BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 504 (Perry) and HB 279 (Smith, D.) require the local government and other specified entities, in deciding whether it is in the public’s best interest for the local government to perform a public building construction project using its own services, to consider the estimated costs of the project using generally accepted cost-accounting principles. This requirement includes all costs associated with performing and completing the work, including employee compensation and benefits and other determining factors.

The bills also require a local government that performs a public building construction project using its own services to disclose the actual costs of the project after completion to the auditor general. (Branch)

SB 246 (Hooper) and HB 101 (Andrade) would allow municipalities the ability to retain only up to 5 percent across an entire construction project. Currently, municipalities can withhold up to 10 percent of retainage for the first half of a construction project and up to 5 percent on the last half. Retainage serves as a safeguard against possible overpayment to the general contractor when the estimated percentage of project completion, used for periodic payments, exceeds the actual percentage completed. Additionally, retainage helps to ensure that the project is 100 percent complete prior to funds being released to the contractor. (Branch)

SB 168 (Cruz) and HB 139 (Jenne) – Drinking Water in Public Schools

SB 318 (Stewart) – Sale of Sunscreen

SB 338 (Rodriguez) – Energy Efficiency in State Agencies

HB 237 (Roth) – Agricultural Products

SB 386 (Bradley) – Water Management District Boundaries Levy County

HB 401 (Jacobs) and SB 680 (Hutson) – Shark Fins

SB 702 (Albritton) – Petroleum Cleanup

SB 712 (Mayfield) makes a variety of changes to current law relating to water quality improvements: septic systems; requirements for areas located near Outstanding Florida Springs; basin management action plans (BMAPs); stormwater management systems; sanitary sewer overflows; local government fertilizer ordinances; wastewater projects grants; and monetary penalties for environmental permit violations.  

•Transfer of Septic Tank Program – The bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health to report to the Legislature by July 2021 on transferring regulatory oversight of the septic tank program from DOH to DEP.  

•Statewide Stormwater Rules – The bill directs the DEP and water management districts to adopt statewide environmental resource permit rules for stormwater management systems, including performance management and design standards that increase nutrient removal from discharges and ensure new nutrient loadings are not discharged into impaired waters.  

•Outstanding Florida Springs – The bill provides additional requirements for areas within Outstanding Florida Springs. Local governments located within such areas that fail to adopt the state model fertilizer ordinance are subject to daily monetary penalties pursuant to Florida Statutes, Chapter 403 and are ineligible for DEP wastewater grants.  

•BMAPs/Septic Remediation Plans – The bill provides additional requirements relating to BMAPs. Agricultural operations must undertake specified actions if a BMAP is not adopted within 90 days after the adoption of a nutrient total maximum daily load. The bill directs DEP, DOH and relevant local governments to develop a septic tank remediation plan, to be adopted as part of the BMAP, if septic tanks are contributing to at least 20 percent of nonpoint source pollution or if DEP determines the remediation plan is necessary to achieve a total maximum daily load. DEP shall hold at least one public hearing before adopting a remediation plan. The bill authorizes DEP to impose restrictions on certain septic tanks within specified areas as part of a remediation plan. Local governments that fail to meet timelines or requirements of a remediation plan are ineligible for DEP wastewater grants and shall be assessed monetary penalties pursuant to Chapter 403. The bill establishes a wastewater grant program, subject to appropriation, for DEP to provide grants for projects that will reduce nutrient pollution within a BMAP.  

•Sewer Overflows – The bill requires wastewater utilities to provide 24 hours’ notice to customers of any sanitary sewer overflow into a waterway or aquifer and provides the utility is ineligible for DEP wastewater grants until DEP determines necessary repairs or improvements have been implemented. In addition, the overflow shall subject the utility to daily monetary penalties pursuant to Chapter 403 until the repair or improvement has been implemented. DEP is authorized to reduce a penalty based on a utility’s investment in assessment and maintenance activities to identify and address conditions that may cause sewer overflows. DEP is required to post consent orders relating to sewer overflows on its website, including any reports filed by the utility.  

