Jacksonville, Florida, City Council Resolution Critical of Legislation Aimed at Public Power

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
April 10, 2023

The City Council of Jacksonville, Fla., recently passed a resolution critical of legislation that would limit the ability of public power electric utilities to transfer revenues to cities’ general funds.

At issue are two bills, HB 1331 and SB 1380. The Florida Legislature’s current session began on March 7. Both bills as amended the afternoon of March 21 would take effect July 1, 2024, if signed into law by Florida’s governor.

On March 21, the Florida Municipal Electric Association said the legislation would substantially limit the ability of public power electric utilities to transfer revenues to cities’ general funds, which will inordinately affect rural, often economically distressed, communities that have a weaker tax base.

“Municipal utilities have constitutional authority to transfer revenue generated from assets owned and operated by the local government to the general government budget. These dollars are often used to provide residents with critical life and safety services, including police and fire departments,” said Amy Zubaly, Executive Director of FMEA.

Jacksonville City Council Resolution

A resolution passed by the Jacksonville City Council in late March notes that Jacksonville’s public power utility JEA makes an annual contribution to city’s general fund in support of general governmental functions and operations of the consolidated City of Jacksonville.

Those include public safety and emergency services, parks and recreation programming and services, library services, local services and programs designed to mitigate costs and utility disruptions to customers who are neighbors in Jacksonville, and other operational services and expenses that may be paid using general fund dollars.

The JEA contribution to the city’s general fund for fiscal year 2022-2023 totaled $122,424,496 and supported a multitude of programs and services, the resolution said.

The resolution states that the City Council strongly opposes and urges the Florida Legislature to defeat passage of House Bill 1331 and Senate Bill 1380 “which would, together or individually, provide for a not-to-exceed cap on the transfers of municipal 30 electric, natural gas, water, or wastewater revenues to a municipal general fund to finance general government functions.”

This action “would only serve to further hamstring a local government’s ability to effectively utilize its financial resources to provide the programs and services it deems most appropriate to meet the needs of its community,” the resolution states.

“Our community-owned system works well, with a local board appointed by City Council and the mayor. Our board does a great job for all of our customers throughout Northeast Florida, ensuring that we have reasonable rates now and lasting solutions for the future,” JEA said in an April 5 statement to Public Power Current in response to the resolution.

“We really appreciate the Jacksonville City Council and our local legislators who are pushing back on this legislation,” the utility said.

Several other cities in Florida have also passed resolutions in opposition to the legislation.