HB 0143 2003
   
1 A bill to be entitled
2         An act relating to Monroe County; amending chapter 76-441,
3   Laws of Florida, as amended; providing for the exemption
4   of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority from the provisions
5   of chapter 120, Florida Statutes, the Administrative
6   Procedure Act; deleting reference to chapter 120, Florida
7   Statutes, from the law relating to the Authority;
8   providing for public hearings under certain circumstances;
9   providing an effective date.
10         
11         WHEREAS, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority was created in
12   chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as amended, and
13         WHEREAS, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority’s stated
14   primary purpose and function is to obtain, supply, and
15   distribute an adequate water supply for the Florida Keys and to
16   collect, treat, and dispose of wastewater in the Florida Keys in
17   accordance with the Department of Health and the Department of
18   Environmental Protection, and
19         WHEREAS, the authority has exclusive jurisdiction over the
20   administration, maintenance, development, and provision of
21   wastewater system services in Monroe County with the exception
22   of the City of Key West, the City of Key Colony Beach, the City
23   of Layton, Islamorada, Village of Islands, and Key Largo
24   Wastewater Treatment District, and
25         WHEREAS, for the benefit of the inhabitants of Monroe
26   County and as a result of substantial encouragement from state
27   and county governmental authorities, the Authority is developing
28   and plans to own, operate, and maintain a wastewater system for
29   the collection, transmission, treatment, storage, and disposal
30   of wastewater as provided in chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as
31   amended, in order to ensure compliance with state wastewater
32   effluent standards for water quality issues in the Florida Keys,
33   high quality of life for its citizens, and the continued
34   viability of the area for tourism, and
35         WHEREAS, the provisions of the Administrative Procedure
36   Act, as applicable to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, are
37   financially burdensome to water and wastewater rate payers,
38   unnecessarily time consuming, and significantly prohibitive to
39   the Authority in meeting the state mandates in a timely fashion,
40   and
41         WHEREAS, the Administrative Procedure Act is normally not
42   applicable to single county special districts, NOW, THEREFORE,
43         
44         Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45         
46         Section 1. Section 2, paragraph (a) of subsection 9 of
47   section 9, section 10, and subsection (4) of section 14 of
48   chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as amended, are amended to
49   read:
50         Section 2. Applicability of certain provisions of Florida
51   law to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority.--Except as
52   specifically provided herein, the provisions of this act shall
53   control over the provisions of any other special or general law.
54   The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority shall not be subject to the
55   Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120, Florida Statutes.
56         Section 9. Powers of the Authority.--In addition and not
57   in limitation of the powers of the Authority, it shall have the
58   following powers:
59         (9)(a) SEWER SYSTEM.--To purchase, construct, and
60   otherwise acquire and to improve, extend, enlarge, and
61   reconstruct a sewage disposal system or systems and to purchase
62   and/or construct or reconstruct sewer improvements and to
63   operate, manage, and control all such systems so purchased
64   and/or constructed and all properties pertaining thereto and to
65   furnish and supply sewage collection and disposal services to
66   any municipalities and any persons, firms, or corporations,
67   public or private; to prohibit or regulate the use and
68   maintenance of outhouses, privies, septic tanks, or other
69   sanitary structures or appliances within the Authority
70   boundaries, provided that prior to prohibiting the use of any
71   such facilities adequate new facilities must be available; to
72   prescribe methods of pretreatment of waste not amenable to
73   treatment, to refuse to accept such waste when not sufficiently
74   pretreated as may be prescribed and to prescribe penalties for
75   the refusal of any person or corporation to so pretreat such
76   waste; to sell or otherwise dispose of the effluent, sludge, or
77   other by-products as a result of sewage treatment and to
78   construct and operate connecting or intercepting outlets, sewers
79   and sewer mains and pipes and water mains, conduits, or
80   pipelines in, along, or under any street, alley, highways,
81   within or without the Authority boundaries when deemed necessary
82   or desirable by the board of directors in accomplishing the
83   purposes of this act, with the consent of the agency owning or
84   controlling same. All such regulation herein authorized shall
85   comply with the standards and regulations pertaining to same as
86   promulgated by the Department of Healthand Rehabilitative
87   Servicesand by the Department of EnvironmentalProtection
88   Regulationand be adopted pursuant to chapter 120, Florida
89   Statutes.
90         Section 10. Rules.--Upon reasonable advance notice to the
91   public and an opportunity for all persons to be heard on the
92   matter,the board shall adopt bylaws, rules, resolutions,
93   regulations, and orders prescribing the powers, duties, and
94   functions of the members of the board and employees of the
95   Authority; the conduct of the business of the Authority; the
96   maintenance of records of the Authority, and shall adopt
97   administrative rules and regulations with respect to any of the
98   projects of the Authority.All such bylaws, rules, resolutions,
99   regulations, orders and administrative rules shall be adopted
100   pursuant to the provisions of chapter 120, Florida Statutes.
101         Section 14. Fees, rentals, and charges; procedure for
102   adoption and modification, minimum revenue requirements.--
103         (4) No rate, fee, rental, or other charge may be
104   established resulting in increased costs for service to the
105   customer nor may any rate, fee, rental, or other charge be
106   increased by the Authority until a public hearing has been held
107   relating to the proposed increase n the City of Key West, and in
108   the Marathon and the upper Keys areas.However, if the proposed
109   rule affects wastewater only in a single wastewater district and
110   affects rates, fees, or charges that could result in increased
111   costs of service to the customer, no rate, fee, rental, or other
112   charge may be increased by the Authority until two advertised
113   public hearings have been held relating to the proposed increase
114   at a site convenient to the public located in the district area.
115   Such public hearings shall not occur within 15 days of each
116   other.
117         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
118