BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 1380 (Martin) provides that any municipal electric utility serving any electric retail customer located outside of the municipality’s corporate boundaries is a “public utility” subject to regulation by the Public Service Commission (PSC) for a minimum of five years. The bill directs the PSC to develop rules for such regulation. (O’Hara)

HB 1167 (Duggan) and SB 1702 (DiCeglie) authorize the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the water management districts if mitigation credits are not available in sufficient quantities to be sold or used to offset imminent adverse impacts within a mitigation service area, to release mitigation credits to a mitigation bank before the bank meets the mitigation success criteria specified in its permit if the bank has been successfully constructed and there is a high degree of confidence that the required ecological performance standards will be met. If mitigation credits are not available in a basin, the bills authorize DEP or water management districts to allow the use of mitigation credits available within surrounding basins. The bills specify that mitigation credits are unavailable within a basin if the party requesting credits submits an affidavit signed by the mitigation banks within the basin attesting that credits are not available. The bills authorize certain projects to use mitigation banks on a case-by-case basis regardless of whether they are located within a mitigation service area, if sufficient quantities of mitigation credits are not available to be sold or used to offset imminent and otherwise allowable adverse impacts within a mitigation service area. The bills require DEP to initiate rulemaking by August 2023 to implement the bill. (O’Hara).

HB 371 (Killebrew) and SB 910 (Burton) provide an exemption from surface water management and storage regulations for implementing certain projects for environmental habitat creation, restoration and enhancement activities, and water quality improvements on agricultural lands and government-owned lands. The bills remove current law requirements for the Department of Environmental Protection and water management districts to be notified of such projects. (O'Hara)

HB 1197 (Maggard) and SB 1240 (Burgess) prohibit counties and municipalities from adopting laws, regulations, rules or policies relating to water quality, water quantity, pollution control, pollutant discharge prevention or removal or wetlands, and preempt such regulation to the state. The prohibition does not apply to an interagency or interlocal agreement between the Department of Environmental Protection and any agency or local government and does not apply to any local government conducting programs relating to or materially affecting the water resources of the state. In addition, the prohibition does not apply to the authority of a county or municipality to regulate and operate its own water system, wastewater system or stormwater system. The bills require the Department of Environmental Protection to notify the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of any violations of the preemption and authorize the CFO to withhold state-shared revenues from such county or municipality. (O’Hara)

HB 559 (Roth) and SB 928 (Stewart) extend the retirement date of bond issues to fund the Florida Forever Act. The bills revise distributions for various programs funded by the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. HB 559 specifies that the lesser of 40% or $350 million shall be appropriated annually to the Florida Forever Trust Fund. SB 928 specifies that the lesser of 40% or $300 million shall be appropriated annually to the Florida Forever Trust Fund. Both bills prohibit moneys distributed from the Trust Fund from being used for executive direction and support services by state agencies. (O'Hara)

HB 423 (Cross) and CS/SB 1538 (Stewart) would require septic tank owners to have the system inspected every five years and direct the Department of Environmental Protection to implement the inspection program. The bills require basin management action plans to include estimated pollutant load reductions that meet or exceed the amount of load reductions needed to meet the total maximum daily load requirements under the plan. The bills require the allocation of pollutant load reductions in a basin management action plan to consider projected increases in pollutant loading due to growth in population or agricultural activity and require the plan to provide strategies for mitigating or eliminating pollutant load increases for the life of the plan. They also require the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct assessments of projects included in a plan to determine whether the project is working as intended. CS/SB 1538 was amended to delete everything from the bill except for a requirement that each project listed in a basin management action plan with a total cost of $1 million be assessed and monitored by the Department to determine whether the project is working as intended. (O'Hara)

CS/SB 106 (Brodeur) expands the state's Shared-Use Nonmotorized (SUN) Trail Network and enhances the coordination of the state's trail system with the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Among other things, the bill prioritizes the development of "regionally significant trails," which are trails that cross multiple counties, serve economic and ecotourism development, showcase wildlife areas, ecology and natural resources, and serve as main corridors for trail connectedness across the state. The bill authorizes the Florida Department of Transportation and local governments to enter sponsorship agreements with private or nonprofit entities for trails and to use associated revenues for maintenance, signage and related amenities. In addition, the bill recognizes "trail town" communities (communities located along or in proximity to one or more nonmotorized recreational trails) and directs the State Division of Tourism Marketing to coordinate with the Office of Greenways and Trails and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to promote the use of trails as economic assets, including the promotion of trail-based tourism. 

