No. CS/CS/SB 1724
Filed under Local Government.
Utility Services; Requiring that a new agreement, or an extension, renewal, or material amendment of an existing agreement, to provide certain utility services at retail be in writing; requiring that certain public meetings be held as a condition precedent to the effectiveness of a new or extended agreement under which a municipality will provide specified utility services in other municipalities or unincorporated areas; revising provisions relating to permissible rates, fees, and charges imposed by municipal water and sewer utilities on consumers located outside the municipal boundaries; requiring municipalities that provide specified utility services to report certain information by a specified date, and annually thereafter, to the Florida Public Service Commission, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDBefore extending water, sewer, electric, or gas service into another city or an unincorporated area, a municipality must sign a written agreement and hold a public meeting there disclosing the rates, any rate differential, and its basis.
That meeting must also cover how much of the revenue will fund non-utility government functions. Once an agreement is running, the municipality must hold a public customer meeting every year.
For water and sewer rates specifically, a city can no longer add a 25 percent surcharge on top of its mirrored in-city rate, and the 'just and equitable' rate option is now capped at 25 percent above the in-city rate, down from 50 percent.
A narrow exception lets a city keep a surcharge already required by a bond covenant from before July 1, 2024, phased out as that debt is retired. Starting in 2028, municipalities must also report outside-boundary customer and revenue data to state regulators every year.
AIA new agreement, or an extension, renewal, or material amendment of an existing one, to sell electric, water, natural gas, or sewer service to another municipality or unincorporated area must be put in writing.
AIThe agreement cannot take effect until an appointed representative of the providing municipality and the governing body of every municipality or unincorporated area to be served have taken part in a public meeting held there.
AIThe required meeting must cover the rates to be charged, including any differential from in-city rates, its basis, and how long it is expected to last, plus how much of the revenue will fund nonutility government functions.
AIThe clause letting a municipality add a 25 percent surcharge on top of a mirrored in-city rate for outside water or sewer customers is deleted, leaving that method as simply the same rate with no add-on.
AIThe alternate 'just and equitable' rate method's outer limit is cut in half: those rates may no longer exceed 25 percent more than what the municipality charges inside its boundaries, down from 50 percent.
AIA municipality may keep charging a surcharge only to the extent a bond covenant already in effect on July 1, 2024 requires it, and must eliminate that surcharge once the debt is retired or refinanced.
AIStarting in 2028, each municipality serving outside customers must report customer counts, sales volume and revenue, and any rate differential to the Public Service Commission, which compiles the reports for the Governor and legislative leaders and gets narrow new jurisdiction limited to enforcing this reporting duty.
AIOnce a cross-boundary utility agreement is in place, the municipality must hold a public customer meeting every year covering fees, rates, charges, and services.