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Summer 2016
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  • 2016 Legislative Session Recap
  • By: Kristin Melton

    After the House adjourned early in 2015, the 2016 Legislative Session was off to a busy start with draft bills being circulated in early fall 2015. The 2016 Legislative Session ended on time on March 15. Out of the approximately 1,880 bills filed, only 272 were passed by both chambers and 3 bills (relating to dental care, Gainesville Regional Utilities, and family law) were ultimately vetoed by the Governor. The below summary highlights 2016 approved legislation by topic area.

    Water/Environmental Resources:

    • SB 552 (Related to Growth Management) Omnibus water policy bill makes a number of substantial changes to laws governing water supply and water quality. The bill creates the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act to expedite protection and restoration of the water flow and water quality in the aquifer and Outstanding Florida Springs. The bill requires updating and restructuring the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Act to reflect and build upon the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) completion of basin management action plans (BMAP) for Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee Estuary, and the St. Lucie River and Estuary, DEP’s continuing development of a BMAP for the inland portion of the Caloosahatchee River watershed, and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ implementation of best management practices in the three basins. Additionally, SB 552 requires governmental entities continue to develop and implement uniform water supply planning, consumptive water use permitting, and resource protection programs for the area encompassed by the Central Florida Water Initiative. The bill also includes a number of changes relating to alternative water supply development, consumptive use permitting, minimum flows and levels, and regional water supply planning.
    • HB 589 (Relating to Environmental Control) Repeals Section 373.245, Florida Statutes, which provided abutting CUP holders a cause of action for damages against holders of CUPs who violated permit conditions. Additionally, this bill revised clay settling area reclamation requirements and solid waste landfill closure account requirements. The bill allows land set-asides and land use modifications not otherwise required by state law or permit, including constructed wetlands or other water quality improvement projects, that reduce nutrient loads into the nutrient impaired surface waters to be included as part of water quality credit trading. It also includes a provision incorporating minor changes to the general permit for stormwater management systems and requiring certification of system by registered professional.

    Utilities:

    • SB 416 (Location of Utilities) Addresses the responsibility for the cost of relocating utility facilities (e.g., water, sewage, gas, power, telephone, other public utilities, and television lines) in a public easement. The bill flips the responsibility to bear relocation costs from the utility owner to the state or local government requiring the facilities to be relocated, effectively shifting such costs currently borne by the utility and its users to taxpayers. The owner of a utility that must be relocated from a public easement will be liable for relocation costs only if their lines and facilities are across, on or “within” the right-of-way, rather than “along” any right-of-way.
    • HB 491(Water and Wastewater) Requires the Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of Administration to review the allocation of private activity bonds to determine the availability of additional allocation and reallocation of bonds for water and wastewater infrastructure projects; authorizing the Department of Environmental Protection to require or request that the Florida Water Pollution Control Financing Corporation make loans, grants, and deposits to for-profit, privately owned, or investor-owned water systems, etc. Requires PSC create a reserve fund if requested by a utility in a rate case proceeding and that PSC allow recovery of rate case expense (i.e., fees for attorneys and other outside consultants) incurred by a utility in a staff-assisted rate case after any protest or appeal of the PSC’s decision by a party other than the utility. It also provides the amount of rate case expense that the commission determined a public utility may recover through its rates pursuant to this chapter shall be apportioned for recovery over 4 years unless longer period justified in the public interest; at conclusion of recovery period, required public utility to immediately reduce rates by the amount of the rate case expense; prohibits ANY utility from earning a return on the unamortized balance of the rate case expense. Finally, HB 491 requires a county that regulates water or wastewater services to comply with requirements for abandoned water and wastewater systems.
    • HB 347 (Utility Projects) "Utility Cost Containment Bond Act"; authorizes certain local government entities to finance costs of certain utility projects by issuing utility cost containment bonds; specifies application requirements; provides definitions; provides procedures for obtaining utility project financing; provides procedures to establish or adjust utility projects and financing resolutions; provides requirements for collection of project charges; specifies legal status of project charges for securing payment of bonds; specifying payment obligations regarding utility cost containment bonds; provides for construction of law. Any cost savings that arise from the issuance of a utility cost containment bond be used to benefit customers of the utility through lower rates and other programs. The bill also expands the definition of authority to include any entity created under s. 163.01 with at least two of the following: a municipality, a county, or a public agency that provides retail water or wastewater services in two or more counties and at least one member providing service to at least 75,000 customers. Prior definition of authority limited to entity created under s. 163.01(7)(g)n and required membership of at least three counties. Makes it permissive rather than required for authority to work with local agencies that request assistance to determine the most cost-effective manner of financing regional water projects.
    • HB 1025 (Public Records/Security of Utility Agency Technology) Provides exemption from public records requirements for information related to security of utility agency's technology; provides for future legislative review & repeal of exemption; provides statement of public necessity for exemption from Florida public records laws.
    • HB 525 (Small Community Sewer Construction Assistance Act) Amends Small Community Sewer Construction Assistance Act to include counties and special districts with population of 10,000 or fewer in definition for “financially disadvantaged small community.” The term currently only includes qualifying municipalities.

