CS for CS for SB 1952 First Engrossed
20101952e1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to water management districts;
3 amending s. 373.1961, F.S.; authorizing water
4 management districts to use certain moneys in the
5 Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund
6 for water resource development projects; amending s.
7 373.0693, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the
8 membership of basin boards; specifying the terms of
9 service for basin board members designated by district
10 governing board chairs; providing that basin board
11 members designated by district governing board chairs
12 are voting members and counted for quorum purposes;
13 providing for designated district governing board
14 members to serve as basin board chairs and co-chairs;
15 providing that a quorum of remaining members may
16 conduct business if there is a vacancy on the board;
17 revising provisions relating to the membership of the
18 Manasota Basin Board; providing for the designation of
19 a member of the district governing board to serve on
20 the basin board; amending s. 373.171, F.S.; exempting
21 cooperative funding programs from certain rulemaking
22 requirements; amending s. 373.228, F.S.; revising
23 legislative intent relating to landscape irrigation
24 restrictions; providing that local governments may
25 adopt restrictions set forth in district rules or
26 orders; providing an effective date.
27
28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
31 373.1961, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
32 373.1961 Water production; general powers and duties;
33 identification of needs; funding criteria; economic incentives;
34 reuse funding.—
35 (3) FUNDING.—
36 (c) The financial assistance for alternative water supply
37 projects allocated in each district’s budget as required in s.
38 373.196(6) shall be combined with the state funds and used to
39 assist in funding the project construction costs of alternative
40 water supply projects selected by the governing board. If the
41 district has not completed any regional water supply plan, or
42 the regional water supply plan does not identify the need for
43 any alternative water supply projects, Funds deposited in the
44 Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund to the
45 credit of the Northwest Florida Water Management District and
46 the Suwannee River Water Management District that district’s
47 trust fund may also be used for regional water supply planning,
48 water resource development, and water resource projects,
49 including, but not limited to, springs protection.
50 Section 2. Subsections (1) through (7) of section 373.0693,
51 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
52 373.0693 Basins; basin boards.—
53 (1)(a) Any areas within a district may be designated by the
54 district governing board as subdistricts or basins. The
55 designations of such basins shall be made by resolution of the
56 district governing board by resolutions thereof. The governing
57 board of the district may change the boundaries of such basins,
58 or create new basins, by resolution.
59 (b) No subdistrict or basin in the St. Johns River Water
60 Management District other than established by this act is shall
61 become effective until approved by the Legislature.
62 (2) Each basin shall be under the control of a basin board
63 which shall be composed of at least not less than three members,
64 including one or more representatives but shall include one
65 representative from each of the counties included in the basin.
66 (3) Except for a member of the district governing board
67 serving on a basin board pursuant to subsection (6), each member
68 of a the various basin board boards shall be appointed serve for
69 a period of 3 years or until a successor is appointed, but not
70 more than 180 days after the end of the term., except that The
71 board membership of each new basin board shall be divided into
72 three groups as equally as possible, with members in such groups
73 to be appointed for 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Each basin
74 board shall choose a vice chair and a secretary to serve for a
75 period of 1 year. The term of office of a basin board member
76 shall be construed to commence on March 2 preceding the date of
77 appointment and to terminate March 1 of the year of the end of a
78 term or may continue until a successor is appointed, but not
79 more than 180 days after the end of the expired term. A member
80 of the district governing board serving on a basin board
81 pursuant to subsection (6) shall serve for a period commensurate
82 with his or her term on the governing board.
83 (4) Except for a member of the district governing board
84 serving on a basin board pursuant to subsection (6), members of
85 a basin board boards shall be appointed by the Governor, subject
86 to confirmation by the Senate at the next regular session of the
87 Legislature.; and The refusal or failure of the Senate to
88 confirm an appointment shall create a vacancy in the office to
89 which the appointment was made.
90 (5) Basin board members shall serve without receive no
91 compensation for services as such; but are entitled to
92 reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s.
93 112.061, while officially on work for the district, they shall
94 receive their actual travel expenses between their respective
95 places of residence and the place where official district
96 business is conducted, subsistence, lodging, and other expenses
97 in the amount actually incurred. These expenses may not exceed
98 the statutory amount allowed state officers and employees. This
99 subsection applies retroactively to the effective date of the
100 creation of each of the five separate water management
101 districts.
102 (6)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the
103 provisions of any other general or special law to the contrary,
104 a member of the district governing board of the district
105 residing in the basin, or, if no member resides in the basin, a
106 member of the district governing board designated by the chair
107 of the district governing board, shall be a voting member of the
108 basin board and counted for purposes of establishing a quorum.
