Florida Senate - 2022                             CS for SB 1556
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
       Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       592-02258-22                                          20221556c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to golf course best management
    3         practices certification; creating s. 403.9339, F.S.;
    4         directing the Department of Environmental Protection
    5         to work and cooperate with the turfgrass science
    6         program at the University of Florida Institute of Food
    7         and Agricultural Sciences to administer a
    8         certification for golf course best management
    9         practices and provide and approve certification
   10         training and testing programs; providing certification
   11         and recertification requirements; providing that such
   12         certification exempts persons from certain local
   13         testing and local ordinance regulations; providing an
   14         exception; authorizing the department to share
   15         certification information with local and state
   16         governmental entities; encouraging the department to
   17         create an online certification registry; directing the
   18         department to adopt rules; providing an effective
   19         date.
   20          
   21  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   22  
   23         Section 1. Section 403.9339, Florida Statutes, is created
   24  to read:
   25         403.9339 Golf course best management practices
   26  certification.—
   27         (1) To provide a means of documenting and ensuring
   28  compliance with best management practices for fertilizer
   29  application to golf courses, the department shall work with the
   30  turfgrass science program at the University of Florida Institute
   31  of Food and Agricultural Sciences to administer a certification
   32  for golf course best management practices.
   33         (2) The department, in cooperation with the turfgrass
   34  science program at the University of Florida Institute of Food
   35  and Agricultural Sciences, shall:
   36         (a) Provide training and testing programs in golf course
   37  best management practices and may issue certificates
   38  demonstrating satisfactory completion of the training.
   39         (b) Approve training and testing programs in golf course
   40  best management practices that are equivalent to or more
   41  comprehensive than the programs provided by the department under
   42  paragraph (a). Such programs must be reviewed and reapproved by
   43  the department if significant changes are made.
   44         (3) To obtain a golf course best management practices
   45  certification, an applicant must submit to the department a copy
   46  of the training certificate issued by the department under
   47  subsection (2).
   48         (4)(a) A golf course best management practices
   49  certification issued under this section expires 4 years after
   50  the date of issuance. Upon expiration of the certification, or
   51  after a grace period of not more than 30 days after the
   52  expiration date, a recertification may be issued.
   53         (b) Before applying for recertification, an applicant must
   54  complete 8 classroom hours of acceptable continuing education,
   55  of which at least 2 hours must address fertilizer best
   56  management practices.
   57         (5) To obtain a golf course best management practices
   58  recertification, an applicant must submit to the department
   59  proof of having completed the 8 classroom hours of continuing
   60  education pursuant to subsection (4).
   61         (6) A person certified under this section is exempt from:
   62         (a) Additional local testing.
   63         (b) Local ordinances relating to water and fertilizer use
   64  blackout periods or restrictions, unless a state of emergency is
   65  declared.
   66         (7)(a) The department may provide the certification status
   67  of persons certified under this section to local and state
   68  governmental entities.
   69         (b) The department is encouraged to create a registry of
   70  persons certified under this section on its website.
   71         (8) The department shall adopt rules to administer this
   72  section.
   73         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.