| 1 | Representative Nelson offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | On page 11, between line 2 and 3, insert: |
| 5 |
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| 6 | Section 9. Section 576.092, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 7 | to read: |
| 8 | 576.092 Consumer Fertilizer Task Force.-- |
| 9 | (1) The Legislature finds that: |
| 10 | (a) There is a need for better training and education |
| 11 | regarding the proper use of consumer fertilizers. |
| 12 | (b) There should exist a mechanism to help local |
| 13 | governments promote and encourage the proper use of fertilizers, |
| 14 | thereby eliminating or minimizing the potential for |
| 15 | environmental impacts. |
| 16 | (c) Local government regulation of fertilizer uses for |
| 17 | nonagricultural applications should be based on sound science, |
| 18 | including water quality, agronomics, and horticulture. |
| 19 | (d) There is a need for education regarding the use of |
| 20 | consumer fertilizers. |
| 21 | (e) There is a need for improved standards regarding |
| 22 | nonagricultural fertilizer use and application. |
| 23 | (f) While the constituents in fertilizer are naturally |
| 24 | occurring in the environment, the improper use of fertilizer can |
| 25 | be one of many contributors to nonpoint source pollution. |
| 26 | (g) The state's local governments are potentially subject |
| 27 | to regulatory enforcement action by state or federal entities as |
| 28 | a result of nonpoint source pollution caused by stormwater |
| 29 | runoff. |
| 30 | (2)(a) There is hereby created the Consumer Fertilizer |
| 31 | Task Force within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer |
| 32 | Services for the purposes of: |
| 33 | 1. Assessing existing data and information regarding |
| 34 | nutrient enrichment and surface waters due to fertilizer, |
| 35 | assessing management strategies for reducing water quality |
| 36 | impacts associated with fertilizer, and identifying additional |
| 37 | research needs. |
| 38 | 2. Developing statewide guidelines governing |
| 39 | nonagricultural fertilizer use rates, formulations, and |
| 40 | applications with attention to the geographic regions identified |
| 41 | in Rule 5E-1.003, Florida Administrative Code. |
| 42 | 3. Taking public input and testimony concerning the issues |
| 43 | in this section. |
| 44 | 4. Recommending methods to ensure local ordinances are |
| 45 | based on best available data and science and to achieve |
| 46 | uniformity among local government ordinances where possible, |
| 47 | unless local ordinance variations are necessary to meet mandated |
| 48 | state and federal water quality standards. |
| 49 | 5. Developing model ordinances for municipalities and |
| 50 | counties concerning the use of nonagricultural fertilizer. |
| 51 | (b)1. The task force shall consist of 13 members who are |
| 52 | technically qualified by training, education, or experience in |
| 53 | water quality, horticultural, or agronomic science, and who |
| 54 | shall be appointed as follows: three members appointed by the |
| 55 | President of the Senate, one of whom shall be a representative |
| 56 | from the Department of Environmental Protection, one of whom |
| 57 | shall be a representative of the environmental community, and |
| 58 | one of whom shall be a member of the Senate; three members |
| 59 | appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of |
| 60 | whom shall be a representative from a water management district, |
| 61 | one of whom shall be a representative of the University of |
| 62 | Florida's Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences, and one |
| 63 | of whom shall be a member of the House of Representatives; five |
| 64 | members appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture, one of |
| 65 | whom shall be a representative from the Department of |
| 66 | Agriculture and Consumer Services, one of whom shall be a |
| 67 | representative from the Office of Agricultural Water Policy, one |
| 68 | of whom shall be a representative from the national fertilizer |
| 69 | industry, one of whom shall be a representative from the |
| 70 | Florida-based fertilizer industry, and one of whom shall be a |
| 71 | registered landscape architect; one member appointed by the |
| 72 | Florida League of Cities, Inc.; and one member appointed by the |
| 73 | Florida Association of Counties. |
| 74 | 2. Members shall choose a chair and vice chair from the |
| 75 | membership of the task force. |
| 76 | (3) Staffing for the task force shall be provided by the |
| 77 | Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. |
| 78 | (4) The task force shall review and evaluate the issues |
| 79 | identified in paragraph (2)(a) and take public testimony. A |
| 80 | report of the recommendations and findings of the task force, |
| 81 | including recommendations for statutory changes, if any, shall |
| 82 | be submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of |
| 83 | the House of Representatives by January 15, 2008, and the task |
| 84 | force shall be abolished upon the transmittal of the report. |
| 85 |
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| 86 | ========= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ========= |
| 87 | On page 2, line 9, |
| 88 | remove: all of said line |
| 89 |
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| 90 | and insert: |
| 91 |
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| 92 | receptacle for any gas or compound; creating s. 576.092, |
| 93 | F.S.; creating the Consumer Fertilizer Task Force; |
| 94 | providing legislative findings; providing for task force |
| 95 | membership and appointment of a chair and vice chair; |
| 96 | requiring the department to staff the task force; requiring |
| 97 | a report to the Legislature by a time certain; providing |
| 98 | for abolition of the task force; providing |