109 (b) A governing board member shall serve as the chair of
110 the basin board. If more than one governing board member is
111 designated to a basin board, each shall rotate as co-chair of
112 the basin board. The chair or co-chair shall preside at all
113 meetings of the basin board, except that the vice chair may
114 preside in the his or her absence of the chair and co-chair. The
115 chair shall be the liaison officer of the district in all
116 affairs in the basin and shall be kept informed of all such
117 affairs.
118 (c) If a vacancy occurs on a basin board, a quorum of the
119 total remaining members may continue to transact official
120 business until a successor is appointed.
121 (d)(b) Basin boards within the Southwest Florida Water
122 Management District shall meet regularly as determined by a
123 majority vote of the basin board members. Subject to notice
124 requirements of chapter 120, special meetings, both emergency
125 and nonemergency, may be called either by the chair or the
126 elected vice chair of the basin board or upon request of two
127 basin board members. The district staff shall include on the
128 agenda of any basin board meeting any item for discussion or
129 action requested by a member of that basin board. The district
130 staff shall notify any basin board, as well as their respective
131 counties, of any vacancies occurring in the district governing
132 board or their respective basin boards.
133 (7) At 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 1976, the Manasota
134 Watershed Basin of the Ridge and Lower Gulf Coast Water
135 Management District, which is annexed to the Southwest Florida
136 Water Management District by change of its boundaries pursuant
137 to chapter 76-243, Laws of Florida, shall be formed into a
138 subdistrict or basin of the Southwest Florida Water Management
139 District, subject to the same provisions as the other basins in
140 such district. Such subdistrict shall be designated initially as
141 the Manasota Basin. The members of the governing board of the
142 Manasota Watershed Basin of the Ridge and Lower Gulf Coast Water
143 Management District shall become members of the governing board
144 of the Manasota Basin of the Southwest Florida Water Management
145 District. Notwithstanding other provisions in this section,
146 beginning on July 1, 2010 2001, the membership of the Manasota
147 Basin Board shall be comprised of two members from Manatee
148 County, and two members from Sarasota County, and a member of
149 the district governing board designated by the chair of the
150 district governing board pursuant to subsection (6). Matters
151 relating to tie votes shall be resolved pursuant to subsection
152 (6) by the chair designated by the governing board to vote in
153 case of a tie vote.
154 Section 3. Subsection (5) is added to section 373.171,
155 Florida Statutes, to read:
156 373.171 Rules.—
157 (5) Cooperative funding programs are not subject to the
158 rulemaking requirements of chapter 120. However, any portion of
159 an approved program which affects the substantial interests of a
160 party is subject to s. 120.569.
161 Section 4. Section 373.228, Florida Statutes, is amended to
162 read:
163 373.228 Landscape irrigation design.—
164 (1) The Legislature finds that multiple areas throughout
165 the state have been identified by water management districts as
166 water resource caution areas, which indicates that in the near
167 future water demand in those areas will exceed the current
168 available water supply and that conservation is one of the
169 mechanisms by which future water demand will be met.
170 (2) The Legislature finds that landscape irrigation
171 comprises a significant portion of water use and that current
172 typical landscape irrigation systems, and Florida-friendly
173 landscaping designs, and landscape irrigation restrictions offer
174 significant potential water conservation benefits.
175 (3) It is the intent of the Legislature to improve
176 landscape irrigation water use efficiency by ensuring that
177 landscape irrigation systems meet or exceed minimum design
178 criteria and that, pursuant to s. 373.609, the landscape
179 irrigation restrictions of a water management district may be
180 implemented by ordinance of the applicable local governments.
181 (4) The water management districts shall work with the
182 Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association, the Florida
183 Native Plant Society, the Florida Chapter of the American
184 Society of Landscape Architects, the Florida Irrigation Society,
185 the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the
186 Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the Department of
187 Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the
188 Florida League of Cities, the Florida Association of Counties,
189 and the Florida Association of Community Developers to develop
190 landscape irrigation and Florida-friendly landscaping design
191 standards for new construction which incorporate a landscape
192 irrigation system and develop scientifically based model
193 guidelines for urban, commercial, and residential landscape
194 irrigation, including drip irrigation, for plants, trees, sod,
195 and other landscaping. The standards must shall be based on the
196 irrigation code defined in the Florida Building Code, Plumbing
197 Volume, Appendix F. Local governments shall use the standards
198 and guidelines when developing landscape irrigation and Florida
199 friendly landscaping ordinances. By January 1, 2011, the
200 agencies and entities specified in this subsection shall review
201 the standards and guidelines to determine whether new research
202 findings require a change or modification of the standards and
203 guidelines.
204 (5) Notwithstanding s. 373.217, local governments may adopt
205 ordinances that implement landscape irrigation restrictions set
206 forth in water management district rules or orders. In
207 evaluating water use applications from public water suppliers,
208 water management districts shall consider whether the applicable
209 local government has adopted ordinances for landscaping and
210 irrigation systems consistent with the Florida-friendly
211 landscaping provisions of s. 373.185.
212 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.