Senate Bill sb0526c2

    Florida Senate - 2005                     CS for CS for SB 526

    By the Committees on Governmental Oversight and Productivity;
    Communications and Public Utilities; and Senators Klein and
    Constantine



    585-2178-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to electric utility

  3         transmission; creating the Electric Utility

  4         Task Force; providing duties and membership of

  5         the task force; creating the Electric Utility

  6         Task Force Advisory Panel to advise the task

  7         force; providing for membership and duties of

  8         the panel; requiring that the task force submit

  9         a report to the Governor and the Legislature;

10         providing that the task force be dissolved on a

11         specified date; providing an appropriation;

12         providing an effective date.

13  

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

15  

16         Section 1.  Electric Utility Task Force.--

17         (1)  The Electric Utility Task Force is established for

18  the purpose of evaluating the current electric utility

19  transmission system and potential improvements to the system

20  to decrease damage from storms or improve recovery of the

21  system after storm damage, and to develop recommendations for

22  improving the emergency response to storm damage.

23         (2)(a)  The task force shall consist of nine members.

24  The President of the Senate shall appoint three members, all

25  of whom shall be members of the Senate, one of whom shall be a

26  member of the minority party. The Speaker of the House of

27  Representatives shall appoint three members, all of whom shall

28  be members of the House, one of whom shall be a member of the

29  minority party. The Governor shall appoint three members. The

30  members of the task force shall designate one of its members

31  as chairperson.

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






    Florida Senate - 2005                     CS for CS for SB 526
    585-2178-05




 1         (b)  Each member appointed to the task force shall

 2  serve at the pleasure of the appointing official. Any vacancy

 3  on the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the

 4  original appointment.

 5         (c)  The task force shall be staffed by the Public

 6  Service Commission, the Department of Community Affairs, the

 7  Department of Management Services, and the Department of

 8  Health. Meetings of the task force are subject to sections

 9  119.07 and 286.011, Florida Statutes. The chairperson may

10  designate one of the agencies providing staff to perform

11  administrative responsibilities for the task force. The task

12  force may invite technical experts to appear at meetings and

13  provide information.

14         (d)  Task force members shall serve without

15  compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for expenses

16  incurred in carrying out their duties as provided in section

17  112.061, Florida Statutes. Members who are public officers or

18  employees shall be reimbursed through the budget entity

19  through which they are compensated. Persons invited to appear

20  and speak at task force meetings are also entitled to receive

21  per diem and travel expenses.

22         (3)(a)  To aid the task force, there is created the

23  Electric Utility Task Force Advisory Panel to provide

24  analysis, advice, and recommendations to the task force

25  regarding the existing electric utility transmission systems

26  and possible changes to the systems and to other affected

27  systems, such as telecommunications and cable systems.

28         (b)  The advisory panel shall consist of six members.

29  The President of the Senate shall appoint two members, the

30  Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint two

31  members, and the Governor shall appoint two members. One

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    Florida Senate - 2005                     CS for CS for SB 526
    585-2178-05




 1  member shall be from an electrical power utility company, one

 2  member shall be from a telecommunications company, and one

 3  member shall be from a cable system company. The remaining

 4  members may include representatives from power utility

 5  companies, electrical contractors, telecommunications

 6  companies, telecommunications systems installers, scientists

 7  who specialize in the transmission of power, engineers, and

 8  others. Members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing

 9  official, without compensation, and shall be appointed to

10  terms that do not exceed 4 years. Any vacancy on the advisory

11  panel shall be filled in the same manner as the original

12  appointment.

13         (4)  The task force shall:

14         (a)  Evaluate and analyze the current electric utility

15  transmission and distribution systems, and the current

16  telecommunications and cable systems to the extent that they

17  use the same poles or other facilities as the electric

18  systems.

19         (b)  Determine available alternatives to these systems

20  and the feasibility, costs, and reliability of these

21  alternatives, including consideration of storm conditions.

22         (c)  Compare the current systems with available,

23  feasible alternatives and determine the costs and benefits of

24  the current systems and the alternatives, including

25  consideration of the costs, both direct and indirect, of

26  continuing the maintenance, upgrading, and protection of the

27  current systems. Cost comparisons should include the

28  possibility of a phase-in of improvements, including

29  coordinating improvements with other utility or infrastructure

30  maintenance or installation.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                     CS for CS for SB 526
    585-2178-05




 1         (d)  Evaluate the problems caused by storm damages and

 2  problems with emergency response and restoration of electric,

 3  telecommunications, and cable systems.

 4         (e)  Identify facilities that provide critical services

 5  and that are required by statute or rule to provide for

 6  emergency electric power; evaluate the current electrical

 7  needs of those facilities; and recommend guidelines that

 8  onsite emergency systems should meet and sustain during

 9  post-hurricane recovery.

10         (f)  Evaluate the needs of persons with health-related

11  electric needs in their homes and what can be done to provide

12  for these needs in a storm situation.

13         (5)  The task force shall present a report of its

14  findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President of

15  the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on

16  March 1, 2006. The task force is dissolved on June 1, 2006.

17         Section 2.  There is appropriated $75,000 from the

18  General Revenue Fund to the Department of Community Affairs

19  for the 2005-2006 fiscal year to be used to pay for the

20  expenses of the task force.

21         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

22  law.

23  

24          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
25                            CS/SB 526

26                                 

27  The CS for CS for SB 526 incorporates the separate traveling
    amendments that create an electric utility advisory panel and
28  revise duties of the panel relative to the identification of
    critical services.
29  

30  

31  

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