Florida Senate - 2019                                     SB 694
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       37-01545-19                                            2019694__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to disposable plastic bags; creating
    3         s. 403.70325, F.S.; defining the term “coastal
    4         community”; authorizing certain municipalities to
    5         establish pilot programs to regulate or ban disposable
    6         plastic bags; providing program criteria; providing
    7         for the adoption and expiration of a certain required
    8         ordinance; directing participating municipalities to
    9         collect data and submit reports to the municipal
   10         governing bodies and the Department of Environmental
   11         Protection; republishing s. 403.7033, F.S., relating
   12         to the department’s analysis of the need for new or
   13         revised regulation of particular recyclable materials;
   14         providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Section 403.70325, Florida Statutes, is created
   19  to read:
   20         403.70325 Municipal pilot program for regulation or ban of
   21  disposable plastic bags.—
   22         (1) As used in this section, the term “coastal community”
   23  means a municipality that abuts or borders the Gulf of Mexico;
   24  the Atlantic Ocean; or a saltwater bay, sound, strait, inlet,
   25  lagoon, salt marsh, coastal wetland, or other saltwater body
   26  immediately adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic
   27  Ocean.
   28         (2) Notwithstanding s. 403.7033, a coastal community with a
   29  population of fewer than 100,000 may establish a pilot program
   30  to regulate or ban disposable plastic bags. A municipality that
   31  establishes a pilot program under this section shall enact an
   32  ordinance for the regulation or ban of disposable plastic bags,
   33  which must take effect after January 1, 2020, and expire by June
   34  30, 2022. The ordinance may not include any new taxes or fees on
   35  the use or distribution of disposable plastic bags.
   36         (3) A municipality that establishes a pilot program under
   37  this section shall:
   38         (a) Collect data pertaining to the effect of the disposable
   39  plastic bag regulation or ban;
   40         (b) By April 1, 2022, submit a report on the effect of the
   41  regulation or ban to the governing body of the municipality at a
   42  public hearing that is open to public comment; and
   43         (c) Provide a copy of the report required under paragraph
   44  (b) to the department.
   45         Section 2. Section 403.7033, Florida Statutes, is
   46  republished to read:
   47         403.7033 Departmental analysis of particular recyclable
   48  materials.—The Legislature finds that prudent regulation of
   49  recyclable materials is crucial to the ongoing welfare of
   50  Florida’s ecology and economy. As such, the Department of
   51  Environmental Protection shall undertake an analysis of the need
   52  for new or different regulation of auxiliary containers,
   53  wrappings, or disposable plastic bags used by consumers to carry
   54  products from retail establishments. The analysis shall include
   55  input from state and local government agencies, stakeholders,
   56  private businesses, and citizens, and shall evaluate the
   57  efficacy and necessity of both statewide and local regulation of
   58  these materials. To ensure consistent and effective
   59  implementation, the department shall submit a report with
   60  conclusions and recommendations to the Legislature no later than
   61  February 1, 2010. Until such time that the Legislature adopts
   62  the recommendations of the department, no local government,
   63  local governmental agency, or state government agency may enact
   64  any rule, regulation, or ordinance regarding use, disposition,
   65  sale, prohibition, restriction, or tax of such auxiliary
   66  containers, wrappings, or disposable plastic bags.
   67         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.