Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 50
By the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and
General Government; and Senator Garcia
601-02147-25 202550c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to nature-based methods for improving
3 coastal resilience; amending s. 380.0933, F.S.;
4 requiring the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research
5 and Innovation at the University of South Florida
6 College of Marine Science to develop design guidelines
7 and standards for green and gray infrastructure and
8 models for conceptual designs of green infrastructure
9 and green-gray infrastructure; creating s. 380.0938,
10 F.S.; requiring the Department of Environmental
11 Protection to adopt rules for nature-based methods for
12 coastal resilience; providing requirements for such
13 rules; requiring the department, in consultation with
14 the Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services of
15 the Department of Financial Services, to conduct a
16 statewide feasibility study regarding the value of
17 nature-based methods being used for a specified
18 purpose; requiring the department to submit a report
19 to the Governor and the Legislature by a specified
20 date; providing an appropriation; providing an
21 effective date.
22
23 WHEREAS, the coastline is a critical state resource that
24 benefits the public interest by providing economic benefits,
25 such as flood control, fishing, recreation, and navigation, and
26 natural habitat and biodiversity functions, such as improved
27 water quality and habitat for endangered and threatened species
28 and other flora and fauna, and
29 WHEREAS, rising sea levels and an increasing frequency of
30 adverse weather events pose a significant risk to people and
31 property along the coastline and threaten the public benefits
32 and functions offered by the coastline, and
33 WHEREAS, as identified in the Miami-Dade Back Bay Coastal
34 Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study, natural infrastructure,
35 including mangrove stands, living seawalls, and other nature
36 based designs, can play an essential role in improving coastal
37 resilience and mitigating harm to this state’s coastlines, and
38 WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to promote state and local
39 efforts to restore mangrove forests along the coastline and
40 further study the impact of other nature-based methods on this
41 state’s coastal resilience and economic development, NOW,
42 THEREFORE,
43
44 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45
46 Section 1. Present paragraphs (c) through (i) of subsection
47 (2) of section 380.0933, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
48 paragraphs (e) through (k), respectively, and new paragraphs (c)
49 and (d) are added to that subsection, to read:
50 380.0933 Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and
51 Innovation.—
52 (2) The hub shall, at a minimum:
53 (c) Develop design guidelines and standards for optimal
54 combinations of green and gray infrastructure to address sea
55 level rise and the impact of storm surges.
56 (d) Model the effects, including flood risk reduction and
57 socio-economic benefits, of conceptual designs of green
58 infrastructure and hybrid green-gray infrastructure, and
59 integration of green natural systems into gray infrastructure
60 systems, on this state’s coastal resilience.
61 Section 2. Section 380.0938, Florida Statutes, is created
62 to read:
63 380.0938 Nature-based methods for improving coastal
64 resilience.—
65 (1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt
66 rules governing nature-based methods for improving coastal
67 resilience. The rules must do all of the following:
68 (a) Address significant erosion in areas of critical state
69 concern.
70 (b) Identify ways that new developments can avoid or
71 mitigate their impacts on mangrove stands.
72 (c) Encourage local governmental entities to develop or
73 participate in:
74 1. Mangrove replanting and hydrological restoration
75 programs; and
76 2. Restoration of oyster reefs, salt marshes, and coral
77 reefs.
78 (d) Identify and monitor threats to mangroves.
79 (e) Protect barrier and spoil islands.
80 (f) Assist efforts to improve coastal resilience through
81 the use of green infrastructure, beach renourishment, dune
82 restoration, living seawalls, shoreline and vegetation planting,
83 stormwater planters, permeable pavements, and ecologically sound
84 building materials.
85 (g) Promote public awareness of the value of green
86 infrastructure and statewide education campaigns conducted by
87 local governmental entities.
88 (h) Identify vulnerable public and private properties along
89 the coastline and encourage partnerships with local governmental
90 entities to create local protection and restoration zone
91 programs for implementing the rules developed by the department
92 pursuant to this section.
93 (i) Protect and maintain access to and navigation of the
94 marked channel and the right-of-way of the Florida Intracoastal
95 Waterway as defined in s. 327.02.
96 (j) Create permitting incentives and approvals of, and
97 encourage the use of, new strategies and technologies, such as
98 3D printing, for living shorelines and nature-based features for
99 coastal protection.
100 (k) Assist in the development of workforce training in this
101 state which includes flood and sea level rise research,
102 prediction, and adaptation and mitigation strategies. The
103 department shall provide incentives to local communities that
104 apply for funding through the Workforce Development
105 Capitalization Incentive Grant Program pursuant to s. 1011.801
106 to implement such workforce training.
107 (l) Encourage partnerships with local governmental entities
108 to create projects using green infrastructure for coastal
109 protection through the Resilient Florida Grant Program pursuant
110 to s. 380.093(3)(b)1.d.
111 (m) Develop guidelines for determining when a green
112 infrastructure project is clearly in the public interest under
113 s. 373.414(1)(a).
114 (n) Streamline the permitting process under s. 373.4131 for
115 green infrastructure projects.
116 (o) Streamline permitting after designated storm events or
117 disasters to replace failed coastal infrastructure with green or
118 hybrid green-gray infrastructure that follows established green
119 and green-gray design guidelines.
120 (2) The department, in consultation with the Division of
121 Insurance Agent and Agency Services, shall conduct a statewide
122 feasibility study to determine the value of nature-based methods
123 for coastal flood risk reduction within coastal communities to
124 reduce insurance premiums and improve local governments’
125 community ratings in the National Flood Insurance Program
126 Community Rating System. The department shall submit a report on
127 the findings of the study to the Governor, the President of the
128 Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by July
129 1, 2026.
130 Section 3. For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the sum of
131 $250,000 in nonrecurring funds from the Resilient Florida Trust
132 Fund is appropriated to the Department of Environmental
133 Protection to conduct the feasibility study for coastal flood
134 risk reduction required by this act.
135 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.