CS/HB 975 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to solid waste management; amending s. 2
403.706, F.S.; prohibiting municipalities and counties 3
from prohibiting or unreasonably restraining private 4
entities from providing recycling or solid waste 5
management services to certain properties; authorizing 6
municipalities and counties to require such private 7
entities to obtain permits, licenses, or nonexclusive 8
franchise equivalents that meet certai n requirements; 9
requiring municipalities and counties to apply certain 10
fees to all permit, license, and nonexclusive 11
franchise equivalent holders; providing requirements 12
for contracts or franchises in place as of a specified 13
date; authorizing municipalitie s and counties to 14
impose certain franchise fees under a specified 15
condition; providing applicability; providing an 16
effective date. 17
18
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19
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Section 1. Present subsection (23) of section 403.706, 21
Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (24), and a new 22
subsection (23) is added to that section, to read: 23
403.706 Local government solid waste responsibilities. — 24
(23) A municipality or county may not prohibit or 25
CS/HB 975 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
unreasonably restrain a private e ntity from providing recycling 26
or solid waste management services to commercial, industrial, or 27
multifamily residential properties, including condominiums, 28
within the municipality or county. 29
(a) A municipality or county may require the private 30
entity to obtain a permit, license, or nonexclusive franchise 31
equivalent. The permit, license, or nonexclusive franchise 32
equivalent may not cost more than the administrative cost to 33
issue the permit, license, or nonexclusive franchise equivalent. 34
Such costs must be commensurate with other industries, license 35
fees, insurance requirements, and qualifications for the 36
issuance of the permit, license, or nonexclusive franchise 37
equivalent. 38
(b) A municipality or county must: 39
1. Require any franchise fee in place to be p aid by all 40
permit, license, or nonexclusive franchise equivalent holders. 41
2. Recognize and protect all contracts or franchises in 42
place as of January 1, 2023, until their current date of 43
expiration. A municipality or county may recognize a contract or 44
exclusive franchise in place as of January 1, 2023, which 45
contains a renewal option during the 2023 calendar year but may 46
not recognize an evergreen contract or an additional renewal or 47
extension of a contract. 48
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a municipa lity or 49
county that had a franchise fee in place as of January 1, 2023, 50
CS/HB 975 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
that contains a surcharge may continue to impose such fee for 51
the duration of a contract recognized pursuant to subparagraph 52
(b)2. if the franchise fee otherwise complies with this 53
subsection. 54
(d) This subsection does not apply to a municipality or 55
county that is an exclusive provider of solid waste collection 56
services in its jurisdiction performed by employees of the 57
municipality or county using equipment owned by the municipality 58
or county. 59
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 60