Florida House, Senate bills would grant cities more power over high-voltage transmission line construction

Hat tip to Genius over at Eye on Miami for noting a new bill introduced in Tallahassee this week in the Florida House by Rep. Ronald Brisé (D-North Miami) and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Gary Siplin (D-Orlando) that would give local muncipalities much greater control over construction of electric transmission lines by electric utilities through their communities.

















Tentatively titled "Construction of Electric Transmission Lines," this House Bill 1315 (Senate Bill 2644) apparently grew out of North Miami's negative experience with FPL transmission lines in 2006, when neighboring Miami Shores rallied to stop high-voltage lines from going down Biscayne Boulevard -- only to see them re-routed through the predominantly African-American community of North Miami, which Brisé represents in Tallahassee.

The introduction to the House bill as currently introduced and not yet amended reads:

A bill to be entitled An act relating to construction of electric transmission lines; amending s. 403.524, F.S.; removing exceptions to requirements for an electric utility to obtain certification prior to construction of a transmission line; requiring an electric utility to notify affected municipalities of proposed transmission line sites and routes; requiring disclosure of methods used to determine routes and efforts to minimize impact on the municipality; authorizing a municipality to request a hearing by the Florida Public Service Commission to determine disputes with the electric utility; authorizing a municipality to bring an action challenging transmission line siting; authorizing a local governmental entity that requests electric transmission lines be placed underground to share the underground installation costs with any surrounding governmental entity that benefits from the installation; providing an effective date.

The full current text of the House bill is online, here.

House Bill 1315's progress in the legislative session can be tracked online, here.

Senate Bill 2644's progress can be tracked online, here.

The filing of the bills in the Florida House and Senate are timely, given current battle in south Miami-Dade county led by the Mayor of Pinecrest and residents of South Miami to stop Turkey Point 6 & 7 high-voltage transmission lines from running up US 1 - South Dixie Highway and/or through neighborhoods and near schools.

Floridians should urge their State Representatives and Senators to support these bills! Go online to Congress.org here, type in your zip code and find your elected representatives' contact details in order to send them an email or call them today to urge their support!