Legislative Updates, Alerts and Reports

Legislative Update - Week 6 | Liberty Partners of Tallahassee

4/11/25 Bill Tracker

***FAA Legislative Alert*** Call to Action – TIME SENSITIVE

One of the top priorities of the Florida Attractions Association (FAA) is safeguarding the Florida Tourism Development Tax (TDT), also known as the bed tax. These taxes, approved by counties, are imposed on overnight accommodations and play a crucial role in funding the Tourism Development Council (and/or CVB, VCB) of your county. They provide the necessary resources to promote county destinations and attractions to potential visitors. By combining your attraction marketing dollars with theirs and partnering with VISIT FLORIDA, attractions of all sizes have the opportunity to be promoted both domestically and internationally. During the 2025 Legislative Session, a new threat to the TDT has emerged in the form of HB 1221 and SB 1664, which proposes requiring counties to reauthorize the collection of bed taxes through voter referendums every 8 years. The FAA strongly opposes this bill for three main reasons: The requirement for reauthorization would introduce a significant level of uncertainty into the marketing strategies of your county. Long-term planning would become unfeasible as the looming possibility of the TDT coming to an end would lead to short-term, less strategic planning and execution of marketing initiatives. This uncertainty could also hinder the recruitment of top marketing talent to your county's marketing organization, as the lack of long-term job security may deter potential candidates. The tourism community would be forced to divert resources and time towards passing the referendum every 8 years, instead of utilizing those finite resources to optimize the marketing of your county as a tourist destination. This requirement would put your county at a disadvantage compared to destinations in other states and countries that do not face the disruption of a referendum, potentially impacting the competitiveness of your county as a tourist destination. In conclusion, the FAA believes that the proposed bills would have detrimental effects on the marketing efforts and overall success of your county as a tourist destination. CALL TO ACTION – VERY TIME SENSITIVE Tomorrow (Wednesday, April 9) at 8:00am, the House Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee will meet and consider passing HB 1221, the 2nd of the bill’s three committee assignments.  Please contact your representative TODAY and voice your opposition to HB 1221 for the reasons stated above.  If you have any questions, please contact me by email (lupfer@floridaattractions.org) or phone (850) 222-2885. Thank you.

Bill Lupfer President/CEO Florida Attractions Association

Legislative Update - Week 5 | Liberty Partners of Tallahassee

4/6/25 Bill Tracker

Legislative Update - Week 4 | Liberty Partners of Tallahassee

3/30/25 Bill Tracker

Legislative Update - Week 3 | Liberty Partners of Tallahassee

3/24/25 Bill Tracker

Legislative Update - Week 2 | Liberty Partners of Tallahassee

3/14/25 Bill Tracker

Legislative Update - Week 1 | Liberty Partners of Tallahassee

3/10/25 Bill Tracker

Certain purchases and events tickets will be tax free in July!  Watch for details from the Florida Department of Revenue.

Admissions to events or performances scheduled to be held between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024:

• Live music events
• Live sporting events
• Movies to be shown in a movie theater
• Ballets
• Plays
• Fairs
• Festivals

Admissions purchased for any of the following:

• Museums, including annual passes
• State parks, including annual passes
• Season tickets for ballets, plays, music events, and musical theater performances

Governor DeSantis Announces Freedom Summer Savings

On April 30, 2024, in News Releases, by Staff

The Governor announced he would sign the Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday and all Florida State Parks will be free to enter during Memorial Day Weekend

TAMPA, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he would be signing the Freedom Summer Sales Tax Holiday, in the budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25. The Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday will take place the entire month of July and will make items such as fishing supplies, outdoor recreation equipment, admissions to state parks and, museums sales tax free. Additionally, the Governor announced that Florida State Parks will offer free admission on Memorial Day Weekend to kick off the summer for Florida’s families.

“Florida is stepping up to make summer more affordable for families,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “While the federal government is causing high inflation and skyrocketing costs for families, Florida’s smart fiscal policies allow us to reduce taxes and help reduce the burden on Floridians.”

“Florida’s 175 award-winning state parks are second to none,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton. “I encourage all of Florida’s residents and visitors to take advantage of these extra savings and discover the unique experiences the real Florida has to offer.”

To kick off the summer with savings for families, Governor DeSantis has waived admission for all visitors to Florida State Parks for Memorial Day weekend. This includes May 24-27, 2024.

The Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday will remove the sales tax on items families use during the summer, including:

Boating and water activity supplies:

• Goggles and snorkels ($25 or less)
• Pool toys ($35 or less)
• Coolers, Life jackets, Paddles ($75 or less)
• Inflatable water tubes and floats, Wakeboards ($150 or less)
• Paddleboards, Surfboards ($300 or less)
• Canoes, Kayaks ($500 or less)

Fishing Supplies:

• Bait and Tackle ($5 or less for individual items, $10 or less for multiple items sold together)
• Tackle boxes ($30 or less)
• Reels, Rods ($75 or less)

Camping Supplies:

• Flashlights ($30 or less)
• Sleeping bags, Camping chairs ($50 or less)
• Tents ($200 or less)

Outdoor Supplies:

• Sunscreen ($15 or less)
• Water bottles ($30 or less)
• Bicycle helmets ($50 or less)
• Outdoor grills ($250 or less)
• Bicycles ($500 or less)

Admissions to events or performances scheduled to be held between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024:

• Live music events
• Live sporting events
• Movies to be shown in a movie theater
• Ballets
• Plays
• Fairs
• Festivals

Admissions purchased for any of the following:

• Museums, including annual passes
• State parks, including annual passes
• Season tickets for ballets, plays, music events, and musical theater performances

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2024 Legislative Session Sine Die Report - Liberty Partners of Tallahassee

With the close of the 2024 Legislative Session and many bills still awaiting action from the Governor, I want to share how the FAA made out this session…

VISIT FLORIDA will receive $80 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year. This is the same as last year and $30 million more than 2022-23.

Many bills were filled that would expand the way TDT (bed tax) funds may be used by counties. All of these bills failed to pass except a provision for funds in Monroe County (the Keys) could be used for attainable housing projects for hospitality workers. BUT…we anticipate the Tourist Development Tax issue will be an issue the 2025 Florida Legislature will tackle, and it is imperative our members begin reaching out to their Legislators (and candidates) now to share how the TDT works for attractions and why expanded uses could come at a peril to tourism businesses in your county.

A bill that would require our members (and most Florida businesses) to accept cash payment failed to pass. In a survey of our FAA attraction members, 25% are now operating cashless and another 15% partially cashless. Requiring businesses to accept cash payments is a free-market decision and we believe the government should not be forcing this type of mandate on the private sector.

There were no bills filed that would attempt to restrict our members from exhibiting animals of any type. Responsible and ethical exhibits of animals in professional human care are fundamental to educate and inspire guests to the wonder of nature.

If you have any questions about these or other issues affecting our industry, please don't hesitate contacting me.  Thank you for your advocacy and participation in this year's Legislative Session!

Moving forward,

Bill