HB 0143, Engrossed 1 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to Monroe County; amending chapter 76-441,
3	Laws of Florida, as amended; providing for the exemption
4	of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority from the provisions
5	of chapter 120, Florida Statutes, the Administrative
6	Procedure Act; deleting reference to chapter 120, Florida
7	Statutes, from the law relating to the Authority;
8	providing for public hearings under certain circumstances;
9	providing an effective date.
10
11	WHEREAS, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority was created in
12	chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as amended, and
13	WHEREAS, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority’s stated
14	primary purpose and function is to obtain, supply, and
15	distribute an adequate water supply for the Florida Keys and to
16	collect, treat, and dispose of wastewater in the Florida Keys in
17	accordance with the Department of Health and the Department of
18	Environmental Protection, and
19	WHEREAS, the authority has exclusive jurisdiction over the
20	administration, maintenance, development, and provision of
21	wastewater system services in Monroe County with the exception
22	of the City of Key West, the City of Key Colony Beach, the City
23	of Layton, Islamorada, Village of Islands, and Key Largo
24	Wastewater Treatment District, and
25	WHEREAS, for the benefit of the inhabitants of Monroe
26	County and as a result of substantial encouragement from state
27	and county governmental authorities, the Authority is developing
28	and plans to own, operate, and maintain a wastewater system for
29	the collection, transmission, treatment, storage, and disposal
30	of wastewater as provided in chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as
31	amended, in order to ensure compliance with state wastewater
32	effluent standards for water quality issues in the Florida Keys,
33	high quality of life for its citizens, and the continued
34	viability of the area for tourism, and
35	WHEREAS, the provisions of the Administrative Procedure
36	Act, as applicable to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, are
37	financially burdensome to water and wastewater rate payers,
38	unnecessarily time consuming, and significantly prohibitive to
39	the Authority in meeting the state mandates in a timely fashion,
40	and
41	WHEREAS, the Administrative Procedure Act is normally not
42	applicable to single county special districts, NOW, THEREFORE,
43
44	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45
46	Section 1. Section 2, paragraph (a) of subsection 9 of
47	section 9, section 10, and subsection (4) of section 14 of
48	chapter 76-441, Laws of Florida, as amended, are amended to
49	read:
50	Section 2. Applicability of certain provisions of Florida
51	law to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority.--Except as
52	specifically provided herein, the provisions of this act shall
53	control over the provisions of any other special or general law.
54	Decisions made by the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority shall not
55	be subject to the Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120,
56	Florida Statutes.
57	Section 9. Powers of the Authority.--In addition and not
58	in limitation of the powers of the Authority, it shall have the
59	following powers:
60	(9)(a) SEWER SYSTEM.--To purchase, construct, and
61	otherwise acquire and to improve, extend, enlarge, and
62	reconstruct a sewage disposal system or systems and to purchase
63	and/or construct or reconstruct sewer improvements and to
64	operate, manage, and control all such systems so purchased
65	and/or constructed and all properties pertaining thereto and to
66	furnish and supply sewage collection and disposal services to
67	any municipalities and any persons, firms, or corporations,
68	public or private; to prohibit or regulate the use and
69	maintenance of outhouses, privies, septic tanks, or other
70	sanitary structures or appliances within the Authority
71	boundaries, provided that prior to prohibiting the use of any
72	such facilities adequate new facilities must be available; to
73	prescribe methods of pretreatment of waste not amenable to
74	treatment, to refuse to accept such waste when not sufficiently
75	pretreated as may be prescribed and to prescribe penalties for
76	the refusal of any person or corporation to so pretreat such
77	waste; to sell or otherwise dispose of the effluent, sludge, or
78	other by-products as a result of sewage treatment and to
79	construct and operate connecting or intercepting outlets, sewers
80	and sewer mains and pipes and water mains, conduits, or
81	pipelines in, along, or under any street, alley, highways,
82	within or without the Authority boundaries when deemed necessary
83	or desirable by the board of directors in accomplishing the
84	purposes of this act, with the consent of the agency owning or
85	controlling same. All such regulation herein authorized shall
86	comply with the standards and regulations pertaining to same as
87	promulgated by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative
88	Services and by the Department of Environmental Protection
89	Regulationand be adopted pursuant to chapter 120, Florida
90	Statutes.
91	Section 10. Rules.--Upon reasonable advance notice to the
92	public and an opportunity for all persons to be heard on the
93	matter,the board shall adopt bylaws, rules, resolutions,
94	regulations, and orders prescribing the powers, duties, and
95	functions of the members of the board and employees of the
96	Authority; the conduct of the business of the Authority; the
97	maintenance of records of the Authority, and shall adopt
98	administrative rules and regulations with respect to any of the
99	projects of the Authority. All such bylaws, rules, resolutions,
100	regulations, orders and administrative rules shall be adopted
101	pursuant to the provisions of chapter 120, Florida Statutes.
102	Section 14. Fees, rentals, and charges; procedure for
103	adoption and modification, minimum revenue requirements.--
104	(4) No rate, fee, rental, or other charge may be
105	established resulting in increased costs for service to the
106	customer nor may any rate, fee, rental, or other charge be
107	increased by the Authority until a public hearing has been held
108	relating to the proposed increase n the City of Key West, and in
109	the Marathon and the upper Keys areas. However, if the proposed
110	rule affects wastewater only in a single wastewater district and
111	affects rates, fees, or charges that could result in increased
112	costs of service to the customer, no rate, fee, rental, or other
113	charge may be increased by the Authority until two advertised
114	public hearings have been held relating to the proposed increase
115	at a site convenient to the public located in the district area.
116	Such public hearings shall not occur within 15 days of each
117	other.
118	Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.