Dear Fellow Supporters,

SUCCESS AT LAST! Governor Scott signed our bill into law on May 4th.

This law goes into effect July 1, 2012. With the signing of our legislation we have made a huge step forward. Multi-family residences will no longer have to pay a 6% fee on the value of a slip when a homesteaded residence is sold. In addition, the standard term of a submerged land lease and its associated renewal fee will now be 10 years instead of 5 years.

We commend Governor Scott for signing this important piece of legislation that begins to bring some equity to the administration of the submerged land lease program. Representative Jim Frishe and Senator Jack Latvala were our courageous legislative leaders who fought for these changes and were the driving force behind the success of this legislation. We congratulate these leaders, along with the entire Florida Legislature, for recognizing the inequalities we have faced for so many years and finally passing legislation to bring some needed fairness to this program. We also congratulate our lobbyist, Travis Moore, who was instrumental in coordinating our efforts to make this a success.

Within the next few months, we will renew our efforts to reach our ultimate goal which is exemption from all lease fees and associated taxes and charges. We will continue to keep you updated as we develop our strategy for the next, and hopefully final, phase.

Again, many thanks to all of you who have helped make this happen! Your voices were heard across the state and we are proud of our success. It is only through our team effort that we have finally succeeded.

Sincerely,
Terri
Terri Pentek
Coalition Leader Florida Homeowners for Fair Treatment

April 3, 2012

NEWS

"Power of the People"

"Local Group Gets State-wide win in Fight for Submerged Land Lease Equality"

The Island Reporter has written an article about our passage of CB88 and HB 13 during the legislative session.

If you did not get a copy of the Island Reporter delivered to your home, you can go to their site at

http://www.theislandreporter.com and open the April issue.

March 14, 2012

Dear Fellow Supporters,

As the excitement continues surrounding HB13/SB88 successfully passing through the Legislature, we still have one goal left for this Session. We need Governor Rick Scott to sign our bill into law.

Please go to our website to email Governor Scott with the message: We respectfully request your signature on HB13 that begins to address the inequities of the submerged land lease program.

Our website is set up and ready to go and is only a mouse click away. Please encourage as many people as possible to spread the word and send the message. We need to show Governor Scott the importance of this legislation that begins to protect the citizens of Florida from unfair treatment.

Again, many thanks to all of you who have helped make this happen! Your voices were heard across the state and we are proud of our success.

February 29, 2012

Dear Fellow Supporters,

Great news! Below is a press release from Representative Frishe. HB13 passed the final hurdle in the House with 111 Yeas: 0 Nays.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                       
February 29, 2012
                                                                                              
REPRESENTATIVE FRISHE’S SOVEREIGNTY SUBMERGED LANDS LEGISLATION UNANIMOUSLY PASSES FLORIDA HOUSE
Tallahassee, Fla.- Today the Florida House unanimously passed HB 13 Sovereignty Submerged Lands by Representative Jim Frishe (R-St. Petersburg). The bill will mitigate the inequities and over-regulation of the submerged land lease program as it affects multi-family residences.
“This bill restores equality in dock lease costs between private homes and multi-family homes. We are a country of justice and equality and this legislation is one example where we show that,” said Representative Jim Frishe.
“Pinellas County, for example, is an aquatic preserve that needs careful attention to maintain its environmental balance.  However, we should never treat citizens inequitably in accomplishing our goal of conserving the environment that draws so many to our great state”. 
Currently, multi-family residences are being charged at the higher commercial property rate compared to single family residences that are charged at the lesser private residence rate. HB 13 represents a compromise with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, who staff the Improvement Trust Fund.
HB 13 previously passed three committees in the House without a dissenting vote. The bill, now in Senate messages, must be voted on by the Florida Senate before being sent to the Governor to be signed into law.

###

February 26, 2012

More great news! On February 22nd our HB13 unanimously passed the last House committee, the State Affairs Committee with 16 Yeas: 0 Nays. Because of your relentless support we are continuing to make great progress, having passed all the House committees with flying colors.

However, our companion bill, SB88, is still in the General Government Appropriations subcommittee. SB88 NEEDS TO BE WITHDRAWN from this subcommittee in order to continue its progress through this legislative session. There are only 2 weeks left and TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: IMMEDIATE ACTION IS NEEDED. Once again, please go to our website to email Senator Alan Hays, Chair of General Government Appropriations subcommittee, along with Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala.

