Senate Bill sb2890e1

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




    SB 2890                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to Monroe County; amending

  3         chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as amended;

  4         providing for the exemption of the Florida Keys

  5         Aqueduct Authority from the provisions of

  6         chapter 120, Florida Statutes, the

  7         Administrative Procedure Act; deleting

  8         reference to chapter 120, Florida Statutes,

  9         from the law relating to the Authority;

10         providing for public hearings under certain

11         circumstances; providing an effective date.

12  

13         WHEREAS, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority was

14  created in chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as amended, and

15         WHEREAS, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority's stated

16  primary purpose and function is to obtain, supply, and

17  distribute an adequate water supply for the Florida Keys and

18  to collect, treat, and dispose of wastewater in the Florida

19  Keys in accordance with the Department of Health and the

20  Department of Environmental Protection, and

21         WHEREAS, the authority has exclusive jurisdiction over

22  the administration, maintenance, development, and provision of

23  wastewater system services in Monroe County with the exception

24  of the City of Key West, the City of Key Colony Beach, the

25  City of Layton, Islamorada, Village of Islands, and Key Largo

26  Wastewater Treatment District, and

27         WHEREAS, for the benefit of the inhabitants of Monroe

28  County and as a result of substantial encouragement from state

29  and county governmental authorities, the Authority is

30  developing and plans to own, operate, and maintain a

31  wastewater system for the collection, transmission, treatment,


                                  1

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






    SB 2890                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



 1  storage, and disposal of wastewater as provided in chapter

 2  76-441, Laws of Florida, as amended, in order to ensure

 3  compliance with state wastewater effluent standards for water

 4  quality issues in the Florida Keys, high quality of life for

 5  its citizens, and the continued viability of the area for

 6  tourism, and

 7         WHEREAS, the provisions of the Administrative Procedure

 8  Act, as applicable to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, are

 9  financially burdensome to water and wastewater rate payers,

10  unnecessarily time consuming, and significantly prohibitive to

11  the Authority in meeting the state mandates in a timely

12  fashion, and

13         WHEREAS, the Administrative Procedure Act is normally

14  not applicable to single county special districts, NOW,

15  THEREFORE,

16  

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

18  

19         Section 1.  Section 2, paragraph (a) of subsection 9 of

20  section 9, section 10, and subsection (4) of section 14 of

21  chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as amended, are amended to

22  read:

23         Section 2.  Applicability of certain provisions of

24  Florida law to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority.--Except as

25  specifically provided herein, the provisions of this act shall

26  control over the provisions of any other special or general

27  law. Decisions made by the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority

28  shall not be subject to the Administrative Procedure Act,

29  chapter 120, Florida Statutes.

30  

31  


                                  2

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






    SB 2890                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



 1         Section 9.  Powers of the Authority.--In addition and

 2  not in limitation of the powers of the Authority, it shall

 3  have the following powers:

 4         (9)(a)  SEWER SYSTEM.--To purchase, construct, and

 5  otherwise acquire and to improve, extend, enlarge, and

 6  reconstruct a sewage disposal system or systems and to

 7  purchase and/or construct or reconstruct sewer improvements

 8  and to operate, manage, and control all such systems so

 9  purchased and/or constructed and all properties pertaining

10  thereto and to furnish and supply sewage collection and

11  disposal services to any municipalities and any persons,

12  firms, or corporations, public or private; to prohibit or

13  regulate the use and maintenance of outhouses, privies, septic

14  tanks, or other sanitary structures or appliances within the

15  Authority boundaries, provided that prior to prohibiting the

16  use of any such facilities adequate new facilities must be

17  available; to prescribe methods of pretreatment of waste not

18  amenable to treatment, to refuse to accept such waste when not

19  sufficiently pretreated as may be prescribed and to prescribe

20  penalties for the refusal of any person or corporation to so

21  pretreat such waste; to sell or otherwise dispose of the

22  effluent, sludge, or other by-products as a result of sewage

23  treatment and to construct and operate connecting or

24  intercepting outlets, sewers and sewer mains and pipes and

25  water mains, conduits, or pipelines in, along, or under any

26  street, alley, highways, within or without the Authority

27  boundaries when deemed necessary or desirable by the board of

28  directors in accomplishing the purposes of this act, with the

29  consent of the agency owning or controlling same. All such

30  regulation herein authorized shall comply with the standards

31  and regulations pertaining to same as promulgated by the


                                  3

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






    SB 2890                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



 1  Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services and by the

 2  Department of Environmental Protection Regulation and be

 3  adopted pursuant to chapter 120, Florida Statutes.

 4         Section 10.  Rules.--Upon reasonable advance notice to

 5  the public and an opportunity for all persons to be heard on

 6  the matter, the board shall adopt bylaws, rules, resolutions,

 7  regulations, and orders prescribing the powers, duties, and

 8  functions of the members of the board and employees of the

 9  Authority; the conduct of the business of the Authority; the

10  maintenance of records of the Authority, and shall adopt

11  administrative rules and regulations with respect to any of

12  the projects of the Authority. All such bylaws, rules,

13  resolutions, regulations, orders and administrative rules

14  shall be adopted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 120,

15  Florida Statutes.

16         Section 14.  Fees, rentals, and charges; procedure for

17  adoption and modification, minimum revenue requirements.--

18         (4)  No rate, fee, rental, or other charge may be

19  established resulting in increased costs for service to the

20  customer nor may any rate, fee, rental, or other charge be

21  increased by the Authority until a public hearing has been

22  held relating to the proposed increase in the City of Key

23  West, and in the Marathon and the upper Keys areas. However,

24  if the proposed rule affects wastewater only in a single

25  wastewater district and affects rates, fees, or charges that

26  could result in increased costs of service to the customer, no

27  rate, fee, rental, or other charge may be increased by the

28  Authority until two advertised public hearings have been held

29  relating to the proposed increase at a site convenient to the

30  public located in the district area. Such public hearings

31  shall not occur within 15 days of each other.


                                  4

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






    SB 2890                                  First Engrossed (ntc)



 1         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 2  law.

 3  

 4  

 5  

 6  

 7  

 8  

 9  

10  

11  

12  

13  

14  

15  

16  

17  

18  

19  

20  

21  

22  

23  

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  


                                  5

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