The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) confirmed this week in a press release that eligible recipients, some who have been waiting since 2009, will begin receiving solar energy rebate checks. The proverbial check is in the mail, is something that these patient Floridians and businesses have heard for the last 2 1/2 years.
The press release commends the Florida Legislature for passing House Bill 15A, stating that it “ensured that all eligible applicants were rewarded for their investment in solar energy systems”. The correct statement would include the phrase “partially rewarded”.
In an economic environment many Floridian home owners and business owners are hurting financially. These people made wise investments in their home or business to reduce their energy needs as well as lower the overall cost of owning a home or building found the returns in solar energy valuable investments. Significantly valuable investments, that is until our legislature failed to provide adequate funding for a successful job creating program. For nearly 2 years these Floridians have waited and waited with little to no communication from the previous administration, a trend that carried forward to the current administration.
The result. Based upon the 8,800 approved rebate applications, each Floridian and business will receive approximately 52% of the requested rebate amount. For example, a residential customer who installed a solar water heating system would have been eligible for $500.00, will only receive $260.00. Floridians who invested in solar electricity systems for their homes could have been eligible to receive as much as $20,000.00 will only receive $10,400.00. Business owners who were eligible under the program to receive as much as $100,000.00 for their investment will now only receive approximately $52,000.00.
The question still remains, what about the rest of the money? Are Floridians supposed to just accept the discount and move on? Is this a win, win solution?
Some people have questioned the legality of the funding mechanism of House Bill 15A that it only adds to the financial damages created. Under the original statute which the solar energy program was funded (377.806, F.S) “Requests for rebates received in a fiscal year that are processed during the following fiscal year shall be given priority over requests for rebates received during the following fiscal year.” But that is not how the rebates are being paid out.
House Bill 15A was amended to the original statute under “Rules”, according to the FDACS website was passed in November 2010. The solar rebate program ended in July of 2010. The original verbiage of the “Rules” provided under Florida law guidance of the creation of the rebate application along with the administration of the issuance of rebates. Some believe the legislators have taken the privilege in the terms “administer the issuance of rebates” to allow them to create rules regarding the distribution of funds which also amends #6 “Rebate availability“, the text supplied above.
Under the original text of the statute applicants who were in first positions should be eligible to receive 100% of their rebate while those at the end of the line would potentially be waiting for additional funding to be appropriated. But will there be additional funding either way? That is a question for the legislature to answer. A question, according to many waiting for their rebates, is one representatives refuse to comment on.
All of this happening while protestors from Lake Worth to New York City, occupy the streets in the “Occupy Wall Street” movement disputing issues from Government inaction to $5 debit card fees. Albeit, the FDACS has not commented nor will they provide any guidance as to whether the acceptance of your rebate check will be considered “payment in full”.
In most cases, the state requests that if you feel you have been wronged by an institution that promised you services or rebates that you contact the Attorney General’s Office in addition to the Florida CFO’s office with your complaints. None of the letters coming from the FDACS have recommend this if you feel you are entitled to 100% of your rebate.
If you feel you are entitled to 100% of your rebate for your investment or are dissatisfied with 52%, the time you waited or just want to communicate with those who represent your interest here are some ways you can communicate privately and publicly.
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (http://www.freshfromflorida.com/)
Commissioner Adam H. Putnam
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AdamPutnam/
Google+ : https://plus.google.com/101261818913625063772
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/adamputnam
Florida Attorney General (http://myfloridalegal.com/)
Pam Bondi
Twitter: http:// http://twitter.com/pambondi (her personal account)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pambondi
Florida Chief Financial Officer (http://www.myfloridacfo.com/)
Jeff Atwater
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffatwater (personal account and his staff does respond!)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JeffAtwater
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