(1)(a) The governing board of each water management district shall be composed of 9 members who shall reside within the district, except that the Southwest Florida Water Management District shall be composed of 13 members who shall reside within the district. Members of the governing boards shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate at the next regular session of the Legislature, and the refusal or failure of the Senate to confirm an appointment creates a vacancy in the office to which the appointment was made. The term of office for a governing board member is 4 years and commences on March 2 of the year in which the appointment is made and terminates on March 1 of the fourth calendar year of the term or may continue until a successor is appointed, but not more than 180 days. Terms of office of governing board members shall be staggered to help maintain consistency and continuity in the exercise of governing board duties and to minimize disruption in district operations.

(b) Commencing January 1, 2011, the Governor shall appoint the following number of governing board members in each year of the Governor’s 4-year term of office:

1. In the first year of the Governor’s term of office, the Governor shall appoint four members to the governing board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District and appoint three members to the governing board of each other district.

2. In the second year of the Governor’s term of office, the Governor shall appoint three members to the governing board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District and two members to the governing board of each other district.

3. In the third year of the Governor’s term of office, the Governor shall appoint three members to the governing board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District and two members to the governing board of each other district.

4. In the fourth year of the Governor’s term of office, the Governor shall appoint three members to the governing board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District and two members to the governing board of each other district.

For any governing board vacancy that occurs before the date scheduled for the office to be filled under this paragraph, the Governor shall appoint a person meeting residency requirements of subsection (2) for a term that will expire on the date scheduled for the term of that office to terminate under this subsection. In addition to the residency requirements for the governing boards as provided by subsection (2), the Governor shall consider appointing governing board members to represent an equitable cross-section of regional interests and technical expertise.

(2) Membership on governing boards shall be selected from candidates who have significant experience in one or more of the following areas, including, but not limited to: agriculture, the development industry, local government, government-owned or privately owned water utilities, law, civil engineering, environmental science, hydrology, accounting, or financial businesses. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other general or special law to the contrary, vacancies in the governing boards of the water management districts shall be filled according to the following residency requirements, representing areas designated by the United States Water Resources Council in United States Geological Survey, River Basin and Hydrological Unit Map of Florida—1975, Map Series No. 72:

(a) Northwest Florida Water Management District:

1. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Perdido River Basin-Perdido Bay Coastal Area-Lower Conecuh River-Escambia River Basin” hydrologic units and that portion of the “Escambia Bay Coastal Area” hydrologic unit which lies west of Pensacola Bay and Escambia Bay.

2. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Blackwater River Basin-Yellow River Basin-Choctawhatchee Bay Coastal Area” hydrologic units and that portion of the “Escambia Bay Coastal Area” hydrologic unit which lies east of Pensacola Bay and Escambia Bay.

3. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Choctawhatchee River Basin-St. Andrews Bay Coastal Area” hydrologic units.

4. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Lower Chattahoochee-Apalachicola River-Chipola River Basin-Coastal Area between Ochlockonee River Apalachicola Rivers-Apalachicola Bay coastal area and offshore islands” hydrologic units.

5. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Ochlockonee River Basin-St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers and coastal area between Aucilla and Ochlockonee River Basin” hydrologic units.

6. Four members shall be appointed at large, except that no county shall have more than two members on the governing board.

(b) Suwannee River Water Management District:

1. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Aucilla River Basin” hydrologic unit.

2. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Coastal Area between Suwannee and Aucilla Rivers” hydrologic unit.

3. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Withlacoochee River Basin-Alapaha River Basin-Suwannee River Basin above the Withlacoochee River” hydrologic units.

4. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Suwannee River Basin below the Withlacoochee River excluding the Santa Fe River Basin” hydrologic unit.

5. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Santa Fe Basin-Waccasassa River and coastal area between Withlacoochee and Suwannee River” hydrologic units.

6. Four members shall be appointed at large, except that no county shall have more than two members on the governing board.

(c) St. Johns River Water Management District:

1. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “St. Marys River Basin-Coastal area between St. Marys and St. Johns Rivers” hydrologic units.

2. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “St. Johns River Basin below Oklawaha River-Coastal area between the St. Johns River and Ponce de Leon Inlet” hydrologic units.

3. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Oklawaha River Basin” hydrologic unit.

4. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “St. Johns River Basin above the Oklawaha River” hydrologic unit.

5. One member shall reside in the area generally designated as the “Coastal area between Ponce de Leon Inlet and Sebastian Inlet-Coastal area Sebastian Inlet to St. Lucie River” hydrologic units.

6. Four members shall be appointed at large, except that no county shall have more than two members on the governing board.

(d) South Florida Water Management District:

1. Two members shall reside in Miami-Dade County.

2. One member shall reside in Broward County.

3. One member shall reside in Palm Beach County.

4. One member shall reside in Collier County, Lee County, Hendry County, or Charlotte County.

5. One member shall reside in Glades County, Okeechobee County, Highlands County, Polk County, Orange County, or Osceola County.

6. Two members, appointed at large, shall reside in an area consisting of St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties.

7. One member, appointed at large, shall reside in an area consisting of Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, Osceola, Okeechobee, Polk, Highlands, and Orange Counties.

8. No county shall have more than three members on the governing board.

(e) Southwest Florida Water Management District:

1. Two members shall reside in Hillsborough County.

2. One member shall reside in the area consisting of Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties.

3. Two members shall reside in Pinellas County.

4. One member shall reside in Manatee County.

5. Two members shall reside in Polk County.

6. One member shall reside in Pasco County.

7. One member shall be appointed at large from Levy, Citrus, Sumter, and Lake Counties.

8. One member shall be appointed at large from Hardee, DeSoto, and Highlands Counties.

9. One member shall be appointed at large from Marion and Hernando Counties.

10. One member shall be appointed at large from Sarasota and Charlotte Counties.

History.—s. 13, part I, ch. 72-299; s. 11, ch. 75-22; s. 6, ch. 76-243; s. 1, ch. 77-72; s. 3, ch. 80-259; s. 226, ch. 81-259; s. 1, ch. 82-46; ss. 1, 7, 25, ch. 88-242; ss. 1, 2, ch. 89-279; ss. 11, 12, ch. 90-217; s. 1, ch. 91-18; s. 9, ch. 97-160; s. 2, ch. 2005-215; s. 1, ch. 2007-120; s. 80, ch. 2008-4; s. 5, ch. 2009-243.