Florida lawmakers are advancing an expansion of SB170, the 2023 law allowing businesses to challenge local ordinances with the locality covering legal costs if the ordinance is overturned. The expansion makes it easier to challenge enforcement of existing local policies broadly. For Florida BIDs and community benefit districts, the practical question is whether SB170 expansion creates a mechanism for property owners to challenge district assessment ordinances on the same basis as other local regulations. If so, the legal cost exposure for cities managing Florida districts increases significantly. Right of Way is tracking district-governance implications of this bill as it moves through committee.

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Whether Florida SB170 expansion language is interpreted to apply to special district assessment ordinances, and whether the Florida Special Districts Association takes a formal position.