Florida Senate - 2025                       CS for CS for SB 818
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Rules; and Transportation; and Senator
       McClain
       
       
       
       
       595-03656-25                                           2025818c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to utility relocation; amending s.
    3         202.18, F.S.; requiring that a specified percentage of
    4         a local communications services tax levied by
    5         municipalities and counties be distributed to the
    6         Department of Commerce to fund the Utility Relocation
    7         Reimbursement Grant Program; creating the program
    8         within the department; providing the purpose of the
    9         program; requiring the Department of Revenue to
   10         deposit certain proceeds into an account to fund the
   11         program beginning on a certain date; requiring the
   12         Department of Commerce to establish program
   13         requirements by rule; authorizing certain uses of
   14         program funds; exempting program funds from a certain
   15         service charge; providing that interest earned on
   16         program funds accrues to the program’s fund; amending
   17         s. 337.403, F.S.; requiring a service provider to
   18         perform communications services facility relocation
   19         work under certain circumstances; requiring an
   20         authority to pay the expense properly attributable to
   21         such work; providing an exception for county and
   22         municipal authorities; authorizing a service provider
   23         to apply to the Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant
   24         Program for reimbursement of relocation expenses;
   25         requiring a department to notify certain providers of
   26         communications services of certain projects within a
   27         specified timeframe; defining the term “department”;
   28         providing notification requirements; requiring a
   29         provider to respond to the notification with certain
   30         information within a specified timeframe; requiring a
   31         department to provide a reasonable offer for joint
   32         participation in certain relocation costs under
   33         certain conditions; providing construction; amending
   34         s. 125.42, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference;
   35         providing a finding and declaration of important state
   36         interest; providing an effective date.
   37          
   38  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   39  
   40         Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (3) of
   41  section 202.18, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection
   42  (4) is added to that section, to read:
   43         202.18 Allocation and disposition of tax proceeds.—The
   44  proceeds of the communications services taxes remitted under
   45  this chapter shall be treated as follows:
   46         (3)(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the
   47  proceeds of each local communications services tax levied by a
   48  municipality or county pursuant to s. 202.19(1) or s. 202.20(1),
   49  less 7.5 percent distributed to the Department of Commerce to
   50  fund the Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program created
   51  in subsection (4) and less the department’s costs of
   52  administration, shall be transferred to the Local Communications
   53  Services Tax Clearing Trust Fund and held there to be
   54  distributed to such municipality or county. However, the
   55  proceeds of any communications services tax imposed pursuant to
   56  s. 202.19(5) shall be deposited and disbursed in accordance with
   57  ss. 212.054 and 212.055. For purposes of this section, the
   58  proceeds of any tax levied by a municipality, county, or school
   59  board under s. 202.19(1) or s. 202.20(1) are all funds collected
   60  and received by the department pursuant to a specific levy
   61  authorized by such sections, including any interest and
   62  penalties attributable to the tax levy.
   63         (c)1. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph,
   64  proceeds of the taxes levied pursuant to s. 202.19, less 7.5
   65  percent distributed to the Department of Commerce to fund the
   66  Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program created in
   67  subsection (4) and less amounts deducted for costs of
   68  administration in accordance with paragraph (b), shall be
   69  distributed monthly to the appropriate jurisdictions. The
   70  proceeds of taxes imposed pursuant to s. 202.19(5) shall be
   71  distributed in the same manner as discretionary surtaxes are
   72  distributed, in accordance with ss. 212.054 and 212.055.
   73         2. The department shall make any adjustments to the
   74  distributions pursuant to this section which are necessary to
   75  reflect the proper amounts due to individual jurisdictions or
   76  trust funds. In the event that the department adjusts amounts
   77  due to reflect a correction in the situsing of a customer, such
   78  adjustment shall be limited to the amount of tax actually
   79  collected from such customer by the dealer of communication
   80  services.
   81         3.a. Adjustments in distributions which are necessary to
   82  correct misallocations between jurisdictions shall be governed
   83  by this subparagraph. If the department determines that
   84  misallocations between jurisdictions occurred, it shall provide
   85  written notice of such determination to all affected
   86  jurisdictions. The notice shall include the amount of the
   87  misallocations, the basis upon which the determination was made,
   88  data supporting the determination, and the identity of each
   89  affected jurisdiction. The notice shall also inform all affected
   90  jurisdictions of their authority to enter into a written
   91  agreement establishing a method of adjustment as described in
   92  sub-subparagraph c.
   93         b. An adjustment affecting a distribution to a jurisdiction
   94  which is less than 90 percent of the average monthly
   95  distribution to that jurisdiction for the 6 months immediately
   96  preceding the department’s determination, as reported by all
   97  communications services dealers, shall be made in the month
   98  immediately following the department’s determination that
   99  misallocations occurred.
  100         c. If an adjustment affecting a distribution to a
  101  jurisdiction equals or exceeds 90 percent of the average monthly
  102  distribution to that jurisdiction for the 6 months immediately
  103  preceding the department’s determination, as reported by all
  104  communications services dealers, the affected jurisdictions may
  105  enter into a written agreement establishing a method of
  106  adjustment. If the agreement establishing a method of adjustment
  107  provides for payments of local communications services tax
  108  monthly distributions, the amount of any such payment agreed to
  109  may not exceed the local communications services tax monthly
  110  distributions available to the jurisdiction that was allocated
  111  amounts in excess of those to which it was entitled. If affected
  112  jurisdictions execute a written agreement specifying a method of
  113  adjustment, a copy of the written agreement shall be provided to
  114  the department no later than the first day of the month
  115  following 90 days after the date the department transmits notice
  116  of the misallocation. If the department does not receive a copy
  117  of the written agreement within the specified time period, an
  118  adjustment affecting a distribution to a jurisdiction made
  119  pursuant to this sub-subparagraph shall be prorated over a time
  120  period that equals the time period over which the misallocations
  121  occurred.
  122         (4) There is created within the Department of Commerce a
  123  Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program. The purpose of
  124  the program is to reimburse providers of communications services
  125  which are subject to this chapter for eligible costs incurred in
  126  relocating facilities at the request of a county or municipal
  127  authority.
  128         (a) Beginning October 1, 2025, the department shall deposit
  129  the proceeds to be distributed to the Department of Commerce
  130  under subsection (3) into an account to fund the Utility
  131  Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program. The department shall
  132  ensure the transfer of such funds on a monthly basis.
  133         (b) The Department of Commerce shall establish by rule all
  134  of the following:
  135         1. The criteria and process by which service providers may
  136  apply for reimbursement.
  137         2. The minimum documentation required to verify eligible
  138  relocation costs, which may not be excessive or burdensome.
  139         3. The timeline for application review and reimbursement
  140  disbursement, which may not exceed 90 days from submission.
  141         (c) Program funds may be used only to reimburse actual,
  142  documented expenses directly attributable to the physical
  143  relocation of facilities required by a county or municipal
  144  authority. Reimbursement may not be made to a service provider
  145  for indirect or administrative costs.
  146         (d) Program funds are exempt from s. 215.20 and any
  147  interest earnings shall accrue to the program’s fund.
  148         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 337.403, Florida
  149  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (4) is added to that
  150  section, to read:
  151         337.403 Interference caused by utility; expenses.—
  152         (1) If a utility that is placed upon, under, over, or
  153  within the right-of-way limits of any public road or publicly
  154  owned rail corridor is found by the authority to be unreasonably
  155  interfering in any way with the convenient, safe, or continuous
  156  use, or the maintenance, improvement, extension, or expansion,
  157  of such public road or publicly owned rail corridor, the utility
  158  owner must shall, within 30 days after upon 30 days’ written
  159  notice to the utility or its agent by the authority, initiate
  160  the work necessary to alleviate the interference at its own
  161  expense except as provided in paragraphs (a)-(k) (a)-(j). The
  162  work must be completed within such reasonable time as stated in
  163  the notice or such time as agreed to by the authority and the
  164  utility owner.
  165         (a) If the relocation of utility facilities, as referred to
  166  in s. 111 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Pub. L. No.
  167  84-627, is necessitated by the construction of a project on the
  168  federal-aid interstate system, including extensions thereof
  169  within urban areas, and the cost of the project is eligible and
  170  approved for reimbursement by the Federal Government to the
  171  extent of 90 percent or more under the Federal-Aid Highway Act,
  172  or any amendment thereof, then in that event the utility owning
  173  or operating such facilities must shall perform any necessary
  174  work upon notice from the department, and the state must shall
  175  pay the entire expense properly attributable to such work after
  176  deducting therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility
  177  and any salvage value derived from an old facility.
  178         (b) When a joint agreement between the department and the
  179  utility is executed for utility work to be accomplished as part
  180  of a contract for construction of a transportation facility, the
  181  department may participate in those utility work costs that
  182  exceed the department’s official estimate of the cost of the
  183  work by more than 10 percent. The amount of such participation
  184  is limited to the difference between the official estimate of
  185  all the work in the joint agreement plus 10 percent and the
  186  amount awarded for this work in the construction contract for
  187  such work. The department may not participate in any utility
  188  work costs that occur as a result of changes or additions during
  189  the course of the contract.
  190         (c) When an agreement between the department and utility is
  191  executed for utility work to be accomplished in advance of a
  192  contract for construction of a transportation facility, the
  193  department may participate in the cost of clearing and grubbing
  194  necessary to perform such work.
  195         (d) If the utility facility was initially installed to
  196  exclusively serve the authority or its tenants, or both, the
  197  authority must shall bear the costs of the utility work.
  198  However, the authority is not responsible for the cost of
  199  utility work related to any subsequent additions to that
  200  facility for the purpose of serving others. For a county or
  201  municipality, if such utility facility was installed in the
  202  right-of-way as a means to serve a county or municipal facility
  203  on a parcel of property adjacent to the right-of-way and if the
  204  intended use of the county or municipal facility is for a use
  205  other than transportation purposes, the obligation of the county
  206  or municipality to bear the costs of the utility work shall
  207  extend only to utility work on the parcel of property on which
  208  the facility of the county or municipality originally served by
  209  the utility facility is located.
  210         (e) If, under an agreement between a utility and the
  211  authority entered into after July 1, 2009, the utility conveys,
  212  subordinates, or relinquishes a compensable property right to
  213  the authority for the purpose of accommodating the acquisition
  214  or use of the right-of-way by the authority, without the
  215  agreement expressly addressing future responsibility for the
  216  cost of necessary utility work, the authority must shall bear
  217  the cost of removal or relocation. This paragraph does not
  218  impair or restrict, and may not be used to interpret, the terms
  219  of any such agreement entered into before July 1, 2009.
  220         (f) If the utility is an electric facility being relocated
  221  underground in order to enhance vehicular, bicycle, and
  222  pedestrian safety and in which ownership of the electric
  223  facility to be placed underground has been transferred from a
  224  private to a public utility within the past 5 years, the
  225  department must shall incur all costs of the necessary utility
  226  work.
  227         (g) An authority may bear the costs of utility work
  228  required to eliminate an unreasonable interference when the
  229  utility is not able to establish that it has a compensable
  230  property right in the particular property where the utility is
  231  located if:
  232         1. The utility was physically located on the particular
  233  property before the authority acquired rights in the property;
  234         2. The utility demonstrates that it has a compensable
  235  property right in adjacent properties along the alignment of the
  236  utility or, after due diligence, certifies that the utility does
  237  not have evidence to prove or disprove that it has a compensable
  238  property right in the particular property where the utility is
  239  located; and
  240         3. The information available to the authority does not
  241  establish the relative priorities of the authority’s and the
  242  utility’s interests in the particular property.
  243         (h) If a municipally owned utility or county-owned utility
  244  is located in a rural area of opportunity, as defined in s.
  245  288.0656(2), and the department determines that the utility is
  246  unable, and will not be able within the next 10 years, to pay
  247  for the cost of utility work necessitated by a department
  248  project on the State Highway System, the department may pay, in
  249  whole or in part, the cost of such utility work performed by the
  250  department or its contractor.
  251         (i) If the relocation of utility facilities is necessitated
  252  by the construction of a commuter rail service project or an
  253  intercity passenger rail service project and the cost of the
  254  project is eligible and approved for reimbursement by the
  255  Federal Government, then in that event the utility owning or
  256  operating such facilities located by permit on a department
  257  owned rail corridor must shall perform any necessary utility
  258  relocation work upon notice from the department, and the
  259  department must shall pay the expense properly attributable to
  260  such utility relocation work in the same proportion as federal
  261  funds are expended on the commuter rail service project or an
  262  intercity passenger rail service project after deducting
  263  therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility and any
  264  salvage value derived from an old facility. In no event is shall
  265  the state be required to use state dollars for such utility
  266  relocation work. This paragraph does not apply to any phase of
  267  the Central Florida Commuter Rail project, known as SunRail.
  268         (j) If a utility is lawfully located within an existing and
  269  valid utility easement granted by recorded plat, regardless of
  270  whether such land was subsequently acquired by the authority by
  271  dedication, transfer of fee, or otherwise, the authority must
  272  bear the cost of the utility work required to eliminate an
  273  unreasonable interference. The authority shall pay the entire
  274  expense properly attributable to such work after deducting any
  275  increase in the value of a new facility and any salvage value
  276  derived from an old facility.
  277         (k)1. Except as provided in subparagraph 2., if the
  278  authority requires a provider of communications services which
  279  is subject to chapter 202 to relocate a facility used to provide
  280  such communications services, the service provider owning or
  281  operating such facility must perform any necessary work upon
  282  notice from the authority. The authority requiring the
  283  relocation shall pay the entire expense properly attributable to
  284  such work.
  285         2. If a county or municipal authority requires a provider
  286  of communications services which is subject to chapter 202 to
  287  relocate a facility used to provide such communications
  288  services, the service provider owning or operating such facility
  289  must perform any necessary work upon notice from the authority.
  290  The county or municipal authority requiring such relocation is
  291  not responsible for paying the expense of such work. The service
  292  provider may apply for reimbursement of relocation expenses from
  293  the Utility Relocation Reimbursement Grant Program pursuant to
  294  s. 202.18(4), subject to the availability of funds and in
  295  compliance with the requirements of the program.
  296         (4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(k), a department shall
  297  notify providers of communications services that are subject to
  298  chapter 202 which have permitted infrastructure within a planned
  299  or existing public right-of-way within 90 days after a project
  300  is added to the department’s project schedule which may require
  301  the provider to relocate its infrastructure for roadway
  302  improvements to increase safety or reduce congestion. For
  303  purposes of this subsection, the term “department” means the
  304  Department of Transportation or an agency of the state created
  305  under chapter 348 or chapter 349.
  306         (a) The notification provided under this subsection must
  307  include an estimated project schedule and timeline, including
  308  the anticipated year of construction.
  309         (b) Within 90 days after receipt of the notification, the
  310  provider shall respond to the department with an estimated
  311  timeframe and project cost for the relocation of the provider’s
  312  infrastructure. The response must include a draft relocation
  313  schedule within or adjacent to the existing or planned public
  314  right-of-way.
  315         (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
  316  the department shall provide a reasonable offer for joint
  317  participation in relocation costs, so long as the provider
  318  begins work within a mutually agreed upon timeframe and, if the
  319  infrastructure relocation is a result of roadway improvements
  320  within the public right-of-way to increase safety or reduce
  321  congestion and the impacted infrastructure was, at the time of
  322  notification under this subsection, installed within the past 7
  323  state fiscal years, the department must incur at least 50
  324  percent of the costs for relocation work as described in a joint
  325  participation agreement.
  326         (d) This subsection may not be construed to prevent a
  327  department from pursuing the additional relocation processes,
  328  agreements, or payment options authorized under this section or
  329  to prevent a provider from using grant funds provided through
  330  other government sources to support all or a portion of the
  331  relocation costs.
  332         Section 3. Subsection (5) of section 125.42, Florida
  333  Statutes, is amended to read:
  334         125.42 Water, sewage, gas, power, telephone, other utility,
  335  and television lines within the right-of-way limits of county
  336  roads and highways.—
  337         (5) In the event of widening, repair, or reconstruction of
  338  any such road, the licensee shall move or remove such water,
  339  sewage, gas, power, telephone, and other utility lines and
  340  television lines at no cost to the county should they be found
  341  by the county to be unreasonably interfering, except as provided
  342  in s. 337.403(1)(d)-(k) s. 337.403(1)(d)-(j).
  343         Section 4. The Legislature finds and declares that this act
  344  fulfills an important state interest.
  345         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.