Bruce Ritchie, 03/15/2012 - 05:01 PM
Select Committee on Water Policy Chairwoman Trudi Williams, R-Fort Myers, guides the committee. She says she's considering a run for Senate. Photo Credit: Florida House of Representatives 3-11-11A House committee chairwoman said Thursday that her committee's bill to extend the length of water-use permits seemed like a "no-brainer" and she was surprised it died without a vote in the Senate.
HB 7045 by the Select Committee on Water Policy would have extended permits for alternative water supply projects from at least 20 years to at least 30 years in state law. Supporters said the bill would have encouraged water utilities to protect scarce water supplies by making it easier and cheaper for them to borrow money for water projects.
The bill passed the House 116-0 on Feb. 15 and was never taken up in the Senate. The Senate companion, SB 1178, passed three committees but died awaiting action at its final stop, the Senate Budget Committee.
