Bill Text: FL S0232 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S0232 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S0232-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2011 SB 232
By Senator Bennett
21-00252-11 2011232__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Century Commission for a
3 Sustainable Florida; amending s. 163.3247, F.S.;
4 revising provisions relating to the Century Commission
5 for a Sustainable Florida; revising the findings and
6 intent to include the necessity for a specific
7 strategic plan addressing the state’s growth
8 management system; revising the planning timeframes to
9 include a 10-year horizon; revising membership of the
10 commission; deleting obsolete provisions regarding
11 initial appointments; providing for the election of a
12 chair and excluding certain members from serving as
13 chair during a specified period; requiring that the
14 commission meet at least six times per fiscal year;
15 deleting a provision that requires the commission to
16 meet in different regions in the state; requiring that
17 the executive director establish a meeting calendar
18 with the commission’s approval; authorizing the
19 commission to form subcommittees by vote; providing
20 for a majority vote of members on commission actions;
21 providing for reimbursement for per diem and travel
22 expenses; revising provisions relating to the
23 commission’s powers and duties; requiring that the
24 commission, in cooperation with interested state
25 agencies, local governments, and nongovernmental
26 stakeholders, develop a strategic plan and submit the
27 plan to the Governor and the Legislature by a
28 specified date; requiring that the commission also
29 submit progress reports by specified dates; requiring
30 that the commission make presentations to the Governor
31 and the Legislature; providing that an executive
32 director be appointed by the Secretary of Community
33 Affairs and ratified by the commission; requiring that
34 the Department of Community Affairs provide a specific
35 line item in its annual legislative budget request to
36 fund the commission during a specified period;
37 authorizing the department to obtain additional
38 funding through external grants; requiring that the
39 department provide sufficient funding and staff
40 support to assist the commission in its duties;
41 providing for future expiration and the abolishment of
42 the commission; providing an effective date.
43
44 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45
46 Section 1. Section 163.3247, Florida Statutes, as amended
47 by section 42 of chapter 2010-153, Laws of Florida, is amended,
48 and subsection (6) is added to that section, to read:
49 163.3247 Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida.—
50 (1) POPULAR NAME.—This section may be cited as the “Century
51 Commission for a Sustainable Florida Act.”
52 (2) FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature finds and declares
53 that the population of this state is expected to more than
54 double over the next 100 years, with commensurate impacts to the
55 state’s natural resources and public infrastructure.
56 Consequently, it is in the best interests of the people of the
57 state to ensure sound planning for the proper placement of this
58 growth and protection of the state’s land, water, and other
59 natural resources since such resources are essential to our
60 collective quality of life and a strong economy. The state’s
61 growth management system should foster economic stability
62 through regional solutions and strategies, urban renewal and
63 infill, and the continued viability of agricultural economies,
64 while allowing for rural economic development and protecting the
65 unique characteristics of rural areas, and should reduce the
66 complexity of the regulatory process while carrying out the
67 intent of the laws and encouraging greater citizen
68 participation. The Legislature further finds that it is
69 imperative that the state have a specific strategic plan
70 addressing its growth management system.
71 (3) CENTURY COMMISSION FOR A SUSTAINABLE FLORIDA; CREATION;
72 ORGANIZATION.—The Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida
73 is created as a standing body to help the citizens of this state
74 envision and plan their collective future with an eye towards
75 10-year, both 25-year, and 50-year horizons.
76 (a) The commission shall consist of 18 15 members appointed
77 as follows:,
78 1. Two members 5 appointed by the Governor;,
79 2. Five members 5 appointed by the President of the
80 Senate;, and
81 3. Five members 5 appointed by the Speaker of the House of
82 Representatives;
83 4. The chairs of the legislative growth management
84 committees;
85 5. The Secretary of Community Affairs;
86 6. The Secretary of Environmental Protection;
87 7. The Secretary of Transportation; and
88 8. The director of the Office of Tourism, Trade, and
89 Economic Development.
90 (b) Appointments shall be made no later than October 1,
91 2005. Members of the commission The membership must represent
92 local governments, school boards, developers and homebuilders,
93 the business community, the agriculture community, the
94 environmental community, and other appropriate stakeholders.
95 Beginning July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2013, one member shall
96 be elected to serve as chair by a vote of the commission
97 membership. However, the chairs of the legislative growth
98 management committees, the Secretary of Community Affairs, the
99 Secretary of Environmental Protection, the Secretary of
100 Transportation, and the director of the Office of Tourism,
101 Trade, and Economic Development may not serve as chair during
102 this period designated by the Governor as chair of the
103 commission. Any vacancy that occurs on the commission must be
104 filled in the same manner as the original appointment and shall
105 be for the unexpired term of that commission seat. Members shall
106 serve 4-year terms, except that, initially, to provide for
107 staggered terms, the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
108 the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each appoint
109 one member to serve a 2-year term, two members to serve 3-year
110 terms, and two members to serve 4-year terms. Members shall be
111 appointed to serve All subsequent appointments shall be for 4
112 year terms. An appointee may not serve more than 6 years.
