Florida Senate - 2023 SB 304
By Senator Boyd
20-00398-23 2023304__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to United States-produced iron and
3 steel in public works projects; creating s. 255.0993,
4 F.S.; defining terms; requiring governmental entities
5 to include a requirement in certain contracts that
6 certain iron or steel products be produced in the
7 United States; providing exceptions; authorizing the
8 use of foreign steel and iron materials in certain
9 circumstances; exempting specified products from the
10 requirement; providing construction; requiring the
11 Department of Management Services and the Department
12 of Transportation to adopt rules for specified
13 purposes; providing a declaration of important state
14 interest; providing an effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Section 255.0993, Florida Statutes, is created
19 to read:
20 255.0993 Public works projects; United States-produced iron
21 and steel products.—
22 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
23 (a) “Governmental entity” means the state, or any office,
24 board, bureau, commission, department, branch, division, or
25 institution thereof, or a separate agency or unit of local
26 government created or established by law or ordinance and the
27 officers thereof. The term includes, but is not limited to, a
28 county; a city, a town, or other municipality; or a department,
29 a commission, an authority, a school district, a taxing
30 district, a water management district, a board, a public
31 corporation, an institution of higher education, or other public
32 agency or body thereof authorized to expend public funds for the
33 construction, maintenance, repair, renovation, remodeling, or
34 improvement of public works.
35 (b) “Iron or steel product” means any product made
36 primarily of iron or steel, including, but not limited to, lined
37 or unlined pipes and fittings; bars and rods; wire, wire ropes,
38 and link chains; forgings; grating and drainage products; access
39 covers, hatches, manhole covers, and other castings; hydrants;
40 electric transmission and distribution poles; tanks; flanges;
41 pipe clamps and restraints; valves; structural steel and other
42 steel mill products; materials made primarily of iron and steel
43 within precast concrete; and other construction materials made
44 primarily of iron or steel.
45 (c) “Manufacturing process” means the application of a
46 process to alter the form or function of materials or elements
47 of a product in a manner that adds value and transforms the
48 materials or elements into a new finished product that is
49 functionally different from a finished product produced merely
50 from assembling materials or elements into a product without
51 applying such a process.
52 (d) “Produced in the United States” means that, with
53 respect to iron and steel, all manufacturing processes, from
54 initial melting through application of coatings, occur in the
55 United States, other than metallurgical processes to refine
56 steel additives.
57 (e) “Public works project” means an activity paid for with
58 any state-appropriated funds or state funds administered by the
59 state, which consists of the construction, maintenance, repair,
60 renovation, remodeling, or improvement of a building, road,
61 street, sewer, storm drain, water system, site development,
62 irrigation system, reclamation project, gas or electrical
63 distribution system, gas or electrical substation, or other
64 facility, project, or portion thereof owned in whole or in part
65 by any governmental entity.
66 (2) UNITED STATES-PRODUCED IRON AND STEEL REQUIREMENT.—
67 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a governmental entity
68 entering into a contract for a public works project or for the
69 purchase of materials for a public works project must include in
70 the contract a requirement that any iron or steel product
71 permanently incorporated in the project be produced in the
72 United States.
73 (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply if the governmental entity
74 administering the funds for a public works project or the
75 purchase of materials for a public works project solely
76 determines that any of the following applies:
77 1. Iron or steel products produced in the United States are
78 not produced in sufficient quantities, reasonably available, or
79 of satisfactory quality.
80 2. The use of iron or steel products produced in the United
81 States will increase the total cost of the project by more than
82 20 percent.
83 3. Complying with paragraph (a) is inconsistent with the
84 public interest.
85 (c) When steel and iron materials are used in a public
86 works project, paragraph (a) does not prevent a minimal use of
87 foreign steel and iron materials if:
88 1. Such materials are incidental or ancillary to the
89 primary product and are not separately identified in the project
90 specifications.
91 2. The cost of such materials does not exceed one-tenth of
92 1 percent of the total contract cost or $2,500, whichever is
93 greater. For purposes of this subparagraph, the cost of such
94 materials is that shown to be the value of the iron or steel
95 products as they are delivered to the project.
96 (d) Electrical components, equipment, systems, and
97 appurtenances, including supports, covers, shielding, and other
98 appurtenances related to an electrical system, necessary for
99 operation or concealment, except transmission and distribution
100 poles, are not considered iron or steel products and are exempt
101 from the requirements of paragraph (a).
102 (3) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—This section shall be applied
103 in a manner consistent with and may not be construed to impair
104 the state’s obligations under any international agreement.
105 (4) RULEMAKING.—
106 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the
107 Department of Management Services shall develop guidelines and
108 procedures by rule to implement this section.
109 (b) The Department of Transportation shall develop
110 guidelines and procedures by rule to implement this section for
111 public works projects it administers.
112 Section 2. The Legislature determines and declares that
113 this act fulfills an important state interest.
114 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.