2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB1729
HB1729 makes a person ineligible to be elected as a Port Freeport commissioner after serving two counted full terms.
Official caption: Relating to a limitation on the number of terms a person may serve as a commissioner of Port Freeport.
Official report lists House author(s): Vasut, Barry. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB1729 makes a person ineligible to be elected as a Port Freeport commissioner after serving two counted full terms.
- Existing law provides for six commissioners serving staggered six-year terms, with two elected every two years.
- The bill is specific to Port Freeport.
What does it do?
HB1729 makes a person ineligible to be elected as a Port Freeport commissioner after serving two counted full terms. The law took effect September 1, 2025, but terms that began before that date do not count under the new limitation. It therefore does not immediately disqualify an incumbent merely because that person had already served two earlier terms. Final law, Sections 2–3.
Existing law provides for six commissioners serving staggered six-year terms, with two elected every two years. Two full terms ordinarily mean 12 years, but this is not an absolute 12-year cap on all service: the pre-September 2025 terms are excluded, and completing the remainder of an unexpired term after election or appointment to a vacancy does not count as a full term. The new restriction is framed as eligibility to be elected, and does not contain a reset after sitting out an election. Special District Local Laws Code 5002.051–5002.053; final law.
The bill is specific to Port Freeport. It does not create a statewide term limit for all port authorities, shorten existing six-year terms, change the commission’s size or remove its other residency and voter qualifications. Final law; existing district law.
What changed along the way?
The official amendment index states the bill has no amendments. All five available versions—introduced, House committee, House-passed, Senate committee and enrolled—have identical operative text. The two-full-term rule, vacancy exception and exclusion of terms that began before the effective date were retained throughout. There was no conference rewrite. Versions; amendment index; history.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
The limit can create more opportunities for new candidates and regular leadership turnover. The tradeoff is that voters eventually lose the option to reelect a commissioner who has completed two counted terms, even if they prefer that person’s experience. The bill does not establish which particular future election will disqualify a named commissioner; that requires the person’s service dates.
The May 12, 2025 fiscal note anticipates no state fiscal impact and no significant local-government fiscal impact. It provides no dollar estimate or quantified two-year or five-year projection. The law does not itself change port taxes, fees or construction spending.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