Subject: "Senator Hays: Please withdraw SB88 from the General Government Appropriations subcommittee"

Message: "I respectfully request that SB88, regarding submerged land leases, be withdrawn from the General Government Appropriations subcommittee. Thank you."

The Take Action page is ready to go and it is only a simple mouse click away. Please remember to check "my legislators" so they continue to be alerted to this issue.

We appreciate your continued support. Please forward this update to as many people as possible so that we can show how important this issue is.

Our many thanks to all of you who have continued to fund our progress. Your donations are greatly appreciated.

February 15, 2012

Dear Fellow Supporters,

Great news! On February 14th our HB13 unanimously passed the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee with 13 Yeas: 0 Nays. Because of your relentless support we are making great progress during the current Legislative Session.

The State Affairs Committee, chaired by Representative Seth McKeel, is our final House committee, and the Budget Committee, chaired by Senator JD Alexander, is our final Senate committee. Once again, please go to our website to email Chair McKeel and Chair Alexander urging them to agenda our bill. Also, continue copying our sponsors, Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala. The message is direct:

Subject: “Agenda SB88 in Budget Committee//Agenda HB13 in State Affairs Committee”
Message: “SB88/HB13 is important legislation which begins to rectify the inequities of the submerged land lease program. HB13 has just passed the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee 13-0. Please agenda SB88/HB13 immediately.”

The Take Action page is ready to go and it is only a simple mouse click away. Please remember to check “my legislators” so they continue to be alerted to this issue.

February 7, 2012

Dear Fellow Supporters,

As the 2012 legislative session continues we need to push Representative Trudi Williams, Chair of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, to agenda HB 13. Our website is set up to target Chair Trudi Williams, Representative Jim Frishe (House sponsor), and Senator Jack Latvala (Senate sponsor).

Please click here to be take to the Email Your Legislator page. Representative Trudi Williams as well as the sponsors of our bill will be sent your message. The subject (“We need HB13 to be heard”) and message (“HB13 starts the process of addressing the inequities of the submerged land lease program. Please agenda this item.”) are ready to go and it is only a simple mouse click away. Please remember to check “my legislators” so they continue to be alerted to this issue.

We appreciate your continued support. Please forward this update to as many people as possible so that we can show how important this issue is.

Our many thanks to all of you who have continued to fund our progress. Your donations are greatly appreciated.

January 12, 2012

The 2012 legislature is off to a rousing start and our bills remain poised for progress. As noted previously, there are only 3 committee meetings left to go: Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee and State Affairs Committee in the House and the Budget Committee in the Senate.

Our local legislators and lobbyist remain very involved and committed to our cause. As our bills progress we may attempt to amend some language, based on advice from Tallahassee. However, we will do nothing to jeopardize the ultimate success of the current bills.

It is still of utmost importance for you to continue to rally your legislators via direct contact in order to drive our points home. Representative Jim Frishe and Senator Jack Latvala need to hear from other legislators who want the problem fixed for their constituents. Convince your neighbors and friends to join in this effort to call/email/write their legislators. Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala need to know they have multi-jurisdictional support to push our legislation through and perhaps amend our current language! Our Email Your Legislator page is set up for you to use to email your legislators. The subject and the comment space are left blank for you fill in accordingly. Your input is vital as we continue to push our legislation.

Continued thanks to the contributors who fund our progress. We are still in need of funds to help us through this 2012 Session. Please send what you can to:

Terri Pentek
363 Pinellas Bayway #48
Tierra Verde, FL 33715

Please make the check payable to: Florida Homeowners for Fair Treatment

December 5, 2011

The holiday season is just around the corner. Legislators will be returning to their districts this week as the current committee meetings come to an end. When the 2012 Legislative Session starts on January 10, 2012, the remaining committee meetings will take place. This will include our final Senate meeting and 2 more House committee meetings.

We now have a window of opportunity to put more pressure on. It is still critically important for YOU to rally local legislative support. We are working hard for you in Tallahassee, but need YOU to get with your local legislators to drive our points home. Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala need to hear from other Florida legislators to know that they will have the statewide support needed to push our legislation through and hopefully add additional beneficial language to the proposed bills.

We have created a petition for you to print out from our website. Pass it around your association, get with your property manager, get with other associations, friends, neighbors, take it to a party. Do whatever it takes to get a page or two of signatures from interested and supportive people.

