Florida Chamber Urges House Committee to Support HB 405

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To: House Energy & Utilities Subcommittee

The Florida Chamber of Commerce urges you to support HB 405, related to Linear Facilities. This bill, sponsored by Representative Jayer Williamson, will be heard on Wednesday, November 15th, in the House Energy & Utilities Subcommittee.

The Florida Chamber recognizes that Florida will be home to 5.5 million more residents by 2030. Each of those new residents, as well as over a hundred million annual visitors, will need a reliable and safe electrical grid. In order to secure Florida’s energy future, planning decisions and regulations for many of these facilities should continue to be made at a comprehensive level, rather than through a patchwork of local zoning regulations. This legislation is supported by Florida’s business community because this bill:

 Changes case law back to the original legislative intent of the Power Plant Siting Act and the Transmission Line Siting Act; and  Brings back regulatory certainty to the practice of lawfully siting transmission lines.

The Florida Chamber urges you to support HB 405, and will consider votes on this legislation, and any substantive amendments to it in committee or on the floor, in our annual How They Voted report card. The grade that you earn will be based on your voting record on the issues, such as this one, that are outlined in Where We Stand, a guide to Florida’s 2018 Business Agenda. We will make every effort to notify you prior to a vote that may be included in our annual legislative report card. If you have any questions about this or other, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Frank C. Walker, III
Vice President of Government Affairs