BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 288 (Rodriguez) exempts from the definition of “public utility” property owners who own and operate a renewable solar energy source device with a capacity of up to 2.5 megawatts on the property, produce renewable energy from that device and provide or sell the renewable energy to users located on that property. (O’Hara)

HB 773 (Maggard) provides notification requirements for electric utilities relating to the certification process for obtaining medically essential electric service and service disconnection, including a requirement to post the certification process on their websites and to provide a written explanation of the certification process to each residential utility customer upon opening an account and at least semi-annually. The bill directs electric utilities to develop a standard certification form to be used by each residential customer who wishes for certification. The bill specifies minimum requirements for service disconnection for customers whose electric service is certified as medically essential and specifies circumstances under which health care practitioners may certify that a customer should qualify for medically essential electric utility service. (O’Hara)

SB 826 (Mayfield) and HB 1329 (Plasencia) prohibit vessels under 500 gross tons in weight from remaining in the waters of marinas in a deep-water seaport that have been deemed not suitable for refuge upon issuance of a hurricane watch or warning affecting the waters of marinas located in the deep-water seaport. (O’Hara)

SB 1432 (Torres) prohibits landfills from receiving fossil fuel combustion products. (O’Hara)

HB 1031 (Killebrew) and SB 724 (Albritton) extend the date by which each county must meet a statutorily established 75% recycling goal for recyclable waste from 2020 to 2024 and exempts fiscally constrained counties from statutory recycling goals. The bill authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to direct a county that fails to meet statutory recycling goals by January 2025 to develop a plan to expand recycling programs to existing commercial and multifamily dwellings. The bill directs the DEP to issue a report to the governor and Legislature by January 2021 identifying any additional programs or statutory changes needed to achieve statutory recycling goals. (O’Hara)

SB 722 (Montford) provides for $50 million to be allocated for a five-year period from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund for projects dedicated to conservation and management activities in specified counties impacted by Hurricane Michael. (O’Hara)

SB 438 (Harrell) and HB 489 (Plasencia) provide that 7.6% or $50 million must be appropriated each year from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund for projects dedicated to the conservation and management of the Indian River Lagoon. The bills specify the funds shall be used for grant funding of projects to implement the Indian River Lagoon Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan and specify that grants for sewer system connection projects and discharge management projects must require a minimum 50% local match. (O’Hara)

HB 153 (Fine) and SB 640 (Harrell) provide that certain projects identified in the Indian River Lagoon Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan are eligible for funding consideration from the Department of Environmental Protection (agency program funds). The bills direct DEP to coordinate with water management districts to identify projects and requires annual reports from local governments and the districts. Projects include upgrade of facilities to advanced waste treatment, expansion of service connections of wastewater facilities and septic-to-sewer-conversions. Projects require a 50% local match. The bills require annual reports by the DEP and require local governments receiving state funds to submit annual status reports. (O’Hara)

SB 1720 (Cruz) and HB 1427 (Diamond) direct the Department of Environmental Protection to implement rules for statewide drinking water maximum contaminant levels for specified substances, including perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid, which are used in firefighting foam, and any other pollutant for which two or more states have issued guidance. The bills specify any maximum contaminant level established by rule must protect the public health and may not exceed any maximum contaminant level established by the Environmental Protection Agency. (O’Hara)

HB 791 (Fitzenhagen) and SB 1608 (Mayfield) require the Department of Environmental Protection to give funding consideration to each of the state’s estuaries of national significance and require the funds be used for projects identified in the estuaries’ adopted comprehensive conservation and management plan. (O’Hara)

HB 1157 (Ingoglia) and SB 1284 (Diaz) create the Florida Land Subsidence Research Initiative as a partnership between the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Florida International University to determine the rate of land subsidence in the state by measuring changes in land elevation. The goal of the initiative is to collect and analyze data to understand natural hazards, such as land subsidence and sinkholes, and their effects on sea-level rise. The bills require an annual report to the Legislature on a biennial basis, starting July 2022, and require a final report to be submitted by July 2030. The final report shall include an estimation of current and future sea-level risks. (O’Hara)

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 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 on any public lands or on any public waters. 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)