Bill Text: FL S1548 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Energy
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-03-08 - Died in Regulated Industries [S1548 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1548-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1548
By Senator Gruters
22-01633-24 20241548__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to energy; amending s. 337.25, F.S.;
3 prohibiting the Department of Transportation from
4 assigning or transferring its permitting rights across
5 transportation rights-of-way operated by the
6 department to certain third parties under certain
7 circumstances; amending s. 337.403, F.S.; prohibiting
8 authorities from requiring the relocation of utilities
9 on behalf of certain other third party or governmental
10 agency projects; amending s. 366.04, F.S.; requiring
11 the Public Service Commission to approve targeted
12 storm reserve amounts for public utilities; providing
13 requirements for the targeted storm reserve amounts;
14 providing for base rate adjustments; amending s.
15 409.508, F.S.; defining and redefining terms;
16 requiring the Department of Commerce to expand
17 categorical eligibility for the low-income home energy
18 assistance program to include individuals who are
19 enrolled in certain federal disability programs;
20 requiring the department to develop a comprehensive
21 process for automatic payments to be made on behalf of
22 such individuals; providing requirements for such
23 process; making technical changes; requiring the
24 Public Service Commission to conduct or cause to be
25 conducted a feasibility study on the use of small
26 modular nuclear reactors in this state; defining the
27 term “small modular nuclear reactor” or “reactor”;
28 providing requirements for the feasibility study;
29 requiring the commission to submit a report on the
30 findings and conclusion of the feasibility study to
31 the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date;
32 providing requirements for the report; providing an
33 effective date.
34
35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37 Section 1. Paragraph (e) is added to subsection (1) of
38 section 337.25, Florida Statutes, to read:
39 337.25 Acquisition, lease, and disposal of real and
40 personal property.—
41 (1)
42 (e) The department may not, without prior approval from the
43 Legislature, assign or transfer its permitting rights across any
44 transportation right-of-way operated by the department to a
45 third party or governmental entity that does not operate the
46 transportation right-of-way.
47 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 337.403, Florida
48 Statutes, is amended to read:
49 337.403 Interference caused by utility; expenses.—
50 (1) If a utility that is placed upon, under, over, or
51 within the right-of-way limits of any public road or publicly
52 owned rail corridor is found by the authority to be unreasonably
53 interfering in any way with the convenient, safe, or continuous
54 use, or the maintenance, improvement, extension, or expansion,
55 of such public road or publicly owned rail corridor, the utility
56 owner shall, upon 30 days’ written notice to the utility or its
57 agent by the authority, initiate the work necessary to alleviate
58 the interference at its own expense except as provided in
59 paragraphs (a)-(j). The authority may not require a utility
60 within a public road operated by the authority to be relocated
61 on behalf of any other third-party or governmental agency
62 project related to a separate public or private road or
63 transportation corridor. The work must be completed within such
64 reasonable time as stated in the notice or such time as agreed
65 to by the authority and the utility owner.
66 (a) If the relocation of utility facilities, as referred to
67 in s. 111 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Pub. L. No.
68 84-627, is necessitated by the construction of a project on the
69 federal-aid interstate system, including extensions thereof
70 within urban areas, and the cost of the project is eligible and
71 approved for reimbursement by the Federal Government to the
72 extent of 90 percent or more under the Federal-Aid Highway Act,
73 or any amendment thereof, then in that event the utility owning
74 or operating such facilities shall perform any necessary work
75 upon notice from the department, and the state shall pay the
76 entire expense properly attributable to such work after
77 deducting therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility
78 and any salvage value derived from an old facility.
79 (b) When a joint agreement between the department and the
80 utility is executed for utility work to be accomplished as part
81 of a contract for construction of a transportation facility, the
82 department may participate in those utility work costs that
83 exceed the department’s official estimate of the cost of the
84 work by more than 10 percent. The amount of such participation
85 is limited to the difference between the official estimate of
86 all the work in the joint agreement plus 10 percent and the
87 amount awarded for this work in the construction contract for
88 such work. The department may not participate in any utility
89 work costs that occur as a result of changes or additions during
90 the course of the contract.
91 (c) When an agreement between the department and utility is
92 executed for utility work to be accomplished in advance of a
93 contract for construction of a transportation facility, the
94 department may participate in the cost of clearing and grubbing
95 necessary to perform such work.
96 (d) If the utility facility was initially installed to
97 exclusively serve the authority or its tenants, or both, the
98 authority shall bear the costs of the utility work. However, the
99 authority is not responsible for the cost of utility work
100 related to any subsequent additions to that facility for the
101 purpose of serving others. For a county or municipality, if such
102 utility facility was installed in the right-of-way as a means to
103 serve a county or municipal facility on a parcel of property
104 adjacent to the right-of-way and if the intended use of the
105 county or municipal facility is for a use other than
106 transportation purposes, the obligation of the county or
107 municipality to bear the costs of the utility work shall extend
108 only to utility work on the parcel of property on which the
109 facility of the county or municipality originally served by the
110 utility facility is located.
111 (e) If, under an agreement between a utility and the
112 authority entered into after July 1, 2009, the utility conveys,
113 subordinates, or relinquishes a compensable property right to
114 the authority for the purpose of accommodating the acquisition
115 or use of the right-of-way by the authority, without the
116 agreement expressly addressing future responsibility for the
117 cost of necessary utility work, the authority shall bear the
118 cost of removal or relocation. This paragraph does not impair or
119 restrict, and may not be used to interpret, the terms of any
120 such agreement entered into before July 1, 2009.
121 (f) If the utility is an electric facility being relocated
122 underground in order to enhance vehicular, bicycle, and
123 pedestrian safety and in which ownership of the electric
124 facility to be placed underground has been transferred from a
125 private to a public utility within the past 5 years, the
126 department shall incur all costs of the necessary utility work.
127 (g) An authority may bear the costs of utility work
128 required to eliminate an unreasonable interference when the
129 utility is not able to establish that it has a compensable
130 property right in the particular property where the utility is
131 located if:
132 1. The utility was physically located on the particular
133 property before the authority acquired rights in the property;
134 2. The utility demonstrates that it has a compensable
135 property right in adjacent properties along the alignment of the
136 utility or, after due diligence, certifies that the utility does
137 not have evidence to prove or disprove that it has a compensable
138 property right in the particular property where the utility is
139 located; and
140 3. The information available to the authority does not
141 establish the relative priorities of the authority’s and the
142 utility’s interests in the particular property.
143 (h) If a municipally owned utility or county-owned utility
144 is located in a rural area of opportunity, as defined in s.
145 288.0656(2), and the department determines that the utility is
146 unable, and will not be able within the next 10 years, to pay
147 for the cost of utility work necessitated by a department
148 project on the State Highway System, the department may pay, in
149 whole or in part, the cost of such utility work performed by the
150 department or its contractor.
151 (i) If the relocation of utility facilities is necessitated
152 by the construction of a commuter rail service project or an
153 intercity passenger rail service project and the cost of the
154 project is eligible and approved for reimbursement by the
155 Federal Government, then in that event the utility owning or
156 operating such facilities located by permit on a department
157 owned rail corridor shall perform any necessary utility
158 relocation work upon notice from the department, and the
159 department shall pay the expense properly attributable to such
160 utility relocation work in the same proportion as federal funds
161 are expended on the commuter rail service project or an
162 intercity passenger rail service project after deducting
163 therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility and any
164 salvage value derived from an old facility. In no event shall
165 the state be required to use state dollars for such utility
166 relocation work. This paragraph does not apply to any phase of
167 the Central Florida Commuter Rail project, known as SunRail.
168 (j) If a utility is lawfully located within an existing and
169 valid utility easement granted by recorded plat, regardless of
170 whether such land was subsequently acquired by the authority by
171 dedication, transfer of fee, or otherwise, the authority must
172 bear the cost of the utility work required to eliminate an
173 unreasonable interference. The authority shall pay the entire
174 expense properly attributable to such work after deducting any
175 increase in the value of a new facility and any salvage value
176 derived from an old facility.
177 Section 3. Subsection (10) is added to section 366.04,
178 Florida Statutes, to read:
179 366.04 Jurisdiction of commission.—
180 (10) The commission shall approve a targeted storm reserve
181 amount to be effective January 1, 2025, for each public utility.
182 The targeted storm reserve amount must be set at a level equal
183 to 80 percent of the approved incremental storm costs incurred
184 for the public utility’s highest cost storm impacting its
185 service area over the 5 calendar years before January 2025. The
186 approved incremental storm costs that form the basis for the
187 targeted storm reserve amount must be based on the filings of
188 the public utility with the commission and orders issued by the
189 commission.
190 (a)1. The initial targeted storm reserve amount established
191 by the commission:
192 a. Is subject to adjustment on an annual basis for
193 successive rolling 5-year periods;
194 b. Must be funded by an increase in base rates effective
195 January 1, 2025; and
196 c. Must be designed to allow the utility to recover the
197 costs to fund the targeted reserve level over a 4-year period.
198 2. All base rate adjustments and accompanying tariffs must
199 be:
200 a. Implemented by administrative approval of the commission
201 and employ the most recent authorized base rate structure for
202 the public utility;
203 b. Filed by October 15 together with the current storm
204 reserve and supporting documentation and the highest cost storm
205 over the prior 5 years as reflected by commission order; and
206 c. Administratively approved by each November 15 to take
207 effect on January 1 of the following calendar year.
208 (b) Suspension of base rate increases and implementation of
209 base rate adjustments under this subsection based on use and
210 depletion of the storm reserve and the determination of the
211 annual storm reserve amount must be administratively determined
212 and approved by the commission consistent with calendar
213 deadlines under paragraph (a).
214 (c) The adjustments to base rates must be designed to fund
215 the public utility storm reserves; the cost recovery of such
216 base rates must be without regard to any impact on a public
217 utility’s previous, current, or projected earnings; and the
218 revenues from such base rates may not be considered in the
219 calculation of a public utility’s earnings in earnings
220 surveillance reports filed with the commission.
221 Section 4. Section 409.508, Florida Statutes, is amended to
222 read:
223 409.508 Low-income home energy assistance program.—
224 (1) As used in this section, the term:
225 (a) “Department” means the Department of Commerce.
226 (b) “Eligible household” means a household eligible for
227 funds from the program Low-income Home Energy Assistance Act of
228 1981, 42 U.S.C. ss. 8621 et seq.
229 (c)(b) “Home energy” means a source of heating or cooling
230 in residential dwellings.
231 (d) “Program” means the federal low-income home energy
232 assistance program established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. ss. 8621 et
233 seq.
234 (e)(c) “Utility” means any person, corporation,
235 partnership, municipality, cooperative, association, or other
236 legal entity and its lessees, trustees, or receivers now or
237 hereafter owning, operating, managing, or controlling any plant
238 or other facility supplying electricity or natural gas to or for
239 the public within this state, directly or indirectly, for
240 compensation.
241 (2) The department of Economic Opportunity is designated as
242 the state agency to administer the program Low-income Home
243 Energy Assistance Act of 1981, 42 U.S.C. ss. 8621 et seq. The
244 department may of Economic Opportunity is authorized to provide
245 home energy assistance benefits to eligible households which may
246 be in the form of cash, vouchers, certificates, or direct
247 payments to electric or natural gas utilities or other energy
248 suppliers and operators of low-rent, subsidized housing in
249 behalf of eligible households. Priority must shall be given to
250 eligible households having at least one elderly or handicapped
251 individual and to eligible households with the lowest incomes.
252 (3)(a) The department shall expand categorical eligibility
253 for the program to include households with residents of this
254 state who are enrolled in any of the following federal
255 disability programs:
256 1. Social Security Disability Insurance program.
257 2. Social Security Insurance program.
258 3. United States Department of Veterans Affairs disability
259 benefits.
260 4. Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.
261 5. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
262 (b) The department shall develop a comprehensive process
263 for automatic program payments on behalf of such individuals to
264 be made directly to the household’s home energy supplier. The
265 process must include all of the following:
266 1. Detailed requirements for any necessary statutory or
267 regulatory changes, application process changes, or other
268 requirements necessary to allow the department to identify
269 individuals who qualify under this subsection for automatic
270 program payments without requiring the individual to submit
271 additional program applications.
272 2. A data sharing process detailing the steps the
273 department will take to identify and share a list of
274 categorically eligible residents with home energy suppliers. A
275 home energy supplier that agrees to receive direct program
276 payments must apply the benefits as prescribed to the resident
277 accounts identified by the department and document such payments
278 in its annual program performance measures report.
279 (4) Agreements may be established between electric or
280 natural gas utility companies, other energy suppliers, the
281 department, and the Department of Revenue to provide, and the
282 Department of Economic Opportunity for the purpose of providing
283 payments to energy suppliers in the form of a credit against
284 sales and use taxes due or direct payments to energy suppliers
285 for services rendered to low-income, eligible households.
286 (5)(4) The department of Economic Opportunity shall adopt
287 rules to carry out the provisions of this section act.
288 Section 5. (1) The Public Service Commission shall conduct
289 or cause to be conducted a study regarding the feasibility of
290 using small modular nuclear reactors in this state. As used in
291 this section, the term “small modular nuclear reactor” or
292 “reactor” means a nuclear reactor that:
293 (a) Has a rated capacity of not more than 300 megawatts of
294 electricity;
295 (b) Can be constructed and operated in combination with
296 other similar reactors at a single site if multiple reactors are
297 necessary; and
298 (c) Has been licensed by the United States Nuclear
299 Regulatory Commission and is in compliance with all requirements
300 and conditions associated with the license.
301 (2) The feasibility study must include an evaluation of all
302 of the following:
303 (a) Existing state law, to determine and identify which, if
304 any, statutes and agency rules would need to be amended to
305 enable the construction and operation of small modular nuclear
306 reactors in this state;
307 (b) The economic feasibility of replacing carbon-based
308 energy sources with reactors, while accounting for the net
309 present value of revenue requirements that would result from the
310 retirement of coal-fired plants;
311 (c) The safety of and the waste stream resulting from the
312 construction and operation of reactors; and
313 (d) The property tax benefits to counties, school
314 districts, and special taxing districts in connection with the
315 use of reactors.
316 (e) The number of jobs that could be created and the
317 overall impact to local economies in connection with the use of
318 small modular nuclear reactors.
319 (f)The reliability and cost of small modular nuclear
320 reactors as compared to natural gas, wind, and solar energy
321 production.
322 (g) Local government permitting requirements or approvals
323 that would be required for the operation of small modular
324 nuclear reactors in this state.
325 (h) Any other information that the commission deems
326 necessary.
327 (3) On or before July 1, 2025, the commission shall submit
328 a report of the findings and conclusions of the feasibility
329 study to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
330 Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report must include
331 any recommendations regarding:
332 (a) The potential for using small modular nuclear reactors
333 to provide energy in this state; and
334 (b) Administrative or legislative action needed to promote
335 the use of small modular nuclear reactors in this state.
336 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
