Senate to reconsider zoning bill already voted down on the floor

A bill just killed on the Senate floor appears to be back in play.

Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo, a Miami-Dade Democrat, made a motion to “reconsider” a zoning bill (SB 1080) that had been shot down on a 19-18 vote the day before. As one of the Senators on the prevailing side, meaning those who voted against the legislation, Pizzo can ask for the Senate to take another vote on the legislation.

Afterward, Senate President Ben Albritton immediately said the bill would be postponed from immediate consideration. But the raising of the legislation less than 24 hours after its defeat signals an amendment could be in the works that addresses some member concerns. The Senate President’s Office said if any amendments are introduced, the language will be considered when the bill is read again for third reading.

Sen. Stan McClain, an Ocala Republican, presented the bill on the floor Wednesday after successfully carrying it through three committee stops where it had received support. But language substituted on the floor attracted bipartisan opposition to the legislation.

Ultimately, nine Republicans and 10 Democrats joined together for a rare defeat of a bill that had reached the floor.

McClain acknowledged on the floor the legislation would preempt rural boundaries in place in several counties that place restrictions on development. He argued doing so was important for preserving property rights for many longtime owners of agricultural lands.

Pizzo spoke against the bill on the floor, while saying he could support prior versions of the legislation. But he said the Legislature’s focus on affordable housing in recent years has empowered abuse by builders and developers who have not actually brought cheaper housing online at the expected rate.

“Land-use attorneys are using the good bills and intentions and spirit we have behind some of these measures as leverage to go get what they want in a free-market sense and not actually provide affordable housing or viable communities,” Pizzo said. “We’re being exploited.”

Notably, several Senators who voted against the bill on the floor had praised an amendment offered by Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican, involving agricultural enclaves. Ingoglia said McClain’s bill “goes a step too far.”