Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1776
       
       
        
       By Senator Cruz
       
       
       
       
       
       18-00300-21                                           20211776__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to fees; amending s. 500.458, F.S.;
    3         requiring the Department of Environmental Protection
    4         to charge bottled water companies a specified fee per
    5         gallon extracted; requiring the department to
    6         distribute the funds collected from the fees to
    7         certain water management districts for specified
    8         purposes; providing a contingent effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Present subsections (2) through (4) of section
   13  500.458, Florida Statutes, as created in SB ____, are
   14  redesignated as subsections (3) through (5), respectively, and a
   15  new subsection (2) is added to that section, to read:
   16         500.458 Bottled water; extraction monitoring; fee; fine.—
   17         (2) The department shall assess bottled water companies a
   18  fee of 5 cents per gallon on water, including natural water and
   19  water from an approved source, as those terms are defined in s.
   20  500.03, extracted for the production of bottled water and shall
   21  distribute the funds collected from such fee to the water
   22  management districts within which the water was withdrawn. Such
   23  funds must be used for the purposes of replenishing aquifers,
   24  creating alternative water supplies, and addressing water
   25  quality impacts associated with nonagricultural sources.
   26         Section 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2021, if
   27  SB ____ or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
   28  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
   29  thereof and becomes a law.