HB 1369 Summary

• Requires a proxy vote by mail of Gainesville Regional Utilities account holders by October 1, 2014, to decide whether to establish an independent Gainesville Regional Utility Authority to govern the utility.

• Establishes a 9-member governing board appointed by the city commission (4 members), county commission (2 members), and Governor (3 members), with specific qualifications required for business representatives, experts, and other citizen members.

• Authorizes the authority to set utility service rates in public meetings, manage utility operations independently, and issue debt in the utility's name, while ensuring the City of Gainesville receives an annual return not exceeding 10 percent of prior year revenues.

• Creates a 9-member Ratepayer Advisory Committee composed of representatives from residential, commercial, and industrial rate classes to provide nonbinding recommendations to the authority's board.

• Requires the utility to provide the Legislature with a proposed charter transferring governance and management to the authority by January 1, 2015, with full implementation by July 1, 2015, if account holders approve independent governance.