Effective date: July 1, 2023. (O'Hara)

CS/CS/HB 847 (Stark) amends section 403.813, Florida Statutes, which currently authorizes exemptions from certain state and local permitting requirements for floating vessel platforms and floating boat lifts under specified circumstances. The bill provides that local governments may require only a one-time registration of floating vessel platforms where the platform owner self-certifies compliance with the statutory exemption criteria to ensure compliance with ordinances, codes, state-delegated programs or regulations relating to building or zoning, which may not be applied more stringently or inconsistently with the exemption criteria of the statute. In addition, the bill adds additional authority for municipalities and counties to adopt an ordinance establishing an idle speed, no wake boating-restricted area within the portion of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway within their jurisdiction under specified conditions. The additional authority would allow for the adoption of idle speed, no wake boating-restricted areas within 500 feet of a sewage pump-out facility at a public or private nonresidential marina on a waterway where the sewage pump-out facility is within 100 feet of the marked portion of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway. 

Effective date: July 1, 2023. (O'Hara)

SB 810 (Gruters) and CS/CS/HB 1151 (Amesty) amend Section 163.08, Florida Statutes, relating to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs and financing. The bills expand the purpose of the program to include resiliency-qualifying improvements to commercial or residential property. The bills define commercial property to include multifamily, commercial, industrial, agricultural, nonprofit, long-term care facilities or government-commercial property. Government-commercial property is defined as real property owned by a local government and leased to a nongovernmental lessee. The bills expand the types of improvements to commercial property that are eligible for PACE financing to include energy conservation and efficiency improvements and resiliency improvements. The bills specify conditions for entering financing agreements with commercial properties and governmental-commercial properties. They clarify the changes made by the bill are prospective and do not affect or amend any existing non-ad valorem assessment or any existing interlocal agreement between local governments. (O'Hara)

HB 175 (Busatta Cabrera) and CS/CS/SB 192 (Avila) require comprehensive plans and plan amendments by a county defined in Section 125.011(1) or any municipality therein (i.e., Miami-Dade County and municipalities within the county), that apply to any land within, or within two miles of, the Everglades Protection Area (EPA) to follow the state-coordinated review process for state agency compliance review under Part II, Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, and requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to coordinate with the affected local governments on mitigation measures for plans or plan amendments that would impact Everglades restoration. The EPA consists of the three state-designated Water Conservations Areas (WCA-1, WCA-2 and WCA-3) as well as Everglades National Park. If DEP determines that any portion of a proposed plan or proposed amendment will adversely impact the EPA or Everglades restoration objectives, the local government must modify the plan or plan amendment to mitigate such impacts before adoption of the plan or amendment, or that portion of the plan or amendment may not be adopted. Plan amendments that apply to any land within, or within two miles of, the EPA must be transmitted to DEP within 10 days of the second public hearing on the amendment. Finally, the bills require a county subject to the bill and any municipality within that county to transmit a copy of any small-scale plan amendment to the Department of Economic Opportunity within 10 days after adoption. (O'Hara)

HB 293 (Hinson) and SB 680 (Davis) would create the Energy Transition Task Force within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide recommendations for fostering a fair and equitable transition of the state's energy infrastructure to renewable energy technologies within minority, underserved, rural and low-income communities. It directs the Task Force to submit a report with its recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by September 2024. (O'Hara)

