| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Southwest Florida Water Management |
| 3 | District; amending s. 373.073, F.S.; increasing the number |
| 4 | of governing board members of the district; revising the |
| 5 | residency requirements for vacancies on the governing |
| 6 | board of the district; providing for appointment of |
| 7 | additional members and members to offices that have |
| 8 | revised residency requirements; providing an effective |
| 9 | date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph |
| 14 | (e) of subsection (2) of section 373.073, Florida Statutes, are |
| 15 | amended to read: |
| 16 | 373.073 Governing board.-- |
| 17 | (1)(a) The governing board of each water management |
| 18 | district shall be composed of 9 members who shall reside within |
| 19 | the district, except that the Southwest Florida Water Management |
| 20 | District shall be composed of 13 11 members who shall reside |
| 21 | within the district. Members of the governing boards shall be |
| 22 | appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate |
| 23 | at the next regular session of the Legislature, and the refusal |
| 24 | or failure of the Senate to confirm an appointment creates a |
| 25 | vacancy in the office to which the appointment was made. The |
| 26 | term of office for a governing board member is 4 years and |
| 27 | commences on March 2 of the year in which the appointment is |
| 28 | made and terminates on March 1 of the fourth calendar year of |
| 29 | the term or may continue until a successor is appointed, but not |
| 30 | more than 180 days. Terms of office of governing board members |
| 31 | shall be staggered to help maintain consistency and continuity |
| 32 | in the exercise of governing board duties and to minimize |
| 33 | disruption in district operations. |
| 34 | (2) Membership on governing boards shall be selected from |
| 35 | candidates who have significant experience in one or more of the |
| 36 | following areas, including, but not limited to: agriculture, the |
| 37 | development industry, local government, government-owned or |
| 38 | privately owned water utilities, law, civil engineering, |
| 39 | environmental science, hydrology, accounting, or financial |
| 40 | businesses. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other general |
| 41 | or special law to the contrary, vacancies in the governing |
| 42 | boards of the water management districts shall be filled |
| 43 | according to the following residency requirements, representing |
| 44 | areas designated by the United States Water Resources Council in |
| 45 | United States Geological Survey, River Basin and Hydrological |
| 46 | Unit Map of Florida--1975, Map Series No. 72: |
| 47 | (e) Southwest Florida Water Management District: |
| 48 | 1. Two members shall reside in Hillsborough County. |
| 49 | 2. One member shall reside in the area consisting of |
| 50 | Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. |
| 51 | 3. Two members shall reside in Pinellas County. |
| 52 | 4. One member shall reside in Manatee County. |
| 53 | 5. Two members One member shall reside in Polk County. |
| 54 | 6. One member shall reside in Pasco County. |
| 55 | 7. One member shall be appointed at large from Levy, |
| 56 | Marion, Citrus, Sumter, Hernando, and Lake Counties. |
| 57 | 8. One member shall be appointed at large from Sarasota, |
| 58 | Hardee, DeSoto, Charlotte, and Highlands Counties. |
| 59 | 9. One member shall be appointed at large from Levy, |
| 60 | Marion and, Citrus, Sumter, Hernando, Lake, Sarasota, Hardee, |
| 61 | DeSoto, Charlotte, and Highlands Counties. |
| 62 | 10. One member shall be appointed at large from Sarasota |
| 63 | and Charlotte Counties. |
| 64 |
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| 65 | No county described in subparagraph 7., subparagraph 8., or |
| 66 | subparagraph 9. shall have more than one member on the governing |
| 67 | board. |
| 68 | Section 2. Appointments to the new offices as members of |
| 69 | the Southwest Florida Water Management District which are |
| 70 | created under section 1 of this act shall be made as follows: |
| 71 | (1) The new at-large member for Levy, Citrus, Sumter, and |
| 72 | Lake Counties shall be appointed to a term of office commencing |
| 73 | after expiration of the term of the person serving as the at- |
| 74 | large member for Levy, Marion, Citrus, Sumter, Hernando, and |
| 75 | Lake Counties on the effective date of this act. |
| 76 | (2) The new at-large member for Marion and Hernando |
| 77 | Counties shall be appointed to a term of office commencing after |
| 78 | expiration of the term of the person serving as the at-large |
| 79 | member for Levy, Marion, Citrus, Sumter, Hernando, Lake, |
| 80 | Sarasota, Hardee, DeSoto, Charlotte, and Highlands Counties on |
| 81 | the effective date of this act. |
| 82 | (3) The new at-large member for Hardee, DeSoto, and |
| 83 | Highlands Counties shall be appointed to a term of office |
| 84 | commencing after expiration of the term of the person serving as |
| 85 | the at-large member for Sarasota, Hardee, DeSoto, Charlotte, and |
| 86 | Highlands Counties. |
| 87 | (4) The new at-large member created for Sarasota and |
| 88 | Charlotte Counties and the new member residing in Polk County |
| 89 | shall be appointed as soon as possible in 2007 to terms of |
| 90 | office which expire on March 1, 2011. |
| 91 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |