Florida Senate - 2022                      CS for CS for SB 1556
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Appropriations; and Environment and Natural
       Resources; and Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       576-03559-22                                          20221556c2
    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         requiring the turfgrass science program at the
    5         University of Florida Institute of Food and
    6         Agricultural Sciences, in coordination and cooperation
    7         with the Department of Environmental Protection, to
    8         administer a certification for golf course best
    9         management practices and provide and approve
   10         certification training and testing programs; providing
   11         certification and recertification requirements;
   12         providing that such certification exempts persons from
   13         certain local training and local ordinance
   14         regulations; providing construction; authorizing the
   15         turfgrass science program to share certification
   16         information with local and state governmental
   17         entities; encouraging the turfgrass science program to
   18         create an online certification registry; providing an
   19         effective 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 turfgrass science program at
   30  the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural
   31  Sciences, in coordination with the department, shall administer
   32  a certification for golf course best management practices.
   33         (2) The turfgrass science program, in cooperation with the
   34  department, shall:
   35         (a) Provide training and testing programs in golf course
   36  best management practices and may issue certificates
   37  demonstrating satisfactory completion of the training.
   38         (b) Approve training and testing programs in golf course
   39  best management practices that are equivalent to or more
   40  comprehensive than the programs provided by the turfgrass
   41  science program under paragraph (a). Such programs must be
   42  reviewed and reapproved by the turfgrass science program if
   43  significant changes are made.
   44         (3) To obtain a golf course best management practices
   45  certification, an applicant must submit to the turfgrass science
   46  program a copy of the training certificate issued under
   47  subsection (2).
   48         (4) A golf course best management practices certification
   49  issued under this section expires 4 years after the date of
   50  issuance. Upon expiration of the certification, or after a grace
   51  period of not more than 30 days after the expiration date, a
   52  recertification may be issued.
   53         (5) To obtain a golf course best management practices
   54  recertification, an applicant must submit to the turfgrass
   55  science program proof of having completed 8 classroom hours of
   56  continuing education, of which at least 2 hours must address
   57  fertilizer best management practices.
   58         (6) A person certified under this section is exempt from:
   59         (a) Additional local training.
   60         (b) Local ordinances relating to water and fertilizer use
   61  blackout periods or restrictions, unless a state of emergency is
   62  declared. The certified person must continue to coordinate with
   63  the local government to ensure that he or she adheres to the
   64  comprehensive best management practices for that specific
   65  community.
   66         (7) This section does not exempt a person certified under
   67  this section from complying with the rules and requirements for
   68  basin management action plans set forth in s. 403.067(7) if the
   69  golf course is located in an area within a basin management
   70  action plan.
   71         (8)(a) The turfgrass science program may provide the
   72  certification status of persons certified under this section to
   73  local and state governmental entities.
   74         (b) The turfgrass science program is encouraged to create a
   75  registry of persons certified under this section on its website.
   76         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.