1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to the water management districts;

3

reenacting ss. 373.069, 373.0693, 373.0695, 373.073, and

4

373.083, F.S., relating to the creation of the water

5

management districts, pursuant to the provisions of the

6

Florida Government Accountability Act; amending s.

7

373.0693, F.S.; eliminating the Oklawaha River Basin

8

Advisory Council; amending s. 373.323, F.S.; providing for

9

applicants who meet certain conditions to be certified as

10

a licensed water well contractor; amending s. 373.503,

11

F.S.; providing that a water management district's millage

12

rate is subject to annual authorization by the

13

Legislature; requiring the Legislature to annually review

14

a district's millage rate is subject to annual

15

authorization by the Legislature; requiring the

16

Legislature to annually review a district's millage rate;

17

requiring the Legislature to annually set the amount of

18

revenue authorized to be raised by a district from ad

19

valorem taxes; providing for the amount of authorized

20

revenue to be raised by a district if the Legislature does

21

not set the amount by a specified date; amending s.

22

373.536, F.S.; revising the beginning and ending dates of

23

a district's fiscal year; revising the date by which a

24

district must submit a tentative budget to the Governor

25

and the Legislature; eliminating the authorization for the

26

Legislature to comment on such budgets; eliminating the

27

requirement for districts to respond to such comments and

28

to forward such responses to the Governor and Legislature;

29

revising the date by which the Executive Office of the

30

Governor must file a specified report with the

31

Legislature; directing districts to implement conforming

32

measures; providing for legislative review of certain

33

district expenditures; amending s. 373.079, F.S.; revising

34

meeting requirements for members of the governing boards

35

of the water management districts, as provided in s.

36

120.54, F.S.; providing an effective date.

37

38

     WHEREAS, ss. 11.901-11.920, Florida Statutes, the Florida

39

Government Accountability Act, subjects the water management

40

districts and each district's respective advisory committees to

41

a sunset review process in order to determine whether the

42

districts should be retained, modified, or abolished, and

43

     WHEREAS, the water management districts produced reports

44

providing specific information, as enumerated in s. 11.906,

45

Florida Statutes, and

46

     WHEREAS, upon receipt of the reports, the Joint

47

Legislative Sunset Committee and committees of the Senate and

48

the House of Representatives assigned to act as sunset review

49

committees reviewed the reports and requested studies by the

50

Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government

51

Accountability, and

52

     WHEREAS, based on the reports of the water management

53

districts, studies of the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

54

Government Accountability, and public input, the Joint

55

Legislative Sunset Committee and legislative sunset review

56

committees made recommendations on the abolition, continuation,

57

or reorganization of the water management districts and each

58

district's advisory committees; on the need for the functions

59

performed by the districts and the advisory committees; and on

60

the consolidation, transfer, or reorganization of programs

61

within the water management districts, NOW, THEREFORE,

62

63

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

64

65

     Section 1. Sections 373.069, 373.0693, 373.0695, 373.073,

66

and 373.083, Florida Statutes are reenacted.

67

     Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section

68

373.0693, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

69

     373.0693  Basins; basin boards.--

70

     (8)(a)  At 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 1988, the area transferred

71

from the Southwest Florida Water Management District to the St.

72

Johns River Water Management District by change of boundaries

73

pursuant to chapter 76-243, Laws of Florida, shall cease to be a

74

subdistrict or basin of the St. Johns River Water Management

75

District known as the Oklawaha River Basin and said Oklawaha

76

River Basin shall cease to exist. However, any recognition of an

77

Oklawaha River Basin or an Oklawaha River Hydrologic Basin for

78

regulatory purposes shall be unaffected. The area formerly known

79

as the Oklawaha River Basin shall continue to be part of the St.

80

Johns River Water Management District. There shall be established

81

by the governing board of the St. Johns River Water Management

82

District the Oklawaha River Basin Advisory Council to receive

83

public input and advise the St. Johns River Water Management

84

District's governing board on water management issues affecting

85

the Oklawaha River Basin. The Oklawaha River Basin Advisory

86

Council shall be appointed by action of the St. Johns River Water

87

Management District's governing board and shall include one

88

representative from each county which is wholly or partly

89

included in the Oklawaha River Basin. The St. Johns River Water

90

Management District's governing board member currently serving

91

pursuant to s. 373.073(2)(c)3. shall serve as chair of the

92

Oklawaha River Basin Advisory Council. Members of the Oklawaha

93

River Basin Advisory Council shall receive no compensation for

94

their services but are entitled to be reimbursed for per diem and

95

travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061.

96

     Section 3.  Subsection (3) of section 373.323, Florida

97

Statutes, is amended to read:

98

     373.323  Licensure of water well contractors; application,

99

qualifications, and examinations; equipment identification.--

100

     (3)  An applicant who meets the following requirements shall

101

be entitled to take the water well contractor licensure

102

examination to practice water well contracting:

103

     (a)  Is at least 18 years of age.

104

     (b)  Has at least 2 years of experience in constructing,

105

repairing, or abandoning water wells. Satisfactory proof of such

106

experience shall be demonstrated by providing:

107

     1. Evidence of the length of time the applicant has been

108

engaged in the business of the construction, abandonment, and

109

repair of water wells as a major activity, as attested to by

110

three letters from any of the following persons:

111

     a. Water well contractors.

112

     b. Water well drillers.

113

     c. Water well parts and equipment vendors.

114

     d. Water well inspectors employed by a governmental agency.

115

     2. A list of at least 10 water wells that the applicant has

116

constructed, repaired, or abandoned, which includes the following

117

information:

118

     a. The name and address of the owner or owners of each

119

well.

120

     b. The location, primary use, and approximate depth and

121

diameter of each well that the applicant has constructed,

122

repaired, or abandoned.

123

     c. The approximate date the construction, repair, or

124

abandonment of each well was completed.

125

     3. All listed wells must have been constructed, repaired,

126

or abandoned within 5 years immediately preceding the filing of

127

the license application. At least seven of the 10 water wells

128

must have been constructed by the applicant, as defined in s.

129

373.303(2).

130

     (c)  Has completed the application form and remitted a

131

nonrefundable application fee.

132

     Section 4.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section

133

373.503, Florida Statutes, is amended, subsection (5) is

134

renumbered as subsection (6), and a new subsection (5) is added

135

to that section, to read:

136

     373.503  Manner of taxation.--

137

     (3)(a) Subject to annual authorization by the Legislature

138

to levy ad valorem taxes under subsection (5), the districts may

139

levy ad valorem taxes on property within the district solely for

140

the purposes of this chapter and of chapter 25270, 1949, Laws of

141

Florida, as amended, and chapter 61-691, Laws of Florida, as

142

amended. The authority to levy ad valorem taxes as provided in

143

this act shall commence with the year 1977. However, the taxes

144

levied for 1977 by the governing boards pursuant to this section

145

shall be prorated to ensure that no such taxes will be levied for

146

the first 4 days of the tax year, which days will fall prior to

147

the effective date of the amendment to s. 9(b), Art. VII of the

148

State Constitution, which was approved March 9, 1976. When

149

appropriate, taxes levied by each governing board may be

150

separated by the governing board into a millage necessary for the

151

purposes of the district and a millage necessary for financing

152

basin functions specified in s. 373.0695. Beginning with the

153

taxing year 1977, and Notwithstanding the provisions of any other

154

general or special law to the contrary and subject to annual

155

authorization by the Legislature to levy ad valorem taxes under

156

subsection (5), the maximum total millage rate for district and

157

basin purposes shall be:

