BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 886 (Jones) and HB 515 (Robinson, F.) require a municipal water or sewer utility that serves customers in another recipient municipality using infrastructure located in the recipient municipality to charge consumers in the recipient municipality the same rates, fees and charges as it does the consumers inside its municipal boundaries. (Branch)

CS/CS/SB 1764 (Albritton) creates the Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy Program within the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and require the department to provide financial assistance grants to municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities that have entered into power purchase agreements with electric utilities that include capacity payments, and the facility will no longer receive capacity payments under the agreement. The bill also directs the department to provide incentive grants to waste-to-energy facilities to assist with constructing, upgrading, or expanding a facility. Grant funds may not be used for a residential collection system that does not separate solid waste from recovered materials. The bill appropriates $100 million in recurring funds to the Department for the new program. CS/CS/SB 1764 passed the Senate (38-0) and the House (110-8) and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)

SB 1944 (Baxley) and CS/CS/HB 1241 (Hawkins) address local governments’ contractual remedies against a solid waste or recycling vendor if the vendor fails to perform under the contract with the local government. SB 1944 prohibits local governments from seeking liquidated damages, administrative fees, or other similar charges against a solid waste management or recycling entity for action or inaction during a local, state or federal emergency. SB 1944 also caps the amount of liquidated damages, administrative fees or other similar charges that may be sought against a waste or recycling company to 50% of the amount billed to the customer for collection services at the daily rate. CS/CS/HB 1241 would prohibit a local government from assessing liquidated damages against a vendor that misses a scheduled collection during a declared emergency, so long as the vendor provides the missed collection service within 36 hours of the scheduled service. If the vendor fails to provide the collection service after 36 hours, the local government is not required to pay for that service. The bill does not apply to missed collections that are due to the fault of the vendor, and the bill does not apply to contracts or contractual provisions for the collection of storm-generated yard trash. Both bills apply to contracts executed or renewed on or after July 1, 2022. (O’Hara)

SB 1448 (Ausley) establishes the Florida Board of Tree Experts within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and requires the Board to develop or designate a licensure examination for licensed Florida arborists. The bill provides requirements for licensure as a licensed Florida arborist and a licensed tree care practitioner and provides grounds for the Board to suspend, revoke or refuse to issue or renew a permit. The bill requires a business engaged in tree care services to biennially register with the Board. (O'Hara)

HB 6003 (Eskamani) and SB 1854 (Farmer) repeal provisions of current law prohibiting local governments from recognizing or granting certain legal rights to the natural environment or granting such rights relating to the natural environment to a person or political subdivision. (O'Hara)

CS/HB 1377 (Roth) and SB 1816 (Stewart) extend the retirement date of bonds issued to fund the Florida Forever Act from 2040 to 2054. The bills require the annual appropriation from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund (LATF) to the Florida Forever Trust Fund to be $100 million. SB 1816 prohibits LATF monies from being used for state agency executive direction and support services. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/SB 882 (Brodeur) requires each water management district governing board, in cooperation with local governments, to develop a list of critical wetlands for acquisition using funds from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. The bill specifies criteria the water management districts should consider in designating a wetland for inclusion on the list. CS/CS/SB 882 passed the Senate (38-0) and the House (111-2) and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O'Hara)

HB 621 (Fine) and SB 1162 (Broxson) prohibit specified state agencies and water management districts from disbursing state funds (including grants) for local government infrastructure, water and resiliency projects if the local government transfers its utility revenues (other than the costs of administrative and support services under a cost allocation plan) for use in providing general government functions and services. (Branch)

SB 832 (Stewart) and HB 561 (Goff-Marcil) require onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems to be inspected once every five years and require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to administer the inspection program and requirements. The bills also require DEP to assess the efficacy of projects listed within a basin management action plan having a total cost exceeding $1 million. (O'Hara)

SB 380 (Rodriguez) and HB 463 (Melo) prohibit state and regional agencies from adopting or enforcing state and regional programs to regulate greenhouse gas emissions without specific legislative authorization. (O'Hara)

CS/CS/CS/HB 967 (Truenow) requires the turfgrass science program at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), in coordination with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), to administer a certification for golf course best management practices (BMPs) to ensure compliance with fertilizer BMPs. It requires UF/IFAS to provide training and testing certification programs and to issue certifications demonstrating completion of such programs. Certification expires four years after the date of issuance, with recertification available upon completion of additional continuing education. Persons certified in golf course BMPs are exempt from additional local government training and testing and exempt from local ordinances relating to water and fertilizer use, blackout periods or restrictions unless a state of emergency is declared. The bill also encourages UF/IFAS to create an online registry of certified persons. CS/CS/HB 967 passed the House (112-1) and the Senate (38-0) and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)

SB 932 (Rodriguez, A.) and HB 729 (Aloupis) require comprehensive plans and plan amendments that apply to any land within, or within 2 miles of, the Everglades Protection Area to follow the state coordinated review process for state agency compliance review under Part II, Chapter 163, Florida Statutes. The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to coordinate with the affected local governments on mitigation measures for plans or plan amendments that would impact Everglades restoration. (O'Hara)

SB 548 (Polsky) and HB 491 (Skidmore) address a variety of energy and renewable energy issues. It establishes a tax credit for electricity produced from a renewable energy source located on a farm operation and authorizes the state to lease manmade stormwater systems for floating solar energy systems. The bill requires the state to adopt rules for a renewable and energy efficiency portfolio standard. (O'Hara)

HB 1257 (Casello) and SB 1666 (Polsky) prohibit the use of Class B firefighting foam (contains PFAS) beginning in 2023. The bills provide exceptions for the use of Class B foam in response to fire prevention or in an emergency firefighting operation. (O'Hara)

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)

HB 6027 (Sabatini) amends current law relating to the open burning of debris from agricultural, silvicultural, land-clearing or tree-cutting activities, which is regulated and authorized by the Florida Forest Service. Currently, the law specifies the debris must originate onsite. HB 6027 would remove the onsite requirement, which would authorize the open burning of debris originating offsite as well as onsite. (O'Hara)

HB 585 (Botana) prohibits the land application of septage from onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems within the Caloosahatchee River watershed. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt an updated Caloosahatchee estuary basin management action plan (BMAP), which shall include the following: an implementation schedule to achieve nutrient load reductions necessary to meet total maximum daily load requirements for wastewater treatment facilities by 2027; an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system remediation plan and implementation schedule to meet nutrient load reductions for such systems by 2027; and a municipal stormwater remediation plan that requires an implementation schedule to achieve stormwater nutrient load reductions by 2027. Lastly, the bill prohibits new domestic wastewater disposal facilities within the watershed, except for those facilities that meet advanced wastewater treatment standards and new septic systems on lots of less than 1 acre, if the addition of a specific system will conflict with the remediation plan. (O'Hara)

HB 473 (Casello) and SB 798 (Taddeo) impose an excise tax on bottled water operators and specify the tax proceeds must be used to provide grants and loans to local governmental agencies for water projects, with priority given to septic-to-sewer conversion projects. (O'Hara)

SB 904 (Farmer) and HB 807 (Rayner) require, rather than authorize, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to develop and adopt rules for interim measures, best management practices or other measures to achieve certain levels of pollution reduction statewide. (O'Hara)

HB 145 (Hage) and SB 474 (Perry) – Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Weight Limits

HB 157 (Andrade) and SB 398 (Hooper) – Transportation Projects

HB 737 (Borrero) and SB 920 (Perry) – Electric Vehicle Transportation Electrification Plan

SB 914 (Harrell) and HB 871 (Brannan) – Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles