BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

HB 371 (Killebrew) and SB 910 (Burton) provide an exemption from surface water management and storage regulations for implementing certain projects for environmental habitat creation, restoration and enhancement activities, and water quality improvements on agricultural lands and government-owned lands. The bills remove current law requirements for the Department of Environmental Protection and water management districts to be notified of such projects. (O'Hara)

HB 559 (Roth) and SB 928 (Stewart) extend the retirement date of bond issues to fund the Florida Forever Act. The bills revise distributions for various programs funded by the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. HB 559 specifies that the lesser of 40% or $350 million shall be appropriated annually to the Florida Forever Trust Fund. SB 928 specifies that the lesser of 40% or $300 million shall be appropriated annually to the Florida Forever Trust Fund. Both bills prohibit moneys distributed from the Trust Fund from being used for executive direction and support services by state agencies. (O'Hara)

HB 423 (Cross) requires septic tank owners to have the system inspected every five years and directs the Department of Environmental Protection to implement the inspection program. It requires basin management action plans to include estimated pollutant load reductions that meet or exceed the amount of load reductions needed to meet the total maximum daily load requirements under the plan. The bill requires the allocation of pollutant load reductions in a basin management action plan to consider projected increases in pollutant loading due to growth in population or agricultural activity and requires the plan to provide strategies for mitigating or eliminating pollutant load increases for the life of the plan. It requires the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct assessments of projects included in a plan to determine whether the project is working as intended. (O'Hara)

SB 106 (Brodeur) and HB 915 (Botana) authorize the Department of Environmental Protection to establish a program to recognize local communities located along or in proximity to one or more long-distance nonmotorized recreational trails as "trail towns." The bills revise provisions relating to the Florida Greenways and Trails Program. The bills authorize the Greenways and Trails Council to recommend priorities for regionally significant trails for inclusion by the Florida Department of Transportation in the Florida Shared Use Nonmotorized Trail Network. The bills revise the responsibilities of the Division of Tourism Marketing to include promotion of the Florida Greenways and Trails System and the Florida Shared-Use Nonmotorized Trail Network and to coordinate with the Office of Greenways and Trails to promote and assist local communities to maximize use of nearby trails as economic assets. They direct the Department of Transportation to give funding priority to specified trails and to ensure that local support exists for projects and trail segments. The bills authorize state agencies and local governments to obtain sponsorships from nonprofit or commercial entities and to use the sponsorship revenue for maintenance, signage, and amenities. (O'Hara)

HB 847 (Stark) provides that structures associated with a dock or structures wholly contained within a boat slip that does not exceed 500 square feet (or 200 feet in an Outstanding Florida Water) as specified in Section 403.813(1)(s)2., Florida Statutes, create a presumption of compliance with certain environmental impact requirements of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. (O'Hara)

SB 810 (Gruters) amends Section 163.08, Florida Statutes, relating to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs and financing. It expands the purpose of the program to include resiliency-qualifying improvements to commercial or residential property. It defines commercial property to include multifamily, commercial, industrial, agricultural, nonprofit, long-term care facilities or government-commercial property. Government-commercial property is defined as real property owned by a local government and leased to a nongovernmental lessee. The bill amends the current law definition of "qualifying improvement" to include any other improvements necessary to achieve a sustainable building rating or compliance with a national model green building code. It provides that a non-ad valorem assessment on a commercial property securing financing for a qualifying improvement is subject to a maximum annual fee of 1% of the annual assessment collected or $5,000, whichever is less. It specifies that a delinquent assessment pursuant to a financing agreement with a nongovernmental lessee must be enforced in the manner provided by law for taxes and assessments on property owned by nongovernmental lessees of government commercial property. The bill specifies conditions for entering financing agreements with commercial properties and governmental-commercial properties, as well as residential properties. It clarifies the changes made by the bill are prospective and do not affect or amend any existing non-ad valorem assessment or any existing interlocal agreement between local governments. (O'Hara)

HB 175 (Busatta Cabrera) and SB 192 (Avila) require comprehensive plans and plan amendments that apply to any land within, or within two miles of, the Everglades Protection Area (EPA) to follow the state-coordinated review process for state agency compliance review under Part II, Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, and requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to coordinate with the affected local governments on mitigation measures for plans or plan amendments that would impact Everglades restoration. The EPA consists of the three state-designated Water Conservations Areas (WCA-1, WCA-2 and WCA-3) as well as Everglades National Park. If DEP determines that any portion of a proposed plan or proposed amendment will adversely impact the EPA or Everglades restoration objectives, the local government must modify the plan or plan amendment to mitigate such impacts before adoption of the plan or amendment, or that portion of the plan or amendment may not be adopted. Plan amendments that apply to any land within, or within two miles of, the EPA must be transmitted to DEP within 10 days of the second public hearing on the amendment. Finally, the bills require a county whose boundaries include any portion of the EPA, and the municipalities within the county (any municipality within Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade County), to transmit a copy of any small-scale plan amendment to the Department of Economic Opportunity within 10 days after adoption. (O'Hara)

