Following the lead of their colleagues in the House, the Florida Senate voted 29-6 to pass a bill that places constraints on municipal utilities while also permanently establishing the Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) Authority.
The bill (HB 1451) will now head to Gov. Ron. DeSantis for approval as the Florida First District Court of Appeal and Eighth Judicial Circuit continue to consider litigation that would dissolve the GRU Authority.
DeSantis signed a bill by former state Rep. Chuck Clemons, R-Newberry, in 2023 to create the authority, and he currently appoints the five board members.
State Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, sponsored the bill while state Rep. Demi Busatta, R-Coral Gables, filed the mirror bill in the House. But in its final committee, Busatta added a 26-word amendment that preempts any changes to the GRU Authority without naming the entity in particular.
The Senate bill didn’t include the language, but on the Senate floor, Martin added Busatta’s amendment, drawing critique.
State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, asked about the GRU preemption and, after hearing it was designed for Gainesville in particular, brought up recent referendum efforts that would do the opposite of Martin’s bill.
The Gainesville City Commission placed two referendums before voters that would remove the GRU Authority from the city charter and return utility control to the commission. Both referendums passed overwhelmingly but are caught in court.
The GRU Authority continues to dispute the referendum, especially because a large percentage of utility customers live outside city limits and could not participate in the vote.
Martin said the referendum information wasn’t in the bill but that he could look into it.
Smith said the referendum language likely was kept out of the bill in order to not draw attention to the fact that Gainesville voters were united against the Legislature’s actions. He then asked why the Senate should side against the referendums.
“We have the jurisdiction here in the Florida Legislature to make policy decisions, and this is the best policy,” Martin said. “After talking with individuals and stakeholders from the Gainesville area, this is where we landed.”
Even though the amendment impacts only GRU, no local meetings or hearings have been held on the issue. The Alachua County Legislative Delegation never addressed the amendment, nor have its members discussed the bill publicly except on the House and Senate floor.
Smith then wanted to know if the amendment had always been a part of the bill.
“Was the Gainesville utility issue at any point in your bill until you added it just now?” Smith questioned.
“I can go back and look,” Martin said of the amendment he had just added.
“I just want to know if this is an issue that the Florida Senate has vetted through the committee process,” Smith followed up.
“There’s a lot of discussions that we have,” Martin responded. “You’ve carried some bills. Like I said, I’m happy to look.”
“Just trying to get an answer,” Smith said. “I mean, did you decide behind closed doors then that this is the policy we should have? Because the Senate has not vetted this, and I still can’t get an answer yes or no. It seems like this was not included in in the Senate bill, and this is a last-minute change to overturn the will of the voters in Gainesville. Is that correct?”
“I’ve previously answered the best that I can the previous two responses,” Martin concluded.
State Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Green Cove Springs, represents northern Alachua County, including parts of Gainesville. She spoke out in support of the amendment.
Bradley reminded the Senate that governance of GRU had been on ongoing discussion even before the 2023 bill that created the authority. She said a “damning” audit before the Joint Legislative Audit Committee prompted the changes, and since the authority was established, rates have gone down and debt has stabilized.
“Since that time, the tide is turning at GRU,” Bradley said. “It was a successful, important step that the Legislature took. Rates are coming down; debt is being stabilized.”
But she said the Gainesville City Commission unilaterally stepped in to strip the Legislature’s addition to the charter.
“This has to stop,” Bradley said. “The ratepayers deserve consistency and long-term stability in Gainesville. Your amendment does that, and it’s the right thing to do.”
State Sen. Stan McClain, R-Ocala, represents the southern portion of Alachua County. While he didn’t speak on the floor, he voted for the amendment and bill.
