No. CS/CS/HB 4103
Filed under Environment & Water.
Apalachicola Water and Sewer District, Franklin County; Creates Apalachicola Water & Sewer District; provides district charter; describes boundaries; provides for district board; provides powers of district & district board; prohibits City of Apalachicola from incurring certain additional obligations or indebtedness; requires city & district to enter into interlocal agreement to effectuate transfer of water & sewer service to district; provides for district to take certain actions if city & district do not enter interlocal agreement; provides for transfer of assets, assumption of all lawful debts & other obligations, & continuation of contracts by district; provides for status of certain employees.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDCreates the Apalachicola Water and Sewer District as an independent special district, governed by a five-member board with three members appointed by the Governor, one by Franklin County, and one by the city.
The City of Apalachicola may not take on new water or sewer debt, and must negotiate a transfer of its utility to the district by mid-2026; if talks fail, the district alone decides the terms.
On December 1, 2026, all of the city's water and sewer property, contracts, and debts automatically shift to the district, and the employees who ran the utility become district employees.
The district can set its own water and sewer rates free of any state or local regulatory review, and it holds eminent domain power over property within its service area.
AIEstablishes the Apalachicola Water and Sewer District as a new independent special district in Franklin County, holding all powers under this act and chapters 189 and 197; only another special act of the Legislature can change its charter, not ordinary local action.
AIThe five-member governing board is made up of three Governor appointees plus one from Franklin County's county commission and one from Apalachicola's city commission, so the Governor alone controls a majority of the seats that will run the utility.
AIOnce the act becomes law, the city cannot take on any additional debt or obligation tied to running its water and sewer utility beyond ordinary operating expenses, effectively freezing its ability to invest in or expand the system before the transfer.
AIThe city and district must sign an interlocal agreement on the handover by July 1, 2026 or 30 days after the Governor's first board appointments, whichever is later. Miss that deadline and the district alone decides every term of the transfer, binding on both sides.
AIOn December 1, 2026, every piece of property the city owns, possesses, or controls for water and sewer purposes, along with related contracts and liabilities, transfers automatically to the district regardless of whether an interlocal agreement was reached.
AIRates and charges the district sets for water and sewer service cannot be reviewed or overruled by any state agency or any other local government body -- the board's own rate decisions are final.
AIThe district can condemn privately held property within its boundaries to build or expand water and sewer infrastructure, though it cannot take property already owned by a government body that is used for a public purpose.
AICurrent city employees who work in water and sewer service become district employees under the transfer, and the act requires the district to keep them enrolled in the Florida Retirement System.