| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to aggregate mining; providing legislative |
| 3 | findings regarding construction aggregate materials; |
| 4 | creating the Strategic Aggregates Review Task Force; |
| 5 | providing purpose; providing for task force membership; |
| 6 | providing for members to be reimbursed for certain |
| 7 | expenses; providing for staffing and administrative |
| 8 | support; requiring a report to the Governor and the |
| 9 | Legislature; providing report requirements; providing for |
| 10 | expiration of the task force; creating s. 337.026, F.S.; |
| 11 | authorizing the Department of Transportation to pursue |
| 12 | innovative engineering techniques relating to construction |
| 13 | aggregate materials; authorizing the department to enter |
| 14 | into agreements for construction aggregate materials; |
| 15 | providing exceptions; providing requirements for such |
| 16 | exceptions; establishing a pilot project for the |
| 17 | extraction of construction aggregate materials; amending |
| 18 | s. 378.412, F.S.; prohibiting local governments from |
| 19 | enacting or enforcing ordinances, resolutions, |
| 20 | regulations, rules, policies, or other actions that |
| 21 | prohibit mining in certain lands zoned for mining; |
| 22 | providing an expedited permitting process for certain |
| 23 | limerock environmental resource permitting and reclamation |
| 24 | applications; providing requirements for the challenge of |
| 25 | agency actions; providing an effective date. |
| 26 |
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| 27 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 28 |
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| 29 | Section 1. Strategic Aggregates Review Task Force.-- |
| 30 | (1) The Legislature finds there is a strategic and |
| 31 | critical need for construction aggregate materials within the |
| 32 | state and disruption of the supply of these materials would |
| 33 | cause significant detriment to the construction industry, |
| 34 | transportation system, and overall health, safety, and welfare |
| 35 | of the state. "Construction aggregate materials" means crushed |
| 36 | stone, limestone, dolomite, limerock, shell rock, high quality |
| 37 | sand, and other mined resources providing the basic materials of |
| 38 | concrete, asphalt, and road base. |
| 39 | (2) The Legislature hereby creates the Strategic |
| 40 | Aggregates Review Task Force to evaluate the current situation |
| 41 | and disposition of construction aggregate materials and mining |
| 42 | practices. The task force shall be composed of 18 members as |
| 43 | follows: |
| 44 | (a) The President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House |
| 45 | of Representatives, and the Governor shall each appoint one |
| 46 | member from each of the following groups: |
| 47 | 1. The mining or construction industry. |
| 48 | 2. The transportation industry, including seaports, |
| 49 | trucking, railroads, or road building. |
| 50 | 3. An elected county government. |
| 51 | 4. An environmental advocacy group. |
| 52 | 5. The Florida League of Cities, Inc. |
| 53 | (b) The Secretary of Environmental Protection or his or |
| 54 | her designee. |
| 55 | (c) The Secretary of Community Affairs or his or her |
| 56 | designee. |
| 57 | (d) The Secretary of Transportation or his or her |
| 58 | designee. |
| 59 | (3) Members of the task force shall serve without |
| 60 | compensation but are entitled to receive reimbursement for |
| 61 | travel and per diem expenses incurred in connection with the |
| 62 | official conduct of the task force as provided in s. 112.061, |
| 63 | Florida Statutes. |
| 64 | (4) The Department of Transportation is directed to |
| 65 | organize and provide support for the task force and to |
| 66 | coordinate with other agencies of government to provide |
| 67 | supporting information as may be needed for review by the task |
| 68 | force. The Department of Transportation is authorized to work |
| 69 | cooperatively with other agencies to conduct supporting studies |
| 70 | as may be required to provide information to or otherwise assist |
| 71 | the task force in its review and deliberations. The Department |
| 72 | of Transportation is directed to be a clearinghouse for |
| 73 | information related to construction aggregate materials and to |
| 74 | provide technical and supporting information regarding the |
| 75 | amount of such materials used by the department on road |
| 76 | infrastructure projects. |
| 77 | (5) The task force shall report its findings on the |
| 78 | current situation and disposition of construction aggregate |
| 79 | materials and mining practices, identify locations with |
| 80 | significant concentrations of construction aggregate materials, |
| 81 | and recommend actions intended to ensure the continued |
| 82 | extraction and availability of construction aggregate materials |
| 83 | to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of |
| 84 | the House of Representatives by February 1, 2008. |
| 85 | (6) Appointments to the task force shall be made no later |
| 86 | than 30 days after the effective date of this act. The task |
| 87 | force shall expire 1 year from the effective date of this act |
| 88 | unless reenacted by the Legislature. |
| 89 | Section 2. Section 337.026, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 90 | to read: |
| 91 | 337.026 Authority of department to enter into agreements |
| 92 | for construction aggregate materials.-- |
| 93 | (1) The department is authorized to pursue innovative |
| 94 | engineering techniques that will provide the department with |
| 95 | reliable and economic supplies of construction aggregate |
| 96 | materials that have the intended effect of controlling time and |
| 97 | cost increases on construction projects. |
| 98 | (2) The department is authorized to enter into agreements |
| 99 | with private or public entities. Such agreements may include, |
| 100 | but are not limited to, department acquisition of materials or |
| 101 | resources or long-term leases for a term not to exceed 99 years |
| 102 | that will advance the state's transportation needs. |
| 103 | (3) To the maximum extent practical, the department must |
| 104 | use the existing process to award and administer such innovative |
| 105 | engineering techniques. When specific innovative engineering |
| 106 | techniques are to be used, the department is not required to |
| 107 | adhere to those provisions of law that would prevent, preclude, |
| 108 | or in any way prohibit the department from using the innovative |
| 109 | engineering technique. However, prior to using an innovative |
| 110 | engineering technique that is inconsistent with another |
| 111 | provision of law, the department must document in writing the |
| 112 | need for the exception and identify what benefits the traveling |
| 113 | public and the affected community are anticipated to receive. |
| 114 | (4) The department's District 1 is specifically directed, |
| 115 | as a pilot project, to coordinate with the applicable regional |
| 116 | planning council, metropolitan planning organizations, and local |
| 117 | governments to facilitate and expedite the approval of the |
| 118 | extraction of the construction aggregate materials. |
| 119 | Section 3. Section 378.412, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 120 | to read: |
| 121 | 378.412 Relationship with other laws.-- |
| 122 | (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that ss. |
| 123 | 378.202-378.804 supplement other laws regarding resource |
| 124 | extraction. Nothing contained in such sections shall be |
| 125 | construed to limit, abridge, or alter any agency's duties, |
| 126 | authority, and responsibilities granted pursuant to another |
| 127 | statute. Nothing in ss. 378.202-378.804 shall be deemed to |
| 128 | preempt local ordinances that impose stricter reclamation |
| 129 | standards, except that no county or municipality shall enact or |
| 130 | enforce any ordinance, resolution, regulation, rule, policy, or |
| 131 | other action which prohibits or prevents the construction or |
| 132 | operation of a limestone mine on lands where mining is a |
| 133 | permissible use or on lands zoned or classified as mining lands |
| 134 | on or after March 1, 2007. |
| 135 | (2) Due to the state's critical infrastructure needs and |
| 136 | the potential shortfall in available construction aggregate |
| 137 | materials, limerock environmental resource permitting and |
| 138 | reclamation applications filed after March 1, 2007, are eligible |
| 139 | for the expedited permitting process under s. 403.973. |
| 140 | Challenges to state agency action in the expedited permitting |
| 141 | process for establishment of a limerock mine in this state under |
| 142 | s. 403.973 are subject to the same requirements as challenges |
| 143 | brought under s. 403.973(15)(a), except that, notwithstanding s. |
| 144 | 120.574, summary proceedings must be conducted within 30 days |
| 145 | after a party files the motion for summary hearing, regardless |
| 146 | of whether the parties agree to the summary proceeding. |
| 147 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |