Florida Senate - 2016 SB 306 By Senator Bullard 39-00415A-16 2016306__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to disposable plastic bags; creating 3 s. 403.70325, F.S.; authorizing certain municipalities 4 to establish pilot programs to regulate or ban 5 disposable plastic bags; providing program criteria; 6 providing for expiration of the program; directing 7 participating municipalities to collect data and 8 submit reports to the municipal governing body and the 9 Department of Environmental Protection; defining the 10 term “coastal community”; republishing s. 403.7033, 11 F.S.; providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1. Section 403.70325, Florida Statutes, is created 16 to read: 17 403.70325 Municipal pilot program for regulation or ban of 18 disposable plastic bags.— 19 (1) Notwithstanding s. 403.7033, a municipality with a 20 population of fewer than 100,000 which is a coastal community 21 may establish a pilot program to regulate or ban disposable 22 plastic bags. A municipality establishing a pilot program shall 23 enact an ordinance for the regulation or ban of disposable 24 plastic bags that takes effect no earlier than January 1, 2017, 25 and expires no later than June 30, 2019. Such ordinance may not 26 include any new taxes or fees on the use or distribution of 27 disposable plastic bags. 28 (2) A municipality that establishes a pilot program shall: 29 (a) Collect data pertaining to the impact of such 30 regulation or ban. 31 (b) By April 1, 2019, submit a report on the impact of such 32 regulation or ban to the governing body of the municipality at a 33 public hearing that is open to comments from the public. 34 (c) Provide a copy of the report to the department. 35 (3) As used in this section, the term “coastal community” 36 means a municipality that abuts or borders the Gulf of Mexico, 37 the Atlantic Ocean, or a bay. 38 Section 2. Section 403.7033, Florida Statutes, is 39 republished to read: 40 403.7033 Departmental analysis of particular recyclable 41 materials.—The Legislature finds that prudent regulation of 42 recyclable materials is crucial to the ongoing welfare of 43 Florida’s ecology and economy. As such, the Department of 44 Environmental Protection shall undertake an analysis of the need 45 for new or different regulation of auxiliary containers, 46 wrappings, or disposable plastic bags used by consumers to carry 47 products from retail establishments. The analysis shall include 48 input from state and local government agencies, stakeholders, 49 private businesses, and citizens, and shall evaluate the 50 efficacy and necessity of both statewide and local regulation of 51 these materials. To ensure consistent and effective 52 implementation, the department shall submit a report with 53 conclusions and recommendations to the Legislature no later than 54 February 1, 2010. Until such time that the Legislature adopts 55 the recommendations of the department, no local government, 56 local governmental agency, or state government agency may enact 57 any rule, regulation, or ordinance regarding use, disposition, 58 sale, prohibition, restriction, or tax of such auxiliary 59 containers, wrappings, or disposable plastic bags. 60 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.