House Bill 4687
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Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4687
By the Committee on Water & Resource Management and
Representative Carlton
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to regional water supply
3 authorities; amending s. 120.52, F.S.;
4 providing that a member government is not
5 considered a party in administrative
6 proceedings under certain conditions; amending
7 s. 373.1963, F.S.; revising criteria for
8 governance of the West Coast Regional Water
9 Supply Authority and its member governments
10 under interlocal agreements; repealing s.
11 373.1963(5), F.S., relating to a process for
12 review of a consumptive use permit; amending s.
13 682.02, F.S.; providing for the arbitration of
14 certain controversies concerning water use;
15 amending s. 768.28, F.S.; allowing an authority
16 to indemnify its member governments; declaring
17 legislative intent to supersede other laws;
18 providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Subsection (12) of section 120.52, Florida
23 Statutes, is amended to read:
24 120.52 Definitions.--As used in this act:
25 (12) "Party" means:
26 (a) Specifically named persons whose substantial
27 interests are being determined in the proceeding.
28 (b) Any other person who, as a matter of
29 constitutional right, provision of statute, or provision of
30 agency regulation, is entitled to participate in whole or in
31 part in the proceeding, or whose substantial interests will be
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1 affected by proposed agency action, and who makes an
2 appearance as a party.
3 (c) Any other person, including an agency staff
4 member, allowed by the agency to intervene or participate in
5 the proceeding as a party. An agency may by rule authorize
6 limited forms of participation in agency proceedings for
7 persons who are not eligible to become parties.
8 (d) Any county representative, agency, department, or
9 unit funded and authorized by state statute or county
10 ordinance to represent the interests of the consumers of a
11 county, when the proceeding involves the substantial interests
12 of a significant number of residents of the county and the
13 board of county commissioners has, by resolution, authorized
14 the representative, agency, department, or unit to represent
15 the class of interested persons. The authorizing resolution
16 shall apply to a specific proceeding and to appeals and
17 ancillary proceedings thereto, and it shall not be required to
18 state the names of the persons whose interests are to be
19 represented.
20
21 The term "party" does not include a member government of a
22 regional water supply authority or a governmental or
23 quasi-judicial board or commission established by local
24 ordinance or special or general law where the governing
25 membership of such board or commission is shared with, in
26 whole or in part, or appointed by a member government of a
27 regional water supply authority in proceedings under s.
28 120.569, s. 120.57, or s. 120.68, to the extent that an
29 interlocal agreement under ss. 163.01 and 373.1962 exists in
30 which the member government has agreed that its substantial
31 interests are not affected by the proceedings or that it is to
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1 be bound by alternative dispute resolution in lieu of
2 participating in the proceedings. This exclusion applies only
3 to those particular types of disputes or controversies, if
4 any, identified in an interlocal agreement.
5 Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 373.1963, Florida
6 Statutes, is repealed and subsection (1) of that section, is
7 amended to read:
8 373.1963 Assistance to West Coast Regional Water
9 Supply Authority.--
10 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to authorize
11 encourage and facilitate the implementation of changes in
12 governance recommended by the West Coast Regional Water Supply
13 Authority in its reports report to the Legislature dated
14 February 1, 1997, and. The authority shall submit a
15 supplemental report to the President of the Senate and the
16 Speaker of the House of Representatives on the status of
17 implementing its prior recommendations for changes in
18 governance by January 5, 1998. The authority and its member
19 governments may reconstitute the authority's its governance in
20 a manner consistent with its report to the Legislature, and
21 with the provisions set forth herein, under a voluntary
22 interlocal agreement with a term of not less than 20 years.
23 The interlocal agreement must comply with this subsection,
24 which substantially provides as follows:
25 (a) The authority and its member governments agree
26 that cooperative efforts are mandatory to meet their water
27 needs in a manner that will provide adequate and dependable
28 supplies of water where needed without resulting in adverse
29 environmental effects upon the areas from which the water is
30 withdrawn or otherwise produced.
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1 (b) In accordance with s. 4, Art. VIII of the State
2 Constitution and notwithstanding s. 163.01, the interlocal
3 agreement may include the following terms, which are
4 considered approved by the parties without a vote of their
5 electors, upon execution of the interlocal agreement by all
6 member governments and upon satisfaction of all conditions
7 precedent in the interlocal agreement: To the extent provided
8 in the interlocal agreement, and to the extent permitted by
9 law:
10 1. All member governments shall relinquish to the
11 authority their individual rights to develop potable water
12 supply sources, except as otherwise provided in the interlocal
13 agreement;
14 2. The authority shall be the sole and exclusive
15 wholesale potable water supplier for all member governments;
16 and
17 3. The authority shall have the absolute and
18 unequivocal obligation to meet the wholesale needs of the
19 member governments for potable water.
20 4. A member government may not impose any tax, fee, or
21 charge upon the authority in conjunction with the production
22 or supply of water not otherwise provided for in the
23 interlocal agreement.
24 5. The authority may use the powers provided in part
25 II of chapter 159 for financing and refinancing water
26 treatment, production, or transmission facilities, including,
27 but not limited to, desalinization facilities. All such water
28 treatment, production, or transmission facilities are
29 considered a "manufacturing plant" for purposes of s.
30 159.27(5) and serve a paramount public purpose by providing
31 water to citizens of the state.
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1 6. A member government and any governmental or
2 quasi-judicial board or commission established by local
3 ordinance or general or special law where the governing
4 membership of such board or commission is shared, in whole or
5 in part, or appointed by a member government agreeing to be
6 bound by the interlocal agreement shall be limited to the
7 procedures set forth therein regarding actions that directly
8 or indirectly restrict or prohibit the use of lands or other
9 activities related to the production or supply of water.
10 (c) The authority shall acquire full or lesser
11 interests in all regionally significant member government
12 wholesale water supply facilities and tangible assets and each
13 member government shall convey such interests in the
14 facilities and assets to the authority, at an agreed value.
15 (d) The authority shall charge a uniform per gallon
16 wholesale rate to member governments for the wholesale supply
17 of potable water. All capital, operation, maintenance, and
18 administrative costs for existing facilities and acquired
19 facilities, authority master water plan facilities, and other
20 future projects must be allocated to member governments based
21 on water usage at the uniform per gallon wholesale rate.
22 (e) To the extent provided in The interlocal agreement
23 may include and to the extent permitted by law, member
24 governments shall develop procedures for resolving the
25 parties' their differences regarding water management district
26 proposed agency action in the water use permitting process
27 within the authority. Such procedures should minimize the
28 potential for litigation and include alternative dispute
29 resolution. Any governmental or quasi-judicial board or
30 commission established by local ordinance or general or
31 special law where the governing members of such board or
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1 commission is shared, in whole or in part, or appointed by a
2 member government, may agree to be bound by the dispute
3 resolution procedures set forth in the interlocal agreement.
4 Nothing herein or in said procedures shall affect the rights
5 of participants under chapter 120.
6 (f) Upon execution of the voluntary interlocal
7 agreement provided for herein, the authority shall jointly
8 develop with the Southwest Florida Water Management District
9 alternative sources of potable water and transmission
10 pipelines to interconnect regionally significant water supply
11 sources and facilities of the authority in amounts sufficient
12 to meet the needs of all member governments for a period of at
13 least 20 years and for natural systems. Nothing herein,
14 however, shall preclude the authority and its member
15 governments from developing traditional water sources pursuant
16 to the voluntary interlocal agreement. Development and
17 construction costs for alternative source facilities, which
18 may include a desalination facility and significant regional
19 interconnects, must be borne as mutually agreed to by both the
20 authority and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
21 Nothing herein shall preclude authority or district cost
22 sharing with private entities for the construction or
23 ownership of alternative source facilities. By December 31,
24 1997, the authority and the Southwest Florida Water Management
25 District shall:
26 1. Enter into a mutually acceptable agreement
27 detailing the development and implementation of directives
28 contained in this paragraph; or
29 2. Jointly prepare and submit to the President of the
30 Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a
31 report describing the progress made and impediments
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1 encountered in their attempts to implement the water resource
2 development and water supply development directives contained
3 in this paragraph.
4
5 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to modify the
6 rights or responsibilities of the authority or, its member
7 governments, except as otherwise provided herein, or of the
8 Southwest Florida Water Management District or the department
9 pursuant to chapter 373 or chapter 403 and as otherwise set
10 forth by statutes.
