Florida Senate - 2012                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 2094
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 794782                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: TP            .                                
                  03/02/2012           .                                
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       The Committee on Budget (Bennett) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (957254) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 842 and 843
    5  insert:
    6         Section 10. Section 377.705, Florida Statutes, is amended
    7  to read:
    8         377.705 Solar Energy Center; development of solar energy
    9  standards.—
   10         (1) SHORT TITLE.—This act shall be known and may be cited
   11  as the “Solar Energy Standards Act.” of 1976.
   12         (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
   13         (a) Because of increases in the cost of conventional fuel,
   14  certain applications of solar energy are becoming competitive,
   15  particularly when life-cycle costs are considered. It is the
   16  intent of the Legislature in formulating a sound and balanced
   17  energy policy for the state to encourage the development of an
   18  alternative energy capability in the form of incident solar
   19  energy.
   20         (b) Toward this purpose, the Legislature intends to provide
   21  incentives for the production and sale of, and to set standards
   22  for, solar energy systems. Such standards shall ensure that
   23  solar energy systems manufactured or sold within the state are
   24  effective and represent a high level of quality of materials,
   25  workmanship, and design.
   26         (3) DEFINITIONS.—
   27         (a) “Center” is defined as the Florida Solar Energy Center
   28  of the Board of Governors.
   29         (b) “Solar energy systems” is defined as equipment that
   30  which provides for the collection and use of incident solar
   31  energy for water heating, space heating or cooling, or other
   32  applications that which normally require or would require a
   33  conventional source of energy such as petroleum products,
   34  natural gas, or electricity and that perform which performs
   35  primarily with solar energy. In such other systems in which
   36  solar energy is used in a supplemental way, only those
   37  components that which collect and transfer solar energy are
   38  shall be included in this definition.
   39         (4) FLORIDA SOLAR ENERGY CENTER TO SET STANDARDS, REQUIRE
   40  DISCLOSURE, SET TESTING FEES.—A solar energy system
   41  manufactured, sold, or installed in this state must meet only
   42  the safety and performance standards established by Underwriters
   43  Laboratories, Inc.
   44         (a) The center shall develop and promulgate standards for
   45  solar energy systems manufactured or sold in this state based on
   46  the best currently available information and shall consult with
   47  scientists, engineers, or persons in research centers who are
   48  engaged in the construction of, experimentation with, and
   49  research of solar energy systems to properly identify the most
   50  reliable designs and types of solar energy systems.
   51         (b) The center shall establish criteria for testing
   52  performance of solar energy systems and shall maintain the
   53  necessary capability for testing or evaluating performance of
   54  solar energy systems. The center may accept results of tests on
   55  solar energy systems made by other organizations, companies, or
   56  persons when such tests are conducted according to the criteria
   57  established by the center and when the testing entity has no
   58  vested interest in the manufacture, distribution or sale of
   59  solar energy systems.
   60         (c) The center shall be entitled to receive a testing fee
   61  sufficient to cover the costs of such testing. All testing fees
   62  shall be transmitted by the center to the Chief Financial
   63  Officer to be deposited in the Solar Energy Center Testing Trust
   64  Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury, and
   65  disbursed for the payment of expenses incurred in testing solar
   66  energy systems.
   67         (d) All solar energy systems manufactured or sold in the
   68  state must meet the standards established by the center and
   69  shall display accepted results of approved performance tests in
   70  a manner prescribed by the center.
   71  
   72  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   73         And the title is amended as follows:
   74         Delete line 1198
   75  and insert:
   76         Executive Office of the Governor; amending s. 377.705,
   77         F.S.; removing the requirement that the Florida Solar
   78         Energy Center set standards for and approve solar
   79         energy systems; requiring that a solar energy system
   80         manufactured, sold, or installed in the state meet the
   81         safety and performance standards established by
   82         Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.; amending s. 526.203,