BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 7024 (Committee on the Environment & Natural Resources) adds connection of wildlife habitat with wildlife crossings as a permissible purpose for land acquisition under the Florida Forever program. It requires the Department of Environmental Protection to consult with other state agencies about the acquisitions of lands subject to coastal flooding as a result of sea-level rise to complement other agencies’ projects. The bill allocates $10 million annually from the Florida Forever Trust Fund for conservation lands or lands subject to coastal flooding from sea-level rise in areas impacted by hurricanes in the immediately preceding five-year fiscal year. It directs the state Acquisition and Restoration Council to give increasing priority to acquiring lands subject to coastal flooding from sea-level rise. (O’Hara)

SB 172 (Bradley) and HB 113 (Roach) preempt the regulation of over-the-counter proprietary drugs or cosmetics to the state. (O’Hara)

HB 777 (Gregory) and CS/SB 1414 (Mayfield) expand current law that prohibits any person from interfering with the lawful taking of fish, game or other nongame animals by another person within wildlife or fish management areas to include the lawful taking of game, fish or nongame animals in or on any public lands or in or on any public waters. CS/SB 1414 also prohibits the sale, importing or possession of green iguanas or tegu lizards. In addition, HB 777 provides a sales tax holiday for the retail sale of certain hunting, fishing and camping supplies. The Senate version of this sales tax holiday is contained in a separately filed bill, SB 1310 (Mayfield). (O’Hara)

SB 326 (Perry) and HB 73 (Overdorf) would require that contracts between local governments and vendors for the collection, transport and processing of residential recycling materials must include terms and conditions to define and reduce levels of contamination. Specifically, the bills provide that a recyclable materials collector or facility is not required to collect, transport or process “contaminated recyclable material,” as defined in the appropriate contract. Each contract is required to define “contaminated recyclable material.” The bills specify that contracts should define the term in a manner that is appropriate for the local community, based on available markets and other relevant factors. Contracts must include provisions for identifying and documenting contamination, as well as the respective obligations of the parties regarding education and enforcement, but specific terms are left to the discretion of the contracting parties. The new requirements would apply to new contracts and contracts extended after October 1, 2020. In addition, the bills clarify an exemption in current law from state environmental permitting requirements for various projects by specifying that local governments may not require a person to provide additional verification from the Department of Environmental Protection of entitlement to such an exemption. Also, the bills modify an existing state permit exemption for the replacement and repair of existing docks and piers, by specifying the replacement or repair must be “within 5 feet of the same location and no larger in size," and that no additional aquatic resources may be adversely impacted. (O’Hara)

SB 1098 (Cruz) directs the Department of Environmental Protection to assess bottled water companies a fee of 5 cents per gallon on water extracted for the production of bottled water, including water from an approved source (e.g., a water utility). The bill provides for fees to be deposited into the Water Protection and Sustainability Trust Fund. SB 1096 (Cruz) is a companion bill that is contingent on the passage of SB 1098. SB 1096 requires DEP to monitor the consumptive use permits for all bottled water companies to ensure compliance with limits of allowable water extraction and water from an approved source. It imposes a daily fine for bottled water companies that withhold the payment of fees and provides an exception for bottled water companies extracting less than 55 million gallons per year. (O’Hara)

SB 1112 (Taddeo) would impose an excise tax upon bottled water operators at a rate of 12.5 cents per gallon of water extracted from waters of the state. It directs proceeds of the tax to be deposited into the Wastewater Treatment and Stormwater Management Revolving Loan Trust Fund and directs that proceeds must be used to provide grants and loans to local governments, with priority given to projects that connect septic systems to central wastewater facilities. (O’Hara)

HB 1267 (Grall) and SB 1654 (Mayfield) prohibit the land application of biosolids on sites where the application zone interacts with the seasonal high-water table and prohibit the Department of Environmental Protection from issuing or renewing certain permits for such sites. The bills direct DEP to initiate rulemaking on site-specific requirements for biosolids application by a specified date, adopt rules and implement a water quality monitoring program sufficient to determine impacts from the application of biosolids to surface water and groundwater quality. Class AA biosolids are exempted from these requirements. The bills provide for continuing application of local ordinances relating to Class B biosolids until the DEP rules are adopted. (O’Hara)

SB 50 (Rader) would require consumers to pay deposit fees on specified beverage containers at the point of sale. The bill establishes requirements and registration processes for the operation of beverage container redemption centers by local governments, nonprofit agencies and other individuals for refunding beverage container deposits and arranging for the recovery and recycling of the beverage containers. The bill preempts local governments from imposing or collecting any assessment or fee on deposit beverage containers for the same purposes as specified in the bills. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 1363 (Overdorf) imposes additional requirements on entities and agencies subject to Basin Management Action Plans established to achieve Total Maximum Daily Load requirements. The bill requires a nonagricultural and agricultural nonpoint source owner or operator who discharges into a basin included in an adopted BMAP to comply with interim measures, best management practices or other measures adopted by rule within five years after the date of BMAP adoption. The bill requires that implementation of such actions be verified by the responsible agency by a site visit at least once every two years. The bill requires the adoption of a cooperative agricultural regional water quality improvement element as part of a BMAP if: adopted agricultural measures have been implemented and the water body remains impaired; agricultural nonpoint sources contribute to at least 20% of nonpoint source nutrient discharges, and Department of Environmental Protection determines that additional measures are necessary to meet the TMDL. The bill requires the development of a cooperative urban, suburban, commercial or institutional regional water quality improvement element as part of a BMAP in which: nonagricultural interim measures and best management practices have been implemented and the waterbody remains impaired, nonagricultural nonpoint sources contribute at least 20% of nonpoint source nutrient discharges, and DEP determines additional measures are needed to achieve the TMDL. The bill establishes a nutrient reduction cost-share program within DEP to provide funding for specified projects in a BMAP, including projects identified in the new plan elements as authorized by the bill. The bill provides funding priority for projects and requires a 50% match of local funds. The bill exempts rural homesteads as defined in the bill from BMAP requirements, so long as the activity on such homestead does not rise to the level of bona fide agricultural activity and is classified as agricultural for tax assessment purposes. (O’Hara)

SB 638 (Montford) and CS/HB 1347 (Shoaf) amend Florida Forever Trust Fund allocations to direct specified allocations to areas within the Apalachicola Area of Critical State Concern. SB 638 appropriates at least $12 million annually from the Florida Forever for five years to the Apalachicola Area of Critical State Concern. It renames the area as the Apalachicola Area of Critical State Concern. The bill provides additional principles for guiding development within the area to include land acquisition and projects for stormwater facilities, central sewage facilities, onsite sewage treatment systems and other projects that protect and improve surface and groundwater quality. HB 1347 is similar to SB 638, except that it directs that the existing 3% of Florida Forever proceeds allocated for public access projects include projects for affordable housing. In addition, HB 1347 directs that for a five-year period, 35% of Florida Forever proceeds be directed to projects to improve surface water and groundwater quality within the Apalachicola River and in Apalachicola Bay. CS/HB 1347 directs that for a five-year period at least $5 million of Florida Forever proceeds be directed to projects to improve surface water and groundwater quality within the Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern. (O’Hara)

SB 606 (Bean) and HB 417 (Duggan) add the Ortega River and the Cedar River in Duval County as statutorily designated “anchoring limitation areas.” (O’Hara)

HB 207 (McClain) and SB 658 (Albritton) would authorize a public water or wastewater utility to establish the rate base of an existing water or wastewater system it acquires using the fair market value of the utility, require the Florida Public Service Commission to provide specified information relating to utility valuation and require the commission to develop related rules. (O’Hara)

HB 1351 (Fernandez) and SB 1824 (Rader) revise an existing law prohibition against local governments, deed restrictions or other agreements having the effect of prohibiting solar collectors or renewable energy devices from being installed on buildings. The term “solar collector” is replaced with “cool roofs.” The bills authorize the Board of Trustees for the Internal Improvement Trust Fund to lease the use of manmade stormwater management systems for floating solar energy systems. They create a greenhouse gas reporting system in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to track data from reporting entities. State agencies are required to report greenhouse gas emissions data to the system, and local governments and private entities are encouraged to report such data. The bills create the Climate Adaptation Research Grant Program in FDACS to provide grants to educational institutions for research pertaining to climate change and strategies for adapting to climate change. They create the Clean Energy Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment Center program in FDACS to provide grants to educational institutions for development of a clean energy center focused on research, development and deployment of clean energy technology. The bills create the Farm Renewable and Efficiency Demonstration program in FDACS to promote adoption of practices that increase energy efficiency and water conservation. They create an Agriculture Resiliency Grant program within FDACS to provide research grants for improving systems' resilience and efficiency. The bills modify current law provisions relating to the Florida Energy Systems Consortium within FDACS. (O’Hara)

HB 569 (Overdorf) and SB 1036 (Albritton) require the presence, storage or use of diesel exhaust fluid on the premises of a public airport to be phased out by October 2030. The bills require the managers of public airports to create a diesel exhaust fluid safety mitigation and exclusion plan containing specified contents and data. The plan must be approved by the regulatory agency having jurisdiction over the airport by September 2020 and must be submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection by October 2020. The bills require the plan to be fully implemented on the premises of the airport by January 2021. The bills provide for annual review, update and submission of the plan to DEP for certification. (O’Hara)

SB 1560 (Braynon) and HB 1431 (Polo) address duties of the state fire marshal relating to construction materials mining and blasting activities. The bills make findings about impacts on blasting in areas low to the water table and specify intent for the chief financial officer to administer duties to protect homes from damages caused by blasting in such areas. The bills require all blasting reports to be submitted to the chief financial officer and state fire marshal and be made publicly available. HB 1431 also provides limits on blasting limits in areas having a low depths to the water table and authorizes a cause of action for civil damage for persons to recover damages resulting from the use of explosives in connection with mining activities. (O’Hara)

SB 1798 (Bradley) requires water management district governing boards to charge a fee of at least $1 million for a consumptive use permit to directly or indirectly use water derived from a spring for bottled drinking water. The bill directs proceeds from the fee to be used for springs restoration. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 1091 (Fine) and CS/SB 1450 (Gruters) increase penalties by 50% for violations of state environmental laws, including laws relating to pollution of groundwater and surface water, litter, coral reefs, aquatic preserves and solid waste. The bills provide that until a violation is resolved by order or judgment, each day a violation occurs or is not remediated shall constitute a separate offense. (O’Hara)

HB 5401 (Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations) transfers the powers, duties and functions of the Office of Energy from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Environmental Protection. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 775 (Aloupis) and SB 1390 (Simmons) require comprehensive plans and plan amendments adopted by local governments whose boundaries include the Everglades Protection Area to follow the state coordinated review process for state agency compliance review under Part II, Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, and require 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. CS/HB 775 was amended to address the geographical scope of the bill and now requires the state coordinated review process for plans and plan amendments that “apply” to land that, in whole or in part, is within the EPA or is located within two miles of the EPA. CS/HB 775 prevents such plan amendments from being adopted by a local government if the local government fails to modify the amendment to address DEP’s concerns. Lastly, the amended bill requires counties that include any part of the EPA and all municipalities within such counties to transmit copies of all small-scale plan amendments to the DEP within 10 days after adoption of the amendment. (O’Hara)

HB 4999 (Ingoglia) provides $5.9 million to the Department of Financial Services to fund the Statewide Sea Level Rise Tracking Program. The program will provide additional GPS monitoring of land subsidence at various points around the state to evaluate the rate of land subsidence in Florida. (O’Hara)