Florida Senate - 2018                                     SB 174
       
       
        
       By Senators Hukill, Book, Hutson, and Mayfield
       
       
       
       
       
       16-00169A-18                                           2018174__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to coastal management; amending s.
    3         161.101, F.S.; revising the criteria to be considered
    4         by the Department of Environmental Protection in
    5         determining and assigning annual funding priorities
    6         for beach management and erosion control projects;
    7         specifying tiers for such criteria; requiring tiers to
    8         be given certain weight; requiring the department to
    9         update active project lists on its website; redefining
   10         the term “significant change”; revising the
   11         department’s reporting requirements; specifying
   12         allowable uses for certain surplus funds; revising the
   13         requirements for a specified summary; requiring that
   14         funding for certain projects remain available for a
   15         specified period; amending s. 161.143, F.S.;
   16         specifying the scope of certain projects; revising the
   17         list of projects that are included as inlet management
   18         projects; requiring that certain projects be
   19         considered separate and apart from other specified
   20         projects; revising the ranking criteria to be used by
   21         the department to establish certain funding priorities
   22         for certain inlet-caused beach erosion projects;
   23         revising provisions authorizing the department to
   24         spend certain appropriated funds for the management of
   25         inlets; deleting a provision authorizing the
   26         department to spend certain appropriated funds for
   27         specified inlet studies; revising the required
   28         elements of the department’s report of prioritized
   29         inlet management projects; revising the funds that the
   30         department must make available to certain inlet
   31         management projects; requiring the department to
   32         include specified activities on the inlet management
   33         project list; deleting provisions requiring the
   34         department to make available funding for specified
   35         projects; deleting a requirement that the Legislature
   36         designate a project as an Inlet of the Year; requiring
   37         the department to update and maintain a report
   38         regarding the progress of certain inlet management
   39         projects; revising the requirements for the report;
   40         deleting certain temporary provisions relating to
   41         specified appropriations; amending s. 161.161, F.S.;
   42         revising requirements for the comprehensive long-term
   43         management plan; requiring the plan to include a
   44         strategic beach management plan, a critically eroded
   45         beaches report, and a statewide long-range budget
   46         plan; providing for the development and maintenance of
   47         such plans; deleting a requirement that the department
   48         submit a certain beach management plan on a certain
   49         date each year; requiring the department to hold a
   50         public meeting before finalization of the strategic
   51         beach management plan; requiring the department to
   52         submit a 3-year work plan and a related forecast for
   53         the availability of funding to the Legislature;
   54         amending s. 375.041, F.S.; requiring certain funds
   55         from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to be used for
   56         projects that preserve and repair state beaches;
   57         providing effective dates.
   58          
   59  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   60  
   61         Section 1. Effective July 1, 2019, subsection (14) of
   62  section 161.101, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   63         161.101 State and local participation in authorized
   64  projects and studies relating to beach management and erosion
   65  control.—
   66         (14) The intent of the Legislature in preserving and
   67  protecting Florida’s sandy beaches pursuant to this act is to
   68  direct beach erosion control appropriations to the state’s most
   69  severely eroded beaches, and to prevent further adverse impact
   70  caused by improved, modified, or altered inlets, coastal
   71  armoring, or existing upland development. In establishing annual
   72  project funding priorities, the department shall seek formal
   73  input from local coastal governments, beach and general
   74  government interest groups, and university experts. The
   75  department shall adopt by rule a scoring system to determine
   76  annual project funding priorities. The scoring system must
   77  consist of the following criteria equally weighted within the
   78  following specified tiers criteria to be considered by the
   79  department in determining annual funding priorities shall
   80  include:
   81         (a) Tier 1 must account for 20 percent of the total score
   82  and consist of the tourism-related return on investment and the
   83  severity of erosion conditions, the threat to existing upland
   84  development, and recreational and/or economic impact of the
   85  project. The return on investment of the project is the ratio of
   86  the tourism-related tax revenues for the most recent year to the
   87  amount of state funding requested for the proposed project. The
   88  economic impact of the project is the ratio of the tourism
   89  related tax revenues for the most recent year to all county tax
   90  revenues for the most recent year. The department must calculate
   91  these ratios using state sales tax and tourism development tax
   92  data of the county having jurisdiction over the project area. If
   93  multiple counties have jurisdiction over the project area, the
   94  department must assess each county individually using these
   95  ratios. The department shall calculate the mean average of these
   96  ratios to determine the final overall assessment for the
   97  multicounty project benefits.
