Florida Statute 367.171 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXVII
RAILROADS AND OTHER REGULATED UTILITIES

Chapter 367
WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS

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367.171 Effectiveness of this chapter.—

(1) The provisions of this chapter shall become effective in a county of this state upon the adoption of a resolution by the board of county commissioners of such county, or, in counties operating under a countywide charter, by the appropriate board, declaring that such county is subject to the provisions of this chapter. Any board of county commissioners which adopts such a resolution shall immediately notify the commission of its adoption and submit the resolution to the commission. A county, after 10 continuous years under the jurisdiction of the commission, may by resolution or ordinance rescind any prior resolution or ordinance imposing commission jurisdiction and thereby exclude itself from the provisions of this chapter, except that the county may not exclude itself from the provisions of this section.

(2)(a) Within 30 days after this chapter becomes applicable to a county, each utility shall register by filing with the commission a written statement setting forth the full legal name of the utility, its mailing address, and a brief description of its service area.

(b) On the day this chapter becomes applicable to any county, any utility engaged in the operation or construction of a system shall be entitled to receive a certificate for the area served by such utility on the day this chapter becomes applicable to it. Within 90 days after the day this chapter becomes applicable to it, the utility shall make application for a certificate by filing with the commission:

1. A map of its existing system or system under construction;

2. A description of the area served by the system; and

3. A tariff listing all rates and charges and such other financial information as may be required by the commission.

Such application shall be accompanied by a fee as provided by s. 367.145. If a utility fails to register with the commission within the prescribed time, the commission may require that the utility apply for an original certificate of authorization in accordance with s. 367.045.

(c) Before the commission issues a certificate of authorization under paragraph (b), it may establish the amount of money prudently invested in property of the utility, which property is used and useful in the public service; may establish other elements of the rate base; and may set and approve rates pursuant to s. 367.081.

(3) In consideration of the variance of powers, duties, responsibilities, population, and size of municipalities of the several counties and in consideration of the fact that every county varies from every other county and thereby affects the functions, duties, and responsibilities required of its county officers and the scope of responsibilities which each county may, at this time, undertake, the Counties of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Calhoun, Charlotte, Collier, Dixie, Escambia, Flagler, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Polk, St. Lucie, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla, and Walton are excluded from the provisions of this chapter until such time as the board of county commissioners of any such county, acting pursuant to the provisions of subsection (1), makes this chapter applicable to such county or until the Legislature, by appropriate act, removes one or more of such counties from this exclusion.

(4) As of the day a utility is no longer regulated by the commission under this chapter, each such utility which is engaged in the operation or construction of a system shall be entitled to receive from the county in which it is located and operating a certificate of authorization for each area for which such utility held a certificate of authorization from the commission on the day the utility became subject to regulation by the county. The utility will make application by filing with the governing body of the county:

(a) A map of its existing system or system under construction;

(b) A certified copy of the certificate of authorization issued by the commission, including a legal description of the service area for which the certificate of authorization was issued;

(c) A tariff, listing all rates and charges then in effect, which shall remain in effect until thereafter lawfully changed;

(d) A copy of the operating regulations and procedures of the utility then in effect, which shall remain in effect until thereafter lawfully changed; and

(e) The then-current rate base of the utility, which shall then continue to be the rate base of the utility until thereafter lawfully changed.

(5) When a utility becomes subject to regulation by a county, all cases in which the utility is a party then pending before the commission, or in any court by appeal from any order of the commission, shall remain within the jurisdiction of the commission or court until disposed of in accordance with the law in effect on the day such case was filed by any party with the commission or initiated by the commission, whether or not the parties or the subject of any such case relates to a utility in a county wherein this chapter no longer applies.

(6) Any county in which utilities as herein defined were regulated by the commission on or after January 1, 1980, which subsequently cease to be so regulated, shall, within 90 days of the cessation of commission regulation, adopt and follow as minimum standards of regulation the provisions of s. 367.081, except for paragraph (4)(a), and s. 367.082, except that the word “commission” shall be read as “the governing body of such county” when the context implies or admits. The authorized rate of return shall be no less than the weighted cost of the capital of the utility, including debt and equity.

(7) Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, the commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all utility systems whose service transverses county boundaries, whether the counties involved are jurisdictional or nonjurisdictional, except for utility systems that are subject to, and remain subject to, interlocal utility agreements in effect as of January 1, 1991, that create a single governmental authority to regulate the utility systems whose service transverses county boundaries, provided that no such interlocal agreement shall divest commission jurisdiction over such systems, any portion of which provides service within a county that is subject to commission jurisdiction under this section.

(8) Each county which is excluded from the provisions of this chapter shall regulate the rates of all utilities in that county which would otherwise be subject to regulation by the commission pursuant to s. 367.081(1), (2), (3), and (6). The county shall not regulate the rates or charges of any system or facility which would otherwise be exempt from commission regulation pursuant to s. 367.022(2). For this purpose the county or its agency shall proceed as though the county or agency is the commission.

History.—s. 1, ch. 71-278; s. 1, ch. 73-193; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 22, 25, 26, ch. 80-99; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 12, 15, ch. 82-25; s. 4, ch. 85-85; ss. 23, 26, 27, ch. 89-353; s. 6, ch. 90-166; s. 1, ch. 90-350; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 11, ch. 96-202; s. 1, ch. 97-24; s. 13, ch. 2000-350; s. 1, ch. 2001-145; s. 74, ch. 2008-4.

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Amendments to 367.171

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 367.171

Total Results: 12 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Bd. of Cnty. Com'rs v. Beard, 601 So. 2d 590 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1992 WL 119854

...Johns County adopted a resolution giving the PSC jurisdiction over private water and wastewater utilities located within the County. In September 1989, the County exercised its statutory right to rescind its resolution and thereby exclude its private utilities from PSC jurisdiction. See § 367.171(1), Fla....

...When the County resumed jurisdiction, two of its private water and sewer utilities had cases pending before the PSC. In these cases, two small utilities sought PSC approval of their sale of assets and transfer of water and sewer certificates to JSUC. Pursuant to subsection 367.171(5), Florida Statutes (1989), the PSC retained jurisdiction over these cases, eventually approving the transfers....

...Johns, JSUC indicated that it provided such service through numerous facilities located within the counties. JSUC argued that all of its facilities were part of "a single water and wastewater system" which must come under PSC jurisdiction according to the following language *592 in subsection 367.171(7), Florida Statutes (Supp....

...Johns County intervened, arguing that it should retain jurisdiction over that portion of JSUC's operations within the County. According to the County, JSUC should not be deemed a "system transversing county boundaries" simply due to managerial and administrative interconnectedness. Under the County's interpretation of subsection 367.171(7), facilities and land in one county must be functionally related to, and physically connected with, facilities and land in another county to invoke the exclusive jurisdiction of the PSC....

...s facilities were functionally related and that JSUC "is indeed a utility system whose service transverses county boundaries." The order also noted that the efficiency and cost savings of system-wide operations were consistent with the purpose of subsection 367.171(7). When the County's motion for reconsideration proved unsuccessful, the instant appeal was initiated. In finding JSUC to be a system whose service transversed county boundaries, and thus subject to exclusive PSC jurisdiction under subsection 367.171(7), the PSC interpreted a statute which it had the duty to administer....

...ration as its only customer, where the utility was found to be within the statutory definition of a "public utility" providing electricity "to or for the public"). Although the PSC asks us to apply a favorable presumption to its interpretation of subsection 367.171(7), we find no need to resort to such a presumption where the statutory language so clearly supports the PSC's ruling....

...Thus, the evidence supports the PSC's finding that JSUC's facilities constitute "a combination of functionally related facilities and land"; in a word, a "system." Because the service provided by this system crosses county boundaries, it is clear that the PSC has exclusive jurisdiction over JSUC pursuant to subsection 367.171(7)....

