Welcome back for the first day of the 2022 Legislative Session! Below you will find a brief synopsis of legislation that passed in committee today. Stay tuned for a recap of the week including videos from the Speaker of the House, Senate President, and the Governor!

SB 1024 – Relating to Net Metering

On Tuesday, January 11, SB 1024 by Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Orange Park) was heard by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee and was reported favorable with 6 yeas and 2 nays. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, stood in support of this legislation.

Net metering is a metering and billing methodology where customer-owned renewable generation (such as rooftop solar panels) is allowed to offset the customer’s electricity consumption from utility providers. Under net metering, customers are credited for excess energy produced which flows back to the grid. A meter is used to record both electricity drawn from the grid and excess electricity that flows to the grid from the customer.

Under the bill, the Public Service Commission must propose a revised net metering that meets the following criteria:

• Rate structures and billing must ensure that customers owning or leasing renewable generation systems pay the full cost of electric service and are not subsidized by the general body of ratepayers;
• All energy delivered by the public utility must be purchased at the applicable retail rate;
• All energy delivered by a customer generation system to the public utility must be credited to the customer at the public utility’s full cost; and
• Net metering billing may include fixed charges, base facilities charges, electric grid access fees, or monthly minimum bills to ensure that the public utility recovers the fixed costs of serving those customers and that the general body of ratepayers does not subsidize customer renewable generation systems.

 

SB 1024 will now go to the Senate Community Affairs Committee.

AIF supports legislation that allows Florida’s utility providers to best serve the state and the businesses located here while reducing the financial burden passed on to the general customer base.

SB 994 – Relating to Pet Protection

On Tuesday, January 11, SB 994 by Senator Manny Diaz (R-Hialeah Gardens) was heard by the Senate Regulated Industries Committee and was reported favorable with 5 yeas and 2 nays. AIF’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Adam Basford, stood in support of this legislation.

The bill creates the “Florida Pet Protection Act” to require the licensing of retail pet stores in Florida through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) that sell/offer/broker household pets such as domestic cats and dogs. The bill establishes health, safety, and welfare protections in Florida for dogs, cats, and other animals sold through pet dealers or pet stores. The bill holds them to a higher standard than federal regulations. As we have seen in other parts of the country, pet store bans do not work. In California, where pet stores were banned in 2019, demand for puppies did not decrease and instead, consumers flocked to the black market leading to increased fraud and unhealthy animals.

SB 994 will now go to the Senate Community Affairs Committee.

AIF supports legislation that strengthens protections for lawful businesses engaged in pet sales while curbing nefarious breeders who take advantage of consumers and pets and cast a negative image on the industry. This legislation will protect businesses and allow them to operate under one regulatory framework rather than a patchwork of local rules.