Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen - November 2020 | Page 5

Recovery-Related Drinking & Wastewater Revolving Loan Program , as well as a new wastewater grant program for septic conversion included in the omnibus water policy bill , SB 712 .
■ We passed legislation to reduce the limits on retainage permitted to be withheld on state and local government contracts from the current 10 percent down to 5 percent ( HB 101 ).
■ We defeated proposed legislation that would have arbitrarily increased fines for damage on underground utility lines caused by contractors and passed provisions requiring a certain percentage of citation fees be utilized for damageprevention education by Sunshine 811 ( HB 1095 ).
■ We defeated a proposal that would have required contractors , subcontractors and material suppliers to be in direct privity with the owner for the construction lien law ( HB 897 / SB 1422 ).
■ We prohibited new or increased impact fees from applying to current or pending permit applications submitted before the effective date of an ordinance or resolution imposing a new or increased impact fee and authorized the transfer of impact fee credits within jurisdictions for the same type of public infrastructure or facility for which the impact fee applies ( SB 1066 ),
■ We limited linkage fees which impede construction projects , passed provisions relating to affordable housing and mandated annual reporting of impact fees by local governments to the Department of Financial Services ( HB 1399 ).
■ We prohibited local governments from providing “ Rights of Nature ” legal rights to any plant , animal , body of water , or other part of the natural environment unless otherwise specifically authorized by state law or the State Constitution ( SB 712 ).
■ We passed legislation ensuring employers have the option to choose E-verify or the I-9 program when certifying new employee hires ( SB 664 ).
■ We secured full funding for the Sadowski Act for affordable housing initiatives .
■ We increased participation in our Legislative Days event and our Annual Bass Tournament and initiated the first-ever NUCA of Florida Corn Hole Tournament in conjunction with our annual President ’ s Cup golf event .
■ Lastly , we contributed to 75 legislative campaigns during the recent election cycle and only lost two very close races .
NOVEMBER 2020 • DITCHMEN 3