SB 110 Florida Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Rural Communities

Summary

Rural Communities; Requiring the state land planning agency to give preference for technical assistance funding to local governments located in a rural area of opportunity; authorizing eligible counties to receive a distribution of sales and use tax revenue; creating the Office of Rural Prosperity within the Department of Commerce; creating the Public Infrastructure Smart Technology Grant Program within the Office of Rural Prosperity; requiring, rather than authorizing, that certain funds received from the State Transportation Trust Fund be used for the Small County Road Assistance Program; requiring the department to give priority to counties located either wholly or partially within the Everglades Agricultural Area and which request a specified percentage of project costs for eligible projects, etc. APPROPRIATION: $200,813,977

Bill status died 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Governor

Introduced Mar 4, 2025 Last action Jun 16, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 110 c1 → S 110 e1 · 10 edits

MAJOR

This bill significantly expands rural economic development support by creating the Office of Rural Prosperity within the Department of Commerce, establishing new grant programs for infrastructure and technology, and modifying tax distribution rules to favor fiscally constrained rural counties. The changes include mandatory rather than optional requirements for certain funding allocations, new definitions for 'growth-impeded' communities, and enhanced reporting and oversight mechanisms for rural development initiatives.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope from voluntary to mandatory requirements for several programs, creates new offices and grant programs specifically for rural areas, and broadens eligibility criteria for rural communities and fiscally constrained counties.

SCOPE

Created the Office of Rural Prosperity within the Department of Commerce to coordinate rural economic development efforts.

FISCAL

Established the Renaissance Grants Program providing $1 million block grants to growth-impeded counties for targeted investments to reverse population decline.

Created the Public Infrastructure Smart Technology Grant Program within the Office of Rural Prosperity to fund smart technology projects in rural areas.

Modified tax distribution formulas to increase transfers to fiscally constrained counties and changed rounding algorithms for calculations.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the definition of 'fiscally constrained county' threshold from $10 million to $5 million in revenue per mill, expanding eligibility.

REQUIREMENT

Changed certain funding allocations from 'may' to 'shall' requiring mandatory use of State Transportation Trust Fund for specific rural programs.

Required state agencies to report to the Office of Rural Prosperity on implementation of rural assistance provisions.

TIMELINE

Set specific deadlines for establishing seven regional rural community liaison centers by October 1, 2025.

DEFINITION

Defined 'growth-impeded' as counties with declining population over 10 years, eligible for grants until showing 3 consecutive years of growth.

ENFORCEMENT

Required Auditor General to conduct operational audits of Renaissance Grant programs every 2 years starting in 2026.

S 110 Filed → S 110 c1 · 10 edits

MAJOR

This bill expands rural economic development support by creating the Office of Rural Prosperity within the Department of Commerce and establishing several new grant programs. Key changes include mandatory rather than optional use of transportation funds for county road assistance, new eligibility criteria for fiscally constrained counties, and the creation of the Renaissance Grants Program to help declining rural communities achieve population growth. The bill also establishes the Public Infrastructure Smart Technology Grant Program and modifies match requirement waivers for rural communities.

Scope change

The bill significantly expands the scope of rural economic development initiatives by creating new offices and programs, changing funding requirements from optional to mandatory in some cases, and broadening eligibility criteria for various assistance programs.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement for State Transportation Trust Fund usage from optional to mandatory for the Small County Road Assistance Program

Added requirements for state agencies to expedite payment requests from rural counties and municipalities

Created new reporting requirements for OPPAGA to review rural community programs and compare with other states

SCOPE

Created the Office of Rural Prosperity within the Department of Commerce to coordinate rural economic development efforts

FISCAL

Established the Renaissance Grants Program providing block grants to growth-impeded rural counties

Created the Public Infrastructure Smart Technology Grant Program to fund smart technology projects in rural areas

ELIGIBILITY

Modified fiscally constrained county eligibility threshold from $10 million to $5 million in revenue per mill

Modified match requirement waivers to allow in-kind contributions like land donations for rural communities

DEFINITION

Added definition of 'growth-impeded' counties as those with declining population over 10 years

TIMELINE

Set specific deadlines for creating liaison centers (October 2025) and implementing various programs

Floor votes · Senate Mar 19, 2025 · House Apr 25, 2025

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Mar 19, 2025

D Democratic10

10 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican28

28 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

CS passed as amended; YEAS 69, NAYS 42

lower

Apr 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

Amendment 605877 adopted

lower

Apr 22, 2025

Committee

Bill referred to House Calendar

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

CS passed as amended; YEAS 39 NAYS 0

upper

Mar 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amendment(s) adopted (934848)

upper

Mar 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Mar 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Fiscal Policy, 03/13/25, 8:30 am, 412 Knott Building

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Introduced

upper

Mar 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Community Affairs; YEAS 6 NAYS 0

upper

Feb 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Community Affairs, 03/03/25, 3:30 pm, 37 Senate Building

upper

Feb 20, 2025

Committee

Referred to Community Affairs; Fiscal Policy

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors