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Advisory Legal Opinion - Vacation Rentals -- Municipalities -- Land Use Page 2 of 6 does not otherwise authorize a local government to prohibit the operation of a vacation rental without proper licensure by the state. Question One Section 509.032(7), Florida Statutes, as amended by Ch. 2014-71, Laws of Florida, provides: "(a) The regulation of public lodging establishments and public food service establishments, including, but not limited to, sanitation standards, inspections, training and testing of personnel, and matters related to the nutritional content and marketing of foods offered in such establishments, is preempted to the state. This paragraph does not preempt the authority of a local government or local enforcement district to conduct inspections of public lodgings and public food service establishments for compliance with the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code, pursuant to ss. 553.80 and 633.206. (b) A local law, ordinance, or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals. This paragraph does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011. (c) Paragraph (b) does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation exclusively relating to property valuation as a criterion for vacation rental if the local law, ordinance, or regulation is required to be approved by the state land planning agency pursuant to an area of critical state concern designation." Prior to its amendment, the statute, in relevant part, provided: "(b) A local law, ordinance, or regulation may not restrict the use of vacation rentals, prohibit vacation rentals, or regulate vacation rentals based solely on their classification, use, or occupancy. This paragraph does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011." (e.s.) This earlier provision was interpreted by this office to preempt local regulation of the rental of vacation homes. This office also advised that a local zoning ordinance for single-family homes adopted prior to June 1, 2011, could not now be interpreted to restrict the rental of such homes as vacation rentals, when the ordinance did not restrict the rental of such property and the county had no regulations governing vacation rentals prior to June 1, 2011.[2] As originally introduced, Senate Bill 356, repealed the provisions in paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 509.032(7), Florida Statutes (2013), prohibiting local laws, ordinances, or regulations affecting vacation rentals.[3] The bill was amended, however, to reinstate the prohibition against local action which would prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of vacation rentals.[4] The legislative analysis attendant to the amendment states that the http://www. myfloridalegal.com/ago.nsf/printview/5DFB 7F27FB483 C4685257D900050D... 2/10/2015