Florida Senate - 2012                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2094
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 695254                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  03/02/2012           .                                
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       The Committee on Budget (Bennett) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Between lines 877 and 878
    4  insert:
    5         Section 10. Section 377.705, Florida Statutes, is amended
    6  to read:
    7         377.705 Solar Energy Center; development of solar energy
    8  standards.—
    9         (1) SHORT TITLE.—This act shall be known and may be cited
   10  as the “Solar Energy Standards Act.” of 1976.
   11         (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
   12         (a) Because of increases in the cost of conventional fuel,
   13  certain applications of solar energy are becoming competitive,
   14  particularly when life-cycle costs are considered. It is the
   15  intent of the Legislature in formulating a sound and balanced
   16  energy policy for the state to encourage the development of an
   17  alternative energy capability in the form of incident solar
   18  energy.
   19         (b) Toward this purpose, the Legislature intends to provide
   20  incentives for the production and sale of, and to set standards
   21  for, solar energy systems. Such standards shall ensure that
   22  solar energy systems manufactured or sold within the state are
   23  effective and represent a high level of quality of materials,
   24  workmanship, and design.
   25         (3) DEFINITIONS.—
   26         (a) “Center” is defined as the Florida Solar Energy Center
   27  of the Board of Governors.
   28         (b) “Solar energy systems” is defined as equipment that
   29  which provides for the collection and use of incident solar
   30  energy for water heating, space heating or cooling, or other
   31  applications that which normally require or would require a
   32  conventional source of energy such as petroleum products,
   33  natural gas, or electricity and that perform which performs
   34  primarily with solar energy. In such other systems in which
   35  solar energy is used in a supplemental way, only those
   36  components that which collect and transfer solar energy are
   37  shall be included in this definition.
   38         (4) FLORIDA SOLAR ENERGY CENTER TO SET STANDARDS, REQUIRE
   39  DISCLOSURE, SET TESTING FEES.—A solar energy system
   40  manufactured, sold, or installed in this state must meet only
   41  the safety and performance standards established by Underwriters
   42  Laboratories, Inc.
   43         (a) The center shall develop and promulgate standards for
   44  solar energy systems manufactured or sold in this state based on
   45  the best currently available information and shall consult with
   46  scientists, engineers, or persons in research centers who are
   47  engaged in the construction of, experimentation with, and
   48  research of solar energy systems to properly identify the most
   49  reliable designs and types of solar energy systems.
   50         (b) The center shall establish criteria for testing
   51  performance of solar energy systems and shall maintain the
   52  necessary capability for testing or evaluating performance of
   53  solar energy systems. The center may accept results of tests on
   54  solar energy systems made by other organizations, companies, or
   55  persons when such tests are conducted according to the criteria
   56  established by the center and when the testing entity has no
   57  vested interest in the manufacture, distribution or sale of
   58  solar energy systems.
   59         (c) The center shall be entitled to receive a testing fee
   60  sufficient to cover the costs of such testing. All testing fees
   61  shall be transmitted by the center to the Chief Financial
   62  Officer to be deposited in the Solar Energy Center Testing Trust
   63  Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury, and
   64  disbursed for the payment of expenses incurred in testing solar
   65  energy systems.
   66         (d) All solar energy systems manufactured or sold in the
   67  state must meet the standards established by the center and
   68  shall display accepted results of approved performance tests in
   69  a manner prescribed by the center.
   70  
   71  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   72         And the title is amended as follows:
   73         Between lines 63 and 64
   74  insert:
   75         377.705, F.S.; removing the requirement that the
   76         Florida Solar Energy Center set standards for and
   77         approve solar energy systems; requiring that a solar
   78         energy system manufactured, sold, or installed in the
   79         state meet the safety and performance standards
   80         established by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.;
   81         amending s.