The Florida Senate

SB 288 amends s. 425.041, F.S., which prohibits certain bylaws, tariffs, and policies to be utilized by rural electric cooperatives. Specifically, the section provides that a cooperative may not adopt, enact, or enforce any bylaw, tariff, or policy, or take any other action, that restricts or prohibits or has the effect of restricting or prohibiting the following:

           The types or fuel sources of energy production which may be used, delivered, converted, or supplied by the entities listed in s. 366.032(1), F.S., to serve customers that those entities would be authorized to serve. These entities would be:

   Investor-owned electric utilities;

   Municipal electric utilities;

   Rural electric cooperatives;

   Entities formed by interlocal agreement to generate, sell, and transmit electrical energy;

   Investor-owned gas utilities;

   Gas districts;

   Municipal natural gas utilities;

   Natural gas transmission companies; and

   Category I liquefied petroleum (LP) gas dealers, category II LP gas dispensers, or category III LP gas cylinder exchange operators.

           The use of an appliance,[1] including a stove or grill, which uses the types or fuel sources of energy production which may be used, delivered, converted, or supplied by the entities listed in s. 366.032(1), F.S.

The bill revises s. 425.041, F.S., to limit the section’s applicability to only those cooperatives that sell electricity at retail.[2] It also revises types of actions to which the restrictions apply—eliminating the term “any other action” and adding “any fee, including a lot fee, developer fee, or surcharge.”

If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor’s signature, these provisions take effect on July 1, 2026.

Vote: Senate 39-0; House 106-1

[1] “Appliance” is defined as “a device or apparatus manufactured and designed to use energy and for which the Florida Building Code or the Florida Fire Prevention Code provides specific requirements.”

[2] Florida currently has two cooperatives that are generation and transmission cooperatives and, thus, do not sell electricity at retail.