BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

Florida League of Cities

Development of Current or Former Agricultural Land (Watch)

CS/HB 909 (Payne) specifies that the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection has exclusive jurisdiction in setting standards or procedures for evaluating environmental conditions and assessing potential liability for the presence of contaminants on land that is classified as agricultural and is being converted to a nonagricultural use.  The bill prohibits the Secretary from delegating such authority to a city, county, or another unit of local government through a local pollution control program. CS/HB 909 passed the House (98-16) and the Senate (38-0) and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)