| 1 | A bill to be entitled | 
| 2 | An act relating to the restoration of hurricane-damaged | 
| 3 | beaches and dunes; providing legislative findings with | 
| 4 | respect to hurricane damage to the state's beach and dune | 
| 5 | systems; requiring the Department of Environmental | 
| 6 | Protection to provide a report on the repair and | 
| 7 | restoration of the state's beaches and dunes to the | 
| 8 | Governor and Legislature; providing appropriations; | 
| 9 | requiring a local match for certain appropriations; | 
| 10 | limiting the local match to counties and municipalities | 
| 11 | with a certain per capita personal income level; | 
| 12 | authorizing the Executive Office of the Governor to | 
| 13 | approve a waiver under certain conditions; restricting | 
| 14 | full release of funds until certain local match | 
| 15 | requirements are met; requiring that the Executive Office | 
| 16 | of the Governor provide prior notice to the Legislative | 
| 17 | Budget Commission of allocations from lump-sum | 
| 18 | appropriations to appropriation categories; authorizing | 
| 19 | the department to redistribute funds among activities and | 
| 20 | projects; requiring that the department provide prior | 
| 21 | notice of and justification for such redistribution to the | 
| 22 | Governor and Legislature; directing the department to take | 
| 23 | the necessary steps to ensure the timely implementation | 
| 24 | and completion of certain beach repair and restoration | 
| 25 | projects; providing an effective date. | 
| 26 | 
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| 27 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: | 
| 28 | 
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| 29 | Section 1.  The Legislature finds that Florida's beach and | 
| 30 | dune systems were adversely affected by Hurricanes Charley, | 
| 31 | Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne and Tropical Storm Bonnie which struck | 
| 32 | the state during 2004. The Legislature further finds that in | 
| 33 | order to begin the recovery of these systems, the Department of | 
| 34 | Environmental Protection developed the 2004 Hurricane Recovery | 
| 35 | Plan for Florida's Beach and Dune System, hereinafter referred | 
| 36 | to as "the plan," dated November 30, 2004, for the repair and | 
| 37 | restoration of the state's beaches and dunes. | 
| 38 | Section 2.  The Department of Environmental Protection | 
| 39 | shall provide a report to the Legislature no later than February | 
| 40 | 11, 2005, describing the progress made to date on the plan's | 
| 41 | activities and beach and dune repair and restoration projects. | 
| 42 | The report must include the dollars spent, percentage of the | 
| 43 | project's completion, and funding impacts on the 2005-2006 | 
| 44 | fiscal year budget. The report must be submitted to the | 
| 45 | Executive Office of the Governor, the President of the Senate, | 
| 46 | and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. | 
| 47 | Section 3.  (1)  For the 2004-2005 fiscal year only, $64.6 | 
| 48 | million from the General Revenue Fund and $3.8 million from the | 
| 49 | Land Acquisition Trust Fund are appropriated in fixed capital | 
| 50 | outlay for the purpose of implementing the plan's activities and | 
| 51 | beach and dune repair and restoration projects. | 
| 52 | (2)  Of the $64.6 million appropriated from the General | 
| 53 | Revenue Fund, the $53.8 million for beach restoration studies | 
| 54 | and dune restoration projects contained in the plan shall | 
| 55 | require a local match of 10 percent to enhance or expand such | 
| 56 | projects. | 
| 57 | (a)  The local match requirement shall not apply to any | 
| 58 | county, or municipality within such county, with a per capita | 
| 59 | personal income level below the state's per capita personal | 
| 60 | income level, as published by the United States Department of | 
| 61 | Commerce. In addition, the Executive Office of the Governor may | 
| 62 | approve a waiver, subject to the requirement for legislative | 
| 63 | notice and review under s. 216.177, Florida Statutes, of all or | 
| 64 | a portion of the required local match for any local government. | 
| 65 | The Executive Office of the Governor must determine that such a | 
| 66 | match requirement cannot be provided or that doing so would | 
| 67 | impose a documented hardship on the local government. | 
| 68 | (b)  The Department of Environmental Protection shall not | 
| 69 | release the final 25 percent of state funds to be provided to | 
| 70 | any local government for beach restoration studies and dune | 
| 71 | restoration projects until that local government has met local | 
| 72 | match requirements pursuant to this section. | 
| 73 | (3)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 216.177, Florida | 
| 74 | Statutes, requiring a 14-day notice for interim budget actions, | 
| 75 | and pursuant to s. 216.351, Florida Statutes, the Executive | 
| 76 | Office of the Governor shall provide notice of the allocation of | 
| 77 | the lump-sum appropriations authorized by this act into | 
| 78 | traditional appropriations categories to the chair and vice | 
| 79 | chair of the Legislative Budget Commission at least 3 working | 
| 80 | days prior to the effective date of such allocation. | 
| 81 | Section 4.  The Department of Environmental Protection is | 
| 82 | authorized to redistribute the funds appropriated in this act | 
| 83 | among activities and projects, as necessary, to efficiently and | 
| 84 | effectively implement the plan and to leverage federal and local | 
| 85 | matching funds. Funds from these appropriations must be used to | 
| 86 | implement the plan until completed or until the funds have been | 
| 87 | exhausted. The department shall provide a written description | 
| 88 | and justification 5 days prior to any redistribution of project | 
| 89 | funds within the plan to the Executive Office of the Governor, | 
| 90 | the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of | 
| 91 | Representatives. | 
| 92 | Section 5.  The Department of Environmental Protection is | 
| 93 | directed to take the necessary steps to ensure the timely | 
| 94 | implementation and completion of beach and dune repair and | 
| 95 | restoration projects included within the 2004 Hurricane Recovery | 
| 96 | Plan for Florida's Beach and Dune System. These steps shall | 
| 97 | include, but not be limited to, the issuance of applicable | 
| 98 | emergency permits and rule waivers consistent with current | 
| 99 | executive authority. | 
| 100 | Section 6.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |