Florida Senate - 2009 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 274
Barcode 825862
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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The Committee on General Government Appropriations (Dean)
recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Florida Springs Stewardship Task Force.—
6 (1) FINDINGS.-The Legislature finds that:
7 (a) Florida’s springs are valuable resources that provide
8 recreational and tourism opportunities, significant financial
9 benefit to local economies, and critical habitat for endangered
10 or threatened plant and animal species.
11 (b) The flow and water quality of Florida’s springs are
12 direct reflections of the aquifer systems in Florida and
13 consequently are indicators of the condition of a significant
14 portion of the state’s water resources.
15 (c) Cooperative efforts are best for identifying best
16 management practices for the protection, restoration, and
17 preservation of the state’s water resources, including springs.
18 (d) The state’s residents want to be good stewards of the
19 state’s resources and, through educational awareness programs,
20 will voluntarily implement best-management practices into their
21 daily activities.
22 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
23 (a) “Seep” means a place where the water table aquifer
24 intersects the land surface and flows onto the land.
25 (b) “Spring” means a point where ground water is discharged
26 onto the earth’s surface, including under any surface water of
27 the state, and excludes seeps.
28 (c) “Zone of influence” means the geographic area that
29 contributes most directly to the water quantity and quality of a
30 spring.
31 (3) TASK FORCE.—
32 (a) The Florida Springs Stewardship Task Force is created
33 and shall consist of nine members as follows:
34 1. One representative from the Department of Environmental
35 Protection, to be appointed by the Secretary of Environmental
36 Protection.
37 2. One representative from the Department of Agriculture
38 and Consumer Services, to be appointed by the Commissioner of
39 Agriculture.
40 3. One representative from the Department of Community
41 Affairs, to be appointed by the Secretary of Community Affairs.
42 4. One representative from the water management district
43 that has the greatest number of first-magnitude springs within
44 its jurisdiction, to be appointed by the executive director of
45 that water management district.
46 5. Two members appointed by the President of the Senate,
47 one of whom shall be a representative of the development
48 community and one of whom shall be a representative of a local
49 chamber of commerce.
50 6. Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
51 Representatives, one of whom shall be a locally elected county
52 or municipal official and one of whom shall be a representative
53 of the environmental community.
54 7. One member appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture
55 who shall be a representative of the agricultural community.
56 (b) Task force members shall be appointed by August 1,
57 2009. Members shall choose a chair and vice chair from the
58 membership of the task force.
59 (c) The task force shall:
60 1. Collect and inventory all existing data identifying the
61 zone of influence for each of the state’s 33 known first
62 magnitude springs and identifying land uses in these areas.
63 2. Identify and compile a list of existing best-management
64 practices for identified land uses and other water pollutant
65 controls.
66 3. Identify all existing and reasonably expected funding
67 sources available to implement best-management practices and
68 other water pollutant controls that protect the state’s first
69 magnitude springs and propose a priority list of projects for
70 funding.
71 4. Take public input and testimony regarding issues related
72 to spring protection, restoration, and preservation.
73 5. Propose a program that emphasizes education and outreach
74 and that encourages the implementation of best-management
75 practices for agricultural and nonagricultural land uses and
76 other water pollutant controls, including specific provisions
77 for cost-share assistance with the implementation of such
78 practices, as well as recognition of agricultural and
79 nonagricultural landowners who participate in the program.
80 6. The task force shall submit a report summarizing the
81 data collected, public input and testimony, and the findings and
82 proposals of the task force to the President of the Senate and
83 the Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 31, 2010.
84 (d) All state agencies are directed, and all other agencies
85 and local governments are requested, to render assistance to and
86 cooperate with the task force.
87 (e) The task force expires January 31, 2010.
88 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.
89
90 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
91 And the title is amended as follows:
92 Delete everything before the enacting clause
93 and insert:
94 A bill to be entitled
95 An act relating to the protection of springs;
96 providing legislative findings; providing definitions;
97 creating the Florida Springs Stewardship Task Force;
98 providing membership; providing duties for the task
99 force; requiring that the task force submit a report
100 to the Legislature by a specified date; directing
101 state agencies and requesting other agencies and local
102 governments to provide assistance to and cooperate
103 with the task force; providing for future expiration
104 of the task force; providing an effective date.