•Monetary Penalties – The bill increases the minimum threshold for DEP’s administrative penalty from $10,000 to $20,000. In addition, it specifies that any statutory restrictions on the amount of administrative penalties DEP may assess do not apply to violations of a BMAP or to any unauthorized or unpermitted wastewater discharge or effluent limitation exceedance that results in a water quality violation.  

•Mandatory Fertilizer Ordinances – The bill requires all local governments to adopt the state Model Ordinance for Florida-Friendly Fertilizer Use by January 2021. Local governments that fail to comply are subject to monetary penalties pursuant to Chapter 403 and are ineligible for DEP wastewater grants. The bill requires local governments to conduct educational campaigns on the ordinance, provide enforcement programs, provide notice to affected property owners and submit a report on implementation efforts to DEP. (O’Hara)

SB 286 (Rodriguez) establishes a carbon tax credit to reward and incent farmers in Florida to maintain or adopt agricultural practices that help maximize the state’s carbon sequestration potential. The bill defines “carbon farming” as the use of strategies to reduce, mitigate and sequester greenhouse gas emissions on land to support a farm operation using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s COMET-Planner and other quantification tools. (O’Hara)

HB 97 (Eskamani) and SB 256 (Rodriguez) direct the Office of Energy within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to develop a statewide plan to generate the state’s electricity from renewable energy by specified dates, requiring 40 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050. The bills would require state and public entities and utilities to cooperate as requested and would require the Office of Energy to submit the plan and updates to the governor and Legislature. In addition, SB 256 would require the Florida Public Service Commission to adopt rules by 2021 for ratification by the Legislature providing for a renewable portfolio standard requiring each provider to supply renewable energy to its customers directly by procurement or through the purchase of renewable energy credits. (O’Hara)

SB 150 (Brandes) encourages municipalities and counties to establish an evaluation and rehabilitation program for sanitary sewer laterals on residential and commercial properties within their respective jurisdictions to identify and reduce leakage from lateral lines. The voluntary program may encompass methods to identify damaged laterals, consider methods for property owners to repair or replace damaged laterals, and establish a publicly accessible database to store information on properties where defective laterals have been identified. The bill would also require sellers of property to disclose to prospective purchasers any known defects of the property’s sanitary sewer lateral to the purchaser. (O’Hara)

SB 492 (Cruz) amends the Public Notification of Pollution statute to impose new duties on local governments, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health. The bill includes the discharge of perfluorooctanoic acid or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid as reportable releases of pollution under the statute, as well as the discharge of any substance that, if it impacted a water system, would result in a violation of state water quality standards. The bill requires DEP to notify by U.S. mail property owners with private wells in a 1-mile radius of any reported release or discharge under the law. In addition, the bill requires the DOH or a local government entity to notify the DEP and the owner or operator of an installation within 24 hours of discovery of any reportable release as defined in the statute, regardless of whether the department or the local government was the owner or operator of the installation responsible for the release. (O’Hara)

SB 178 (Rodriguez) requires contractors to conduct a sea-level impact projection (SLIP) study on state-funded buildings within the coastal building zone. Buildings subject to this requirement would include construction projects of a municipality, county or any other public agency that is using state-appropriated funds for the project. The bill requires the Department of Environmental Protection to develop rules for conducting a SLIP study. In addition, DEP must also approve and publish copies of all SLIP studies for at least 10 years. (O'Hara)

SB 40 (Rader) would prohibit stores and food service businesses from providing plastic carryout bags to customers. The bill provides exceptions for specified items. In addition, the bill prohibits a food service business from selling or providing single-use plastic straws to customers. The business may provide a straw upon request to a person who requires a straw due to a disability or medical condition. The bill provides a $500 penalty for a first violation and up to $1,000 for a subsequent violation. (O’Hara)

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)

SB 724 (Albritton) extends the date by which each county must meet a statutorily established 75 percent 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 438 (Harrell) and HB 489 (Plasencia) provide that 7.6 percent 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 percent 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 percent 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 172 (Bradley) and HB 113 (Roach) preempt the regulation of over-the-counter proprietary drugs or cosmetics to the state. (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 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)

SB 638 (Montford) appropriates at least $12 million annually from the Florida Forever Trust Fund 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. (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)