House Bill hb0589

    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 589

        By Representative Fasano






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to local government utilities

  3         assistance; providing a short title; providing

  4         legislative findings; providing definitions;

  5         establishing a pilot local government utilities

  6         assistance program; providing for

  7         administration by the Department of

  8         Environmental Protection; providing for the

  9         uses of certain moneys for certain purposes;

10         providing for criteria for grants and

11         allocation of revenues for acquiring certain

12         private water-wastewater utilities; providing

13         for transfer of certain moneys from the Solid

14         Waste Management Trust Fund to the program;

15         providing for distribution of such moneys for

16         certain purposes; providing for issuing revenue

17         bonds for certain purposes under certain

18         circumstances; authorizing the Department of

19         Environmental Protection to adopt rules;

20         providing an effective date.

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

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24         Section 1.  Short title.--This act may be cited as the

25  "Local Government Utilities Assistance Act."

26         Section 2.  Legislative findings; intent.--The

27  Legislature finds that in many areas of the state the

28  condition or operation of privately owned water-wastewater

29  utility systems and facilities create a present or potential

30  threat to the environment or to the health of the utility

31  customers. It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 589

    565-194A-01






  1  establish a pilot program to assist local governments in

  2  acquiring privately owned water-wastewater utilities, and to

  3  finance the cost of such acquisition of privately owned

  4  water-wastewater utilities through the issuance of revenue

  5  bonds by sponsoring local governments.

  6         Section 3.  Definitions.--As used in this act:

  7         (1)  "Department" means the Department of Environmental

  8  Protection.

  9         (2)  "Privately owned water-wastewater utility" means a

10  water or wastewater utility whose utility assets are privately

11  owned.

12         Section 4.  Local government utilities assistance

13  program; state assistance.--The Local Government Utilities

14  Assistance Program is established in the department. A local

15  government may receive a grant or state assistance in the form

16  of a share or a nonlapsing share of the moneys allocated to

17  the program to be pledged for payment of debt service on

18  bonds, as provided in section 5, issued to finance the

19  acquisition of privately owned water-wastewater utilities.

20         (1)  A private water-wastewater utility is deemed to be

21  eligible for assistance under the program if it meets one or

22  more of the following criteria:

23         (a)  The water-wastewater utility is not capable of

24  making the improvements necessary to alleviate the public

25  health or environmental threats through its own resources

26  without increasing its rate for services to an amount beyond

27  that which is commensurate with community standards.

28         (b)  The water-wastewater utility is confronted with a

29  public health or environmental threat or both, including

30  secondary state water quality standards, that may be better

31  addressed through public management or ownership, or both.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 589

    565-194A-01






  1         (c)  The private utility desires to sell or

  2  consolidate.

  3         (2)  The department may allocate proceeds from the

  4  program in the form of a grant or a share of such proceeds to

  5  be pledged to the payment of debt service on bonds, as

  6  provided in section 5 to assist a local government in

  7  financing the cost of acquiring a privately owned

  8  water-wastewater utility if the acquisition by the local

  9  government presents a preferable and cost-effective solution.

10         Section 5.  Department determination to acquire;

11  bonds.--If the department determines that acquisition of a

12  privately owned water-wastewater utility is necessary, the

13  department may authorize the expenditure of proceeds from the

14  program for such purposes. The local government may pledge the

15  proceeds for the issuance of revenue bonds necessary to

16  acquire the private water-wastewater utility as otherwise

17  authorized by law.

18         Section 6.  Rules.--The department may adopt rules to

19  implement the program, including, but not limited to,

20  administering the program, determining project eligibility and

21  priority, establishing application requirements, providing for

22  disbursement from the trust fund, and auditing the program.

23         Section 7.  Allocation of moneys to the program;

24  disposition.--Notwithstanding s. 212.20(6)(e)2., Florida

25  Statutes, for fiscal year 2001-2002, one-half of the moneys

26  that would otherwise be distributed to the Solid Waste

27  Management Trust Fund pursuant to s. 212.20, Florida Statutes,

28  not to exceed $5 million, shall be distributed to the program

29  to be used as provided in this act to implement the program as

30  a pilot program in Pasco County. Such moneys may be assigned,

31  pledged, or set aside as a trust for the payment of principal

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                 HB 589

    565-194A-01






  1  or interest on bonds or any other form of indebtedness issued

  2  by an appropriate local government or used to purchase credit

  3  support to permit such borrowings.  Such debt shall be

  4  indebtedness of the local government and shall not constitute

  5  a general obligation of the state. The state covenants with

  6  holders of such revenue bonds or other instruments of

  7  indebtedness issued under the program that it will not repeal

  8  or impair or amend this act in any manner which will

  9  materially affect the rights of bondholders so long as bonds

10  supported by revenues from the program are outstanding.  Any

11  revenues that are not pledged to the repayment of bonds may be

12  used for purposes authorized under section 4.

13         Section 8.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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16                          HOUSE SUMMARY

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      Establishes the Local Government Utilities Assistance
18    Program in the Department of Environmental Protection for
      purposes of assisting local governments to acquire
19    privately owned water-wastewater utilities to cure or
      mitigate environmental or health hazards created by such
20    utilities. Provides for implementing the program for
      fiscal year 2001-2002 in Pasco County. Provides for
21    reallocating moneys from the Solid Waste Management Trust
      Fund to fund the pilot program. Provides for issuance of
22    revenue bonds. See bill for details.

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