Florida Senate - 2009                             CS for SB 1296
       
       
       
       By the Committee on General Government Appropriations; and
       Senator Bennett
       
       
       
       601-05039-09                                          20091296c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public swimming; amending s.
    3         514.011, F.S.; defining the term “beach waters”;
    4         amending s. 514.023, F.S.; requiring the Department of
    5         Health to notify the local government and the local
    6         office of the Department of Environmental Protection
    7         when it issues a health advisory against swimming in
    8         beach waters due to elevated levels of bacteria;
    9         requiring the Department of Environmental Protection
   10         to promptly investigate wastewater treatment
   11         facilities within a certain distance of the beach and
   12         notify the local government of the results of such
   13         investigation; amending s. 514.025, F.S.; authorizing
   14         the department to delegate duties relating to public
   15         swimming or bathing facilities to independent special
   16         districts; amending s. 515.25, F.S.; conforming a
   17         cross-reference; providing an effective date.
   18  
   19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   20  
   21         Section 1. Present subsections (1) through (5) of section
   22  514.011, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2)
   23  through (6) respectively, and a new subsection (1) is added to
   24  that section to read:
   25         514.011 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
   26         (1) “Beach waters” means the waters along the coastal and
   27  intracoastal beaches and shores of the state and includes salt
   28  water and brackish water.
   29         Section 2. Section 514.023, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   30  read:
   31         514.023 Sampling of beach waters; health advisories.—
   32         (1) The department may adopt and enforce rules to protect
   33  the health, safety, and welfare of persons using the beach
   34  waters of the state. The rules must establish health standards
   35  and prescribe procedures and timeframes for the bacteriological
   36  sampling of beach waters.
   37         (2) The department may issue health advisories if the
   38  quality of beach waters fails to meet standards established by
   39  the department. The issuance of health advisories related to the
   40  results of bacteriological sampling of beach waters is preempted
   41  to the state. If the department issues a health advisory against
   42  swimming in beach waters due to finding elevated levels of fecal
   43  coliform or enterococci bacteria in a water sample, the
   44  department shall contemporaneously notify the appropriate local
   45  government and the local office of the Department of
   46  Environmental Protection, which shall promptly investigate
   47  wastewater treatment facilities within 1 mile of the affected
   48  beach to determine if a facility experienced an incident that
   49  may have contributed to the contamination. Upon completion, the
   50  Department of Environmental Protection shall notify the
   51  appropriate local government in writing or by electronic
   52  correspondence of the results of its investigation.
   53         (3) For purposes of this section, the term “beach waters”
   54  means the waters along the coastal and intracoastal beaches and
   55  shores of the state, and includes salt water and brackish water.
   56         (3)(4) Contingent upon legislative appropriation to the
   57  department in the amount of $600,000 of nonrecurring revenue,
   58  the department shall will perform a 3-year study to determine
   59  the water quality at beaches throughout the state. The study
   60  shall will be performed in all counties that have public-access
   61  saltwater and brackish water beaches.
   62         Section 3. Subsection (3) is added to section 514.025,
   63  Florida Statutes, to read:
   64         514.025 Assignment of authority to county health
   65  departments.—
   66         (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the department
   67  may also assign the responsibilities and functions specified in
   68  this section to an independent special district created by the
   69  Legislature which is authorized to provide municipal services
   70  and improvements and whose personnel meet the same
   71  qualifications specified in subsection (1).
   72         Section 4. Subsection (9) of section 515.25, Florida
   73  Statutes, is amended to read:
   74         515.25 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
   75         (9) “Public swimming pool” has the same meaning as in s.
   76  514.011 and means a swimming pool that, as defined in s.
   77  514.011(2), which is operated, with or without charge, for the
   78  use of the general public; however, the term does not include a
   79  swimming pool located on the grounds of a private residence.
   80         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.