CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.





                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                               Bill No. CS/HB 4071

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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 5                                           ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW

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10                                                                

11  The Committee on Environmental Protection offered the

12  following:

13

14         Amendment (with title amendment) 

15         On page 10, between lines 6 and 7

16

17  insert:

18         Section 2.  Section 373.4139, Florida Statutes, is

19  created to read:

20         373.4139  Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Plan;

21  mitigation for mining activities within the Dade County Lake

22  Belt.--

23         (1)  The Legislature finds that the impact of mining

24  within the Dade County Lake Belt Area is offset by a

25  mitigation plan that is designated the "Lake Belt Mitigation

26  Plan."  The per-ton mitigation fee assessed on limestone sold

27  from the Dade County Lake Belt Area shall be used for

28  acquiring environmentally sensitive lands and for restoration,

29  maintenance, and other environmental purposes.  Further, the

30  Legislature finds that the public benefit of a sustainable

31  supply of limestone construction materials for public and

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                               Bill No. CS/HB 4071

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





 1  private projects requires a coordinated approach to permitting

 2  activities on wetlands within the Dade County Lake Belt in

 3  order to provide the certainty necessary to encourage

 4  substantial and continued investment in the limestone

 5  processing plant and equipment required to efficiently extract

 6  the limestone resource.  It is the intent of the Legislature

 7  that the Lake Belt Mitigation Plan satisfy all local, state,

 8  and federal requirements for mining activity with the Dade

 9  County Lake Belt Area.

10         (2)  To provide for the mitigation of wetland resources

11  lost to mining activities within the Dade County Lake Belt

12  Area, effective October 1, 1998, a mitigation fee is imposed

13  on each ton of limerock and sand extracted by any person who

14  engages in the business of extracting limerock or sand from

15  within the Dade County Lake Belt Area.  The mitigation fee

16  shall be at the initial rate of 5.00 cents for each ton of

17  limerock and sand sold from within the Dade County Lake Belt

18  Area in raw, processed, or manufactured form, including but

19  not limited to, sized aggregate, asphalt, cement, concrete,

20  and other limerock and concrete products.  Any limerock or

21  sand that is used within the mine from which the limerock or

22  sand is extracted is exempt from the mitigation fee. The

23  amount of the mitigation fee imposed under this section must

24  be stated separately on the invoice provided to the purchaser.

25  The proceeds of the mitigation fee must be paid to the

26  Department of Revenue on or before the 20th day of the month

27  following the calendar month in which the sale occurs.

28         (3)  The mitigation fee imposed by this section must be

29  reported to the Department of Revenue.  Payment of the

30  mitigation fee must be accompanied by a form prescribed by the

31  Department of Revenue.  The proceeds of the mitigation fee,

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                               Bill No. CS/HB 4071

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





 1  less administrative costs, must be transferred by the

 2  Department of Revenue to the South Florida Water Management

 3  District and deposited into an interest-bearing account to be

 4  maintained separately and not commingled with other funds.  As

 5  used in this section, the term "proceeds of the mitigation

 6  fee" means all funds collected and received by the Department

 7  of Revenue under this section, including interest and

 8  penalties on delinquent mitigation fees.  The amount deducted

 9  for administrative costs may not exceed 3 percent of the total

10  revenues collected under this section and may equal only those

11  administrative costs reasonably attributable to the mitigation

12  fee.

13         (4)(a)  The Department of Revenue shall administer,

14  collect, and enforce the mitigation fee authorized under this

15  section in accordance with the procedures used to administer,

16  collect, and enforce the general sales tax imposed under

17  chapter 212.  The provisions of chapter 212 with respect to

18  the authority of the Department of Revenue to audit and make

19  assessments, the keeping of books and records, and the

20  interest and penalties imposed on delinquent mitigation fees

21  apply to this section.  The mitigation fee may not be included

22  in computing estimated taxes under s. 212.11 and the dealer's

23  credit for collecting taxes or fees provided for in s. 212.12

24  does not apply to the mitigation fee imposed by this section. 

25         (b)  In administering this section, the Department of

26  Revenue may employ persons and incur expenses for which funds

27  are appropriated by the Legislature.  The Department of

28  Revenue shall adopt rules and prescribe and publish forms

29  necessary to administer this section.  The Department of

30  Revenue shall establish audit procedures and may assess

31  delinquent fees.

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                               Bill No. CS/HB 4071

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





 1         (5)  Beginning January 1, 2000, and each January 1,

 2  thereafter, the per-ton mitigation fee shall be increased by

 3  1.87 percentage points plus a cost growth index.  The cost

 4  growth index shall be the percentage change in the weighted

 5  average of the Employment Cost Index For All Civilian Workers

 6  (ecu 10001I) issued by the United States Department of Labor

 7  for the most recent 12-month period ending on September 30,

 8  and the percentage change in the Producer's Price Index For

 9  All Commodities (WPU 00000000), issued by the United States

10  Department of Labor for the most recent 12-month period ending

11  on September 30, compared to the weighted average of these

12  indices for the previous year.  The weighted average shall be

13  calculated as 0.6 times the percentage change in the

14  Employment Costs Index For All Civilian Workers (ecu 10001I)

15  plus 0.4 times the percentage change in the Producer Price

16  Index For All Commodities (WPU 00000000).  If either index is

17  discontinued then it shall be replaced by its successor index

18  as identified by the United States Department of Labor.