SB 1238 (Rodriguez) and HB 1217 (Melo) prohibit local governments from imposing certain requirements and prohibitions relating to energy-savings or energy-producing factors. The bills provide that, except for the purpose of compliance with building and fire safety laws, a local government may not require that a particular design or type of material be used in the construction of a building due to the design’s or the material’s energy saving or energy producing qualities. In addition, the bills prohibit a local government from prohibiting the use of a particular design or type of material in the construction of a building due to the material’s or design’s energy saving or energy producing qualities. The bills prohibit a local government from requiring a building or structure be retrofitted with a particular device or type of material because of its energy-saving or energy-producing qualities. The bills prohibit a local government from prohibiting the purchase or use of vehicles based on the type of energy used. The bills state that a local government may not prohibit or restrict the sale, installation, or use of natural gas home heating equipment, home appliances, outdoor heating appliances, torches, lamps, or other decorative features, or outdoor grills or stoves. The bills specify the prohibitions do not apply to any requirement included in a procurement document used to procure goods or services, including the construction or design of buildings, to be owned and used by the local government. The bills clarify that local governments may adopt bid specifications for public works projects that include energy savings or energy production provisions. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 1279 (Alvarez) amends various provisions relating to the Department of Agriculture, including provisions concerning the regulation of aquaculture. The bill expresses an intent to eliminate duplication of regulatory inspections of aquaculture products and preempts the regulatory and permitting authority of all aquaculture products to the Department. 

Effective date:  July 1, 2023. (O'Hara)

CS/HB 1307 (McClure) revises various provisions of law relating to the powers and duties of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill amends the current law definition of "Category I liquefied petroleum gas dealer" to include persons engaged in the design of equipment for use of liquefied petroleum or natural gas. This definition has relevance to the current law preemption of local government prohibition of the types or fuel sources of energy production in Section 366.032, Florida Statutes, which includes a Category I liquefied petroleum gas dealer within the scope of the preemption. In addition, the bill amends the current law definition of "Category V LP gas installer to include persons engaged in the design of equipment for use of liquefied petroleum or natural gas. This definition, as well as the definition of "Category I liquefied petroleum gas dealer," are relevant to the current law restriction on local licensing and registration requirements for plumbing contractors in Section 489.105(3)(m), Florida Statutes. 

Effective date: July 1, 2023. (O'Hara)

HB 77 (Fabricio) and SB 186 (Avila) provide that beginning July 2023, the ground vibration limit for construction materials mining activities within one mile of residentially zoned areas may not exceed .15 inches per second. The bills authorize the Chief Financial Officer to direct the State Fire Marshal to modify the standards for the use of explosives in connection with construction materials mining activities within one mile of residentially zoned areas. (O'Hara)

SB 506 (Stewart) and HB 1427 (Casello) require the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plan by July 2024, based on recommendations from the Department's 2020 75% Recycling Goal Final Report. The bills also require the Department to convene a technical assistance group to help develop the plan. The plan must include the following: recycling goals based on sustainable materials management and waste diversion; a 30-year plan to implement strategies relating to recycling education and outreach; local government recycling assistance; and recycling materials market development. The bills require the Department to submit a report and recommendations to the Legislature following completion of the plan. (O'Hara)

HB 1103 (Tramont) and SB 1314 (Wright) authorize counties and municipalities to establish certain portions of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway slow speed, minimum wake boating-restricted areas within 500 feet of any private or public marina pumpout. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 1405 (Tuck) authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection to provide grants for projects that convert wastewater residuals to Class A biosolids and Class AA biosolids. 

Effective date: July 1, 2023. (O'Hara)

SB 64 (Hooper) and HB 425 (Esposito) – Department of Transportation

HB 155 (Holcomb) and SB 198 (DiCeglie) – Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority

HB 349 (Bankson) and SB 1122 (Harrell) promote the development of a network of vertiports that will provide residents in Florida with equitable access to advanced air mobility operations for passenger and cargo services. For vertiports to operate in the state, the owner must comply with the Federal Aviation Administration's regulations and guidance relating to vertiport design and performance standards as well as submit a layout plan to the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. The bills specify that a local government may not exercise its zoning and land use authority to give an exclusive right to one or more vertiport owners or operators. (Branch)