FL H0873

Abolishes the Florida Regional Planning Council Act by repealing ss. 186.501–186.509, 186.511, and 186.513, F.S., eliminating the entire statutory framework for regional planning councils, effective July 1, 2015.

Transfers primary regional planning council functions in the Developments of Regional Impact (DRI) process—including preapplication conferences, application sufficiency review, regional impact reports (due within 50 days), substantial deviation review, and fee assessment (capped at $75,000)—to the state land planning agency.

Reassigns hurricane shelter and emergency management planning from a regional planning council framework to a county-based system, requiring the statewide emergency shelter plan to identify shelters by county, with the $3 million annual retrofitting fund and Division of Emergency Management priorities directed to counties with shelter deficits.

Transfers Wekiva River protection responsibilities—including adoption of resource protection policies and staff support for the Wekiva River Basin Commission—from the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council to the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Removes regional planning councils as parties to state certification proceedings for electrical power plants, transmission lines, and natural gas pipelines, eliminating their requirement to prepare consistency reports with strategic regional policy plans and their eligibility for reimbursement of proceeding expenses.

Shifts hazardous waste management assessment coordination and facility siting designation from regional planning councils to the Department of Environmental Protection, and transfers electric substation siting notification requirements from regional planning councils to counties.

Authorizes local governments to voluntarily create "regional planning entities" through interlocal agreements under chapter 163, replacing the former mandated regional planning council structure.

Eliminates regional planning council participation in comprehensive plan review, intergovernmental coordination, sector plan scoping, rural land stewardship assistance, transportation planning, military base reuse planning, and expedited permitting processes across more than 50 conforming statutory amendments.

Reduces membership on multiple state bodies, including the Florida Greenways and Trails Council (from 20 to 19 members) and the Affordable Housing Study Commission (from 21 to 20 members), by removing designated regional planning council representative seats.

Repeals definitions of "regional planning agency" and "regional planning council" across at least nine statutes governing growth management, power plant siting, transmission line siting, natural gas pipeline siting, and solid waste management, and removes regional planning councils from the administrative definition of "agency" under s. 120.52, F.S.