Legislative Update
by Chip LaMarca

The 2024 Legislative session has concluded, and I successfully secured many of my legislative priorities and helped pass legislation that will make Florida a more affordable and better place to live. This year’s Legislative session was a very busy one for District 100. I filed and ran 7 bills, and I was able to also prime co-sponsor on another bill, all of which passed and will be sent to the governor for signing.

The Legislation that I am most proud of is the My Safe Florida Home Program. This is an extremely popular program that allows people to hurricane-harden their homes. This year, we also added $200 million dollars to allow people to make improvements to their homes. There were also some changes compared to the bill I ran last year. You can now use any licensed contractor in the State of Florida and qualify for grant funding up to $10,000. I encourage you to apply for an inspection and take advantage of this excellent program. The average homeowner that used the program last year saved over $1,000 on their property insurance. There is also a public records exemption bill attached to the legislation so that when you apply for the program your information is protected.

After working on legislation for yacht and ship brokers for a few sessions, I was able to get the bill passed through both chambers and on to the governor’s desk. South Florida is the boating capital of the world, and this will make it easier for a person to buy and sell a yacht in the State of Florida. This is going to streamline the process and remove unnecessary hurdles in the process.

Another Bill that I was happy to work on was a local bill that was brought to me by the town of Hillsboro Beach to allow the sale of food and beverages at condominiums with more than 50 residents. The bill passed unanimously.

I was also able to advocate for and receive almost $8 million in appropriations for Broward County in our district. Some of the highlights for our local communities are below:

City of Fort Lauderdale Breakers Avenue Mobility Traffic Improvement: $3,000,000
City of Pompano Beach Dixie Highway Safety and Resilience Project: $1,000,000
Town of Hillsboro Beach Water Treatment Plant Improvement project: $375,000
City of Lighthouse Point NE 28th Street Bridge Replacement: $320,000
City of Lighthouse Point NE 21st Avenue Drainage Project: $300,000

Lastly, the legislature also passed the state’s tax package for 2024-25 last week. The tax package features $1.5 billion in savings and includes the popular Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday, two two-week Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holidays, a Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday, and a Skilled Worker “Tool Time” Sales Tax Holiday.

As always, it is an honor to serve you as your State Representative.