BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 1776 (Cruz) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to charge bottled water companies a fee of 5 cents per gallon of water extracted and requires the Department to distribute the funds collected from fees to the appropriate water management district to be used for the purposes of replenishing aquifers, creating alternative water supplies and addressing water quality impacts. (O’Hara)

SB 1774 (Cruz) requires the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor the consumptive use permits for all bottled water companies to ensure compliance with the limits of allowable water extraction from an approved source. The bill exempts bottled water companies that are permitted to extract less than 55 million gallons per year. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 1177 (Avila) establishes the Biscayne Bay Commission and provides for the Commission’s purpose, membership, duties, and authority. It prohibits sewage disposal facilities from disposing of any wastes into Biscayne Bay without providing for advanced waste treatment. (O'Hara)

SB 1240 (Hutson) provides a specified annual appropriation (the lesser of $100 million or the total amount requested to fully fund the annual project list) from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to the Department of Environmental Protection to fund beach and inlet projects. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/CS/SB 1946 (Polsky) authorizes counties, except for Monroe County, to establish an anchoring limitation area adjacent to urban areas that have residential docking facilities and significant recreational boating traffic. The aggregate total of anchoring limitation areas in a county may not exceed 10% of the county’s navigable-in-fact waterways as defined in the bill. The bill specifies requirements for anchoring limitation areas. (Current statutorily designated anchoring areas are grandfathered.) It prohibits a person from anchoring a vessel for more than 45 consecutive days in any six-month period in an anchoring limitation area. The bill establishes Monroe County as an anchoring limitation area within which a vessel may be anchored on waters of the state in the same location for a maximum of 90 days. The bill specifies conditions precedent for the Monroe County anchoring limitation area. The anchoring limitations do not apply to approved and permitted moorings and mooring fields. The bill establishes a process for a vessel owner or operator to provide proof that a vessel has not exceeded the anchoring limitations. It specifies that a vessel that is the subject of more than three violations within 12 months that result in dispositions other than dismissal or acquittal shall be declared to be a public nuisance. (O'Hara)

SB 1500 (Harrell) – Transportation

SB 178 (Cruz) – Public School Transportation

SB 422 (Rouson) and HB 389 (Mariano) – Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority

SB 684 (Brandes) and HB 707 (Chaney) – Department of Transportation

HB 729 (Gregory) and SB 1364 (Perry) – Transportation Projects

HB 785 (Busatta Cabrera)  and SB 708 (Brandes) – Peer-to-peer Car Sharing

SB 862 (Gruters) and HB 695 (Duran) – Digital License Plate Pilot Program

SB 924 (Hooper) – Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance Program

SB 978 (Hooper) and HB 677 (Rommel) – Motor Vehicle Dealers

SB 1126 (Harrell) and HB 1385 (LaMarca) – Department of Transportation

HB 1289 (McFarland) and SB 1620 (Brandes) – Autonomous Vehicles

SB 1134 (Harrell) – Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

HB 1143 (Grall) and SB 1466 (Hutson) – Airports

CS/CS/HB 57 (Andrade) and CS/CS/CS/SB 1194 (Hooper) contain various transportation-related provisions. Of particular importance to municipalities with seaports, provisions from CS/CS/CS SB 426 and CS/CS/CS/HB 267 were amended onto the bills. The bills now prohibit local governments from restricting or regulating maritime commerce in seaports including, but not limited to, regulating or restricting a vessel's type or size; source or type of cargo; or number, origin or nationality of passengers, as well as environmental or health records of a particular vessel. CS/CS/HB 57 was substituted for CS/CS/CS/SB 1194. CS/CS/CS/SB 1194 passed the Senate (39-0) and the House (87-26). (Taggart)

SB 278 (Baxley) and HB 1643 (McClain) provide criminal penalties for a person who commits a moving violation that causes serious bodily injury to or causes the death of a vulnerable road user. Of interest to cities, current law defines “vulnerable road user” to include a person engaged in work on a highway such as a utility service worker. (Taggart)

CS/HB 1283 (Beltran) and SB 1660 (Burgess) rename the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority as the West Florida Expressway Authority. The West Florida Expressway Authority shall assume the governance and control of the expressway system operated by the former Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority including its assets, personnel, contracts, obligations, liabilities, facilities and tangible and intangible properties. The governing body shall initially consist of a board of seven members but shall be subject to increase to no more than 13 members upon the expansion of the authority’s jurisdiction. (Taggart)

SB 1130 (Brandes) dissolves the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority. The bill requires the Authority to discharge its liabilities and settle and close its activities and affairs. The bill also provides for the distribution of the Authority’s assets or the proceeds of such assets, such that each local general-purpose government represented on the Authority’s board receives a distribution generally in proportion to each entity’s contribution to the acquisition of the assets. (Taggart)

CS/CS/CS/HB 267 (Roach) and CS/CS/CS/SB 426 (Boyd) relate to the preemption of seaport regulations. CS/CS/CS/SB 426 prohibits a local ballot initiative or referendum from restricting maritime commerce in the seaports of this state including, but not limited to, restricting such commerce based on several factors. CS/CS/CS/HB 267 provides that municipal government may not restrict or regulate commerce in the seaports including, but not limited to, regulating or restricting a vessel's type or size; source or type of cargo; or number, origin or nationality of passengers. The bills were further amended to limit the preemption to seaports within areas of critical state concern. CS/CS/CS/SB 426 passed the Senate (25-14). (Taggart)

CS/CS/SB 1086 (Hutson) amends numerous provisions of current law relating to boater safety, derelict vessels, marine sanitation devices and recovery of space flight assets. The bill defines “human-powered vessel” and imposes requirements for the operation of human-powered vessels within the boundaries of a marked channel of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway. It designates Monroe County as an anchoring limitation area upon the county meeting certain conditions. It authorizes the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to establish anchoring/mooring/beaching/grounding protection zones for springs. The bill makes multiple revisions to laws governing derelict vessel identification and removal. It provides that officers may provide in-person notice that a vessel is at risk of becoming derelict if there is a body camera recording. The bill also authorizes specified officers and agencies to relocate an at-risk vessel to a location further from a mangrove or upland vegetation. The bill authorizes the FWC to establish a derelict vessel prevention program, which may include provisions for removal of nuisance, derelict or at-risk vessels; a vessel “turn-in” program for owners; and removal of abandoned vessels. It authorizes local governments to enact and enforce regulations to remove an abandoned or lost vessel affixed to a public mooring. The bill specifies conditions under which vessels with repeated violations may be declared a public nuisance and provides requirements for notice to vessel owners and remedies. It amends the definition of “derelict vessel” to include criteria for determining whether a vessel is considered wrecked, junked or substantially dismantled. The bill prohibits the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from issuing a certificate of title to an applicant for a vessel that has been deemed derelict and, beginning in 2023, authorizes the agency to reject an application for a certificate of title for a vessel that has been deemed derelict. The bill amends provisions relating to anchoring or mooring limitations to clarify that distance restrictions apply to both public and private marinas and apply only to public vessel launching or loading facilities. It authorizes municipalities to establish boating-restricted areas within the boundaries of a permitted public mooring field and a buffer around the mooring field of up to 100 feet. It also authorizes local governments to establish vessel-exclusion zones within the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway within their jurisdictions, except local governments may not establish such a zone for public bathing beaches or swim areas within the waterway. The bill creates provisions addressing vessel speeds within specified distances of activated emergency vessels and construction barges. It requires owners or operators of live-aboard vessels to maintain documentation relating to marine sanitation devices. The bill establishes, upon approval by the Environmental Protection Agency, a no-discharge zone for all waters within aquatic preserves and provides for penalties for violation of the prohibition. (O'Hara)

SB 1896 (Wright) allows a local governmental entity the authority to enact ordinances relating to multipassenger all-terrain vehicle operation and equipment that are more restrictive than those enumerated in current law. The bill requires the local governmental entity to consult with the Department of Transportation before adopting the ordinance. (Taggart)