19         (6)(a)  The proceeds of the mitigation fee must be used

20  to conduct mitigation activities that are appropriate to

21  offset the loss of the value and functions of wetlands as a

22  result of mining activities in the Dade County Lake Belt Area

23  and must be used in a manner consistent with the

24  recommendations contained in the reports submitted to the

25  Legislature by the Dade County Lake Belt Plan Implementation

26  Committee and adopted under s. 373.4149.  Such mitigation may

27  include the purchase, enhancement, restoration, and management

28  of wetlands and uplands, the purchase of mitigation credit

29  from a permitted mitigation bank, and any structural

30  modifications to the existing drainage system to enhance the

31  hydrology of the Dade County Lake Belt Area.  Funds may also

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                               Bill No. CS/HB 4071

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





 1  be used to reimburse other funding sources, including the Save

 2  Our Rivers Land Acquisition program and the Internal

 3  Improvement Trust Fund, for the purchase of lands that were

 4  acquired in areas appropriate for mitigation due to rock

 5  mining and to reimburse governmental agencies that exchanged

 6  land under s. 373.4149 for mitigation due to rock mining.

 7         (b)  Expenditures must be approved by an interagency

 8  committee that consists of a representative from each of the

 9  following:  the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental

10  Resource Management, the Department of Environmental

11  Protection, the South Florida Water Management District, and

12  the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.  In addition, the

13  limerock mining industry shall select a representative to

14  serve as a non-voting member of the interagency committee.  At

15  the discretion of the committee, additional members may be

16  added to represent federal regulatory, environmental, and fish

17  and wildlife agencies.

18         (7)  Payment of the mitigation fee imposed by this

19  section satisfies the mitigation requirements imposed under

20  ss. 373.403-373.439 and any applicable county ordinance for

21  loss of the value and functions of the wetlands mined.  In

22  addition, it is the intent of the Legislature that the payment

23  of the mitigation fee imposed by this section satisfy all

24  federal mitigation requirements for the wetlands mined.

25         (8)  If a general permit by the United States Army

26  Corps of Engineers, or an appropriate long-term permit for

27  mining consistent with the Dade County Lake Belt Plan, this

28  section, and ss. 378.4115, 373.4149, and 373.4415, is not

29  issued on or before September 30, 2000, the mitigation fee

30  imposed by this section is suspended until reenacted by the

31  Legislature.

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                               Bill No. CS/HB 4071

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





 1         (9)(a)  The interagency committee established pursuant

 2  to this section shall, on an annual basis, prepare and submit

 3  to the governing board of the South Florida Water Management

 4  District a report evaluating the mitigation costs and revenues

 5  generated by the mitigation fee in order to ensure that the

 6  revenue generated pursuant to this section is sufficient to

 7  provide for the appropriate mitigation.

 8         (b)  No sooner than January 31, 2010, and no more

 9  frequently than every ten years thereafter, the interagency

10  committee shall submit to the Legislature a report

11  recommending any needed adjustments to the mitigation fee to

12  ensure that the revenue generated reflects the actual costs of

13  the mitigation.

14         Section 3.  Subsections (5) and (6) of section

15  373.4149, Florida Statutes, are amended and subsection (10) is

16  hereby repealed.

17         373.4149  Dade County Lake Belt Plan.--

18         (5)  The committee shall develop Phase II of the Lake

19  Belt Plan which shall:

20         (a)  Include a detailed master plan to further

21  implementation;

22         (b)  Further address compatible land uses,

23  opportunities, and potential conflicts;

24         (c)  Provide for additional wellfield protection;

25         (d)  Provide measures to prevent the reclassification

26  of the Northwest Dade County wells as groundwater under the

27  direct influence of surface water; .

28         (e)  Secure additional funding sources; and

29         (f)  Consider the need to establish a land authority;

30  and.

31         (g)  Analyze the hydrological impacts resulting from

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                               Bill No. CS/HB 4071

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





 1  the future mining included in the Lake Belt Plan and recommend

 2  appropriate mitigation measures, if needed.

 3         (6)  The committee shall remain in effect until January

 4  1, 2002 2001, and shall meet as deemed necessary by the chair.

 5  The committee shall monitor and direct progress toward

 6  developing and implementing the plan. The committee shall

 7  submit progress reports to the governing board of the South

 8  Florida Water Management District and the Legislature by

 9  December 31 of each year. These reports shall include a

10  summary of the activities of the committee, updates on all

11  ongoing studies, any other relevant information gathered

12  during the calendar year, and the committee recommendations

13  for legislative and regulatory revisions. The committee shall

14  submit a Phase II report and plan to the governing board of

15  the South Florida Water Management District and the

16  Legislature by December 31, 2000, to supplement the Phase I

17  report submitted on February 28, 1997. The Phase II report

18  must include the detailed master plan for the Dade County Lake

19  Belt Area together with the final reports on all studies, the

20  final recommendations of the committee, the status of

21  implementation of Phase I recommendations and other relevant

22  information, and the committee's recommendation for

23  legislative and regulatory revisions.

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26  ================ T I T L E   A M E N D M E N T ===============

27  And the title is amended as follows:

28         On page 1, line 27

29  remove from the title of the bill:  all of said line

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31  and insert in lieu thereof:

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                                                   HOUSE AMENDMENT

                                               Bill No. CS/HB 4071

    Amendment No.     (for drafter's use only)





 1         language relating to a report; creating s.

 2         373.4139, F.S.; providing legislative findings

 3         and intent; providing for mitigation for mining

 4         activities within certain areas; levying a

 5         mitigation fee; providing for collection and

 6         disposition of such mitigation fees; providing

 7         duties of the Department of Revenue; providing

 8         for adjustment of the mitigation fee;

 9         specifying uses of fee proceeds; amending s.

10         373.4149, F.S.; revising requirements for

11         development of Phase II of the Lake Belt Plan;

12         repealing s. 373.4149(10), F.S.; amending s.

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