Senate Bill sb2446
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2446
By Senator Saunders
37-1542A-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to climate change; creating the
3 Florida Climate Action Partnership for the
4 purpose of developing a plan and making policy
5 recommendations addressing global warming;
6 providing for membership; providing for
7 meetings and reimbursement for per diem and
8 travel expenses; directing that the partnership
9 be staffed by the Executive Office of the
10 Governor; requiring interim recommendations and
11 a report; providing for the expiration of the
12 partnership; providing an appropriation;
13 providing an effective date.
14
15 WHEREAS, man-made carbon dioxide produced by the
16 burning of fossil fuels is a leading contributor to global
17 climate change and the leading global-warming pollutant
18 released in this country, and
19 WHEREAS, the potential effects of global climate change
20 in this state and the Southeastern United States - including
21 more frequent and severe storm events and flooding; the rising
22 of sea levels; drought conditions, water supply disruption,
23 agricultural crop-yield changes, and forest productivity
24 shifts; water and air-quality degradation; and threats to
25 coastal areas, tourism, and local infrastructure - could
26 significantly affect the state's economy, the level of public
27 expenditures, and quality of life, and
28 WHEREAS, this state is particularly vulnerable to the
29 possible effects of global climate change due to the low
30 elevation of its 1,300 miles of coastline, susceptibility to
31 more intense hurricanes, the effect of drought conditions on
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2446
37-1542A-07
1 the state's unique environment, and the spread of infectious
2 disease to vulnerable populations, and
3 WHEREAS, the Century Commission for a Sustainable
4 Florida released its first annual report to the Governor and
5 Legislature and prominently recommended that: "There may be no
6 more pressing issue in our state than the impact of our
7 country's current level of use of fossil fuels on the state
8 and global environment. The relationship between our energy
9 sources and our security, economy, and environment demand a
10 bold vision. Of all the states, Florida has the most at stake
11 - and must take a leadership role," and
12 WHEREAS, the State Legislature in 2006 adopted a number
13 of clean-energy initiatives, such as chapter 2006-230, Laws of
14 Florida, establishing the Florida Energy Commission,
15 encouraging energy conservation and efficiency, the
16 development of renewable energy, strengthening clean energy
17 industries, and recommending development of a state
18 climate-mitigation action plan, and
19 WHEREAS, actions that make our homes and workplaces
20 more energy-efficient enhance energy security and
21 affordability, reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, spur
22 greater resource productivity and business innovation, provide
23 cost savings, improve air quality and public health, and
24 enhance economic development, job creation, and the quality of
25 life in this state, and
26 WHEREAS, the President of the United States has called
27 for a reduction in the use of fossil fuels and has asked
28 Congress to enact a mandatory requirement that makers of fuel
29 increase the production of renewable and alternative fuels in
30 2017, and
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2446
37-1542A-07
1 WHEREAS, this state is almost totally dependent on
2 energy imports to fund its energy needs, and
3 WHEREAS, this state, as a major agricultural producer,
4 is capable of producing large quantities of biofuels in order
5 to help meet the President's goal of replacing fossil fuels
6 with ethanol-based alternative fuels but currently lacks the
7 infrastructure to convert to that system, and
8 WHEREAS, bills have been filed in the United States
9 Congress which seek to address the issue of climate change and
10 global warming, including placing a limit on the amount of
11 carbon emitted into the atmosphere in this country, and
12 WHEREAS, this state seeks to develop market-based and
13 other private-sector emissions-reduction approaches, such as a
14 "cap and trade" system that creates a financial incentive for
15 lowering carbon emissions, and
16 WHEREAS, a deliberative stakeholder process to address
17 possible solutions to the risks of climate change will enable
18 the state to have a greater influence in eventual
19 climate-change policy determinations at the regional and
20 national level and ensure that industry in this state is in
21 the best position to benefit from future actions addressing
22 climate change, NOW, THEREFORE,
23
24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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26 Section 1. Florida Climate Action Partnership.--
27 (1) PURPOSE.--There is created the Florida Climate
28 Action Partnership (FCAP) to serve as a catalyst for
29 facilitating a cooperative dialogue about what needs to be
30 done within our state to comply with proposed federal limits
31 that would lower carbon emissions in the atmosphere over time.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2446
37-1542A-07
1 The partnership shall seek partners from all sectors and
2 levels of state industry, academia, and government to be part
3 of this effort. Those sectors include, but are not limited to,
4 residential users, commercial users, industry and
5 manufacturing, the tourism and hospitality industry,
6 agriculture, the transportation industry, the construction
7 industry, the ports and shipping industry, marine industries,
8 and others. As part of this process, the partnership shall
9 seek to identify and create incentives for technology
10 innovation, take advantage of economic opportunities for the
11 state as part of the effort to find new sources of energy, and
12 seek private-sector solutions and market-based mechanisms to
13 help solve problems related to reducing carbon emissions. To
14 that effect, the partnership shall identify a range of
15 opportunities to reduce carbon emissions in all sectors of
16 Florida's economy, including the trading of carbon emission
17 credits and the creation of offsets for energy savings.
18 (2) MEMBERSHIP.--
19 (a) The partnership shall be composed of 25 members
20 including:
21 1. The Governor, who shall serve as the chair;
22 2. The President of the Senate;
23 3. The Speaker of the House of Representatives;
24 4. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer
25 Services;
26 5. The Chief Financial Officer;
27 6. Eight members appointed by the Governor;
28 7. Five members appointed by the President of the
29 Senate, one of whom shall be the Chair of the Senate Committee
30 on Environmental Preservation and Conservation;
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2446
37-1542A-07
1 8. Five members appointed by the Speaker of the House
2 of Representatives, one of whom shall be the Chair of the
3 House Committee on Environmental Preservation; and
4 9. Two members appointed by the Commissioner of
5 Agriculture and Consumer Services.
6 (b) Members appointed to the partnership must occupy
7 positions of leadership within their respective fields.
8 (c) Members of the partnership shall serve without
9 compensation. The Executive Office of the Governor and the
10 Legislature shall support the travel, per diem, and other
11 expenses of its representatives, and nonlegislative members
12 are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses
13 from partnership funding in accordance with s. 112.061,
14 Florida Statutes.
15 (3) MEETINGS.--The partnership shall hold a minimum of
16 four public meetings in locations throughout the state to be
17 determined by the chair for the purpose of taking public
18 testimony and seeking input from interested parties.
19 (4) ACTION PLAN.--The goal of the partnership is to
20 develop a comprehensive Florida Climate Mitigation Action Plan
21 that includes a full range of policy recommendations
22 addressing all state economic sectors, as well as
23 recommendations for meeting short- and long-term greenhouse
24 gas-reduction goals. The plan must be fact based and developed
25 through a statewide stakeholder consensus process. In
26 developing plan recommendations, the partnership shall
27 consider the findings of a statewide inventory and forecast of
28 energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, by sector, from all
29 sources. Specifically, the partnership shall develop policy
30 recommendations that address, but are not limited to:
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2446
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1 (a) Clean, low-emitting, and renewable energy sources,
2 including advanced energy and power-generation technologies.
3 (b) Energy efficiency and conservation for buildings,
4 equipment, and appliances and other key building design
5 considerations.
6 (c) Greater energy efficiency in the state's
7 transportation system and land use within the growth
8 management system which decreases travel and energy
9 consumption.
10 (d) Agricultural and forestry conservation that
11 promotes carbon sequestration and bioenergy.
12 (e) Waste management and recovery and waste-energy
13 recycling.
14 (f) The management of, and alternatives to, high
15 global-warming-potential refrigerants and the identification
16 and sequestration of high global-warming-potential gases used
17 in industrial processes.
18 (g) The possibility that the federal government or the
19 state may choose to limit by law the amount of carbon emitted
20 into the atmosphere in order to reduce the build-up of
21 greenhouse gases which produces climate change.
22 (h) The use of market mechanisms including a "cap and
23 trade" system and other means to reduce the build up of
24 greenhouse gases.
25 (i) Responses to climate change which can have a
26 positive effect on the price and availability of property and
27 casualty insurance.
28 (j) The continuation of the partnership beyond 2008
29 for the purpose of responding to future climate-change effects
30 as well as evolving national policies, and assisting with the
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2446
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1 long-term implementation of the climate mitigation action
2 plan.
3 (5) STAFFING.--The partnership shall be staffed by the
4 Executive Office of the Governor.
5 (6) REPORT.--The partnership shall provide a list of
6 policy recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature by
7 February 1, 2008, for consideration during the 2008
8 legislative session. A final report which includes the Florida
9 Climate Mitigation Action Plan shall be submitted no later
10 than October 1, 2008.
11 (7) EXPIRATION.--Unless renewed by the Legislature,
12 the partnership shall be dissolved December 31, 2008.
13 Section 2. The sum of $500,000 is appropriated from
14 the General Revenue Fund to fund the activities of the Florida
15 Climate Action Partnership.
16 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
17 law.
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20 SENATE SUMMARY
21 Creates the Florida Climate Action Partnership for the
purpose of making policy recommendations concerning
22 global warming. Provides for membership, meetings, and
reimbursement for travel and per diem expenses. Directs
23 that the partnership be staffed by the Executive Office
of the Governor. Requires a report. Provides for the
24 expiration of the partnership.
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