SB 2506 First Engrossed
20252506e1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to natural resources; amending s.
3 17.71, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by
4 the act; deleting provisions authorizing the
5 Department of Financial Services to disburse certain
6 funds from the Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust
7 Fund; amending s. 253.0251, F.S.; revising
8 requirements for applications for full fee simple
9 acquisition projects; amending s. 259.032, F.S.;
10 revising the list of entities that certain state
11 agencies may contract with; revising the requirements
12 for certain provisions in certain land management
13 contracts; amending ss. 259.037 and 259.1055, F.S.;
14 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
15 repealing s. 260.0145, F.S., relating to the Local
16 Trail Management Grant Program; amending s. 373.026,
17 F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; amending s.
18 373.1501, F.S.; providing a legislative declaration;
19 authorizing the governing board of the South Florida
20 Water Management District to acquire land to implement
21 a reservoir project in a certain area; providing
22 construction; providing that land necessary for
23 implementing such project be acquired in a specified
24 manner; prohibiting the district or the state from
25 requesting that the United States Army Corps of
26 Engineers acquire lands for such reservoir project;
27 prohibiting the inclusion of any such request in a
28 certain agreement; making technical changes;
29 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
30 amending s. 380.093, F.S.; revising the scoring system
31 for assessing project eligibility for inclusion in the
32 statewide flooding and sea-level rise plan; repealing
33 s. 380.095, F.S., relating to dedicated funding for
34 conservation lands, resiliency, and clean water
35 infrastructure; amending s. 403.0673, F.S.; requiring
36 the Department of Environmental Protection to dedicate
37 a certain amount of funds to projects located in a
38 rural area of opportunity; requiring the department to
39 announce grant awards by a certain date; providing an
40 effective date.
41
42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
43
44 Section 1. Section 17.71, Florida Statutes, is amended to
45 read:
46 17.71 Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund.—
47 (1) The Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund is
48 created within the Department of Financial Services. The purpose
49 of the trust fund is to act as a depository for a portion of the
50 revenue-sharing payments received by the state under the gaming
51 compact, as the term “compact” is defined in s. 285.710(1).
52 (2) Funds shall be credited to the Indian Gaming Revenue
53 Clearing Trust Fund as provided in s. 380.095. Funds received
54 from such revenue-sharing payments and deposited into the trust
55 fund are exempt from the service charges imposed pursuant to s.
56 215.20.
57 (3) The department shall disburse funds, by nonoperating
58 transfer, from the Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund as
59 provided in s. 380.095.
60 (4) Pursuant to s. 19(f)(3), Art. III of the State
61 Constitution, the Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund is
62 exempt from the termination provisions of s. 19(f)(2), Art. III
63 of the State Constitution.
64 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 253.0251, Florida
65 Statutes, is amended to read:
66 253.0251 Alternatives to fee simple acquisition.—
67 (2) All applications for full alternatives to fee simple
68 acquisition projects must shall identify, within their
69 acquisition plans, the reasons the projects that require a full
70 fee simple interest to achieve the public policy goals, together
71 with the reasons full title is determined to be necessary. The
72 state agencies and the water management districts may use
73 alternatives to fee simple acquisition to bring the remaining
74 projects in their acquisition plans under public protection. For
75 purposes of this section, the phrase “alternatives to fee simple
76 acquisition” includes, but is not limited to, purchase of
77 development rights; obtaining conservation easements; obtaining
78 flowage easements; purchase of timber rights, mineral rights, or
79 hunting rights; purchase of agricultural interests or
80 silvicultural interests; fee simple acquisitions with
81 reservations; creating life estates; or any other acquisition
82 technique that achieves the public policy goals listed in
83 subsection (1). It is presumed that a private landowner retains
84 the full range of uses for all the rights or interests in the
85 landowner’s land which are not specifically acquired by the
86 public agency. The lands upon which hunting rights are
87 specifically acquired pursuant to this section shall be
88 available for hunting in accordance with the management plan or
89 hunting regulations adopted by the Fish and Wildlife
90 Conservation Commission, unless the hunting rights are purchased
91 specifically to protect activities on adjacent lands.
92 Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (7) of section
93 259.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
94 259.032 Conservation and recreation lands.—
95 (7)
96 (d) State agencies designated to manage lands acquired
97 under this chapter or with funds deposited into the Land
98 Acquisition Trust Fund, except those lands acquired under s.
99 259.1052, may contract with local governments, water control
100 districts designated pursuant to chapter 298, and soil and water
101 conservation districts to assist in management activities,
102 including the responsibility of being the lead land manager.
103 Such land management contracts must may include a provision for
104 the transfer of management funding to the local government,
105 water control district, or soil and water conservation district
106 from the land acquisition trust fund of the lead land managing
107 agency in an amount adequate for the local government, water
108 control district, or soil and water conservation district to
109 perform its contractual land management responsibilities or and
110 proportionate to its responsibilities, and which otherwise would
111 have been expended by the state agency to manage the property.
112 Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
113 259.037, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
114 259.037 Land Management Uniform Accounting Council.—
115 (7)(a) The LMUAC shall recommend the most efficient and
116 effective use of the funds available to state agencies for land
117 management activities pursuant to s. 380.095. The
118 recommendations must be based on a review of the resources of
119 each land management agency to determine current expenditures,
120 including personnel costs, spent specifically on upland
121 management activities and invasive species removal. The
122 recommendations must include a calculation methodology to
123 distribute the funds between to the state agencies specified in
124 s. 380.095(2)(b).
125 Section 5. Paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section
126 259.1055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
127 259.1055 Florida wildlife corridor.—
128 (6) MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES.—The Fish and Wildlife
129 Conservation Commission is authorized to enter into voluntary
130 agreements with private landowners for environmental services
131 within the Florida wildlife corridor.
132 (c) Subject to appropriation, the commission may use land
133 management funds received pursuant to s. 380.095 for this
134 purpose.
135 Section 6. Section 260.0145, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
136 Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section
137 373.026, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
138 373.026 General powers and duties of the department.—The
139 department, or its successor agency, shall be responsible for
140 the administration of this chapter at the state level. However,
141 it is the policy of the state that, to the greatest extent
142 possible, the department may enter into interagency or
143 interlocal agreements with any other state agency, any water
144 management district, or any local government conducting programs
145 related to or materially affecting the water resources of the
146 state. All such agreements shall be subject to the provisions of
147 s. 373.046. In addition to its other powers and duties, the
148 department shall, to the greatest extent possible:
149 (8)
150 (b) To ensure to the greatest extent possible that project
151 components will go forward as planned, the department shall
152 collaborate with the South Florida Water Management District in
153 implementing the comprehensive plan as defined in s.
154 373.470(2)(b), the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Protection Plan as
155 defined in s. 373.4595(2), and the River Watershed Protection
156 Plans as defined in s. 373.4595(2). Before any project component
157 is submitted to Congress for authorization or receives an
158 appropriation of state funds, the department must approve, or
159 approve with amendments, each project component within 60 days
160 following formal submittal of the project component to the
161 department. Prior to the release of state funds for the
162 implementation of the comprehensive plan, department approval
163 shall be based upon a determination of the South Florida Water
164 Management District’s compliance with s. 373.1501(6) s.
165 373.1501(5). Once a project component is approved, the South
166 Florida Water Management District shall provide to the President
167 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a
168 schedule for implementing the project component, the estimated
169 total cost of the project component, any existing federal or
170 nonfederal credits, the estimated remaining federal and
171 nonfederal share of costs, and an estimate of the amount of
172 state funds that will be needed to implement the project
173 component. All requests for an appropriation of state funds
174 needed to implement the project component shall be submitted to
175 the department, and such requests shall be included in the
176 department’s annual request to the Governor. Prior to the
177 release of state funds for the implementation of the Lake
178 Okeechobee Watershed Protection Plan or the River Watershed
179 Protection Plans, on an annual basis, the South Florida Water
180 Management District shall prepare an annual work plan as part of
181 the consolidated annual report required in s. 373.036(7). Upon a
182 determination by the secretary of the annual work plan’s
183 consistency with the goals and objectives of s. 373.4595, the
184 secretary may approve the release of state funds. Any
185 modifications to the annual work plan shall be submitted to the
186 secretary for review and approval.
187 Section 8. Present subsections (4) through (10) of section
188 373.1501, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5)
189 through (11), respectively, a new subsection (4) is added to
190 that section, and present subsection (9) of that section is
191 amended, to read:
192 373.1501 South Florida Water Management District as local
193 sponsor.—
194 (4) The Legislature declares that acquiring land for water
195 storage north of Lake Okeechobee is in the public interest, for
196 a public purpose, and necessary for the public health and
197 welfare. The governing board of the district is authorized to
198 acquire land, if necessary, to implement a reservoir project
199 north of Lake Okeechobee with the goal of providing at least
200 200,000 acre-feet of water storage. Any acquisition of real
201 property for the purpose of a reservoir project constitutes a
202 public purpose for which it is in the public interest to expend
203 public funds. Any land necessary for implementing the projects
204 in this subsection may be acquired only in accordance with s.
205 373.139(2) and chapters 73 and 74. The district and the state
206 are not authorized to request that the United States Army Corps
207 of Engineers acquire the lands for such reservoir project and
208 may not include any such request in the project partnership
209 agreement for such reservoir project.
210 (10)(9) Final agency action with regard to any project
211 component subject to s. 373.026(8)(b) must shall be taken by the
212 department. Actions taken by the district pursuant to subsection
213 (6) are (5) shall not be considered final agency action. Any
214 petition for formal proceedings filed pursuant to ss. 120.569
215 and 120.57 must require shall require a hearing under the
216 summary hearing provisions of s. 120.574, which is shall be
217 mandatory. The final hearing under this section must shall be
218 held within 30 days after receipt of the petition by the
219 Division of Administrative Hearings.
220 Section 9. Paragraph (g) of subsection (5) of section
221 380.093, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
222 380.093 Resilient Florida Grant Program; comprehensive
223 statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise data set and
224 assessment; Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience
225 Plan; regional resilience entities.—
226 (5) STATEWIDE FLOODING AND SEA LEVEL RISE RESILIENCE PLAN.—
227 (g) The department shall implement a scoring system for
228 assessing each project eligible for inclusion in the plan
229 pursuant to this subsection. The scoring system must include the
230 following tiers and associated criteria:
231 1. Tier 1 must account for 40 percent of the total score
232 and consist of all of the following criteria:
233 a. The degree to which the project addresses the risks
234 posed by flooding and sea level rise identified in the local
235 government vulnerability assessments or the comprehensive
236 statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise assessment, as
237 applicable.
238 b. The degree to which the project addresses risks to
239 regionally significant assets.
240 c. The degree to which the project reduces risks to areas
241 with an overall higher percentage of vulnerable critical assets.
242 d. The degree to which the project contributes to existing
243 flooding mitigation projects that reduce upland damage costs by
244 incorporating new or enhanced structures or restoration and
245 revegetation projects.
246 e. The degree to which the project reduces the flood risk,
247 and thereby increases the credits awarded, to a community
248 participating in the National Flood Insurance Program’s
249 Community Rating System.
250 2. Tier 2 must account for 30 percent of the total score
251 and consist of all of the following criteria:
252 a. The degree to which flooding and erosion currently
253 affect the condition of the project area.
254 b. The overall readiness of the project to proceed in a
255 timely manner, considering the project’s readiness for the
256 construction phase of development, the status of required
257 permits, the status of any needed easement acquisition, and the
258 availability of local funding sources.
259 c. The environmental habitat enhancement or inclusion of
260 nature-based options for resilience, with priority given to
261 state or federal critical habitat areas for threatened or
262 endangered species.
263 d. The cost-effectiveness of the project.
264 3. Tier 3 must account for 20 percent of the total score
265 and consist of all of the following criteria:
266 a. The availability of local, state, and federal matching
267 funds, considering the status of the funding award, and federal
268 authorization, if applicable.
269 b. Previous state commitment and involvement in the
270 project, considering previously funded phases, the total amount
271 of previous state funding, and previous partial appropriations
272 for the proposed project.
273 c. The exceedance of the flood-resistant construction
274 requirements of the Florida Building Code and applicable flood
275 plain management regulations.
276 4. Tier 4 must account for 10 percent of the total score
277 and consist of all of the following criteria:
278 a. The proposed innovative technologies designed to reduce
279 project costs and provide regional collaboration.
280 b. The extent to which the project assists financially
281 disadvantaged communities.
282 Section 10. Section 380.095, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
283 Section 11. Subsections (10) and (11) are added to section
284 403.0673, Florida Statutes, to read:
285 403.0673 Water quality improvement grant program.—A grant
286 program is established within the Department of Environmental
287 Protection to address wastewater, stormwater, and agricultural
288 sources of nutrient loading to surface water or groundwater.
289 (10) The department shall dedicate at least 25 percent of
290 the funds appropriated for the water quality grant program each
291 fiscal year for projects located in a rural area of opportunity.
292 (11) The department shall announce grant awards by November
293 1 of each fiscal year in which funds are appropriated for the
294 grant program.
295 Section 12. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.