HB 0101 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to trust funds; creating s. 403.185, F.S.;
3	creating the Florida Keys and Key West Areas of Critical
4	State Concern Wastewater and Stormwater Trust Fund to be
5	administered by the Department of Community Affairs;
6	providing sources of funds; providing purposes and
7	administrative provisions with respect to such purposes;
8	providing rulemaking authority for such administrative
9	provisions; providing for annual carryforward of funds;
10	providing for future review and termination or re-creation
11	of the trust fund; providing for termination of the trust
12	fund following removal of the area of critical state
13	concern designation from the Florida Keys and Key West
14	Areas; providing an effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1. Section 403.185, Florida Statutes, is created
19	to read:
20	403.185 Florida Keys and Key West Areas of Critical State
21	Concern Wastewater and Stormwater Trust Fund.--
22	(1) There is created the Florida Keys and Key West Areas
23	of Critical State Concern Wastewater and Stormwater Trust Fund
24	to be administered by the Department of Community Affairs for
25	the purpose of funding priority wastewater and stormwater
26	management projects in the Florida Keys and Key West Areas of
27	Critical State Concern.
28	(2) The trust fund shall be credited with state
29	appropriations made by law and with funds from state and federal
30	grants.
31	(3)(a) The Department of Community Affairs may award funds
32	from the trust fund to a local government agency, including the
33	Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, responsible for wastewater or
34	stormwater management services.
35	(b) Funds may be awarded to cover the costs of engineering
36	design, construction and construction-related services, and
37	construction supervision. Planning costs are not eligible for
38	funding.
39	(4) The Department of Community Affairs also may award
40	funds from the trust fund to property owners for the purpose of
41	upgrading unpermitted individual residential onsite treatment
42	and disposal systems, consistent with the requirements of
43	chapter 99-395, Laws of Florida, in areas not planned for
44	central wastewater facilities by 2010.
45	(5) The Department of Community Affairs may establish a
46	maximum amount of funds to be awarded to any one recipient in
47	any given year or in total. In awarding funds, the department
48	may consider the rate impacts on customers in an effort to
49	equalize those impacts to the extent practicable.
50	(6) The Department of Community Affairs may award funds
51	only for projects that are consistent with:
52	(a) The Monroe County Wastewater Master Plan and any
53	locally adopted wastewater master plan; or
54	(b) A locally adopted stormwater master plan.
55	(7) The Department of Community Affairs may award funds
56	for the specific purpose of making affordable a loan under s.
57	403.1835. Affordability criteria shall be established by the
58	Department of Community Affairs, in consultation with the
59	Department of Environmental Protection.
60	(8) The Department of Community Affairs, in consultation
61	with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall
62	prioritize ready-to-proceed projects for the purpose of awarding
63	money from the trust fund. Priority considerations may include,
64	but are not limited to, the extent of public health protection
65	and water quality improvement expected of the project. For
66	purposes of this section, readiness to proceed means, at a
67	minimum, that a project sponsor has demonstrated and documented
68	the following:
69	(a) That it has the financial capability to construct the
70	project with the assistance provided and any other legally
71	available funds.
72	(b) That, in the case of wastewater projects, it has
73	enforceable sewer use policies.
74	(c) That it has a program to provide assistance to low-
75	income residents to help defray the impact of rates and fees.
76	(d) That it will be able to proceed with construction, or
77	with a design-build project, at a definite cost based on a firm
78	bid or proposal.
79	(e) That the plan, project costs, rate and fee impacts,
80	and overall implications of the project have been presented to
81	the public affected by the project.
82	(9) The Department of Community Affairs may adopt rules
83	pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 necessary to administer
84	subsections (3)-(8).
85	(10) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.301 and
86	pursuant to s. 216.351, any balance in the trust fund at the end
87	of any fiscal year shall remain in the trust fund at the end of
88	the year and shall be available for carrying out the purposes of
89	the trust fund.
90	(11) Pursuant to the provisions of s. 19(f)(2), Art. III
91	of the State Constitution, the trust fund shall, unless
92	terminated sooner, be terminated on July 1, 2007. Prior to its
93	scheduled termination, the trust fund shall be reviewed as
94	provided in s. 215.3206.
95	(12) The trust fund, if not repealed sooner pursuant to
96	subsection (11), shall be repealed 5 years after the date the
97	area of critical state concern designation is removed from both
98	the Florida Keys and Key West Areas.
99	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
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