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RESOLUTION RELATED TO IMPLEMENTING ORDERS NOS. 4-42, 4-63, AND 4-111; AMENDING SAID IMPLEMENTING ORDERS TO MODIFY CERTAIN FEES ASSOCIATED WITH REGULATORY ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF REGULATORY AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN STATE LAW

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WHEREAS, this Board desires to accomplish the purposes outlined in the accompanying memorandum, a copy of which is incorporated herein by reference,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board hereby authorizes the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to amend the attached Implementing Orders Nos. 4-42, 4-63, and 4-111, in substantially the form attached to this resolution as Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C, and incorporated herein, to make certain modifications in response to changes in State law. These modifications shall go into effect upon the effective date of this resolution.

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Date:
To: Honorable Chairman Anthony Rodriguez
and Members, Board of County Commissioners
From: Daniella Levine Cava
Mayor
Subject: Resolution Amending Implementing Orders within the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER) and the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM)

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Executive Summary
The proposed resolution amends Implementing Orders (IO) 4-63, 4-42, and 4-111 to modify certain fees as it relates to regulatory and land development and compliance activities within the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER) and the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM).

A summary of the updates to the Implementing Orders (IOs) is provided below. Specific proprietary fees for building, zoning, platting, public works, planning, environmental, and operating permits are generally being adjusted as follows to comply with state law:

? House Bill (HB) 803 requires certain changes to the County�s fees that will increase discount rates from local governments related to private providers. These related fee updates are estimated to be revenue neutral. Fee changes related to new state laws are summarized in the Exhibits. These fee changes are proposed to go into effect upon the effective date of this resolution.
? House Bill (HB) 399 provides that fees are not to be calculated using a percentage of construction costs, site costs, or project valuation. The vast majority of the County�s fees are not calculated using any such percentages. However, some County fees currently use ranges of project costs or other related metric. In light of these changes to state law, this item eliminates the use of project costs from all referenced fee schedules and relies more clearly on complexity of the project, which correlates to the anticipated staff effort. These related fee updates are estimated to be revenue neutral and will go into effect upon the effective date of this resolution.

Recommendation
It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners (Board) adopt the attached resolution providing for certain modifications to IOs within RER and DERM. These IOs generally address the following:

? IO 4-63 for services associated with building plan review and inspections (building-trades construction permitting), building compliance, neighborhood compliance, and countywide building code administration activities; and
? IO 4-42 for services related to environmental permitting and inspection, operating permitting services, as well as the fees for the anticipated delegation of the Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems (OSTDS) to Miami-Dade County from the Florida Department of Health. IO 4-42 also provides revenue for environmental compliance activities carried out by the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM); and
? IO 4-111 for services related to zoning, planning and platting.

Activities captured through these IOs support businesses, property owners, and the local development industry. Revisions to the fee schedules are related to certain state law changes with respect to discounts for private providers and avoiding fees based on percentages of construction costs.

Scope
Some of these implementing orders apply to all of geographic Miami-Dade County including countywide building code administration (IO 4-63), platting (IO 4-111), and environmental protection (IO 4-42). Construction permitting and compliance (IO 4-63), zoning and most planning services (4-111) apply in Unincorporated Municipal Statistical Area (UMSA) and portions of municipalities where the County exercises building and zoning jurisdiction.

Delegation of Authority
No new delegation of authority is associated with these modifications of fees in response to changes in state law.

Fiscal Impact/Funding Source
No new fiscal impacts are anticipated as a result of this item. Approval of this resolution is expected to be revenue neutral with respect to the restructuring of fees.

Track Record/Monitor
RER shall be responsible for administering the provisions of IO 4-63 and IO 4-111. RER and DERM will be responsible for administering the provisions of IO 4-42, RER (environmental permitting related fees) and DERM (environmental compliance fees), respectively.

Background
Effective July 1, 2026, HB 803, implemented changes to section 553.791, Florida Statutes. If a fee owner or the fee owner's contractor retains a private provider for purposes of plans review or building inspection services for a commercial construction project, the local enforcement agency must reduce the permit fee by at least 25 percent of the portion of the permit fee attributable to plans review or building inspection services, as applicable. If the fee owner or the fee owner's contractor retains a private provider for all required plans review and building inspection services, the local enforcement agency must reduce the total permit fee by at least 50 percent of the amount otherwise charged for such services. These new provisions of state law require that changes associated with HB 803 be implemented by July 1, 2026.

Effective January 1, 2027, HB 399, implemented changes to sections 125.022, Florida Statutes, adding that for development permits and orders the amount of any application fee associated with a development permit or development order must reasonably relate to the direct and reasonable indirect costs associated with the review, processing, and final disposition of the application and must be published on the County's fee schedule. The fee may not be based on a percentage of construction costs, site costs, or project valuation. This restructuring complies with new limitations in state law and is anticipated to continue to cover costs in accordance with Section 553.80 of the Florida Statues which requires that local governments regulate building construction by enforcement of the Florida Building Code and provides authority for adoption of a schedule of reasonable fees to be �used solely for carrying out the local government�s responsibilities in enforcing the Florida Building Code.�

RER will continue to uphold its service delivery model, which maintains next-day inspection service for all construction permitting activities and has more recently introduced same-day (on demand) inspection services in an attempt to provide even more convenient and immediate service to contractors. Improvements to environmental permitting processes have already been deployed and will continue to be implemented. Plan review times will be similarly maintained in compliance with maximum statutory and internal review times. Adoption of this item will allow our County to comply with state law, while maintaining timely, transparent, and accountable permit processes, which contribute to decreased overall costs of construction and make local investment more financially viable and attractive. Effective and efficient permitting and land development processes require continuous management and technological investment and are inextricably tied to the creation of a welcoming business environment in our community, which fosters economic growth and prosperity for all of our residents.

Attachments

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Roy Coley
Chief Utilities and Regulatory Services Officer