FAC Public Policy Development · 2026-27 Cycle

Submit Policy Proposal

Use this page to confirm eligibility, review the process, and submit a county-sponsored policy proposal for FAC's Legislative Action Plan


Any Florida county may submit Must be sponsored by a Commissioner/County Deadline: September 2, 2026

FAC's Legislative Action Plan is built by counties, for counties. Each year, member counties propose the issues FAC carries to the Legislature.

About the policy development process

How county priorities become FAC's Legislative Action Plan

FAC's policy development process is deliberative and consensus-built. County officials identify, discuss, and vote on the issues that make up FAC's annual Legislative Action Plan through participation in the FAC Legislative Policy Committees.

After submission, FAC staff will assign each proposal to the committee of jurisdiction. Committees act on proposals at the Innovation & Policy Conference and the Legislative Conference; the Legislative Executive Committee and full membership take final action at the Closing Session.

1

Submit proposal

Jul 15-Sep 2
2

FAC staff vet and assign to committee

Upon receipt
3

Committee review

I&P Conf. - Sep
4

Committee and LEC action

Leg. Conf. - Dec
5

Membership adopts Action Plan

Leg. Conf. Closing Session

How to submit

Three steps to submit a proposal

#1

Confirm it qualifies

Your proposal must address a statewide, regional, federal, or significant and widespread issue, cannot promote an individual county or project appropriation, and must be sponsored by a county.

#2

Gather your information

Prepare the Policy Proposal, Background, Statutory References, and Impact Statement, along with submitter contact details and your county's position.

#3

Complete the form

Submit through the form below. A representative from the county should be prepared to present the proposal to the committee of jurisdiction.

Deadline and emergencies: Proposals are due by September 2nd. Emergency submissions after the deadline are considered only upon majority action of the Legislative Executive Committee.

What qualifies

This form is for Policy Proposals

A strong submission is specific, statewide or regionally significant, and ready for committee review.

Submit here

Policy Proposal

A single-purpose statement addressing a specific issue or piece of legislation. Must address a matter of statewide, regional, or significant and widespread impact.

Cannot promote an individual county or project appropriation, and must be sponsored by a county.

Not submitted here

Guiding Principles

General policy principles of statewide importance that remain in effect across multiple years and issues.

These carry over automatically and are modified only by the membership at the Closing Session of the Legislative Conference - not through this form.

New this year - Select Committee on Guiding Principles

This year, FAC President Rene Flowers has appointed a Select Committee on Guiding Principles to review the long-term policy statements that shape our advocacy. Recommendations will be provided at the Innovation & Policy Conference in September, with final approval expected at the Legislative Conference in December.

Information Needed for Proposal


    Title: Provide a name for the policy

    Policy Proposal: Provide a succinct support statement. Example: "FAC supports [desired policy outcome]."

    Background: Provide any relevant issue history to explain how the issue has developed to the point that a policy change is needed. Include past efforts and previous legislation or bills filed if applicable.

    Statutory References: Provide a list of statutory citations regarding the policy.

    Impact Statement: Provide information showing the impact of the issue and/or the proposed policy change on your county or statewide if possible.

    BoCC Support: Whether the submitting county's BoCC supports the proposal, or whether it carries regional authority support.

What a strong submission looks like

Sample: Fuel Tax Indexing

    PP_Sample_Fuel_Tax_Indexing.PDFPDF

    The example below is modeled on FAC's adopted Fuel Tax Indexing policy, reformatted to this year's six questions. Use it as a guide for the level of detail and the kind of evidence that makes a proposal easy to assign, evaluate, and advocate.

    Title

    Fuel Tax Indexing

    Why this works: A short, descriptive name that staff and committee members can identify at a glance.

    Policy Proposal

    FAC supports indexing local option fuel taxes (LOFT) to annual adjustments of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

    Why this works: One sentence in the form "FAC supports [outcome]." It states the position only - the reasoning belongs in Background and the Impact Statement.

    Background

    Local option fuel taxes are levied as a fixed charge per gallon rather than as a percentage of price, so the rate cannot rise with inflation even as construction and maintenance costs climb. At the same time, the gallon base is shrinking as the vehicle fleet becomes more fuel-efficient, leaving counties squeezed from both directions.

    The state has indexed its own fuel sales tax to the CPI since 1997, while local rates statewide have remained frozen for years. Counties are asking for parity with the same CPI-indexing authority the Legislature already granted itself. Indexing would remain permissive and proceeds would stay restricted to transportation.

    Why this works: It explains the structural cause, frames the ask as parity with authority the state already uses, and notes that indexing is permissive and dedicated to transportation.

    Statutory References

    • s. 206.41(1)(e), F.S. - state tax on motor fuel; authorizes the county local option fuel tax of 1-11 cents per gallon.
    • s. 336.025, F.S. - governs the levy and use of local option fuel taxes; proceeds restricted to transportation expenditures.
    • s. 206.87(1)(c), F.S. - parallel taxation guidelines for diesel fuel.
    • s. 206.60, F.S. - county fuel tax, not currently indexed.
    • s. 206.41(1)(f)-(g), F.S. - state taxes that are indexed to the CPI, cited to show the disparity local governments face.

    Why this works: Exact citations, pinpointed to the subsection, with a note on which provisions are and are not indexed.

    Impact Statement

    • In Pinellas County, LOFT distributions rose just 4.6% between FY13 and FY23, while construction costs climbed 80% over the same period.
    • The state's highway fuel sales tax, indexed since 1997, grew from 6.9 cents to 20.8 cents per gallon by 2017; local rates remained static.
    • A 2024 Local Government Solutions report estimated indexing the 9th-cent and 1-6 cent LOFT could yield $34.7M-$102.4M for Pinellas over FY26-FY35.
    • FDOT received $903M in additional revenue from fuel tax indexing in FY21-22; counties granted indexing authority could expect proportional gains.

    Why this works: It quantifies the impact and cites sources, pairing a statewide frame with concrete county-level figures.

    BoCC Support

    Indicate your Board's position - for example, "Yes - adopted by the [County] Board of County Commissioners on [date]," "Pending BoCC action," or "Regional authority support."

    Why this works: Proposals carry the most weight when backed by a formal BoCC vote or documented regional authority support.

Questions?

Contact FAC Public Policy staff

If you have any questions about the policy submission process, please reach out to FAC Public Policy staff.

Jeff Scala

FAC Public Policy

jscala@fl-counties.com

Milan Clayton

FAC Public Policy

mclayton@fl-counties.com

Submission form

Submit your Policy Proposal

When your proposal details are ready, complete the form below. You may also open it in a new tab if the embedded form is easier to use there.

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