Florida Senate - 2010 SB 1952
By Senator Detert
23-00959E-10 20101952__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to water resources; amending s.
3 373.0693, F.S.; revising the requirements for
4 membership on a basin board and the Manasota Basin
5 Board; deleting obsolete provisions; amending s.
6 373.171, F.S.; specifying that cooperative funding
7 programs are not subject to rulemaking; providing an
8 effective date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Subsections (2) through (7) of section 373.0693,
13 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
14 373.0693 Basins; basin boards.—
15 (2) Each basin shall be under the control of a basin board
16 which shall be composed of at least not less than three members,
17 including one or more representatives but shall include one
18 representative from each of the counties included in the basin.
19 (3) Except for a member of the district governing board
20 serving pursuant to subsection (6), each member of a the various
21 basin board boards shall be appointed serve for a period of 3
22 years or until a successor is appointed, but not more than 180
23 days after the end of the term. If a successor is not appointed
24 within 180 days, a quorum of the total remaining members of the
25 basin board may continue to transact official business until a
26 successor is appointed., except that The board membership of
27 each new basin board shall be divided into three groups as
28 equally as possible, with members in such groups to be appointed
29 for 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Except for a member of the
30 district governing board serving on a basin board pursuant to
31 subsection (6), the members of each basin board shall choose a
32 vice chair and a secretary to serve for a period of 1 year. The
33 term of office of a basin board member commences shall be
34 construed to commence on March 2 preceding the date of
35 appointment and terminates to terminate March 1 of the year of
36 the end of a term or may continue until a successor is
37 appointed, but not more than 180 days after the end of the
38 expired term. The term of a member of the district governing
39 board serving on the basin board is the same as his or her term
40 of service on the governing board.
41 (4) Except for a member of the district governing board
42 serving on the basin board pursuant to subsection (6), members
43 of a basin board boards shall be appointed by the Governor,
44 subject to confirmation by the Senate at the next regular
45 session of the Legislature; and the refusal or failure of the
46 Senate to confirm an appointment creates shall create a vacancy
47 in the office to which the appointment was made.
48 (5) Basin board members shall serve without receive no
49 compensation for services as such; but are entitled to
50 reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s.
51 112.061, while officially on work for the district, they shall
52 receive their actual travel expenses between their respective
53 places of residence and the place where official district
54 business is conducted, subsistence, lodging, and other expenses
55 in the amount actually incurred. These expenses may not exceed
56 the statutory amount allowed state officers and employees. This
57 subsection applies retroactively to the effective date of the
58 creation of each of the five separate water management
59 districts.
60 (6)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the
61 provisions of any other general or special law to the contrary,
62 a member of the district governing board of the district
63 residing in the basin or, if no member resides in the basin, a
64 member of the governing board designated by the chair of the
65 governing board shall be a voting member of the basin board
66 having the same rights, duties, and responsibilities as other
67 members including being counted for purposes of establishing a
68 quorum.
69 (a) The governing board member shall serve as the chair of
70 the basin board. If alternate governing board members are
71 appointed, each shall rotate as basin board co-chair. A The
72 chair or co-chair shall preside at all meetings of the basin
73 board, except that the vice chair may preside in the his or her
74 absence of the chair or a co-chair. The chair shall be the
75 liaison officer of the district in all affairs in the basin and
76 shall be kept informed of all such affairs.
77 (b) Basin boards within the Southwest Florida Water
78 Management District shall meet regularly as determined by a
79 majority vote of the basin board members. Subject to notice
80 requirements of chapter 120, special meetings, both emergency
81 and nonemergency, may be called either by the chair or the
82 elected vice chair of the basin board or upon request of two
83 basin board members. The district staff shall include on the
84 agenda of any basin board meeting any item for discussion or
85 action requested by a member of that basin board. The district
86 staff shall notify any basin board, as well as their respective
87 counties, of any vacancies occurring in the district governing
88 board or their respective basin boards.
89 (7) At 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 1976, the Manasota
90 Watershed Basin of the Ridge and Lower Gulf Coast Water
91 Management District, which is annexed to the Southwest Florida
92 Water Management District by change of its boundaries pursuant
93 to chapter 76-243, Laws of Florida, shall be formed into a
94 subdistrict or basin of the Southwest Florida Water Management
95 District, subject to the same provisions as the other basins in
96 such district. Such subdistrict shall be designated initially as
97 the Manasota Basin. The members of the governing board of the
98 Manasota Watershed Basin of the Ridge and Lower Gulf Coast Water
99 Management District shall become members of the governing board
100 of the Manasota Basin of the Southwest Florida Water Management
101 District. Notwithstanding other provisions in this section,
102 beginning on July 1, 2010 2001, the membership of the Manasota
103 Basin Board shall be comprised of two members from Manatee
104 County, and two members from Sarasota County, and the member of
105 the district governing board serving on the basin board pursuant
106 to subsection (6). Matters relating to tie votes shall be
107 resolved pursuant to subsection (6) by the chair designated by
108 the governing board to vote in case of a tie vote.
109 Section 2. Subsection (5) is added to section 373.171,
110 Florida Statutes, to read:
111 373.171 Rules.—
112 (5) Cooperative funding programs approved by the board are
113 not subject to rulemaking. However, any portion of an approved
114 program which affects the substantial interests of a party is
115 subject to s. 120.569.
116 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.