| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the acquisition of a privately owned |
| 3 | water-wastewater utility system; providing legislative |
| 4 | findings and intent with respect to the need for the Pasco |
| 5 | County Board of County Commissioners to acquire Aloha |
| 6 | Utilities, Inc.; providing definitions; requiring the |
| 7 | Department of Environmental Protection to distribute |
| 8 | financial assistance to Pasco County for the purpose of |
| 9 | acquiring Aloha Utilities, Inc.; requiring the county to |
| 10 | issue bonds to fully fund the acquisition; requiring the |
| 11 | department to report to the Governor and the Legislature |
| 12 | by a specified date; providing an appropriation; providing |
| 13 | an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Program to acquire a privately owned water- |
| 18 | wastewater utility system.-- |
| 19 | (1) The Legislature finds that those portions of Pasco |
| 20 | County which are served by Aloha Utilities, Inc., a privately |
| 21 | owned water-wastewater utility system, are experiencing a |
| 22 | present threat to the environment and a present threat to the |
| 23 | health of the utility customers. In addition, the monopoly |
| 24 | utility's lack of a working customer service program and lack of |
| 25 | responsiveness to customer complaints has created a breakdown in |
| 26 | trust that is irreconcilable. It is therefore the intent of the |
| 27 | Legislature to appropriate funds to Pasco County for the purpose |
| 28 | of acquiring Aloha Utilities, Inc. |
| 29 | (2) As used in this section, the term: |
| 30 | (a) "Pasco County" means the Pasco County Board of County |
| 31 | Commissioners. |
| 32 | (b) "Department" means the Department of Environmental |
| 33 | Protection. |
| 34 | (c) "Aloha Utilities, Inc.," means the privately owned |
| 35 | water-wastewater company franchised by Pasco County to operate |
| 36 | in certain portions of the county. |
| 37 | (3) The department shall distribute financial assistance |
| 38 | to Pasco County in the form of an appropriation for the purpose |
| 39 | of acquiring Aloha Utilities, Inc., at its fair market value. |
| 40 | Pasco County shall issue bonds to fully fund the purchase of |
| 41 | Aloha Utilities, Inc. |
| 42 | (4) By January 1, 2009, the department shall provide to |
| 43 | the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of |
| 44 | the House of Representatives a report concerning the status of |
| 45 | the acquisition by Pasco County of Aloha Utilities, Inc. |
| 46 | Section 2. The sum of $6 million in nonrecurring revenue |
| 47 | is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department |
| 48 | of Environmental Protection to distribute to Pasco County for |
| 49 | the purpose of funding the acquisition of Aloha Utilities, Inc. |
| 50 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |