BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At today’s General Policy Committee meeting, the Gainesville City Commission voted to send a Chair letter to legislators and ask them to reverse a bill amendment that would prohibit the City from regaining control of GRU by changing its Charter.
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut, who requested that the agenda item be added to the meeting, said she had learned about the amendment to House Bill 1451 early this morning from the media. The amendment, introduced by Representative Demi Busatta (R-Coral Gables), “expressly preempts to the state the subject of a regional utility authority created by the Legislature through charter amendment after January 1, 2023.” The GRU Authority is the only regional utility authority created by the legislature through a charter amendment since that date…