Sen. Nick DiCeglie (R-Indian Rocks Beach)
A new Florida law aimed at helping property owners rebuild after natural disasters such as hurricanes illegally strips counties and municipalities of powers needed to regulate development and encroaches on their home-rule authority, a lawsuit argues.
Twenty-five municipalities and counties filed the lawsuit against multiple state officials, including Florida’s chief financial officer, on Sept. 29 in the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County. The plaintiffs allege that Senate Bill 180, which was authored by Sen. Nick DiCeglie (R-Indian Rocks Beach) and signed into law in July, runs afoul of the state constitution, conflicts with the state’s Community Planning Act and should be invalidated.
The lawsuit, prepared by Weiss, Serota, Helfman, Cole & Bierman P.I., said SB 180 was a product of “stealth legislating,” since a last-minute amendment significantly extended the measure’s provisions.
“This is an action by a large number of Florida municipalities and counties challenging Senate Bill 180 … a law that was enacted in the 2025 legislative session that represents the largest incursion into local home-rule authority in the history of Florida since the adoption of the Florida Constitution in 1968,” the lawsuit states.
Provisions of the new law freeze local land-development regulations and comprehensive plans that have been in place since Aug. 1, 2024, according to the complaint, adding that such regulations would be halted for three years. Local government amendments that are “more restrictive or burdensome” are voided by SB 180, the lawsuit states.
The law violates the state constitution and state law because Florida bills are limited to a single subject, the complaint says.
The plaintiffs also point out that a section of SB 180 provides for a legal cause of action that enables any resident or business owner to sue the county or city for violations of the law. SB 180 gives prevailing plaintiffs in such lawsuits the ability to recover their attorneys’ fees and costs.
In addition, local governments that attempt to comply with provisions of SB 180 may have to hire consultants on the public dime or pause zoning rules that were the product of costly long-term planning, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit comes in the wake of a letter signed by representatives of 41 environmental and nonprofit groups that calls on the state Legislature to repeal “excessive and dangerous sections” of SB 180.
“These provisions threaten the constitutionally guaranteed role of local governments to plan for growth to protect natural resources, water quality and public safety,” the letter states. “Contrary to the stated goal of disaster recovery, tying the hands of local communities striving to address urgent growth and resiliency challenges puts Floridians at even greater risk from flooding, pollution and unchecked sprawl that erodes both the environment and quality of life.”
As a result of SB 180, developers are challenging Orange County’s voter-approved policy dealing with rural development, the letter says.
“They are also threatening legal action to overturn Orange County’s decision to deny a proposal to build thousands of homes in an environmentally sensitive area along with an update of the county’s growth plan that reflects years of work and community input …” the letter states.
The new law takes away the flexibility local governments have had to manage growth, ensure safe drinking water and protect wildlife and agricultural lands, the environmental groups contend.