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CITRUS CTY. v. S. States Utils., 656 So. 2d 1307 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

...r fiscal functions by reason of common ownership. Florida law instead allows uniform rates only for a utility system that is composed of facilities and land functionally related in the providing of water and wastewater utility service to the public. Section 367.171(7), Florida Statutes (1991), grants the PSC exclusive jurisdiction, with some exceptions, over "all utility systems whose service transverses county boundaries." The term "system" is defined as "facilities and land used or useful in p...

...JSUC also performed other functions on a system-wide basis, including purchasing, budgeting, planning and staffing. Id. Based on these relationships the company argued that all of its facilities were part of a single utility system, which placed it within the ambit of the PSC's jurisdiction as enunciated in section 367.171(7)....

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Sugarmill Woods Civic Ass'n v. S. STATES, 687 So. 2d 1346 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 22 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D 373

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So. States Util. v. Fla. Pub. Serv. Com'n, 714 So. 2d 1046 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

...s whose service transverses county boundaries, provided that no such inter-local agreement shall divest commission jurisdiction over such systems, any portion of which provides service within a county that is subject to commission jurisdiction under § 367.171. § 367.171(7), Fla....

...1st DCA 1996), the PSC must determine whether service crosses county lines, and whether systems located in non-jurisdictional counties are functionally related to systems in contiguous counties, in determining its jurisdiction over these systems. The Sugarmill court appropriately looked to section 367.171(7) for this purpose....

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Aloha Utils., Inc. v. Florida Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 281 So. 2d 357 (Fla. 1973).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1973 Fla. LEXIS 5015

BOYD, Justice. This cause is before us on petition for writ of certiorari to the Florida Public Service Commission. The Order, from which review has been sought, reads, in pertinent part, as follows: “Pursuant to the provisions of Section 367.171, F.S....

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S. States Utils. v. Florida Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 714 So. 2d 1046 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 6569

...fiscal functions by reason of common ownership. Florida law instead allows uniform rates only for a utility system that is composed of facilities and land functionally related in the providing of water and waste-water utility service to the public. Section 367.171(7), Florida Statutes (1991), grants the PSC exclusive jurisdiction, with some exceptions, over “all utility systems whose service transverses county boundaries.” The term “system” is defined as “facilities and land used or u...

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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2005).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

Service Commission regulation pursuant to section 367.171, Florida Statutes. Sections 367.171(6) and

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Osceola Serv. Co. v. Bevis, 289 So. 2d 712 (Fla. 1974).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1974 Fla. LEXIS 4458

has registered pursuant to the provisions of § 367.171(1) (a); and “2. To the county commissions of the

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Florida Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Florida Cities Water Co., 446 So. 2d 1111 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1984).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1984 Fla. App. LEXIS 11807

...The resolution was broadly worded and did not refer to individual franchises. Chapter 367 provides that when utility regulation is relinquished by the county, the commission obtains exclusive jurisdiction over each utility with respect to its authority, service, and rates. Pursuant to section 367.171, Florida Statutes (1981), Florida Cities, upon application, became automatically entitled to a certificate from the commission authorizing it to operate in the same franchise territory....

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Cohee v. Crestridge Utils. Corp., 324 So. 2d 155 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1975).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1975 Fla. App. LEXIS 19035, 1975 WL 343324

jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission. Fla.Stat. § 367.171 (1973).2 Thus, Crestridge argues that the issuance

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Hernando Cnty. v. Florida Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 685 So. 2d 48 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996).

Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1996 Fla. App. LEXIS 12876, 1996 WL 710774

in this proceeding under the authority of section 367.171(7), Florida Statutes (1995). Because we conclude

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Orange City Water Co. v. Town of Orange City, 255 So. 2d 257 (Fla. 1971).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1971 Fla. LEXIS 3168

...aws on the same subject, whether special or general. 1 Inasmuch as the able Circuit *260 Judge entered his final judgment prior to the enactment of Chapter 71-278, he could not have considered the effect of this new Act. The Revised Act by Fla.Stat. § 367.171 (2) (1971), F.S.A. lists SO counties that, due to variance in size, duties, etc., are excluded from the provisions of the act until such time as the Board of County Commissioners of each of the named counties, acting pursuant to the provisions of § 367.171(1), shall make the chapter applicable to such county by resolution of the County Commission....

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