This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h1583z.LAV.docx
DATE: 3/16/2022
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF FINAL BILL ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 1583 Emerald Coast Utilities Authority, Escambia County
SPONSOR(S): Local Administration & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee; Salzman
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS:
FINAL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION: 117 Y’s
0 N’s GOVERNOR’S ACTION: Pending
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
CS/HB 1583 passed the House on March 2, 2022, and subsequently passed the Senate on March 10, 2022.
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (Authority) is an independent special district created in 1981 by special
act. The Authority, originally named the Escambia County Utilities Authority, operates water and wastewater
systems for Escambia County and the City of Pensacola. Since 1992, the Authority has also provided solid
waste services in the portions of Escambia County outside the boundaries of Pensacola. The charter of the
Authority was re-codified in 2001.
The bill revises the special act governing the Authority to:
Prohibit a member of the Authority’s board elected to two consecutive full terms after July 1, 2021, from
running for election to the succeeding term;
Provide a process for filling a vacancy on the Authority’s board if the Governor has not made an
appointment to fill the vacancy within 90 days;
Update the required qualifications of the executive director of the Authority to reflect the present size of
the utility system;
Authorize the Authority to adopt its own personnel policies and conduct all employee disciplinary
hearings using standards no less protective than those for state employees; and
Narrow the appeals process for actions taken by the Authority to those concerning a termination of
services, assessment of fees, charges, or fines, notice of claim of lien, or increase in security deposit
that directly affects the substantial interests of the party filed the appeal.
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on state or local government.
Subject to the Governor’s veto powers, the effective date of this bill is upon becoming a law.
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I. SUBSTANTIVE INFORMATION
A. EFFECT OF CHANGES:
Background
The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (Authority) is an independent special district created in 1981 by
special act.
1
The Authority, originally named the Escambia County Utilities Authority, operates water
and wastewater systems for Escambia County and the City of Pensacola.
2
Since 1992, the Authority
has provided solid waste services in the portions of Escambia County outside the boundaries of
Pensacola. The charter of the Authority was re-codified in 2001.
3
The Authority is governed by a five-member board elected from single-member districts conforming to
the boundaries of districts for the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners.
4
Members of the
board serve four-year terms, with no term limits.
5
In the event of a vacancy on the board, the Governor
appoints a resident of the district to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
6
The board is
responsible for setting its own compensation, but may not authorize an amount exceeding the
compensation for members of the Escambia County School Board.
7
In addition to base compensation,
members of the board receive an additional $200 a month from the Authority for the purpose of
defraying expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.
The Authority must employ an executive director who is responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs
of the utilities system.
8
The executive director must be a college graduate with either a degree in
science, engineering, business management, or public administration or a licensed and registered
engineer. At the time of his or her appointment, the executive director must have at least six years of
experience in an engineering, operations, or management role with a utility system at least as large as
the City of Pensacola’s water and sewer system in 1981. The Authority may substitute additional years
of administrative or management experience for these specific educational or professional
requirements.
Employees of the Authority are subject to the civil service system of Escambia County and to the
policies and rules of the Civil Service Board, and may be appointed, removed, or suspended by the
Authority subject to guidelines established under that system.
9
The Authority has a five-member
personnel appeals board, with two members appointed by the board of the Authority, two members
selected by non-managerial employees of the Authority, and one member appointed by the other four
members.
10
The personnel appeals board hears appeals from suspensions, demotions, or dismissals of
non-managerial employees of the Authority who have not been designated as key staff personnel by
the Authority’s board. The personnel appeals board may also make recommendations to the Authority’s
executive director on major policy and procedural questions relating to personnel management and on
individual grievances by employees.
1
Ch. 81-376, Laws of Fla.
2
Emerald Coast Utilities Authority, Who is ECUA?, https://ecua.fl.gov/who-is-ecua (last visited Jan. 26, 2022).
3
Ch. 2001-324, Laws of Fla.
4
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(4)(a)-(b), Laws of Fla.
5
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(4)(b)-(c), Laws of Fla.
6
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(4)(b), Laws of Fla.
7
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(4)(e), Laws of Fla.
8
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(13), Laws of Fla.
9
Ch. 2001-324, ss. 3(10)(a), (f), Laws of Fla. The management of Escambia County employees, including employment, discipline, and
termination, currently appears to be managed through the Policies and Procedures of the Escambia County Board of County
Commissioners Human Resources Department, at https://myescambia.com/docs/default-source/HR/hr-policies.pdf (last visited January
28, 2022).
10
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(11)(a), Laws of Fla.
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Any person may appeal an action of the Authority that directly affects his or her substantial interests if
the petition for review is filed within 10 days of the action.
11
The board of the Authority must review
each petition and decide whether to grant or deny the petition at a public meeting held within 40 days of
receiving the appeal. If the petition is granted, the petitioner may present written or oral evidence in
opposition to Authority’s action.
12
The Authority may appoint a hearing officer to make
recommendations concerning any material issue of disputed fact. The Authority’s final decision must be
in writing and contain findings of fact and conclusions of law.
13
Effect of the Bill
The bill amends the charter of the Authority to limit members elected to two consecutive full terms after
July 1, 2021 from running for election in the succeeding term. The bill revises the process for filling a
vacancy on the board by providing that if the Governor does not appoint a candidate to fill a vacancy
within 90 days, the chair of the Board may nominate two residents of the district from which the
vacancy occurred as potential candidates to fill the vacancy. The remaining members of the board then
vote for one of the two candidates to fill the vacancy.
The bill revises the qualifications for the executive director of the Authority to require at least six years
of experience in an engineering, operations, or management role of a utility system at least as large as
the water and sewer system of the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority at the time the position is being
filled.
The bill authorizes the Authority to adopt its own personnel policies, provided those policies are not less
protective than the protection required under ch. 110, part II, F.S., for state career service employees.
The bill requires the Authority to conduct all employee disciplinary hearings according to its adopted
policies using rules no less protective than those adopted by the Department of Management Services
(DMS) pursuant to s. 110.227, F.S.
14
The bill provides that this requirement does not subject the
Authority to the jurisdiction of DMS or require appeals to be handled by the Public Employees Relations
Commission. The Authority is authorized to engage the services of Administrative Law Judges through
the Division of Administrative Hearings to render non-binding recommended orders to the Executive
Director for personnel appeals.
The bill limits the appeals process for Authority actions to a termination of services, assessment of
fees, charges, or fines, notice of claim of lien, or increase in security deposit that directly affects the
substantial interests of the party filed the appeal.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
11
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(12)(a), Laws of Fla.
12
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(12)(b), Laws of Fla.
13
Ch. 2001-324, s. 3(12)(c), Laws of Fla.
14
See Rule 60L-36, F.A.C.
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None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT FILED? Yes [X] No []
D. NOTICE PUBLISHED? Yes [X] No []
IF YES, WHEN? November 3, 2021.
WHERE? The Pensacola News Journal, a daily newspaper of general circulation published
in Escambia County, Florida.
E. REFERENDUM(S) REQUIRED? Yes [] No [X]
IF YES, WHEN?