Senate Bill 1412

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



    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1412

    By Senator Childers





    312-1074-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public swimming and bathing

  3         places; amending s. 514.011, F.S.; modifying a

  4         definition; creating s. 514.023, F.S.;

  5         authorizing the Department of Health to set

  6         standards for and sample beach waters and issue

  7         health advisories under certain conditions;

  8         preempting to the state the issuance of health

  9         advisories; providing for beach water-quality

10         studies; providing an appropriation; providing

11         an effective date.

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

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15         Section 1.  Subsection (4) of section 514.011, Florida

16  Statutes, is amended to read:

17         514.011  Definitions.--As used in this chapter:

18         (4)  "Public bathing place" means a body of water,

19  natural or modified by humans, for swimming, diving, and

20  recreational bathing, together with adjacent shoreline or land

21  area, buildings, equipment, and appurtenances pertaining

22  thereto, used by consent of the owner or owners and held out

23  to the public by any person or public body, irrespective of

24  whether a fee is charged for the use thereof.  The bathing

25  water areas of public bathing places include, but are not

26  limited to, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and artificial

27  impoundments, and waters along the coastal and intracoastal

28  beaches and shores of the state.

29         Section 2.  Section 514.023, Florida Statutes, is

30  created to read:

31         514.023  Sampling of beach waters; health advisories.--

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1412
    312-1074-00




  1         (1)  The department may adopt and enforce rules to

  2  protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons using the

  3  beach waters of the state. The rules must establish health

  4  standards and prescribe procedures and timeframes for

  5  bacteriological sampling of beach waters.

  6         (2)  The department may issue health advisories if the

  7  quality of beach waters fails to meet standards established by

  8  the department. The issuance of health advisories related to

  9  the results of bacteriological sampling of beach waters is

10  preempted to the state.

11         (3)  For purposes of this section, the term "beach

12  waters" means the waters along the coastal and intracoastal

13  beaches and shores of the state, and includes salt water and

14  brackish water.

15         (4)  Contingent upon legislative appropriation to the

16  department in the amount of $600,000 nonrecurring, the

17  department will perform a 3-year study to determine the water

18  quality at beaches throughout the state. The study will be

19  performed in all counties that have public-access saltwater

20  and brackishwater beaches.

21         Section 3.  The sum of $745,000 is appropriated from

22  the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Health for

23  fiscal year 2000-2001, for a 2-year "Healthy Beaches" study in

24  the coastal waters of Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties and the

25  Tampa bay area of Pinellas County. The purpose of the study is

26  to determine which indicator organism is best suited to be

27  used with respect to Florida's waters and to establish a

28  statewide model to help predict when possible water-quality

29  problems will occur.

30         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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






    Florida Senate - 2000                                  SB 1412
    312-1074-00




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  2                          SENATE SUMMARY

  3    Redefines the term "public bathing place." Authorizes the
      Department of Health to provide bacteriological sampling
  4    of beach waters and issue health advisories. Provides
      that health advisories related to bacteriological
  5    sampling are preempted to the state. Provides for water
      quality studies and an appropriation.
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