Capitol Watch: Blue Ribbon Projects and Impact Fee Bills move forward, Environmental Lands bill passes House

We have separate reporting today on the big three-way battle over the budget that is taking place between the governor and each chamber of the legislature, as well as a House bill that could add more nuclear power to Florida’s energy resources. Here are some other bills we're keeping a close eye on.

SB 354: Blue Ribbon Projects passes second committee vote

SB 354 grants automatic administrative approval to mega-developments with at least 10,000 contiguous acres. The bill prohibits required amendments to comprehensive plans or rezoning for approval, and limits local government review.

HB 1139: Impact Fees passes its third committee vote

Makes it harder for local governments to increase impact fee rates beyond the recently enacted phase-in limitations by way of the "extraordinary circumstances" carve-out. It also prohibits a local government from increasing impact fee rates by more than 100 percent in a 4-year period when utilizing the extraordinary circumstances provisions. The bill also provides for refunds and attorney fees and costs to a petitioner in an action challenging an impact fee imposed in violation of the statute.

Activists petition Boyd for support on SB 1532: Florida Public Service Commission

Affordable energy advocates and impacted residents showed up at Jim Boyd’s office on Tuesday, urging the Senate President-Elect to support legislative action on TECO's skyrocketing utility rates. The group urged the Senator to use his influence to aid the passage of SB 1532.

SB 1532 would require the commission to "implement specified measures to improve transparency and accountability; requiring the commission to ensure that public utilities do not recover certain costs from ratepayers regardless of whether such costs take a specified form; requiring the commission to ensure that the allowable return on equity for public utilities does not exceed certain metrics; requiring that certain cost-tracking mechanisms for a public utility to recover changes in electric supply costs provide a specified cost-sharing structure, etc."

HB 441: Conservation Lands passes the House 109-0

HB 441 and its Senate companion, SB 546, would require at least 30 days' notice to the public when the state considers selling or trading conservation lands and define the information that must be available.

The bills were filed in response to a proposal to swap pristine land in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area, which was stopped by citizens just after another failed attempt to trade lands in the Withlacoochee State Forest, months earlier. Citizens had only a few days to respond to the bad deals.

Senator Jim Boyd: boyd.jim.web@flsenate.gov
Rep. Will Robinson: Will.Robinson@flhouse.gov
Rep. Bill Conerly: Bill.Conerly@flhouse.gov
Rep. Michael Owen: michael.owen@flhouse.gov