1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to water management districts; amending s. |
3 | 373.073, F.S.; requiring the election rather than |
4 | appointment of members of the governing boards of the |
5 | water management districts; providing for termination of |
6 | terms of current officeholders; providing for terms of |
7 | office, nonpartisan elections, filling of vacancies, and |
8 | residency requirements; amending s. 373.536, F.S.; |
9 | revising provisions relating to the fiscal year and budget |
10 | submission; transferring budget approval authority from |
11 | the Executive Office of the Governor to the Legislature; |
12 | revising provisions relating to the review and submission |
13 | of water management district budgets; amending s. 373.026, |
14 | F.S.; conforming a reference; providing an effective date. |
15 |
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16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
17 |
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18 | Section 1. Section 373.073, Florida Statutes, is amended |
19 | to read: |
20 | 373.073 Governing board.- |
21 | (1)(a) The governing board of each water management |
22 | district shall be composed of 9 elected members who must shall |
23 | reside within the district, except that the Southwest Florida |
24 | Water Management District shall be composed of 13 elected |
25 | members who must shall reside within the district. Members of |
26 | the governing boards shall be appointed by the Governor, subject |
27 | to confirmation by the Senate at the next regular session of the |
28 | Legislature, and the refusal or failure of the Senate to confirm |
29 | an appointment creates a vacancy in the office to which the |
30 | appointment was made. |
31 | (b) The term of a member currently appointed to the |
32 | governing board of a water management district office shall |
33 | terminate upon the swearing in of an elected member. |
34 | (c) The term of office for a governing board member is 4 |
35 | years and commences on the first Tuesday after the first Monday |
36 | in January after the previous general election. The office is a |
37 | nonpartisan office and candidates for such office are prohibited |
38 | from campaigning or qualifying for election based on party |
39 | affiliation. Each candidate for water management district board |
40 | member shall qualify as provided under chapter 99 March 2 of the |
41 | year in which the appointment is made and terminates on March 1 |
42 | of the fourth calendar year of the term or may continue until a |
43 | successor is appointed, but not more than 180 days. Terms of |
44 | office of governing board members shall be staggered to help |
45 | maintain consistency and continuity in the exercise of governing |
46 | board duties and to minimize disruption in district operations. |
47 | (b) Commencing January 1, 2011, the Governor shall appoint |
48 | the following number of governing board members in each year of |
49 | the Governor's 4-year term of office: |
50 | 1. In the first year of the Governor's term of office, the |
51 | Governor shall appoint four members to the governing board of |
52 | the Southwest Florida Water Management District and appoint |
53 | three members to the governing board of each other district. |
54 | 2. In the second year of the Governor's term of office, |
55 | the Governor shall appoint three members to the governing board |
56 | of the Southwest Florida Water Management District and two |
57 | members to the governing board of each other district. |
58 | 3. In the third year of the Governor's term of office, the |
59 | Governor shall appoint three members to the governing board of |
60 | the Southwest Florida Water Management District and two members |
61 | to the governing board of each other district. |
62 | 4. In the fourth year of the Governor's term of office, |
63 | the Governor shall appoint three members to the governing board |
64 | of the Southwest Florida Water Management District and two |
65 | members to the governing board of each other district. |
66 |
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67 | For any governing board vacancy that occurs before the next date |
68 | scheduled election for that the office to be filled under this |
69 | paragraph, the Governor shall appoint a person who meets the |
70 | applicable meeting residency requirements of subsection (2) to |
71 | complete the term of that office for a term that will expire on |
72 | the date scheduled for the term of that office to terminate |
73 | under this subsection. In addition to the residency requirements |
74 | for the governing boards as provided by subsection (2), the |
75 | Governor shall consider appointing governing board members to |
76 | represent an equitable cross-section of regional interests and |
77 | technical expertise. |
78 | (2) Election to membership on governing boards must be in |
79 | accordance with shall be selected from candidates who have |
80 | significant experience in one or more of the following areas, |
81 | including, but not limited to: agriculture, the development |
82 | industry, local government, government-owned or privately owned |
83 | water utilities, law, civil engineering, environmental science, |
84 | hydrology, accounting, or financial businesses. Notwithstanding |
85 | the provisions of any other general or special law to the |
86 | contrary, vacancies in the governing boards of the water |
87 | management districts shall be filled according to the following |
88 | residency requirements, representing areas designated by the |
89 | United States Water Resources Council in United States |
90 | Geological Survey, River Basin and Hydrological Unit Map of |
91 | Florida-1975, Map Series No. 72: |
92 | (a) Northwest Florida Water Management District: |
93 | 1. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
94 | designated as the "Perdido River Basin-Perdido Bay Coastal Area- |
95 | Lower Conecuh River-Escambia River Basin" hydrologic units and |
96 | that portion of the "Escambia Bay Coastal Area" hydrologic unit |
97 | which lies west of Pensacola Bay and Escambia Bay. |
98 | 2. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
99 | designated as the "Blackwater River Basin-Yellow River Basin- |
100 | Choctawhatchee Bay Coastal Area" hydrologic units and that |
101 | portion of the "Escambia Bay Coastal Area" hydrologic unit which |
102 | lies east of Pensacola Bay and Escambia Bay. |
103 | 3. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
104 | designated as the "Choctawhatchee River Basin-St. Andrews Bay |
105 | Coastal Area" hydrologic units. |
106 | 4. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
107 | designated as the "Lower Chattahoochee-Apalachicola River- |
108 | Chipola River Basin-Coastal Area between Ochlockonee River |
109 | Apalachicola Rivers-Apalachicola Bay coastal area and offshore |
110 | islands" hydrologic units. |
111 | 5. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
112 | designated as the "Ochlockonee River Basin-St. Marks and Wakulla |
113 | Rivers and coastal area between Aucilla and Ochlockonee River |
114 | Basin" hydrologic units. |
115 | 6. Four members shall be elected appointed at large, |
116 | except that no county shall have more than two members on the |
117 | governing board. |
118 | (b) Suwannee River Water Management District: |
119 | 1. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
120 | designated as the "Aucilla River Basin" hydrologic unit. |
121 | 2. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
122 | designated as the "Coastal Area between Suwannee and Aucilla |
123 | Rivers" hydrologic unit. |
124 | 3. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
125 | designated as the "Withlacoochee River Basin-Alapaha River |
126 | Basin-Suwannee River Basin above the Withlacoochee River" |
127 | hydrologic units. |
128 | 4. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
129 | designated as the "Suwannee River Basin below the Withlacoochee |
130 | River excluding the Santa Fe River Basin" hydrologic unit. |
131 | 5. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
132 | designated as the "Santa Fe Basin-Waccasassa River and coastal |
133 | area between Withlacoochee and Suwannee River" hydrologic units. |
134 | 6. Four members shall be elected appointed at large, |
135 | except that no county shall have more than two members on the |
136 | governing board. |
137 | (c) St. Johns River Water Management District: |
138 | 1. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
139 | designated as the "St. Marys River Basin-Coastal area between |
140 | St. Marys and St. Johns Rivers" hydrologic units. |
141 | 2. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
142 | designated as the "St. Johns River Basin below Oklawaha River- |
143 | Coastal area between the St. Johns River and Ponce de Leon |
144 | Inlet" hydrologic units. |
145 | 3. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
146 | designated as the "Oklawaha River Basin" hydrologic unit. |
147 | 4. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
148 | designated as the "St. Johns River Basin above the Oklawaha |
149 | River" hydrologic unit. |
150 | 5. One member must shall reside in the area generally |
151 | designated as the "Coastal area between Ponce de Leon Inlet and |
152 | Sebastian Inlet-Coastal area Sebastian Inlet to St. Lucie River" |
153 | hydrologic units. |
154 | 6. Four members shall be elected appointed at large, |
155 | except that no county shall have more than two members on the |
156 | governing board. |
157 | (d) South Florida Water Management District: |
158 | 1. Two members must shall reside in Miami-Dade County. |
159 | 2. One member must shall reside in Broward County. |
160 | 3. One member must shall reside in Palm Beach County. |
161 | 4. One member must shall reside in Collier County, Lee |
162 | County, Hendry County, or Charlotte County. |
163 | 5. One member must shall reside in Glades County, |
164 | Okeechobee County, Highlands County, Polk County, Orange County, |
165 | or Osceola County. |
166 | 6. Two members, elected appointed at large, must shall |
167 | reside in an area consisting of St. Lucie County, Martin County, |
168 | Palm Beach County, Broward County, Miami-Dade County, or and |
169 | Monroe County Counties. |
170 | 7. One member, elected appointed at large, must shall |
171 | reside in an area consisting of Collier County, Lee County, |
172 | Charlotte County, Hendry County, Glades County, Osceola County, |
173 | Okeechobee County, Polk County, Highlands County, or and Orange |
174 | County Counties. |
175 | 8. No county shall have more than three members on the |
176 | governing board. |
177 | (e) Southwest Florida Water Management District: |
178 | 1. Two members shall reside in Hillsborough County. |
179 | 2. One member must shall reside in the area consisting of |
180 | Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. |
181 | 3. Two members must shall reside in Pinellas County. |
182 | 4. One member must shall reside in Manatee County. |
183 | 5. Two members must shall reside in Polk County. |
184 | 6. One member must shall reside in Pasco County. |
185 | 7. One member must shall be elected appointed at large |
186 | from Levy County, Citrus County, Sumter County, or and Lake |
187 | County Counties. |
188 | 8. One member shall be elected appointed at large from |
189 | Hardee County, DeSoto County, or and Highlands County Counties. |
190 | 9. One member shall be elected appointed at large from |
191 | Marion County or and Hernando County Counties. |
192 | 10. One member shall be elected appointed at large from |
193 | Sarasota County or and Charlotte County Counties. |
194 | Section 2. Subsections (1), (2), and (5) of section |
195 | 373.536, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
196 | 373.536 District budget and hearing thereon.- |
197 | (1) FISCAL YEAR.-The fiscal year of districts created |
198 | under the provisions of this chapter shall extend from July |
199 | October 1 of one year through June September 30 of the following |
200 | year. |
201 | (2) BUDGET SUBMITTAL.-The budget officer of the district |
202 | shall, on or before July 15 of each year, submit for |
203 | consideration by the governing board of the district a tentative |
204 | budget for the district covering its proposed operations and |
205 | funding requirements for the ensuing fiscal year. |
206 | (5) TENTATIVE BUDGET CONTENTS AND SUBMISSION; REVIEW AND |
207 | APPROVAL.- |
208 | (a) The Legislature Executive Office of the Governor is |
209 | authorized to approve or disapprove, in whole or in part, the |
210 | budget of each water management district and shall analyze each |
211 | budget as to the adequacy of fiscal resources available to the |
212 | district and the adequacy of district expenditures related to |
213 | water supply, including water resource development projects |
214 | identified in the district's regional water supply plans; water |
215 | quality; flood protection and floodplain management; and natural |
216 | systems. This analysis shall be based on the particular needs |
217 | within each water management district in those four areas of |
218 | responsibility. |
219 | (b) The Executive Office of the Governor and the water |
220 | management districts shall develop a process to facilitate |
221 | review and communication regarding water management district |
222 | budgets, as necessary. Written disapproval of any provision in |
223 | the tentative budget must be received by the district at least 5 |
224 | business days prior to the final district budget adoption |
225 | hearing conducted under s. 200.065(2)(d). If written disapproval |
226 | of any portion of the budget is not received at least 5 business |
227 | days prior to the final budget adoption hearing, the governing |
228 | board may proceed with final adoption. Any provision rejected by |
229 | the Governor shall not be included in a district's final budget. |
230 | (b)(c) Each water management district shall, by January |
231 | August 1 of each year, submit for review a tentative budget to |
232 | the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the |
233 | House of Representatives, the chairs of all legislative |
234 | committees and subcommittees with substantive or fiscal |
235 | jurisdiction over water management districts, as determined by |
236 | the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of |
237 | Representatives as applicable, the secretary of the department, |
238 | and the governing body of each county in which the district has |
239 | jurisdiction or derives any funds for the operations of the |
240 | district. |
241 | (c)(d) The tentative budget must set forth the proposed |
242 | expenditures of the district, to which may be added an amount to |
243 | be held as reserve. The tentative budget must include, but is |
244 | not limited to, the following information for the preceding |
245 | fiscal year and the current fiscal year, and the proposed |
246 | amounts for the upcoming fiscal year, in a standard format |
247 | prescribed by the Legislature Executive Office of the Governor: |
