Tag: legislative issues

Preemption and Home Rule: Why Businesses Need Both

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Lately, the fight between Floridians promoting home rule and those advocating for statewide preemption has been as hot as the late-summer afternoons. Preemption is not a dirty word, and home rule should not be considered profane either. These concepts appear to be mutually exclusive and opposite, but there is space for both. Without diving headlong in Ecclesiastes or The Byrds’ most hummable tune, I posit to you that there is a time for both of these approaches. Businesses will flourish when there is a good balance between preemption and home rule.

The Case for Preemption

You will often find statewide business advocates appealing to our state legislators to enact a statewide preemption on a particular topic. Is it because we hate local government? No. It’s because we are an increasingly interconnected economy. Local businesses serve as the economic backbone of our communities. When it comes to doing business, the factors and variables impacting local businesses do not heed to the jurisdictional boundaries of 400+ cities and 67 counties. If the impact is felt across jurisdictional boundaries, then the policies we adopt need to cross those boundaries as well.

When the topic of preemption comes up, you will often hear concerns about the “patchwork of regulation.” This refers to several different localities adopting regulations to address the same issue but not in the same way. It’s not just a talking point. When companies operate across jurisdictional lines and those many jurisdictions regulate things like sustainability or human resources differently, I assure you the struggle is real. Consistent and predictable regulation makes a big difference as local businesses try to operate efficiently, effectively and responsibly.  And yes, profitably.

Breaking the law and flouting regulations is no business owner’s roadmap to meaningful and sustained success. Our members want to comply and be good corporate citizens. The patchwork can get in the way and excessive regulatory burdens can hinder a business from flourishing, growing, hiring more people, and living its best life. And “best life” doesn’t just mean profit for the owner: It means greater economic prosperity for a community and its citizens. In some circumstances, preemption lays the groundwork for consistent regulation and prosperity for all.

Why Home Rule Matters

But there is absolutely a time for home rule. Nothing so clearly demands and requires local direction as the issue of zoning. Local government should not tell us how to do business, but it certainly has the authority and responsibility to tell us where to do business. Whether designating commercial zones versus residential zones or deciding where manufacturing or agricultural activity should take place, these decisions shape communities. While a local government should not abuse its zoning authority as a front for regulatory overreach, the decisions about where particular activities take place within a community create the structure for communities. Citizens rely on these designations as they make important decisions about their homes and livelihood.

So here’s to preemption and home rule. May we work together to find ways to responsibly and effectively apply both of these necessary concepts.

 

Samantha Padgett is General Counsel of FRLA.

Short-Term Vacation Rentals and FRLA

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Vacation rentals have long been a part of the fabric of enjoying the Sunshine State, and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association believes that all forms of lodging play an important role in providing Florida’s visitors a place to stay. Each year, Florida’s tourism numbers rise as more and more people choose to visit our incredible state, and we are proud to provide them with a wide array of lodging options.

So what’s the problem with short-term vacation rentals?

Traditional vacation rentals have provided countless families the opportunity to enjoy Florida with the comforts and conveniences of home. However, the advent of online hosting platforms has dramatically changed the landscape of vacation rentals. Hosting platforms have significantly expanded the searchability and availability of vacation rentals. These hosting platforms have also caused an increase in the use of traditionally residential homes as vacation rentals. Intended to connect renters and owners, the platforms may in fact facilitate large commercial operations that look and function exactly like hotels but evade important safety and sanitation requirements. The hospitality industry owes it to our guests to ensure that all are safe and protected, regardless of their chosen type of lodging.  To do that, we must address the issues with the current vacation rental landscape.

Municipalities across the nation are grappling with these issues, working to regulate hosting platforms for a variety of reasons including collecting proper taxes, ensuring the safety and privacy of guests and, and protecting homeowners who find themselves living next door to a vacation rental in a neighborhood whose zoning regulations are strictly residential. This issue is complex, and it can be difficult to strike a good balance between respecting the individual rights of property owners and protecting visitors and neighboring residents.

How do we move forward?

I believe the solutions are simple and fair, and FRLA and our Government Affairs team are working towards achieving the needed change by sitting down with regulatory agencies, our lodging members, and representatives from hosting platforms. We’re asking that all vacation rentals be licensed with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and that hosting platforms require that license number for an owner to post a listing.  We also feel that the required taxes should be collected from all lodging establishments, and that transparency and audit requirements apply equally to all.

There is a place at the table for all of types of lodging.  Having many different types of lodging available to visitors makes Florida more open and accessible to all visitors. But we need to update our regulations to ensure that we not provide special treatment to any one type of lodging.  Most importantly, we want to continue to make sure that we are providing a quality visitation experience to all of Florida’s guests, no matter where they choose to stay.

 

 

This op-ed was originally published in Today’s Hotelier in March 2019.