. Um until that happens I think we need to continue beating the drum and keeping the mantra of hey Let's look at what you're trying to do here while It's commendable what they're trying to do and And and in premise in in real world application. It's got a significant
negative impact. to local government. So anyway, thank you. Thank you. Mr. Starkey.
Um on my um executive uh call that I am on back, um we discussed a number of bills, Ralph, and I'm um trying to remember some of the ones that I sent you. Um Uh but what one that you responded back to on that text, Mrs. Carvalho, was about a bill to regulate lot sizes to take away our ability to regulate lot sizes. Do we know that we have to do that?
Yeah, I think that was Senate Bill 948, at least uh based on that. And there there's a number of preemption bills and things that are that are running around there that had language on on lot size restrictions. So those are things that we we certainly are tracking. I think the bill you were referring to was the preemption one, which was 1444.
And it has to do with something that's going on in Sarasota. I think
it started out with right of way and church parking.
Oh yeah, church
parking
and the Tucker Carlson bill. That's right. Correct. Um It has to do with parking. Uh because people a church on Sundays is parking in front of other the church members are parking in front of other people's houses. So it takes away. And so they passed a la a rule and But it takes away our ability to Regulate parking. And they said they're very concerned that this could become a catch-all for all kinds of things.
One of the things that we're doing, Commissioners, with uh the list, at least that we've pulled up, FAC has a list, is kind of running that through our lobbyists and looking at what's the probability of passage, if you will. Um and so As Ralph said, that that that funnel gets very constricted towards the end. We're looking at committee stops, we're looking at where where those things sit and trying to focus our efforts on what really has legs. So if there are bills that through your various associations and and relationships are hearing about, let us let us know those.
I think we've got a lot captured. I was actually very, very pleased that the team is tracking almost 200 bills indeed um alone paying attention that's that's we haven't done that traditionally so we're we're really uh dialed in on this so it's sad that we
have to yeah the the other um the other one that we just
bill That anything if you have forty foot or less there's no architectural design standards already implemented.
The architectural design standards that you've worked so hard for because it's 44 less would be null and void under that piece. So
on uh we had a big discussion on the tax, the homestead exemption uh bill, and there seemed to be a lot of concern about the bill that um made it through committee. That has a I think a ten year life to um where there's no property tax after ten years. Right. Is there is that moving in the Senate as well?
No. No. So so none of the tax bills are moving in the Senate. Um the governor still does not have a uh he's not shown his hand on what he envisions. He does he has stated that he doesn't care for the House proposals, uh and the Senate is taking no side. They're just watching and willing to assist with whatever moves through the process. Um again in meetings last week I think the discussion was you may see an uh
increase in homestead exemption, um caps on uh uh on um their incomes. Uh but As far as seeing outright exemptions, probably not gonna see that happen at the end of the day.
Let me let me touch on that if I could 'cause I was I was up there I was up there with FAC. When I was up there with FAC I actually woke the next the next day after the meeting, they had an eight o'clock meeting with Houseways and Means to go where they're gonna take up the bill. So I went there. Um And I did it uh work with Amy and Um
effects of what it would be for the first year. The first year all the mandated things that they want to protect, this is shortfall of six million dollars. For us.
Mm-hmm.
Yes. So just with a hundred thousand dollar deduction. It was a a shortfall for the things we have to fund was six million dollars on the whole. The stuff they were trying to protect. After that, every year it gets tremendously worse. So it's just like a d a devastating bill for us. I don't know what it's gonna do for everybody else. So Uh I spoke, I show I talked about that, went through it. I offered our team to go sit with them to kind of show them the numbers. Um Uh Mike, I don't think anyone took us up on that offer. But uh I I do I do get I don't let me finish. I I do think that
there's this help in the Senate that they're not gonna take that up. So we'll see how it goes. Okay.
I can't speak for Broward or some of these other counties, but certainly certainly we can I think we should show our fiscal responsibility and if do we have a one pager that shows
So actually the form uh what you got from O and B at the workshop, uh I I did share that with our delegation when I was up there. So they have those and they are included in your folders. So if we want to give those additionally out. Um had a nice discussion with our newest senator. Um Uh Sonera Mazzula Praise on our our documents that we give us. He says I wish all counties would do that, including our priority list. He really enjoyed that. But but it's in your folder. Um I don't know if we can condense
it into a one pager, but we can get the message across and share that with our delegation.
So you You know, once again, Uh sometimes you're penalizing everyone when maybe there's a few bad apples, but the people who have been very fiscally responsible are gonna get punished. Sure. Yeah, that's true.
And and and as Ralph said, we've shared that. We've been transparent with the delegation and just very very neutral just to share. these are the net impacts. The numbers are the numbers and we will, you know, will continue to educate and and and provide that provide that information.
I would imagine that if if something like that goes through, we're not gonna be able to honor the fifty percent of new revenue split that we've been Doing. There's just no way.
We have a number of variables at play in this year's budget anyways with regards to MSTUs and and budgets as well. So this is another complication but we'll see. I I think we'll have more clarity as we get into the spring and summer as to which direction uh we can plan for.
Yes, I just wanted to actually this was just a correction just for um all of our commissioners that um rep Maggard is not on Teams. That's actually an in-person meeting. Oh so but
on the calendar
it does say teams.
Yes.
Um just so you all know, because I got asked if I was going to the governor's luncheon Thursday, and Commissioner Oakley, I know you usually go to that too. Um it's the opening day of the fair. That's right. But the governor's not gonna be there, he's gonna be with us.
That's correct. Yeah. Yeah, we have that clarified that he will
Now the CFO and the uh Commissioner Vag won't be there, but I'm gonna try to convince them as they're going down the big slide to scream Al Pasco County.
Right. That Oakham Shaker? Yeah. Anything else, Ralph? That's it? Okay. Mike, good? No, thank you. Okay. Madam Clerk?