House Bill 1829c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999             CS/HB 1829

        By the Committee on Water & Resource Management and
    Representative Bradley





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to red tide research and

  3         mitigation; establishing a Harmful-Algal-Bloom

  4         Task Force; providing for task force membership

  5         and duties; requiring the Florida Marine

  6         Research Institute to implement a program;

  7         providing legislative intent; providing program

  8         goals; providing an appropriation; providing an

  9         effective date.

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11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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13         Section 1.  (1)  There is established a

14  Harmful-Algal-Bloom Task Force for the purpose of determining

15  research, monitoring, control, and mitigation strategies for

16  red tide and other harmful algal blooms in Florida waters. The

17  Florida Marine Research Institute shall appoint to the task

18  force scientists, engineers, economists, members of citizen

19  groups, and members of government. The task force shall

20  determine research and monitoring priorities and control and

21  mitigation strategies and make recommendations to the Fish and

22  Wildlife Conservation Commission by October 1, 1999, for using

23  funds as provided in this act.

24         (2)  The Harmful-Algal-Bloom Task Force shall:

25         (a)  Review the status and adequacy of information for

26  monitoring physical, chemical, biological, economic, and

27  public health factors affecting harmful algal blooms in

28  Florida;

29         (b)  Develop research and monitoring priorities for

30  harmful algal blooms in Florida, including detection,

31  prediction, mitigation, and control;

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999             CS/HB 1829

    195-833-99






  1         (c)  Develop recommendations that can be implemented by

  2  state and local governments to develop a response plan and to

  3  predict, mitigate, and control the effects of harmful algal

  4  blooms; and

  5         (d)  Make recommendations to the Florida Marine

  6  Research Institute by October 1, 1999, for research,

  7  detection, monitoring, prediction, mitigation, and control of

  8  harmful algal blooms in the state.

  9         (3)  After the completion of the tasks specified in

10  subsection (2), the Harmful-Algal-Bloom Task Force may be

11  continued at the pleasure of the Florida Marine Research

12  Institute.

13         Section 2.  (1)(a)  The Florida Marine Research

14  Institute shall implement a program designed to increase the

15  knowledge of factors that control harmful algal blooms,

16  including red tide, and to gain knowledge to be used for the

17  early detection of factors precipitating harmful algal blooms,

18  for accurate prediction of the extent and seriousness of

19  harmful algal blooms, and for undertaking successful efforts

20  to control and mitigate the effects of harmful algal blooms.

21         (b)  The Legislature intends that this program enhance

22  and address areas that are not adequately covered in the

23  cooperative federal-state program known as Ecology and

24  Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB-Florida), which

25  includes the University of South Florida, Mote Marine

26  Laboratory, and the Florida Marine Research Institute.

27         (c)  The goal of this program is to enable resource

28  managers to assess the potential for public health damage and

29  economic damage from a given bloom and to undertake control

30  and mitigation efforts through the development and application

31  of an integrated detection and prediction network for

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999             CS/HB 1829

    195-833-99






  1  monitoring and responding to the development and movement of

  2  harmful algal blooms in Florida marine and estuarine waters.

  3         (2)  A financial disbursement program is created within

  4  the Florida Marine Research Institute to implement the

  5  provisions of this act. Under the program, the institute shall

  6  provide funding and technical assistance to government

  7  agencies, research universities, coastal local governments,

  8  and organizations with scientific and technical expertise for

  9  the purposes of harmful-algal-bloom research, economic impact

10  study, monitoring, detection, control, and mitigation. The

11  program may be funded from state, federal, and private

12  contributions.

13         Section 3.  There is hereby appropriated from the

14  General Revenue Fund to the Florida Marine Research Institute

15  for fiscal year 1999-2000 the sum of $3 million to carry out

16  the purposes of this act.

17         (1)  From these funds, $1 million shall be used for

18  continuation of the harmful-algal-bloom contracts let to

19  Manatee Community College, the University of Florida, the

20  University of Miami, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

21  Administration, the United States Food and Drug

22  Administration, the St. Johns River Water Management District,

23  the Florida Department of Health, the Mote Marine Laboratory,

24  the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and a citizens group

25  Solutions to Avoid Red Tide, in fiscal year 1998-1999, in

26  order to bring these 10 studies to completion.  These

27  contracts should promote state, federal, and private

28  partnerships.  No more than $75,000 shall be used by the

29  Florida Marine Research Institute for technical administration

30  of these contracts.  Up to $50,000 shall be used by the

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999             CS/HB 1829

    195-833-99






  1  institute to support the travel and document-production costs

  2  of the Harmful-Algal-Bloom Task Force.

  3         (2)  From the remaining $2 million appropriated by this

  4  section, $1 million shall be provided to the Mote Marine

  5  Laboratory and $1 million shall be provided to the Florida

  6  Marine Research Institute, to be used for a cooperative study

  7  of harmful algal blooms to address areas of critical need.

  8         (3)  Contractual services procured under this section

  9  are not subject to the provisions of s. 287.057, Florida

10  Statutes.

11         Section 4.  No rules shall be required to implement

12  this act.

13         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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