Hillsborough County cannot tighten its growth and development rules until at least 2027 after the Florida House killed a bipartisan fix during the 2026 legislative session.

For unincorporated South Shore communities such as Apollo Beach and Ruskin, governed by the Hillsborough County Commission, a state hurricane-recovery law blocks the county from adopting stricter growth-management policies. Hillsborough received $709.3 million in federal disaster recovery funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Jan. 21, 2025, for damage from Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton.

What Senate Bill 180 restricts

Senate Bill 180, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2025, bars counties and cities near a hurricane's path from adopting land-use regulations deemed "more restrictive or burdensome" for one year after a storm. The law also sped up permitting, created debris management plans and added contractor accountability measures.

The problem, according to the bill's own sponsor: It cast too wide a net.

Because Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton all struck Florida during the 2024 season, the bill's 100-mile radius placed nearly the entire state under post-storm restrictions, including all of Hillsborough County. Hillsborough County crews collected more than 2.9 million cubic yards of debris after Helene, a Category 4 storm that hit Sept. 26, 2024. Milton, a Category 3 storm, followed 14 days later on Oct. 10, 2024.

Legislative fix fails in the House

State Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg, who authored SB 180, introduced SB 840 during the 2026 session to narrow the law's reach. The fix would have cut the geographic trigger from 100 miles to 50 miles, ended the restriction period for the 2024 storms on June 30, 2026, and carved out exceptions for local stormwater, flooding, drinking water and sewer policies.

The Senate passed SB 840 unanimously, but the bill died in the House after leadership assigned it to the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee, a panel not scheduled to meet for the rest of the session, the Bradenton Herald reported. State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, twice tried to attach SB 840's language to other House bills, but House leadership ruled both amendments out of order.

"It is unfortunate that the Florida House of Representatives did not take up Senate Bill 840 in Committee," DiCeglie said in a statement to Florida Politics after the session ended in March.

State Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, who sponsored SB 180 in the House in 2025, chose not to file a companion bill for SB 840. She did not respond to the Herald's requests for comment.

Lawsuits pending as the fix stalls

Without a fix, SB 180 remains in full effect. The law retroactively nullified some local development regulations already on the books, and it renews the restrictions whenever a new hurricane hits. Legislative analyses have raised concerns that SB 180 "may extend beyond post-hurricane reconstruction and restrict local land use decisions."

Two lawsuits challenging SB 180 are pending in the 2nd Judicial Circuit, where a Leon County judge allowed two claims to proceed, including one arguing the law is unconstitutionally vague.

When the regular session ended in March, critics hoped SB 180 revisions could be added to a special session to finalize the state budget.