   98         (b) Tier 2 must account for 45 percent of the total score
   99  and consist of the following criteria:
  100         1. The availability of federal matching dollars,
  101  considering federal authorization, the federal cost-share
  102  percentage, and the status of the funding award;.
  103         2.The storm damage reduction benefits of the project based
  104  on the following considerations:
  105         a.The current conditions of the project area, including
  106  any recent storm damage impact, as a percentage of volume of
  107  sand lost since the most recent beach nourishment event or most
  108  recent beach surveys. If the project area has not been
  109  previously restored, the department must use the historical
  110  background erosion rate;
  111         b.The overall potential threat to existing upland
  112  development, including public and private structures and
  113  infrastructure, based on the percentage of vulnerable shoreline
  114  within the project boundaries; and
  115         c.The value of upland property benefiting from the
  116  protection provided by the project and its subsequent
  117  maintenance. A property must be within one-quarter mile of the
  118  project boundaries to be considered under the criterion
  119  specified in this sub-subparagraph; and
  120         3.The cost-effectiveness of the project based on the
  121  yearly cost per volume per mile of proposed beach fill
  122  placement. The department shall also consider the following when
  123  assessing cost-effectiveness pursuant to this subparagraph:
  124         a.The existence of projects with proposed structural or
  125  design components to extend the beach nourishment interval;
  126         b.Existing beach nourishment projects that reduce upland
  127  storm damage costs by incorporating new or enhanced dune
  128  structures or new or existing dune restoration and revegetation
  129  projects;
  130         c.Proposed innovative technologies designed to reduce
  131  project costs; and
  132         d.Regional sediment management strategies and coordination
  133  to conserve sand source resources and reduce project costs.
  134         (c) Tier 3 must account for 20 percent of the total score
  135  and consist of the following criteria: The extent of local
  136  government sponsor financial and administrative commitment to
  137  the project, including a long-term financial plan with a
  138  designated funding source or sources for initial construction
  139  and periodic maintenance.
  140         1.(d) Previous state commitment and involvement in the
  141  project, considering previously funded phases, the total amount
  142  of previous state funding, and previous partial appropriations
  143  for the proposed project;
  144         2.The recreational benefits of the project based on:
  145         a.The accessible beach area added by the project; and
  146         b.The percentage of linear footage within the project
  147  boundaries that is zoned:
  148         (I)As recreational or open space;
  149         (II)For commercial use; or
  150         (III)To otherwise allow for public lodging
  151  establishments;.
  152         (e)The anticipated physical performance of the proposed
  153  project, including the frequency of periodic planned
  154  nourishment.
  155         3.(f) The extent to which the proposed project mitigates
  156  the adverse impact of improved, modified, or altered inlets on
  157  adjacent beaches; and.
  158         (g)Innovative, cost-effective, and environmentally
  159  sensitive applications to reduce erosion.
  160         (h)Projects that provide enhanced habitat within or
  161  adjacent to designated refuges of nesting sea turtles.
  162         (i) The extent to which local or regional sponsors of beach
  163  erosion control projects agree to coordinate the planning,
  164  design, and construction of their projects to take advantage of
  165  identifiable cost savings.
  166         4.(j) The degree to which the project addresses the state’s
  167  most significant beach erosion problems as a function of the
  168  linear footage of the project shoreline and the cubic yards of
  169  sand placed per mile per year.