    Growth Management:

    • HB 1361 (Related to Growth Management) Makes a number of changes related to existing DRIs, decreases the minimum required acreage for sector plans from 15,000 acres to 5000 acres, increases the size of enclaves that can be annexed on an expedited basis from 10 acres to 110 acres.
    • SB 1508 (Related to Growth Management) Makes numerous changes to the regulations dealing with use of land and airspace around airports and requires local governments to amend existing airport zoning regulations or adopt new ones by July 1, 2017.

    Agriculture and Natural Resources:

    • HB 989 (Implementation of Water & Land Conservation Constitutional Amendment) Designates either 25 percent or $200 million a year, whichever is lower, of state land acquisition trust fund money for Everglades restoration and other South Florida water projects to benefit the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, and the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. 7.6 percent or $50 million of any remainder is dedicated for springs projects, and $5 million is dedicated for Lake Apopka restoration. HB 989 is awaiting final action by the governor.
    • HB 447 (Local Government Environmental Financing) Creates the “Florida Keys Stewardship Act,” and revises the purposes for which the local government infrastructure surtax may be used to include land acquisition for conservation, public recreation, natural resource protection, or to satisfy private property rights claims resulting from limitations imposed by the designation of an area of critical state concern. It expands the uses for Everglades restoration bonds to include projects to protect and restore nearshore water quality and fisheries, and to protect water resources for the Florida Keys.
    • HB 7007 (Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services/Polystyrene Preemption) Amends various provisions of law concerning regulatory authority and programs of the Department of Agriculture. In addition, the bill preempts the regulation of the use or sale of polystyrene products (such as food and beverage containers), with limited exceptions.
    • HB 773 (Special Assessments on Agricultural Lands) Prohibits the levy of special assessments on agricultural lands unless the property contains a residential dwelling, or contains a nonresidential farm building with a just value that exceeds $10,000.
    • HB 1075 (State Lands) Revises numerous procedures in current law governing the acquisition, management and surplusing of state lands. The bill also requires local governments to submit a list of local government-owned conservation lands to the state for inclusion in the public conservation lands database. The bill also authorizes the development of rules to establish protection zones for springs for the purpose of restricting the speed and operation of vessels within such zones.
    • SB 1176 (Dredge and Fill Activities) The bill increases the acreage of wetland or other surface water impacts, including navigable waters, that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) or water management districts are authorized to implement through a state programmatic general permit (SPGP), subject to agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, from three acres or less to ten acres or less. The bill provides that by seeking to use a SPGP, an applicant consents to applicable federal wetland jurisdiction criteria. The bill allows DEP to seek delegation, in addition to assumption, of federal permitting programs regulating the discharge of dredged or fill material pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
    • SB 922 (Solid Waste Management Trust Fund) Provides for the funding of a waste tire abatement program from the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund and revises the eligibility criteria for the solid waste management grant program to include small counties with populations of fewer than 110,000.

    Conservation/Natural Resources:

    • SB 190 (Related to Conservation Easements) Eliminates requirement for annual renewal application for ad valorem tax exemption for property subject to a perpetual conservation easement.

    Community Development:

    • HB 153 (Related to Healthy Food Financing Initiative Pilot Program) Creates a pilot program administered by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to provide access to healthy food through financing to rehabilitate or expand grocery stores, supermarkets, community facilities or other structures in underserved communities. The department can distribute up to $500,000 among three recipients and the bill appropriates $500,000 in non-recurring funds for this program in the 2016-17 fiscal year.
    • SB 535 (Related to Building Codes) Makes numerous changes to the code. Requires that a local enforcement agency shall post each type of building permit application on its website. Completed applications must be able to be submitted electronically to the appropriate building department.
    • HB 971 (Related to Community Development Districts) Increases the size of CDDs that can be created by county or municipal ordinance from less than 1,000 acres to less than 2,500 acres.
    • SB 1174 (Related to Residential Facilities) Amends siting criteria for community residential homes with 6 or fewer residents.

    Health and Human Services:

    • HB 307 (Related to Medical Use of Cannabis) In part, preempts matters regarding the cultivation and processing of medical cannabis or low-THC cannabis by dispensing organizations to the state. However, a municipality or county may determine by ordinance the criteria for the number and location of, and other permitting requirements that do not conflict with state law or department rule for, dispensing facilities of dispensing organizations located within its boundaries.

    Administrative Procedures:

    • HB 183 (Administrative Procedures) – The bill amends provisions of the APA to enhance opportunities for substantially affected parties to challenge rules. These changes include, but are not limited to:
      • revising rulemaking procedures based on petitions to initiate rulemaking alleging an unadopted rule;
      • expanding the listing of information that must be published on the Florida Administrative Register to include rules filed for adoption in the previous seven days and a listing of all rules filed for adoption but awaiting legislative ratification;
      • revising the pleading requirements and burden of going forward with evidence in challenges to proposed and unadopted rules;
      • clarifying which rule validity decisions may be appealed;
      • requiring agencies to identify and certify all of the rules the violation of which would be a minor violation; and
      • requiring administrative challenges to any proposed regulatory permit related to special events be subject to the APA’s summary hearing procedures, with certain exceptions.


    If you have any questions regarding your development rights, please feel free to contact Kristin Melton at 813-229-2775 or kmelton@dgfirm.com.


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