Friday, December 4, 2020 has been set as the date for the Collier County State Legislative Delegation’s Public Hearing for local bills and local budget requests. The meeting will convene at 9 a.m. in the North Collier Regional Park located at 15000 Livingston Rd. Naples, FL 34109 and will last until the completion of the agenda.  The Delegation will take a 15 minute break at noon and reconvene at 12:15pm and continue until completion of the agenda and public comments.

Please be informed that these hearings are to hear local bills and local budget requests.  If you are interested in filing a local budget request, please contact the office of your House and Senate sponsors to learn about the separate budget process requirements and deadlines in the House and the Senate.  Please note that these deadlines are not yet available.

Local Bills

The deadline for submitting local bills to the Delegation is NOON on Friday, November 20 2020.  All local bills must be accompanied by completed paperwork required by the Florida Legislature, including original signatures of the legislative sponsors. The original set of documents and ten (10) copies (letter size and 3-hole punched) must be forwarded to Representative Bob Rommel at 3299 Tamiami Trail East, Suite 304, Naples, FL 34112.  In addition, an electronic version of the local bill must be emailed in “pdf” format as an attachment to priscilla.grannis@myfloridahouse.gov, which will be uploaded to the Collier Legislative Delegation website.  All proposals for a local bill are expected to be presented at the hearing and must be drafted in bill form.  Unless there is an emergency, the Delegation will consider for introduction only those bills that have been presented at the hearing.  Decisions on whether to introduce local legislation will be made at the hearing.

If the local Legislative Delegation agrees to support the issue and introduce a local bill, a legal advertisement of the proposed bill must be placed in a newspaper of general circulation at least 30 days prior to introduction in the House or Senate unless the bill contains a referendum provision.  The local entity requesting the proposed bill will be responsible for placing the legal advertisement in the newspaper.

According to sections 11.021 and 11.03, Florida Statutes, evidence that notice has been properly published must be submitted before a local bill, not subject to referendum, can be introduced. The notice must be broad enough to include all matters contained in the body of the proposed legislation, although the specific contents need not be listed in detailed form.  The function of the notice requirement is to provide reasonable notice to a person whose interests may be directly affected by proposed legislation so that he or she may inquire further into details of the local bill.  Additionally, if he or she so desires, that person may seek to prevent enactment or to persuade the Legislature to change the substance of the proposed bill.

General Presentations

The deadline to request a place on the meeting agenda for a general presentation before the Legislative Delegation (not related to local bills) is NOON on Friday, November 13, 2020.  Attached is a Request to Appear form for those who wish to be placed on the agenda.  This form must be submitted digitally to priscilla.grannis@myfloridahouse.gov.

Presenters who wish to provide supporting documentation must submit ten (10) copies (letter size and 3-hole punched) to our offices at 3299 Tamiami Trail East, Suite 304, Naples, FL 34112 no later than NOON on Friday, November 20, 2020.  In addition, a digital copy of the documents must also be submitted as an attachment in “pdf” format to priscilla.grannis@myfloridahouse.gov.

General Public Comments

Members of the public who wish to comment will have an opportunity to speak upon completion of all local bills, budget requests and agenda items.  You must complete a Public Comment Request card, which will be available at the check-in desk on December 4, 2020, and will be called to speak in the order in which the request was submitted

The agenda for the Collier County Delegation hearing will be released to the news media on Thursday, November 19, 2020, to allow the citizens of Collier County ample time to prepare comments if they so desire.

My staff and I stand ready to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have. We look forward to a successful delegation meeting for the 2021 Legislative Session.

Very Truly Yours,

Representative Bob Rommel, Chair of Collier Legislative Delegation

District 106