113 However, members who are appointed on or before January 1, 2011,
114 shall have their terms automatically extended to June 30, 2013,
115 to ensure continuity during the development of the strategic
116 plan.
117 (c)(b) The fiscal year of the commission begins July 1 each
118 year and ends June 30 of the following year. The first meeting
119 of The commission shall be held no later than December 1, 2005,
120 and shall meet at the call of the chair but not less frequently
121 than six three times per fiscal year in different regions of the
122 state to solicit input from the public or any other individuals
123 offering testimony relevant to the issues to be considered. The
124 executive director shall establish a meeting calendar for the
125 fiscal year which considers the availability of members. The
126 commission must vote to approve the meeting calendar before the
127 beginning of the fiscal year. The commission may vote to form
128 subcommittees and schedule meetings as necessary.
129 (d)(c) Each member of the commission is entitled to one
130 vote, and the actions of the commission are not binding unless
131 taken by a majority three-fifths vote of the members present. A
132 majority of the members is required to constitute a quorum, and
133 the affirmative vote of a quorum is required for a binding vote.
134 (e)(d) Members of the commission shall serve without
135 compensation, but are shall be entitled to receive reimbursement
136 for per diem and travel expenses as provided in accordance with
137 s. 112.061 while in the performance of their duties.
138 (4) POWERS AND DUTIES.—(a) The commission shall:
139 (a) Annually conduct a process through which the commission
140 envisions the future for the state and then develops and
141 recommends policies, plans, action steps, or strategies to
142 assist in achieving the vision.
143 (b) Continuously review and consider statutory and
144 regulatory provisions, governmental processes, and societal and
145 economic trends in its inquiry of how state, regional, and local
146 governments and entities and citizens of this state can best
147 accommodate projected increased populations while maintaining
148 the natural, historical, cultural, and manmade life qualities
149 that best represent the state.
150 (c) bring together people representing varied interests to
151 develop a shared image of the state and its developed and
152 natural areas. The process should involve exploring the impact
153 of the estimated population increase and other emerging trends
154 and issues; creating a vision for the future; and developing a
155 strategic action plan to achieve that vision using 10-year, 25
156 year, and 50-year intermediate planning timeframes. The plan
157 must:
158 1.(d) Focus on essential state interests, defined as those
159 interests that transcend local or regional boundaries and are
160 most appropriately conserved, protected, and promoted at the
161 state level;.
162 2. Accommodate the projections for an increase in
163 population while maintaining the state’s natural, historical,
164 cultural, and manmade life qualities; and
165 3. Be developed through a coordinated, integrated, and
166 comprehensive effort across agencies, local governments, and
167 nongovernmental stakeholders.
168 (b) The commission shall submit the strategic plan to the
169 Governor and the Legislature by November 15, 2012, along with
170 progress reports by November 15, 2011, and March 15, 2012. The
171 commission shall also make presentations, at least annually, to
172 the Governor and the Legislature.
173 (e) Serve as an objective, nonpartisan repository of
174 exemplary community-building ideas and as a source to recommend
175 strategies and practices to assist others in working
176 collaboratively to problem solve on issues relating to growth
177 management.
178 (f) Annually, beginning January 16, 2007, and every year
179 thereafter on the same date, provide to the Governor, the
180 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
181 Representatives a written report containing specific
182 recommendations for addressing growth management in the state,
183 including executive and legislative recommendations. Further,
184 the report shall contain discussions regarding the need for
185 intergovernmental cooperation and the balancing of environmental
186 protection and future development and recommendations on issues,
187 including, but not limited to, recommendations regarding
188 dedicated sources of funding for sewer facilities, water supply
189 and quality, transportation facilities that are not adequately
190 addressed by the Strategic Intermodal System, and educational
191 infrastructure to support existing development and projected
192 population growth.
193 (c)(g) Beginning with the 2007 Regular Session of the
194 Legislature, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
195 House of Representatives shall create a joint select committee,
196 the task of which shall be to review the findings and
197 recommendations of the Century Commission for a Sustainable
198 Florida for potential action.
199 (5) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; STAFF AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.—
200 (a) The Secretary of Community Affairs shall select An
201 executive director shall be appointed by the Secretary of
202 Community Affairs and ratified by the commission and of the
203 commission, and the executive director shall serve at the
204 pleasure of the secretary under the supervision and control of
205 the commission under the direction of the chair.
206 (b) The Department of Community Affairs shall provide a
207 specific line item in its annual legislative budget request to
208 fund the commission for the period beginning July 1, 2011,
209 through June 30, 2013. The department may obtain additional
210 funding through external grants. The department shall provide
211 sufficient funds and staff support for the purpose of assisting
212 the commission in completing the strategic plan staff and other
213 resources necessary to accomplish the goals of the commission
214 based upon recommendations of the Governor.
215 (c) All agencies under the control of the Governor are
216 directed, and all other agencies are requested, to render
217 assistance to, and cooperate with, the commission.
218 (6) EXPIRATION.—This section expires and the commission is
219 abolished June 30, 2013.
220 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