11 (g) Unless otherwise provided in the interlocal
12 agreement, the authority shall be governed by a board of
13 commissioners consisting of nine voting members, all of whom
14 must be elected officers, as follows:
15 1. Three members from Hillsborough County who must be
16 selected by the county commission; provided, however, that one
17 member shall be selected by the Mayor of Tampa in the event
18 that the City of Tampa elects to be a member of the authority;
19 2. Three members from Pasco County, two of whom must
20 be selected by the county commission and one of whom must be
21 selected by the City Council of New Port Richey;
22 3. Three members from Pinellas County, two of whom
23 must be selected by the county commission and one of whom must
24 be selected by the City Council of St. Petersburg.
25
26 Except as otherwise provided in this section or in the
27 voluntary interlocal agreement between the member governments,
28 a majority vote shall bind the authority and its member
29 governments in all matters relating to the funding of
30 wholesale water supply, production, delivery, and related
31 activities.
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1 Section 3. Section 682.02, Florida Statutes, is
2 amended to read:
3 682.02 Arbitration agreements made valid, irrevocable,
4 and enforceable; scope.--Two or more parties may agree in
5 writing to submit to arbitration any controversy existing
6 between them at the time of the agreement, or they may include
7 in a written contract a provision for the settlement by
8 arbitration of any controversy thereafter arising between them
9 relating to such contract or the failure or refusal to perform
10 the whole or any part thereof. This section also applies to
11 written interlocal agreements under ss. 163.01 and 373.1962 in
12 which two or more parties agree to submit to arbitration any
13 controversy between them concerning water use permit
14 applications and other matters, regardless of whether or not
15 the water management district with jurisdiction over the
16 subject application is a party to the interlocal agreement or
17 a participant in the arbitration. Such agreement or provision
18 shall be valid, enforceable, and irrevocable without regard to
19 the justiciable character of the controversy; provided that
20 this act shall not apply to any such agreement or provision to
21 arbitrate in which it is stipulated that this law shall not
22 apply or to any arbitration or award thereunder.
23 Section 4. Subsection (18) of section 768.28, Florida
24 Statutes, is amended to read:
25 768.28 Waiver of sovereign immunity in tort actions;
26 recovery limits; limitation on attorney fees; statute of
27 limitations; exclusions; indemnification; risk management
28 programs.--
29 (18) Neither the state nor any agency or subdivision
30 of the state waives any defense of sovereign immunity, or
31 increases the limits of its liability, upon entering into a
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1 contractual relationship with another agency or subdivision of
2 the state. Such a contract must not contain any provision that
3 requires one party to indemnify or insure the other party for
4 the other party's negligence or to assume any liability for
5 the other party's negligence. This does not preclude a party
6 from requiring a nongovernmental entity to provide such
7 indemnification or insurance. The restrictions of this
8 subsection do not prevent a regional water supply authority
9 from indemnifying and assuming the liabilities of its member
10 governments for obligations arising from past acts or
11 omissions at or with property acquired from a member
12 government by the authority and arising from the acts or
13 omissions of the authority in performing activities
14 contemplated by an interlocal agreement. Such indemnification
15 may not be considered to increase or otherwise waive the
16 limits of liability to third-party claimants established by
17 this section.
18 Section 5. The provisions of this act supersede any
19 conflicting provisions contained in all other general or
20 special laws or provisions thereof as they may apply directly
21 or indirectly to the exclusivity of water supply or withdrawal
22 of water, including provisions relating to the environmental
23 effects, if any, in conjunction with the production and supply
24 of potable water, and the provisions of this act are intended
25 to be a complete revision of all laws related to a regional
26 water supply authority created under ss. 373.1962 and
27 373.1963, Florida Statutes.
28 Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
29 law.
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2 HOUSE SUMMARY
3
Provides that a member government of a regional water
4 supply authority is not considered a party in certain
administrative proceedings when its participation is
5 precluded by the contents of an interlocal agreement.
Revises criteria for governance of the West Coast
6 Regional Water Supply Authority and its member
governments under interlocal agreements. Repeals a
7 process for review of a consumptive use permit upon
request of a member government alleging adverse impacts.
8 Provides for arbitration of controversies concerning
water use permit applications subject to certain
9 interlocal agreements. Allows indemnification of member
governments by a regional water supply authority.
10 Provides that the provisions of the act are intended to
revise and supersede certain general and special laws.
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