HB 293 (Hinson) and SB 680 (Davis) would create the Energy Transition Task Force within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide recommendations for fostering a fair and equitable transition of the state's energy infrastructure to renewable energy technologies within minority, underserved, rural and low-income communities. It directs the Task Force to submit a report with its recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by September 2024. (O'Hara)

HB 77 (Fabricio) and SB 186 (Avila) provide that beginning July 2023, the ground vibration limit for construction materials mining activities within one mile of residentially zoned areas may not exceed .15 inches per second. The bills authorize the Chief Financial Officer to direct the State Fire Marshal to modify the standards for the use of explosives in connection with construction materials mining activities within one mile of residentially zoned areas. (O'Hara)

SB 506 (Stewart) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plan by July 2024, based on recommendations from the Department's 2020 75% Recycling Goal Final Report. It also requires the Department to convene a technical assistance group to help develop the plan. The plan must include the following: recycling goals based on sustainable materials management and waste diversion; a 30-year plan to implement strategies relating to recycling education and outreach; local government recycling assistance; and recycling materials market development. The bill requires the Department to submit a report and recommendations to the Legislature following completion of the plan. (O'Hara)

SB 880 (Brodeur) authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to provide grants for projects that convert wastewater residuals to Class A biosolids and Class AA biosolids. The bill also prohibits the Department from authorizing a land application site permit for Class B biosolids within the subwatershed of a waterbody designated as impaired for either nitrogen or phosphorus or within an adjoining upstream subwatershed containing surface waters that flow to a waterbody designated as impaired for either nitrogen or phosphorus unless the applicant demonstrates the biosolids will not add to the nutrient load of the impaired watershed. The bill specifies that new or renewed Class B biosolid land application site permits issued after July 2023 must meet the requirements of the bill by July 2024 and that all permits for biosolid land application sites must meet the new requirements by July 2025. (O'Hara)

SB 100 (Garcia) and HB 561 (Mooney, Jr.) – Mangrove Replanting & Restoration

HB 55 (Garcia) and SB 108 (Rodriguez) – Trees and Other Vegetation within Rights-of-Way

SB 54 (Rodriguez) and HB 135 (Mooney) – Land Acquisition Trust Fund (Keys)

HB 125 (McClain) and SB 194 (Hooper) – Utility System Rate Base Values

HB 207 (Edmonds) and SB 592 (Powell) – Notice of Contaminated Water Systems

HB 325 (Valdes), SB 484 (Bradley) and HB 759 (Baker) – Flood Disclosures for Property Sales

SB 716 (Stewart) – Flood Zone Disclosures for Dwelling Units

HB 527 (Skidmore) – Office of the Blue Economy

HB 407 (Shoaf) and SB 702 (Simon) – Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern

SB 320 (Harrell) and HB 547 (Sirois) – Land Acquisition Trust Fund (Indian River Lagoon)

HB 325 (Valdes) – Flood Disclosures for Residential and Commercial Property Sales

HB 557 (Bell) and SB 602 (Burton) – Land Acquisition Trust Fund (Heartland Headwaters)

HB 713 (McFarland) and SB 742 (Grall) – Administrative Procedures and Permitting Process Review

HB 739 (Cassel) – Disposal of Food Waste Material

SB 724 (Boyd) – Seagrass Restoration Technology Development Initiatives

HB 821 (Yeager) – Renewable Energy Cost Recovery

SB 930 (Stewart) – Excise Tax on Water Extracted for Commercial or Industrial Use

HB 23 (Bell) and SB 162 (Collins) state that water and wastewater facility operators are essential first responders. The bills require the Department of Environmental Protection to issue a license by reciprocity to any applicant who: (1) is a water treatment plant operator, water distribution system operator or domestic wastewater treatment plant operator and who holds an active and valid license from another state, the federal government or tribal government, for which the licensure requirements are comparable to or exceed Florida's licensure requirements; (2) has passed a licensure examination comparable to the Department's licensure examination, subject to approval of the Department; (3) is not the subject of a disciplinary or enforcement action outside of Florida at the time of application; (4) submits a completed application for reciprocal licensure; and (5) remits the application fee. The bills further direct the Department to issue a license by reciprocity to any applicant who: (1) has performed comparable duties while serving in the U.S. armed forces, for which the requirements for performing the duties are comparable to or exceed the Department's licensure requirements; (2) has passed a skills assessment or competency examination comparable to the Department's licensure exam, subject to approval by the Department; (3) is not the subject of any disciplinary or enforcement action at the time of application; (4) submits a completed application to the Department; and (5) remits the application fee. Lastly, the bills authorize the Department, during a declared state of emergency, to issue a temporary operator license by reciprocity under specified conditions and to waive the application fee for such temporary operator license. (O'Hara)