CS/HB 365 (Caruso) and CS/CS/SB 566 (Perry) require peer-to-peer (P2P) car-sharing service sites to impose a $2 per day surcharge upon lease or rental motor vehicle through the P2P car-sharing program, which is similar to the requirements of a traditional car rental company. For P2P sharing program agreements involving a shared vehicle that is registered in the state, the surcharge shall be $1 per day. The surcharge applies to the first 30 days of a car-sharing period for any P2P car-sharing program agreement. CS/CS/SB 566 was amended to remove the $2 per day surcharge on P2P car sharing. CS/HB 365 was substituted for CS/CS/SB 566. CS/CS/SB 566 passed the Senate (28-12) and the House (101-5). (Taggart)

CS/CS/SB 140 (Brandes) and HB 819 (Learned) create additional fees and a licensing tax for electric and hybrid vehicles. Sixty-four percent of the proceeds from these additional fees and taxes is deposited into the State Transportation Trust Fund, and 36% of the proceeds goes to the county where the vehicle was registered. Until June 30, 2024 the funds going to the county must be used to provide publicly available infrastructure for charging electric vehicles. Starting July 1, 2024, the funds shall be distributed to Board of County Commissioners and municipalities within the county in proportion to the previous month’s distribution of the local option fuel taxes. Local governments must use the funds for transportation expenditures. (Taggart)

SB 1276 (Hooper) requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to publish notice when electric and hybrid vehicles make up 5% or more of the total number of vehicles registered in this state. The fees for electric and hybrid vehicles begin after the Department publishes such notice. These fees will be adjusted at certain rates based on the Consumer Price Index. The bill also requires that proceeds of certain fees be deposited into the State Transportation Trust Fund. (Taggart)

CS/SB 138 (Brandes) and HB 817 (Toledo) create the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Grant Program to provide financial assistance to municipalities and other entities for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The bills authorize the Department of Transportation to develop and publish criteria for the grant application. The bills also authorize the Department of Transportation to establish by rule the maximum weight and speed of a personal delivery device. (Taggart)

HB 1039 (Plakon) and SB 1230 (Rodriguez) require the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to establish an automatic license reader system under the newly created Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program. Additionally, a county or municipality in coordination with the Department may authorize by contract or interlocal agreement the installation of automatic license plate reader systems on streets and highways under its jurisdiction. (Taggart)

HB 1129 (Fernandez-Barquin) and SB 1678 (Diaz) increase the statutory limits on liability for tort claims against government entities. Current law sets the statutory limits at $200,000 per claim and $300,000 per incident. The bills seek to increase these limits to $500,000 per claim and $1 million per incident. The legislation would tie these limits to a consumer price index so they would automatically increase with inflation every year. The bills set limitations of liability to take effect on the date a final judgment is entered and therefore could apply retroactively to pending claims. (Cruz)

CS/HB 7 (McClure) and CS/SB 72 (Brandes) provide heightened legal protections against liability as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to certain business entities, educational institutions, governmental entities and religious institutions. The legislation defines governmental entity to include municipalities. The legislation requires the plaintiff to make a detailed account to their claim and submit an affidavit signed by a physician collaborating the belief that the plaintiff’s COVID-19-related damages, injury or death occurred as a result as stated. If the plaintiff fails to do either, the court must dismiss the action without prejudice. The court must also determine whether the business or government entity made a good faith effort to substantially comply with the authoritative or controlling government health standards or guidance at the time the cause of action occurred. The burden of proof lies with the plaintiff to prove that the business or government entity did not make a good faith effort. If the business or government entity is found to have made a good faith effort, they are immune from civil liability. If the court finds that a good faith effort was not made, the plaintiff may proceed with the action. The plaintiff must prove gross negligence (a higher standard than negligence). The bills increase the standard of evidence needed on a COVID-19-related claim. If the plaintiff fails to prove these heightened requirements, the business or government entity is not liable for any act or omission relating to a COVID-19-related claim. The civil action for a COVID-19-related action must be commenced within one year of the alleged incident. The bills will apply retroactively but will not apply to civil suits commenced before the effective date of the act. CS/SB 72 passed the House and Senate and was approved by the governor. The bill is effective upon becoming law (March 29, 2021). Chapter No. 2021-001.  (Cruz)