  170         (d)Tier 4 must account for 15 percent of the total score
  171  and consist of the following criteria:
  172         1.Increased prioritization of projects that have been on
  173  the department’s ranked project list for successive years and
  174  that have not previously secured state funding for project
  175  implementation;
  176         2.Environmental habitat enhancement, recognizing state or
  177  federal critical habitat areas for threatened or endangered
  178  species which may be subject to extensive shoreline armoring or
  179  recognizing areas where extensive shoreline armoring threatens
  180  the availability or quality of habitat for such species. Turtle
  181  friendly designs, dune and vegetation projects for areas with
  182  redesigned or reduced fill templates, proposed incorporation of
  183  best management practices and adaptive management strategies to
  184  protect resources, and innovative technologies designed to
  185  benefit critical habitat preservation may also be considered;
  186  and
  187         3.The overall readiness of the project to proceed in a
  188  timely manner, considering the project’s readiness for the
  189  construction phase of development, the status of required
  190  permits, the status of any needed easement acquisition, the
  191  availability of local funding sources, and the establishment of
  192  an erosion control line. If the department identifies specific
  193  reasonable and documented concerns that the project will not
  194  proceed in a timely manner, the department may choose not to
  195  include the project in the annual funding priorities submitted
  196  to the Legislature.
  197  
  198  If In the event that more than one project qualifies equally
  199  under the provisions of this subsection, the department shall
  200  assign funding priority to those projects shown to be most that
  201  are ready to proceed.
  202         Section 2. Subsection (20) of section 161.101, Florida
  203  Statutes, is amended to read:
  204         161.101 State and local participation in authorized
  205  projects and studies relating to beach management and erosion
  206  control.—
  207         (20) The department shall maintain active project lists,
  208  updated at least quarterly, listings on its website by fiscal
  209  year in order to provide transparency regarding those projects
  210  receiving funding and the funding amounts, and to facilitate
  211  legislative reporting and oversight. In consideration of this
  212  intent:
  213         (a) The department shall notify the Executive Office of the
  214  Governor and the Legislature regarding any significant changes
  215  in the funding levels of a given project as initially requested
  216  in the department’s budget submission and subsequently included
  217  in approved annual funding allocations. The term “significant
  218  change” means a project-specific change or cumulative changes
  219  that exceed the project’s original allocation by $500,000 or
  220  that exceed those changes exceeding 25 percent of the a
  221  project’s original allocation.
  222         1.Except as provided in subparagraph 2., if there is
  223  surplus funding, the department must provide a notification and
  224  supporting justification shall be provided to the Executive
  225  Office of the Governor and the Legislature to indicate whether
  226  surplus additional dollars are intended to be used for inlet
  227  management projects pursuant to s. 161.143 or for beach
  228  restoration and beach nourishment projects, offered for
  229  reversion as part of the next appropriations process, or used
  230  for other specified priority projects on active project lists.
  231         2.For surplus funds for projects that do not have a
  232  significant change, the department may use such funds for the
  233  same purposes identified in subparagraph 1. The department shall
  234  post the uses of such funds on the project listing web page of
  235  its website. No other notice or supporting justification is
  236  required before the use of surplus funds for a project that does
  237  not have a significant change.
  238         (b) The department shall prepare a summary of specific
  239  project activities for the current fiscal year, their funding
  240  status, and changes to annual project lists for the current and
  241  preceding fiscal year. shall be prepared by The department shall
  242  include the summary and included with the department’s
  243  submission of its annual legislative budget request.
  244         (c) Funding for specific projects on annual project lists
  245  approved by the Legislature must remain available for such
  246  projects for 18 months. A local project sponsor may at any time
  247  release, in whole or in part, appropriated project dollars by
  248  formal notification to the department. The department, which
  249  shall notify the Executive Office of the Governor and the
  250  Legislature of such release and. Notification must indicate in
  251  the notification how the project dollars are recommended
  252  intended to be used after such release.
  253         Section 3. Subsections (2) through (5) of section 161.143,
  254  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  255         161.143 Inlet management; planning, prioritizing, funding,
  256  approving, and implementing projects.—
  257         (2) The department shall establish annual funding
  258  priorities for studies, activities, or other projects concerning
  259  inlet management. Such inlet management projects constitute the
  260  intended scope of this section and s. 161.142 and consist of
  261  include, but are not limited to, inlet sand bypassing,
  262  improvement of infrastructure to facilitate sand bypassing,
  263  modifications to channel dredging, jetty redesign, jetty repair,
  264  disposal of spoil material, and the development, revision,
  265  adoption, or implementation of an inlet management plan.
  266  Projects considered for funding pursuant to this section shall
  267  be considered separate and apart from projects reviewed and
  268  prioritized in s. 161.101(14). The funding priorities
  269  established by the department under this section must be
  270  consistent with the requirements and legislative declaration in
  271  ss. 161.101(14), 161.142, and 161.161(1)(b). In establishing
  272  funding priorities under this subsection and before transmitting
  273  the annual inlet project list to the Legislature under
  274  subsection (4) (5), the department shall seek formal input from
  275  local coastal governments, beach and general government
  276  associations and other coastal interest groups, and university
  277  experts concerning annual funding priorities for inlet
  278  management projects. In order to maximize the benefits of
  279  efforts to address the inlet-caused beach erosion problems of
  280  this state, the ranking criteria used by the department to
  281  establish funding priorities for studies, activities, or other
  282  projects concerning inlet management must include equal
  283  consideration of:
  284         (a) An estimate of the annual quantity of beach-quality
  285  sand reaching the updrift boundary of the improved jetty or
  286  inlet channel.
  287         (b) The severity of the erosion to the adjacent beaches
  288  caused by the inlet and the extent to which the proposed project
  289  mitigates the erosive effects of the inlet.
  290         (c) The overall significance and anticipated success of the
  291  proposed project in mitigating the erosive effects of the inlet,
  292  balancing the sediment budget of the inlet and adjacent beaches,
  293  and addressing the sand deficit along the inlet-affected
  294  shorelines.
  295         (d) The extent to which existing bypassing activities at an
  296  inlet would benefit from modest, cost-effective improvements
  297  when considering the volumetric increases from the proposed
  298  project, the availability of beach-quality sand currently not
  299  being bypassed to adjacent eroding beaches, and the ease with
  300  which such beach-quality sand may be obtained.
  301         (e) The cost-effectiveness of sand made available by a
  302  proposed inlet management project or activity relative to other
  303  sand source opportunities that would be used to address inlet
  304  caused beach erosion The interest and commitment of local
  305  governments as demonstrated by their willingness to coordinate
  306  the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of an inlet
  307  management project and their financial plan for funding the
  308  local cost share for initial construction, ongoing sand
  309  bypassing, channel dredging, and maintenance.
  310         (f) The existence of a proposed or recently updated The
  311  previous completion or approval of a state-sponsored inlet
  312  management plan or a local-government-sponsored inlet study
  313  addressing concerning the inlet addressed by the proposed
  314  project, the ease of updating and revising any such plan or
  315  study, and the adequacy and specificity of the plan’s or study’s
  316  recommendations concerning the mitigation of an inlet’s erosive
  317  effects on adjacent beaches.
  318         (g) The degree to which the proposed project will enhance
  319  the performance and longevity of proximate beach nourishment
  320  projects, thereby reducing the frequency of such periodic
  321  nourishment projects.
  322         (h) The project-ranking criteria in s. 161.101(14) to the
  323  extent such criteria are applicable to inlet management studies,
  324  projects, and activities and are distinct from, and not
  325  duplicative of, the criteria listed in paragraphs (a)-(g).
  326         (3) The department may pay from legislative appropriations
  327  up to 75 percent of the construction costs of an initial major
  328  inlet management project component for the purpose of mitigating
  329  the erosive effects of the inlet to the shoreline and balancing
  330  the sediment budget. The remaining balance of such construction
  331  costs must be paid from other funding sources, such as local
  332  sponsors. All project costs not associated with an initial major
  333  inlet management project component must be shared equally by
  334  state and local sponsors in accordance with, pursuant to s.
  335  161.101 and notwithstanding s. 161.101(15), pay from legislative
  336  appropriations provided for these purposes 75 percent of the
  337  total costs, or, if applicable, the nonfederal costs, of a
  338  study, activity, or other project concerning the management of
  339  an inlet. The balance must be paid by the local governments or
  340  special districts having jurisdiction over the property where
  341  the inlet is located.
  342         (4) Using the legislative appropriation to the statewide
  343  beach-management-support category of the department’s fixed
  344  capital outlay funding request, the department may employ
  345  university-based or other contractual sources and pay 100
  346  percent of the costs of studies that are consistent with the
  347  legislative declaration in s. 161.142 and that:
  348         (a) Determine, calculate, refine, and achieve general
  349  consensus regarding net annual sediment transport volumes to be
  350  used for the purpose of planning and prioritizing inlet
  351  management projects; and
  352         (b) Appropriate, assign, and apportion responsibilities
  353  between inlet beneficiaries for the erosion caused by a
  354  particular inlet on adjacent beaches.
  355         (4)(5) The department shall annually provide an inlet
  356  management project list, in priority order, to the Legislature
  357  as part of the department’s budget request. The list must
  358  include studies, projects, or other activities that address the
  359  management of at least 10 separate inlets and that are ranked
  360  according to the criteria established under subsection (2).
  361         (a) The department shall designate for make available at
  362  least 10 percent of the total amount that the Legislature
  363  appropriates in each fiscal year for statewide beach management
  364  for the three highest-ranked projects on the current year’s
  365  inlet management project list, in priority order, an amount that
  366  is at least equal to the greater of:
  367         1.Ten percent of the total amount that the Legislature
  368  appropriates in the fiscal year for statewide beach management;
  369  or
  370         2.The percentage of inlet management funding requests from
  371  local sponsors as a proportion of the total amount of statewide
  372  beach management dollars requested in a given year.
  373         (b) The department shall include inlet monitoring
  374  activities ranked on the inlet management project list as one
  375  aggregated subcategory on the overall inlet management project
  376  list make available at least 50 percent of the funds
  377  appropriated for the feasibility and design category in the
  378  department’s fixed capital outlay funding request for projects
  379  on the current year’s inlet management project list which
  380  involve the study for, or design or development of, an inlet
  381  management project.
  382         (c) The department shall make available all statewide beach
  383  management funds that remain unencumbered or are allocated to
  384  non-project-specific activities for projects on legislatively
  385  approved inlet management project lists. Funding for local
  386  government-specific projects on annual project lists approved by
  387  the Legislature must remain available for such purposes for a
  388  period of 18 months pursuant to s. 216.301(2)(a). Based on an
  389  assessment and the department’s determination that a project
  390  will not be ready to proceed during this 18-month period, such
  391  funds shall be used for inlet management projects on
  392  legislatively approved lists.
  393         (5)(d)The Legislature shall designate one of the three
  394  highest projects on the inlet management project list in any
  395  year as the Inlet of the Year. The department shall update and
  396  maintain an annual annually report on its website to the
  397  Legislature concerning the extent to which each inlet project
  398  designated by the Legislature as Inlet of the Year has succeeded
  399  in balancing the sediment budget of the inlet and adjacent
  400  beaches and in, mitigating the inlet’s erosive effects on
  401  adjacent beaches. The report must provide an estimate of the
  402  quantity of sediment bypassed, transferred, and transferring or
  403  otherwise placed placing beach-quality sand on adjacent eroding
  404  beaches, or in such beaches’ nearshore area, for the purpose of
  405  offsetting the erosive effects of inlets on the beaches of this
  406  state.
  407         (e) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), and for the
  408  2016-2017 fiscal year only, the amount allocated for inlet
  409  management funding is provided in the 2016-2017 General
  410  Appropriations Act. This paragraph expires July 1, 2017.
  411         Section 4. Effective July 1, 2019, subsection (1) and
  412  present subsection (2) of section 161.161, Florida Statutes, are
  413  amended, a new subsection (2) is added to that section, and
  414  present subsections (2) through (7) are redesignated as
  415  subsections (3) through (8), respectively, to read:
  416         161.161 Procedure for approval of projects.—
  417         (1) The department shall develop and maintain a
  418  comprehensive long-term beach management plan for the
  419  restoration and maintenance of the state’s critically eroded
  420  beaches fronting the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Straits
  421  of Florida. In developing and maintaining this the beach
  422  management plan, the department shall:
  423         (a) Address long-term solutions to the problem of
  424  critically eroded beaches in this state.
  425         (b) Evaluate each improved, modified, or altered inlet and
  426  determine whether the inlet is a significant cause of beach
  427  erosion. With respect to each inlet determined to be a
  428  significant cause of beach erosion, the plan shall include:
  429         1. the extent to which such inlet causes beach erosion and
  430  recommendations to mitigate the erosive impact of the inlet,
  431  including, but not limited to, recommendations regarding inlet
  432  sediment bypassing; improvement of infrastructure to facilitate
  433  sand bypassing; modifications to channel dredging, jetty design,
  434  and disposal of spoil material; establishment of feeder beaches;
  435  and beach restoration and beach nourishment; and
  436         2. Cost estimates necessary to take inlet corrective
  437  measures and recommendations regarding cost sharing among the
  438  beneficiaries of such inlet.
  439         (c) Evaluate Design criteria for beach restoration and
  440  beach nourishment projects, including, but not limited to,:
  441         1. dune elevation and width and revegetation and
  442  stabilization requirements,; and
  443         2. beach profiles profile.
  444         (d) Consider Evaluate the establishment of regional
  445  sediment management alternatives for one or more individual
  446  beach and inlet sand bypassing projects feeder beaches as an
  447  alternative to direct beach restoration when appropriate and
  448  cost-effective, and recommend the location of such regional
  449  sediment management alternatives feeder beaches and the source
  450  of beach-compatible sand.
  451         (e) Identify causes of shoreline erosion and change,
  452  determine calculate erosion rates, and maintain an updated list
  453  of critically eroded sandy beaches based on data, analyses, and
  454  investigations of shoreline conditions and project long-term
  455  erosion for all major beach and dune systems by surveys and
  456  profiles.
  457         (f) Identify shoreline development and degree of density
  458  and Assess impacts of development and coastal protection
  459  shoreline protective structures on shoreline change and erosion.
  460         (g) Identify short-term and long-term economic costs and
  461  benefits of beaches to the state of Florida and individual beach
  462  communities, including recreational value to user groups, tax
  463  base, revenues generated, and beach acquisition and maintenance
  464  costs.
  465         (h) Study dune and vegetation conditions, identify existing
  466  beach projects without dune features or with dunes without
  467  adequate elevations, and encourage dune restoration and
  468  revegetation to be incorporated as part of storm damage recovery
  469  projects or future dune maintenance events.
  470         (i) Identify beach areas used by marine turtles and develop
  471  strategies for protection of the turtles and their nests and
  472  nesting locations.
  473         (j) Identify alternative management responses to preserve
  474  undeveloped beach and dune systems and, to restore damaged beach
  475  and dune systems. In identifying such management responses, the
  476  department shall consider, at a minimum, and to prevent
  477  inappropriate development and redevelopment on migrating
  478  beaches, and consider beach restoration and nourishment,
  479  armoring, relocation and abandonment, dune and vegetation
  480  restoration, and acquisition.
  481         (k) Document procedures and policies for preparing post
  482  storm damage assessments and corresponding recovery plans,
  483  including repair cost estimates Establish criteria, including
  484  costs and specific implementation actions, for alternative
  485  management techniques.
  486         (l) Identify and assess Select and recommend appropriate
  487  management measures for all of the state’s critically eroded
  488  sandy beaches in a beach management program.
  489         (m) Establish a list of beach restoration and beach
  490  nourishment projects, arranged in order of priority, and the
  491  funding levels needed for such projects.
  492         (2)The comprehensive long-term management plan developed
  493  and maintained by the department pursuant to subsection (1) must
  494  include, at a minimum, a strategic beach management plan, a
  495  critically eroded beaches report, and a statewide long-range
  496  budget plan. The long-range budget plan must include a 3-year
  497  work plan for beach restoration, beach nourishment, and inlet
  498  management projects that lists planned projects for each of the
  499  3 fiscal years addressed in the work plan.
  500         (a) The strategic beach management plan must identify and
  501  recommend appropriate measures for all of the state’s critically
  502  eroded sandy beaches and may incorporate plans be prepared at
  503  the regional level, taking into account based upon areas of
  504  greatest need and probable federal and local funding. Upon
  505  approval in accordance with this section, such regional plans,
  506  along with the 3-year work plan identified in subparagraph
  507  (c)1., shall be components of the statewide beach management
  508  plan and shall serve as the basis for state funding decisions
  509  upon approval in accordance with chapter 86-138, Laws of
  510  Florida. In accordance with a schedule established for the
  511  submission of regional plans by the department, any completed
  512  plan must be submitted to the secretary of the department for
  513  approval no later than March 1 of each year. These regional
  514  plans shall include, but shall not be limited to,
  515  recommendations of appropriate funding mechanisms for
  516  implementing projects in the beach management plan, giving
  517  consideration to the use of single-county and multicounty taxing
  518  districts or other revenue generation measures by state and
  519  local governments and the private sector. Prior to finalizing
  520  the strategic beach management presenting the plan to the
  521  secretary of the department, the department shall hold a public
  522  meeting in the region areas for which the plan is prepared or
  523  through a publicly noticed webinar. The plan submission schedule
  524  shall be submitted to the secretary for approval. Any revisions
  525  to such schedule must be approved in like manner.
  526         (b)The critically eroded beaches report must be developed
  527  and maintained based primarily on the requirements specified in
  528  paragraph (1)(e).
  529         (c)The statewide long-range budget plan must include at
  530  least 5 years of planned beach restoration, beach nourishment,
  531  and inlet management project funding needs as identified, and
  532  subsequently refined, by local government sponsors. This plan
  533  shall consist of two components:
  534         1.A 3-year work plan that identifies beach restoration,
  535  beach nourishment, and inlet management projects viable for
  536  implementation during the next 3 fiscal years, as determined by
  537  available cost-sharing, local sponsor support, regulatory
  538  considerations, and the ability of the project to proceed as
  539  scheduled. The 3-year work plan must, for each fiscal year,
  540  identify proposed projects and their current development status,
  541  listing them in priority order based on the applicable criteria
  542  established in ss. 161.101(14) and 161.143(2). Specific funding
  543  requests and criteria ranking, pursuant to ss. 161.101(14) and
  544  161.143(2), may be modified as warranted in each successive
  545  fiscal year, and such modifications must be documented and
  546  submitted to the Legislature with each 3-year work plan. Year
  547  one projects shall consist of those projects identified for
  548  funding consideration in the ensuing fiscal year.
  549         2.A long-range plan that identifies projects for inclusion
  550  in the fourth and fifth ensuing fiscal years. These projects may
  551  be presented by region and do not need to be presented in
  552  priority order; however, the department should identify issues
  553  that may prevent successful completion of such projects and
  554  recommend solutions that would allow the projects to progress
  555  into the 3-year work plan.
  556         (3)(2)Annually, The secretary shall annually present the
  557  3-year work plan to the Legislature. The work plan must be
  558  accompanied by a 3-year financial forecast for the availability
  559  of funding for the projects, based on funds dedicated in s.
  560  375.041 recommendations for funding beach erosion control
  561  projects prioritized according to the criteria established in s.
  562  161.101(14).
  563         Section 5. Subsection (3) of section 375.041, Florida
  564  Statutes, is amended to read:
  565         375.041 Land Acquisition Trust Fund.—
  566         (3) Funds distributed into the Land Acquisition Trust Fund
  567  pursuant to s. 201.15 shall be applied:
  568         (a) First, to pay debt service or to fund debt service
  569  reserve funds, rebate obligations, or other amounts payable with
  570  respect to Florida Forever bonds issued under s. 215.618; and
  571  pay debt service, provide reserves, and pay rebate obligations
  572  and other amounts due with respect to Everglades restoration
  573  bonds issued under s. 215.619; and
  574         (b) Of the funds remaining after the payments required
  575  under paragraph (a), but before funds may be appropriated,
  576  pledged, or dedicated for other uses:
  577         1. A minimum of the lesser of 25 percent or $200 million
  578  shall be appropriated annually for Everglades projects that
  579  implement the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan as set
  580  forth in s. 373.470, including the Central Everglades Planning
  581  Project subject to Congressional authorization; the Long-Term
  582  Plan as defined in s. 373.4592(2); and the Northern Everglades
  583  and Estuaries Protection Program as set forth in s. 373.4595.
