STORAGE NAME: h1343c.CIV
DATE: 4/3/2025
1
FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BILL ANALYSIS
This bill analysis was prepared by nonpartisan committee staff and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
BILL #: CS/HB 1343
TITLE: Fines for Public Nuisance Abatement
SPONSOR(S): Booth, Yarkosky
COMPANION BILL: CS/SB 1022 (Wright)
LINKED BILLS: None
RELATED BILLS: None
Committee References
Intergovernmental Affairs
16 Y, 0 N, As CS
Civil Justice & Claims
14 Y, 0 N
State Affairs
SUMMARY
Effect of the Bill:
The bill revises the authorized contents of county or municipal ordinances concerning public nuisances to:
Allow for a fine of up to $500 a day if the nuisance is not abated within one year;
Remove the $15,000 limit on the total value of fines that may be imposed;
Authorize local governments to include the time or labor of legal assistants when calculating attorney fees;
and
Revise procedure for foreclosure on liens to allow foreclosure if the lien is unpaid in three months and to
require foreclosure if the nuisance is not abated within two years.
Fiscal or Economic Impact:
The bill may have a positive fiscal impact on local government revenues to the extent those local governments
collect increased fines.
JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
ANALYSIS
EFFECT OF THE BILL:
The bill increases the maximum fine a county or municipality may assess for a public nuisance activity to $500 per
day if the activity is not abated within one year and requires the nuisance abatement board to consider the gravity
of the public nuisance and any corrective actions taken when assessing the fine. The bill removes a $15,000 limit
on the value of fines that may be imposed. (Section 1)
The bill provides that when awarding attorney fees, the nuisance abatement board must consider the time and
labor of legal assistants who contributed to the case. The bill defines a “legal assistant” as a person who engages in
legal research and case development or planning under the supervision and direction of a licensed attorney.
(Section 1)
The bill provides that the nuisance abatement board retains jurisdiction over a declared to be a nuisance until the
public nuisance is abated. (Section 1)
The bill revises the procedure for foreclosing on a lien foreclosure if the lien remains unpaid for three months
after the lien is filed and requires foreclosure if the nuisance activity is unabated after two years. (Section 1)
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2025. (Section 2)
FISCAL OR ECONOMIC IMPACT:
LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
The bill may have a positive fiscal impact on local government revenues to the extent those local governments
collect increased fines, with no cap on the total amount of fines that may be assessed over time. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
2
RELEVANT INFORMATION
SUBJECT OVERVIEW:
Public Nuisance
A “nuisance” is an activity arising from a person’s unreasonable, unwarranted, or unlawful use of his or her own
property in a way that injures the rights of another or the public, and produces such material annoyance,
inconvenience, and discomfort that the law presumes resulting damage.
1 A nuisance may also be something that
annoys and disturbs a person in possession of his or her property, making its ordinary use or occupation physically
uncomfortable.
2
A nuisance is either private, affecting an individual or a limited number of individuals, or public, violating public
rights, subverting public order, decency, and morals, or generally inconveniencing the public.
3 The Legislature has
broad discretion to designate a particular activity a “public nuisance,” and the state, through its police power, has
the authority to abate and enjoin a public nuisance.
4 Generally, s. 823.05, F.S., governs activity which constitutes a
nuisance; however, local cities, counties, and municipalities may further identify nuisances under their respective
ordinances.
Under Florida law, a place or premises may be declared a public nuisance if it has been used:
On more than two occasions within a six-month period for:
o Prostitution;
o The unlawful sale, delivery, manufacture, or cultivation of any control substance;
o Dealing in stolen property; or
o Any combination of murder, attempted felony murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, or
to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill;
On two or more occasions within a six-month period for violations of the Florida Drug and Cosmetic Act;
On two or more occasions within a 12-month period for the unlicensed or unlawful sale of alcoholic
beverages;
On one occasion for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, if the possession is a felony and if the
location has previously been used on more than one occasion for unlawful sale, delivery, manufacture, or
cultivation of any control substance; or
By a criminal gang for conducting criminal gang activity.
5
Nuisance Abatement and Enjoinment
The persons and places identified as a public nuisance may be enjoined.
6 When any such nuisance exists, the
Attorney General, state attorney, city attorney, county attorney, or any citizen of the county where the nuisance
exists may bring a nuisance abatement action in the name of the state to enjoin the nuisance, the person
maintaining it, and the owner or agent of the premises where the nuisance is located.
7
The person bringing suit may apply for a temporary nuisance injunction after giving the defendant at least three
days’ written notice of the time and place where such application will occur.
8 A court issuing an injunction must
specify what activities are enjoined but may not preclude the operation of a lawful business not conducive to the
maintenance of a nuisance.
9
1
Black’s Law Dictionary 736 (6th ed. 1996).
2
Id.
3
Orlando Sports Stadium, Inc. v. Powell, 262 So. 2d 881 (Fla. 1972).
4
Powell, 262 So. 2d at 881.
5
S. 893.138(2), F.S.
6
S. 823.05(1), (2)(b) and (c), and (3), F.S.
7
S. 60.05(1), F.S.
8
A nuisance is enjoined when an injunction is issued against it. An injunction is a court order requiring a person to do or stop
doing a specific action. S. 60.05(2), F.S.; see Legal Information Institute, Enjoin (last visited Mar. 12, 2025); see also Legal
Information Institute, Injunction (last visited Mar. 12, 2025).
9
Id. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
3
If a nuisance is found to exist at trial, the court must issue a permanent injunction and order the person
establishing or maintaining the nuisance to pay the proceedings’ costs, which may include a lien on personal
property found in the place of the nuisance and, if the property does not bring enough to repay the costs, on the
real estate occupied by the nuisance.
10 However, no lien may attach on real property belonging to someone other
than the person establishing or maintaining the nuisance unless such person received five days’ written notice and
failed to start abating the nuisance within that time.
11
Additionally, if a tenant was convicted of an offense involving controlled substances or prostitution, the court may
order the tenant to vacate the property within 72 hours so long as the tenant and premises owner are parties to
the nuisance abatement action and the order will lead to nuisance abatement.
12
Nuisance Abatement Boards
Local governments are authorized to create administrative boards to hear complaints regarding nuisances and
impose fines or other noncriminal penalties to enforce local government ordinances.
13 Local governments establish
nuisance abatement boards via local ordinance. The size of boards varies as does the length of the term each
member serves.
14 Any employee, officer, or resident of a county or municipality may bring a complaint before the
board, provided that written notice of the complaint is given to the owner of the place or premises in question at
least three days prior to the board meeting.
15
If the board declares a place to be a public nuisance, it may enter an order requiring the owner of the property to
take the actions necessary to abate the nuisance or may demand immediate action to abate the nuisance.
16 This
order expires after one year, unless an earlier time is stated in the order, and may be enforced in the same manner
as an enforcement action by a state agency.
17
Local governments may also supplement these requirements by local ordinance.
18 The ordinance may provide for:
Additional penalties, including fines of up to $250 per day or $500 per day for recurring nuisances, subject
to a $15,000 limit;
The payment of reasonable costs incurred by the local government, including reasonable attorney fees
associated with investigations and hearings;
Continuing jurisdiction for a period of one year over any place or premises that has been or is declared to
be a public nuisance;
Recording orders to give notice to subsequent purchasers or owners of the property;
Placing a lien on the property subject to the order; and
Foreclosing on a property subject to a lien for the recovery of all costs associated with the recording of
orders and foreclosure, provided the property is not a homestead property.
19
Attorney Fees
Statutorily-Provided Attorney Fees
10
S. 60.05(5), F.S.
11
Id.
12
Id.
13
S. 893.138, F.S.
14
S. 893.138(4), F.S. See, e.g., City of Orlando, Criminal Nuisance Abatement Board (last visited Mar. 12, 2025), City of
Jacksonville, Public Nuisance Abatement Board (last visited Mar. 12, 2025), and Hillsborough County, Nuisance Abatement
Board (last visited Mar. 12, 2025).
15
S. 893.138(4), F.S.
16
S. 893.138(5), F.S.
17
S. 893.138(6)-(7), F.S.
18
S. 893.138(11), F.S.
19
Id. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
4
Several Florida and federal statutes state that a prevailing party in court proceedings is entitled to attorney fees as
a matter of right.
20 These statutes are known as “fee-shifting statutes” and often entitle the prevailing party to a
reasonable attorney fee, which must be paid by the other party. When a fee-shifting statute applies, the court must
determine and calculate what constitutes a reasonable attorney fee.
Lodestar Approach
In 1985, the Florida Supreme Court held that courts should calculate the amount of statutorily-authorized attorney
fees under the "lodestar approach."
21 Under this approach, the first step is for the court to determine the number of
hours reasonably expended by an attorney on the case. The second step requires the court to determine a
reasonable hourly rate. The number of hours reasonably expended (determined in the first step), multiplied by the
reasonable hourly rate (determined in the second step), produces the “lodestar amount,” which is considered an
objective basis for what the attorney fee amount should be.
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process for forced sale at auction of real property to satisfy, in part or in whole, an unpaid
lawful debt owed by the owner of the property. If the winning bidder is a third-party bidder, the proceeds of the
sale first pay the costs of the foreclosure, then the rest of the proceeds are applied to the debt owed to the
judgment creditor. Some foreclosure auctions yield a surplus because the final bid exceeds the debt. A foreclosure
surplus is paid to or for the benefit of the foreclosed former owner.
In most foreclosures, however, there is no surplus after the foreclosure sale. Commonly, the plaintiff is the winning
bidder and takes title to the property. Foreclosure is most often used in the context of a mortgage where the
property owner has agreed to the debt. Foreclosures also result from construction liens, certain tax liens,
association liens, and judgment liens.
BILL HISTORY
COMMITTEE REFERENCE ACTION DATE
STAFF
DIRECTOR/
POLICY CHIEF
ANALYSIS
PREPARED BY
Intergovernmental Affairs
Subcommittee
16 Y, 0 N, As CS 3/19/2025 Darden Jones
THE CHANGES ADOPTED BY THE
COMMITTEE:
Removes language allowing a county or municipality to enter into an
agreement with the tax collector to recover fines via non-ad valorem special
assessments.
Civil Justice & Claims
Subcommittee
14 Y, 0 N Jones Mathews
State Affairs Committee
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THIS BILL ANALYSIS HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCORPORATE ALL OF THE CHANGES DESCRIBED ABOVE.
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20
See, e.g., s. 627.428, F.S. (providing that an insured who prevails against an insurer is entitled to "a reasonable sum" of attorney
fees); s. 501.2105, F.S. (providing that the prevailing party in an action under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices
Act (FDUTPA) is entitled to "a reasonable legal fee"); 42 U.S.C. s. 1988(b) (providing that a prevailing party seeking to enforce
specified civil rights statutes may recover "a reasonable attorney's fee").
21
Fla. Patient's Comp. Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1985).