Then we would like you to:

1. Deliver the signed petition to your local legislators. Give it to them personally. If they are not available give it to their legislative assistant. Do whatever it takes to get this petition to their office. Find out who actually received the petition. Let them know: “This is a problem. We need for you to get with Representative Frishe & Senator Latvala. Will you do that?”

2. Please forward the contact information of the person you gave the petition to, to me. I will, in turn, get this information to our lobbyist, Travis Moore, who will then follow up with your legislators. He will be asking them: “Can we count on you to contact Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala to make sure HB13 and SB88 addresses our issues?”

3. This gives us accountability and shows how organized and coordinated our efforts are. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO ACCOMPLISH THIS!

Now is the time to concentrate our efforts. If we can get your legislators actively communicating with Frishe & Latvala we can address more of our issues and get more language changes. This is the ONLY way we can accomplish this.

Our bill has traction right now and is getting attention. However, with the budget shortfalls, our battle is more difficult. Please use the time between now and January 10th to push your local legislators to contact Frishe and Latvala. Be sure to let me know who the contact is.

November 21, 2011

Dear Fellow Supporters,

Great news! On November 15, 2011 HB13 passed the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee. The vote was: Yeas 14  Nays 0. We are off to a great start on the House side with 2 remaining committees to go: Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee and State Affairs Committee.

On the Senate side we still have 1 committee meeting to go: Budget Committee.

The community event held on November 7, 2011 went well. There was a good dialogue between Representative Jim Frishe and the support group. Some key points emphasized that our ultimate goal of fair and equitable treatment cannot be accomplished in one session. As Representative Frishe stated we have to eat the cookie “one bite at a time”.

In addition, it is of utmost importance for YOU to rally your legislators. We need for YOU to get with YOUR legislators and drive our points home. Representative Frishe and Senator Jack Latvala need to hear from OTHER legislators who want the problem fixed for their constituents. Call/email/write your legislators. Convince your neighbors and friends to join in this effort. Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala need to hear from other Florida legislators and know that they will have the support to push our legislation through and to accomplish more than our current language!

You can click on the Email Your Legislator link and send your comments to Tallahassee.

November 2, 2011

Time To Rally - Mark Your Calendar!

We have finally scheduled a Community Meeting with our Representative Jim Frishe!

Date: November 7th, 2011 (Monday)
Time: 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Location: The Island Chapel
1271 Pinellas Bayway South
Tierra Verde, FL 33715

We urge everyone interested in resolving the significant inequities which exist in Florida’s submerged land lease program to come by and meet one of our Legislative Champions working to fix this problem. Let him know how the situation affects you as a condominium owner and a tax payer. We finally have an opportunity to understand the submerged land lease issue and how Tallahassee (DEP) has been taking advantage of you and what your elected officials are going to do about it.

It is so important that we get as many people as possible to attend this event so House Majority Whip Jim Frishe is aware of the interest in getting as much done on this issue this session as possible. If we want him to care, we need to show him that constituents and citizens and VOTERS care. We welcome supporters from all parts of Florida to rally behind Representative Frishe on this extremely important issue. Please mark your calendar and plan on attending. Your support is vital!

Oct 28, 2011 Time To Rally – Action Needed to Amend Bill Language!

As committee meetings continue, we are now at a point that the language in HB 13 and SB 88 needs to be addressed. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala to sponsor our legislation that begins to address the inequitable situation we have faced for many years. HB 13/ SB 88 initiates the process and is a good starting vehicle but it does NOT fix most of the issues.

We need to go further.

The current language in HB 13 & SB 88 only exempts multi-family residences from the 6% fee due upon the transfer of ownership of the slip/dock, and then it is only for those with homestead exemption. If you don’t qualify for homestead exemption, the current language provides no relief from any of the submerged land lease fees.

The revised language (HB13 and SB88) that is now on our website addresses all of the issues:
Section 1: more clearly defines private residential, both single & multi-family.
Section 2 (b): allows for the density issue of multi-family residences (so we could now qualify for lease fee exemption) and exempts all the add-on fees (renewal fees, taxes, 6% maintenance fees, 6% of assessments, etc).
Section 2 (c): allows for exemption of 6% fee due upon transfer of slip ownership of any multi-family residence.

These are the changes that need to happen to allow private multi-family residences to be treated fairly and not lumped in with commercial entities.

To achieve these goals we need YOU to aggressively push YOUR LEGISLATORS. Your legislators need to get with Representative Frishe & Senator Latvala and pledge their support for these necessary changes. You, as constituents, need your legislators to work for you!! They need to communicate their concerns (for you as their constituents) that this unfair administration of the submerged land lease program needs to be fixed, once and for all.

You need to emphasize that “we cannot afford these lease fees and all the exorbitant add-on fees associated with it. It is not fair to use our money from these unfair fees to balance the budget”. Your legislators need to hear from you. Your message to them should be: “We need you to support the language changes needed to fix the problem & create a fair solution.”

Call your legislators. Print out our revised language (HB13 and SB88)
and give it to them (mail/email/personal delivery to their office) (Tips for interacting with your elected officials). For changes to occur you need to carry the message to your legislators: “I need for you to be working on the submerged land lease issue.” They, in turn, need to get with their colleagues, House Majority Whip Frishe and Senator Latvala.

Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala need STRONG LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT.

Please go to “email your legislator”. We have purposefully left the subject/message blank. We do not want to send mass identical emails. It is important for you to email your legislators with your own message. In a few sentences state that HB13/SB88 language needs to be revised and state why. Once you type in your address & click on “find my legislators”, your message will automatically go to your legislators. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Push for action by your legislators. There is strength in numbers. There will be positive results by this strength!

For those who have contributed to our coalition….a big THANK YOU! With your support we are able to continue moving forward on our issues.

New items:

Nervous about calling or talking with your elected officials? Don't be, they actually enjoy talking with you and they value your input as long as you are organized and polite. Here's some tips on interacting with your elected officials.

Update to langage on combined bills is located here: HB13 and SB88.

October 7, 2011

Dear Fellow Supporters,

We are off to a great start!

We passed our first committee meeting, Environmental Preservation & Conservation, with flying colors!! The vote was unanimous: Yeas 5 Nays 0.

Our thanks to everyone for your support with emails, phone calls, and letters. Keep up the good work! We have one more Senate committee (Budget) and three House committees where our bill needs to be heard. As our legislation progresses it will be very important to keep the pressure on.

For those who have contributed to our coalition….a big THANK YOU! With your support we are able to continue moving forward on our issues.

October 3, 2011

Dear Fellow Supporters,

Our renewed campaign to finally achieve reform in the submerged land lease program, during the 2012 Legislative session, has begun. Legislative Committee meetings in Tallahassee have started! Our first Senate Committee meeting, with the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee, is scheduled this Wednesday, October 5, 2011, at 10:45 AM.

As we did last year, we have prepared easy to send, targeted messages for each committee. Please go to our email page to send the automated message. We want SB88 to pass as our legislation begins to work its way through the various committees. Your continued support is vital as we need to let our legislators know that the submerged land lease program as it is currently administered is very unfair and discriminatory.

Everything is set up for your convenience. It’s only a couple of mouse clicks. Thank you all so much for your continuing support! Remember that this is the first step and with time we will move closer to our ultimate goal of a fair and equitable solution.

We would also like to ask for continued donations to ensure we can carry the fight successfully in Tallahassee. Thank you to those who have done their part. FHFT has been successful in keeping the submerged land lease fees from the exorbitant 425% increases!!

September 9, 2011

This year, because the Legislative Session will start early, we already have our Summer is over and we are getting ready for the 2012 Florida Legislative Session. It is time to get back to work! For those of you new to our campaign, this will be the fourth legislative session we have worked to bring basic fairness to Florida’s submerged land lease fee structure, imposed by the Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). We have been making incremental progress each year.

Two bills filed. Senate Bill SB88 that was filed by Senator Jack Latvala, and its companion House Bill HB13 that was filed by Representative and Majority Whip Jim Frishe, are both available for viewing here our website.

Committee meetings start September 19, 2011 and we are raring to go. SB88 has just received two Senate Committee references, in the following order: Environmental Preservation & Conservation; Budget. Representative Frishe and Senator Latvala are working closely together and are very committed to our legislation. We need to fix this problem!

Our lobbyist Travis Moore has been visiting many associations over the past few months, spreading the word and generating support.

For those who have contributed to our coalition….a big THANK YOU! With your support we are able to continue moving forward on our issues. With the success we had last session in getting our bill through the House with 100% unanimous support, I feel we are in a good position for getting our legislation in place.

For those who have contributed to our coalition….a big THANK YOU! With your support we are able to continue moving forward on our issues.

Click here to find the potential impact of increased fees on YOUR submerged land lease.