  584  From these funds, $32 million shall be distributed each fiscal
  585  year through the 2023-2024 fiscal year to the South Florida
  586  Water Management District for the Long-Term Plan as defined in
  587  s. 373.4592(2). After deducting the $32 million distributed
  588  under this subparagraph, from the funds remaining, a minimum of
  589  the lesser of 76.5 percent or $100 million shall be appropriated
  590  each fiscal year through the 2025-2026 fiscal year for the
  591  planning, design, engineering, and construction of the
  592  Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan as set forth in s.
  593  373.470, including the Central Everglades Planning Project, the
  594  Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir Project, the Lake
  595  Okeechobee Watershed Project, the C-43 West Basin Storage
  596  Reservoir Project, the Indian River Lagoon-South Project, the
  597  Western Everglades Restoration Project, and the Picayune Strand
  598  Restoration Project. The Department of Environmental Protection
  599  and the South Florida Water Management District shall give
  600  preference to those Everglades restoration projects that reduce
  601  harmful discharges of water from Lake Okeechobee to the St.
  602  Lucie or Caloosahatchee estuaries in a timely manner. For the
  603  purpose of performing the calculation provided in this
  604  subparagraph, the amount of debt service paid pursuant to
  605  paragraph (a) for bonds issued after July 1, 2016, for the
  606  purposes set forth under paragraph (b) shall be added to the
  607  amount remaining after the payments required under paragraph
  608  (a). The amount of the distribution calculated shall then be
  609  reduced by an amount equal to the debt service paid pursuant to
  610  paragraph (a) on bonds issued after July 1, 2016, for the
  611  purposes set forth under this subparagraph.
  612         2. A minimum of the lesser of 7.6 percent or $50 million
  613  shall be appropriated annually for spring restoration,
  614  protection, and management projects. For the purpose of
  615  performing the calculation provided in this subparagraph, the
  616  amount of debt service paid pursuant to paragraph (a) for bonds
  617  issued after July 1, 2016, for the purposes set forth under
  618  paragraph (b) shall be added to the amount remaining after the
  619  payments required under paragraph (a). The amount of the
  620  distribution calculated shall then be reduced by an amount equal
  621  to the debt service paid pursuant to paragraph (a) on bonds
  622  issued after July 1, 2016, for the purposes set forth under this
  623  subparagraph.
  624         3. The sum of $5 million shall be appropriated annually
  625  each fiscal year through the 2025-2026 fiscal year to the St.
  626  Johns River Water Management District for projects dedicated to
  627  the restoration of Lake Apopka. This distribution shall be
  628  reduced by an amount equal to the debt service paid pursuant to
  629  paragraph (a) on bonds issued after July 1, 2016, for the
  630  purposes set forth in this subparagraph.
  631         4. The sum of $64 million is appropriated and shall be
  632  transferred to the Everglades Trust Fund for the 2018-2019
  633  fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, for the EAA
  634  reservoir project pursuant to s. 373.4598. Any funds remaining
  635  in any fiscal year shall be made available only for Phase II of
  636  the C-51 reservoir project or projects identified in
  637  subparagraph 1. and must be used in accordance with laws
  638  relating to such projects. Any funds made available for such
  639  purposes in a fiscal year are in addition to the amount
  640  appropriated under subparagraph 1. This distribution shall be
  641  reduced by an amount equal to the debt service paid pursuant to
  642  paragraph (a) on bonds issued after July 1, 2017, for the
  643  purposes set forth in this subparagraph.
  644         5. A minimum of the lesser of 7.6 percent or $50 million
  645  shall be appropriated annually for projects that preserve and
  646  repair the state’s beaches as provided in s. 161.091(3). The
  647  calculation provided in this subparagraph shall be performed
  648  using the same formula as described in subparagraph 2.
  649  Notwithstanding subparagraph 3., for the 2017-2018 fiscal year,
  650  funds shall be appropriated as provided in the General
  651  Appropriations Act. This subparagraph expires July 1, 2018.
  652         Section 6. Except as otherwise provided in this act, this
  653  act shall take effect July 1, 2018.