Thanks to your advocacy, we’re seeing movement in Tallahassee. Over the past several months, your calls, emails, and local organizing have made it impossible for lawmakers to ignore the real-world consequences of Senate Bill 180, the sweeping law passed in the 2025 legislative session that freezes meaningful local planning efforts through October 2027 and sharply limits what communities can do post-hurricanes. (Read more about this bill and our campaign at https://1000fof.org/priorities/restorecommunityplanning/#/19/)

Because of your efforts, legislators have been forced to take a closer look at the law and begin correcting its most damaging provisions. Yesterday brought an important development.

Senator Nick DiCeglie (Pinellas), the original bill sponsor of 2025’s SB 180, filed SB 840, a bill intended to correct some of last year’s overreach.

Here’s what SB 840 would do:

• Narrow SB 180’s scope going forward so its restrictions apply only to properties actually damaged by a storm.
• Reduce the threat of lawsuits against local governments by removing much of the automatic litigation exposure created under SB 180.
• Shorten the freeze on adopting “more restrictive or burdensome” planning policies, moving the end date from October 1, 2027 to June 30, 2026.
• Leaves intact the retroactive provisions of SB 180, which remain a major concern for communities still navigating those impacts.

This bill is an encouraging first step, and we appreciate Senator DiCeglie for bringing it forward in good faith. But there is still more work to do to fully restore local planning authority and protect Florida’s communities from the sweeping effects of SB 180.

As the 2026 legislative session January start approaches, our advocacy team will continue meeting with lawmakers, collaborating with our allies, and ensuring your voices are heard in Tallahassee.

We’ll keep you updated as SB 840 moves through the process. Thank you for standing with us and for speaking up for strong, resilient, community-driven planning in Florida.