SB 458 (Rodriguez) and HB 827 (Basabe) authorize the Department of Environmental Protection to provide wastewater grant program grants to projects directed at or focused on a water body that is included in the Department's verified list of impaired waters. (O'Hara)

SB 970 (Berman) and HB 957 (Eskamani) amend multiple provisions of law relating to renewable energy. The bills prohibit the drilling, exploration for or the production of oil, gas or other petroleum products on the lands and waters of the state. The bills provide that by 2050, 100% of the electricity used in the state will be generated from 100% renewable energy and that by 2051, the state will have net zero carbon emissions. The bills direct the Office of Energy within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to coordinate with state, regional and local entities to develop a unified statewide renewable energy plan. (O'Hara)

SB 798 (Ingoglia) and HB 975 (Holcomb) provide that a city or county may not prohibit or "unreasonably restrain" a private entity from providing recycling or solid waste services to commercial, industrial or multifamily residential properties. In addition, the bills authorize a local government to require such private entities to obtain a permit, license or non-exclusive franchise but specify the local government's fee may not exceed the local government's administrative cost and that the fee must be commensurate with fees for other industries. The bills prohibit the use of exclusive franchise agreements and restrict a local government from providing its own solid waste or recycling services. Current contracts and franchises in place as of January 2023 would be permitted to continue to their date of expiration, but the bills specify that a local government may not recognize an "evergreen" contract or additional renewal or extension of a contract or agreement. (O'Hara)

HB 661 (Truenow) authorizes counties and municipalities to access sanitary sewer laterals within their jurisdiction to investigate, repair or replace the lateral. A sanitary sewer lateral is a privately owned pipeline connecting a property to the main sewer line. The bill requires municipalities and counties to notify private property owners within a specified timeframe if the government intends to access the owner's sanitary sewer lateral and an anticipated timeframe for the work. It specifies that local governments who establish sanitary sewer lateral programs are legally and financially responsible for all work that is performed and authorizes such programs to use specified state or local funds to evaluate and rehabilitate impaired laterals. (O'Hara)

SB 734 (Polsky) authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to provide grants to coastal counties for saltwater intrusion vulnerability assessments that analyze the effects of saltwater intrusion on a county's water supply, water utility infrastructure, wellfield protection and freshwater supply management. The bill requires the Department to update its comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise data set to include information received from the county saltwater intrusion vulnerability assessments. It directs the Department to provide 50% cost-share funding to counties, up to $250,000, for each grant. It exempts counties with a population of 50,000 or less from the cost-share requirement. (O'Hara)

HB 177 (Gossett-Seldman) and SB 172 (Berman) require the Department of Health to adopt and enforce certain rules and issue health advisories for beach waters and public bathing places if the results of bacteriological water sampling at the site fail to meet health standards. The bills also expand the current law preemption of the issuance of health advisories related to bacteriological sampling of beach waters to include public bathing places. The bills specify that beach waters and public bathing places must close if closure is necessary to protect health and safety and must remain closed until the water quality is restored in accordance with the Department's standards. The bills require the Department to adopt by rule specifications for signage that must be used when it issues a health advisory against swimming in affected beach waters or public bathing places due to elevated levels of specified bacteria and require such signage to be placed at beach access points and access points to public bathing places until the health advisory is removed. The bills specify that municipalities and counties are responsible for posting and maintaining the signage around beaches and public bathing places they own. Finally, the bills require the Department to develop an interagency database for reporting fecal indicator bacteria data and specify that fecal indicator bacteria relating to sampled beach waters and public bathing places must be published in the database within five business days after receipt of the data. (O'Hara)

HB 669 (Fine) and SB 950 (Rodriguez) amend current law relating to Property Assessed Clean Energy programs (PACE), whereby local governments, alone or in partnership with a program administrator, may finance qualifying improvements on residential property relating to energy conservation and efficiency or renewable energy. The bills add nonresidential real property, which includes multifamily residential property composed of five or more dwelling units, to PACE program eligibility. The bills add several consumer protections to the current PACE program, including capping the total of all non-ad valorem assessments plus any mortgage debt on the property at 100% of a residential property's fair market value, requiring a determination that a property owner meets certain creditworthiness requirements, and allowing property owners to cancel a financing agreement within three days of execution. (O'Hara)