158

     1.  Northwest Florida Water Management District: 0.05 mill.

159

     2.  Suwannee River Water Management District: 0.75 mill.

160

     3.  St. Johns River Water Management District: 0.6 mill.

161

     4.  Southwest Florida Water Management District: 1.0 mill.

162

     5.  South Florida Water Management District: 0.80 mill.

163

     (5) To ensure that the taxes authorized by this chapter

164

continue to be in proportion to the benefits derived by the

165

several parcels of real estate within the districts, the

166

Legislature shall annually review the authorized millage rate for

167

each district and annually set the maximum amount of revenue

168

authorized to be raised by each district from the taxes

169

authorized by this chapter. However, if the annual maximum amount

170

of revenue authorized to be raised by each district is not set by

171

the Legislature on or before July 1 of each year, each district

172

is authorized to raise the amount of revenue authorized by the

173

Legislature in the preceding fiscal year and adjusted by the

174

percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding

175

fiscal year.

176

     Section 5.  Subsections (1) and (2) and paragraphs (c), (e),

177

and (f) of subsection (5) of section 373.536, Florida Statutes,

178

are amended, and subsection (7) is added to that section, to

179

read:

180

     373.536  District budget and hearing thereon.--

181

     (1)  FISCAL YEAR.--The fiscal year of districts created

182

under the provisions of this chapter shall extend from July

183

October 1 of one year through June September 30 of the following

184

year.

185

     (2)  BUDGET SUBMITTAL.--The budget officer of the district

186

shall, on or before July 15 of each year, submit for

187

consideration by the governing board of the district a tentative

188

budget for the district covering its proposed operations and

189

funding requirements for the ensuing fiscal year.

190

     (5)  TENTATIVE BUDGET CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION; REVIEW AND

191

APPROVAL.--

192

     (c) Each water management district shall, by February

193

August 1 of each year, submit for review a tentative budget to

194

the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the

195

House of Representatives, the chairs of all legislative

196

committees and subcommittees with substantive or fiscal

197

jurisdiction over water management districts, as determined by

198

the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of

199

Representatives as applicable, the secretary of the department,

200

and the governing body of each county in which the district has

201

jurisdiction or derives any funds for the operations of the

202

district.

203

     (e) By September 5 of the year in which the budget is

204

submitted, the House and Senate appropriations chairs may

205

transmit to each district comments and objections to the proposed

206

budgets. Each district governing board shall include a response

207

to such comments and objections in the record of the governing

208

board meeting where final adoption of the budget takes place, and

209

the record of this meeting shall be transmitted to the Executive

210

Office of the Governor, the department, and the chairs of the

211

House and Senate appropriations committees.

212

     (e)(f) The Executive Office of the Governor shall annually,

213

on or before September December 15, file with the Legislature a

214

report that summarizes its review of the water management

215

districts' tentative budgets and displays the adopted budget

216

allocations by program area. The report must identify the

217

districts that are not in compliance with the reporting

218

requirements of this section. State funds shall be withheld from

219

a water management district that fails to comply with these

220

reporting requirements.

221

     (7) PROPOSED EXPENDITURES.--Before the governing board of a

222

water management district approves any acquisition, project, or

223

project component that constitutes a commitment to expend more

224

than 25 percent of the district's audited total revenue for the

225

prior fiscal year, the governing board must submit the proposed

226

expenditure to the Legislative Budget Commission for approval.

227

     Section 6. For the 2008-2009 and the 2009-2010 fiscal

228

years, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the water

229

management districts are directed to budget and plan for their

230

fiscal management to conform to the provisions of this act.

231

     Section 7.  Subsection (7) of section 373.079, Florida

232

Statutes, is amended to read:

233

     373.079  Members of governing board; oath of office;

234

staff.--

235

     (7)  The governing board shall meet at least once a month

236

and upon call of the chair. The governing board, a basin board, a

237

committee, or an advisory board may conduct meetings by means of

238

communications media technology as provided in the uniform rules

239

of procedure adopted pursuant to s. 120.54.

240

     Section 8.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.