Florida Senate Bill 4-F and House Bill 1329 Explained

Florida's 2026 Special Session produced two pieces of legislation that will affect nearly every Florida county and municipality during budget season.

Senate Bill 4-F changes how local governments calculate and approve property tax millage rates. House Bill 1329, known as the Local Government Financial Transparency and Accountability Act, introduces new transparency requirements, expands public access to financial information, and adds new budgeting procedures.

Florida Senate Bill 4-F and House Bill 1329 Explained

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If you're responsible for preparing budgets, managing financial reporting, or supporting elected officials through the budget process, these changes will likely become part of your annual process.

In this post, we'll go over the changes that will affect you. But please keep in mind, we are not attorneys. Always consult legal experts regarding new legislation.

 

Senate Bill 4-F: Higher Barriers for Property Tax Increases

SB 4-F modifies Florida's property tax administration laws by changing how local governments determine the maximum property tax rate they may adopt.

Previously, the maximum millage calculation allowed adjustments based on changes in Florida's per-capita personal income. The new law removes that adjustment and generally makes the rolled-back rate the standard maximum rate for local governments.

 

New Voting Requirements

Local governments can still adopt rates above the rolled-back rate, but the approval requirements are now much stricter.

Under SB 4-F:

• Millage rates up to 110% of the rolled-back rate require a two-thirds vote of the governing body.

• Millage rates above 110% require:

  • a unanimous vote,

  • a three-fourths vote for governing bodies with nine or more members, or

  • approval by referendum.

For finance departments, this means budget preparation will likely involve earlier conversations with administrators and elected officials about revenue assumptions and funding priorities.

 

House Bill 1329: A Major Expansion of Budget Transparency

While SB 4-F focuses on tax levies, HB 1329 focuses on how local governments prepare, publish, and communicate financial information.

The legislation creates numerous new requirements for counties and municipalities intended to increase public visibility into budgeting decisions.

 

Budgets Must Be Available Earlier—and Longer

HB 1329 changes website posting requirements for tentative and final budgets.

Among the new requirements:

• Tentative budgets must be posted at least 5 days before the public hearing.

• Tentative budgets must remain online for at least 45 days.

• Final budgets must be posted within 30 days of adoption and remain available for at least 5 years.

For many finance offices, that means reviewing website publishing processes and coordinating earlier with communications or IT staff.

 

A New Required Budget Reduction Exercise

One of the most significant additions in HB 1329 is the requirement for a public budget workshop that includes a budget reduction exercise.

Before adopting the final budget, governing bodies must identify strategies that could reduce the next fiscal year's budget by 10% compared to the current year's budget without compromising essential public services or legal obligations, including law enforcement and fire services.

The exercise, or a recording of the workshop, must also be posted online and completed at least 14 days before final budget adoption.
Although the legislation requires identifying potential reductions, it does not require those reductions to be implemented.

 

More Financial Information Must Be Published

HB 1329 significantly expands the financial information that must be available online.

Posted budgets must include information covering:

• Budget overview and narrative summary

• Revenue and expenditure summaries

• Fund summaries

• Department and division expenses

• Program or functional spending

• Debt-related expenditures

• Capital project spending

• Organizational charts or staffing summaries

• Reserve and fund balance analyses

The information must include the proposed fiscal year, the current fiscal year, and the previous four fiscal years.

 

Quarterly Compensation Reports

The law also requires counties and municipalities to prepare quarterly compensation summaries.

These reports must include:

• Employee names

• Job titles

• Salaries

The summaries must be posted online in a downloadable electronic format.

For HR, payroll, and finance teams, this may require establishing a recurring reporting process that didn't previously exist.

 

Annual Budget Development Calendars

Beginning each year, counties and municipalities must publish a budget development calendar by January 30.

The calendar is intended to give taxpayers visibility into the budget process by identifying expected milestones, including:

• Department budget request deadlines

• Budget workshops

• Property appraiser timelines

• Public hearing schedules

• The required budget reduction workshop

The legislation also specifies that publishing the calendar cannot be used as the basis for challenging a budget's adoption.

 

Additional Changes Affecting Development Fees

HB 1329 also revises several provisions governing impact fees.

Among other changes, the legislation:

• defines "impact fee" and "plan-based methodology,"

• establishes additional requirements for demonstrated-need studies,

• requires localized data for certain analyses,

• creates new procedures for impact fee refunds and credits, and

• establishes additional limitations on certain impact fee increases.

These provisions may be particularly relevant for finance departments that work closely with planning, engineering, or development services.

 

What You Should Do Next

Even if your organization already publishes budgets online, these laws introduce new timelines, new reporting requirements, and additional public transparency expectations.

Finance teams should begin reviewing:

• Budget calendars and annual planning processes

• Website publishing procedures

• Budget document formats

• Quarterly compensation reporting processes

• Coordination between finance, HR, IT, communications, and administration

• Budget workshop planning for the required reduction exercise

Preparing now can make implementation smoother when these new requirements take effect.

 

Final Thoughts

Together, SB 4-F and HB 1329 reshape both the budgeting process and public financial transparency for Florida local governments.

SB 4-F raises the approval threshold for property tax increases by making the rolled-back rate the general standard and requiring larger governing body majorities for higher millage rates. HB 1329 expands what finance departments must publish, introduces recurring reporting requirements, and formalizes new budget planning activities.

For finance professionals, the coming budget cycles will likely involve more documentation, more public reporting, and greater coordination across departments—but also an opportunity to demonstrate financial stewardship through clearer and more accessible budgeting practices.

As transparency requirements continue to grow, finance teams need tools that make budgeting, reporting, and financial management easier—not more complicated.

VIP Accounting helps local governments centralize their financial data while streamlining budgeting, general ledger, accounts payable, purchasing, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. Because your financial information lives in one integrated system, it's easier to prepare budget documents, monitor revenues and expenditures, analyze fund balances, and respond to requests from elected officials and the public.

And if you need deeper reporting capabilities, VIP Budgeting & Analytics gives you reporting tools that help you explore budget trends, compare historical financial data, and present information in a way that's easy for you to understand. Whether you're preparing budget workshops, analyzing spending, or answering questions from council members, having real-time financial data at your fingertips can save hours of manual work.

As legislation continues to evolve, having software designed specifically for local governments can help you spend less time gathering information and more time making informed financial decisions.

Want to see how VIP Accounting and VIP Analytics can support your budgeting and financial reporting processes?

Contact Software Solutions today to schedule a personalized demonstration.