HB 199

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to desalination technology; providing
3	legislative intent; directing the Secretary of
4	Environmental Protection to coordinate with the water
5	management districts to conduct a study of certain
6	desalination technologies; providing study requirements;
7	requiring the secretary to report to the Governor and the
8	Legislature by a specified date; providing an effective
9	date.
10
11	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13	Section 1.  (1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--The Legislature finds
14	that desalination of seawater is a proven technology for
15	providing water supply solutions for countries around the world
16	and an increasingly cost-competitive alternative for coastal
17	cities within the United States. The potential success of
18	desalination projects would benefit the communities they
19	directly serve and the state as a whole by preserving existing
20	natural water resources and providing a practical means of
21	ensuring adequate supplies of water for future generations of
22	Floridians. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to
23	aggressively pursue desalination technologies for use in the
24	state.
25	(2)  DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY STUDY; REPORT.--The Secretary
26	of Environmental Protection is directed to coordinate with the
27	water management districts to conduct a study examining all
28	current and available desalination technologies. The study shall
29	include an analysis of the existing desalination projects in the
30	state and recommendations for a plan to effectively utilize and
31	implement desalination technologies that are environmentally and
32	fiscally sound and that will provide sustainability of the
33	current water supply demands of the state as well as long-term
34	potable water supply demands based on projected population
35	growth. The secretary shall submit a report of the findings of
36	the study and plan recommendations to the Governor, the
37	President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
38	Representatives by June 30, 2009.
39	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.