248 | 1. The estimated amount of funds remaining at the |
249 | beginning of the fiscal year which have been obligated for the |
250 | payment of outstanding commitments not yet completed. |
251 | 2. The estimated amount of unobligated funds or net cash |
252 | balance on hand at the beginning of the fiscal year, and the |
253 | estimated amount of funds to be raised by district taxes or |
254 | received from other sources to meet the requirements of the |
255 | district. |
256 | 3. The millage rates and the percentage increase above the |
257 | rolled-back rate, together with a summary of the reasons the |
258 | increase is required, and the percentage increase in taxable |
259 | value resulting from new construction within the district. |
260 | 4. The salaries and benefits, expenses, operating capital |
261 | outlay, number of authorized positions, and other personal |
262 | services for the following program areas of the district: |
263 | a. Water resource planning and monitoring; |
264 | b. Land acquisition, restoration, and public works; |
265 | c. Operation and maintenance of works and lands; |
266 | d. Regulation; |
267 | e. Outreach for which the information provided must |
268 | contain a full description and accounting of expenditures for |
269 | water resources education; public information and public |
270 | relations, including public service announcements and |
271 | advertising in any media; and lobbying activities related to |
272 | local, regional, state and federal governmental affairs, whether |
273 | incurred by district staff or through contractual services; and |
274 | f. Management and administration. |
275 |
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276 | In addition to the program areas reported by all water |
277 | management districts, the South Florida Water Management |
278 | District shall include in its budget document separate sections |
279 | on all costs associated with the Everglades Construction Project |
280 | and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. |
281 | 5. The total estimated amount in the district budget for |
282 | each area of responsibility listed in subparagraph 4. and for |
283 | water resource development projects identified in the district's |
284 | regional water supply plans. |
285 | 6. A description of each new, expanded, reduced, or |
286 | eliminated program. |
287 | 7. The funding sources, including, but not limited to, ad |
288 | valorem taxes, Surface Water Improvement and Management Program |
289 | funds, other state funds, federal funds, and user fees and |
290 | permit fees for each program area. |
291 | (e) By September 5 of the year in which the budget is |
292 | submitted, the House and Senate appropriations and appropriate |
293 | substantive committee chairs may transmit to each district |
294 | comments and objections to the proposed budgets. Each district |
295 | governing board shall include a response to such comments and |
296 | objections in the record of the governing board meeting where |
297 | final adoption of the budget takes place, and the record of this |
298 | meeting shall be transmitted to the Executive Office of the |
299 | Governor, the department, and the chairs of the House and Senate |
300 | appropriations committees. |
301 | (f) The Executive Office of the Governor shall annually, |
302 | on or before December 15, file with the Legislature a report |
303 | that summarizes its review of the water management districts' |
304 | tentative budgets and displays the adopted budget allocations by |
305 | program area. The report must identify the districts that are |
306 | not in compliance with the reporting requirements of this |
307 | section. State funds shall be withheld from a water management |
308 | district that fails to comply with these reporting requirements. |
309 | Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (8) of section |
310 | 373.026, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
311 | 373.026 General powers and duties of the department.-The |
312 | department, or its successor agency, shall be responsible for |
313 | the administration of this chapter at the state level. However, |
314 | it is the policy of the state that, to the greatest extent |
315 | possible, the department may enter into interagency or |
316 | interlocal agreements with any other state agency, any water |
317 | management district, or any local government conducting programs |
318 | related to or materially affecting the water resources of the |
319 | state. All such agreements shall be subject to the provisions of |
320 | s. 373.046. In addition to its other powers and duties, the |
321 | department shall, to the greatest extent possible: |
322 | (8) |
323 | (d) The Legislature Executive Office of the Governor, |
324 | pursuant to its duties under s. 373.536(5) to approve or |
325 | disapprove, in whole or in part, the budget of each water |
326 | management district, shall review all proposed expenditures for |
327 | project components in the district's budget. |
328 | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |