Legislation that would steer funding to the newly created Polk County Regional Water Cooperative is advancing in the final weeks of the 2017 legislative session.
The bill also would allow Polk County to ask voters for a sales tax increase to pay for water projects.
In exchange, Polk will have to provide legislators with an annual report outlining its priority projects, their costs and how much the cooperative and its members will be contributing to the cost.
The bill, sponsored by Reps. Colleen Burton and Sam Killebrew in the House and Sen. Kelli Stargel, has passed all of its initial committee hearings and one more committee in each chamber before it goes to the floor.
Additionally, Sierra and others worked with bill sponsors to fix some problems in the draft bill language relating to the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern.