Denis Hanks says Florida Senate Bill (SB 280) deserves the Governor’s veto.
Hanks, the Executive Director for The Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals (FAVR), tells Florida Daily thousands in his profession have emailed the Governor’s office asking him to stop SB 280.
FAVR says the proposed legislation would eliminate consumer protections and due process for homeowners who choose to rent their properties to travelers.
“SB 280 infringes upon a homeowner’s private property rights, which define the theoretical and legal ownership of resources and how they can be used. Any legislation that takes away your private property rights and hands that final judgment of its use and marketing to a local government or a private entity is clearly bad public policy,” says Hanks.
Florida’s tourism and hospitality industry gets over 137 million visitors annually, generating over $102 billion that flows into local and state economies. Of that, $30 billion each year comes from Florida’s residential vacation rental marketplace, which employs thousands of Floridians.
FAVR points out that 60 million families travel to Florida each year for the beaches, parks, and sunshine.
“So, imagine your family plans a vacation for months or a year and spends thousands of dollars on a vacation home rental, theme park tickets, excursions, and more, only to be told that the home away from home that they rented is no longer available. In some rural or beach communities where hotel inventory is limited, vacation rental homes are the only options. That’s just one of the issues with SB 280 and its negative impact on our #1 industry tourism,” Hanks tells Florida Daily.
The Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals is asking for Governor Ron DeSantis to veto the legislation and send it back to the drafting table for another year. FAVR and its members said the bill opens the door for increased litigation and regulatory dysfunction with its vague and overreaching regulatory scheme.
FAVR is putting on a full court pressure to stop the bill and encouraging others to sign a petition at https://act.newmode.net/action/florida-alliance-vacation-rentals/ask-governor-desantis-veto-sb-280-related-florida-vacation.
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