Economic development activities.

(1) The Florida Public Service Commission may authorize public utilities to recover reasonable economic development expenses. For purposes of this section, recoverable “economic development expenses” are those expenses described in subsection (2) which are consistent with criteria to be established by rules adopted by the department.

(2) Such rules shall provide that authorized economic development expenses shall be limited to the following:

(a) Expenditures for operational assistance, including the participation in trade shows and prospecting missions with state and local entities.

(b) Expenditures for assisting the state and local governments in the design of strategic plans for economic development activities.

(c) Expenditures for marketing and research services, including assisting local governments in marketing specific sites for business and industry development or recruitment, and assisting local governments in responding to inquiries from business and industry concerning the development of specific sites.

(3) The Florida Public Service Commission shall adopt rules for the recovery of economic development expenses by public utilities, including the sharing of expenses by shareholders.