Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 302
By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
Senator Garcia
592-01713-26 2026302c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to nature-based solutions for
3 improving coastal resilience; creating s. 380.0938,
4 F.S.; defining terms; requiring the Department of
5 Environmental Protection to adopt rules and guidelines
6 for nature-based solutions for improving coastal
7 resilience; providing requirements for such rules and
8 guidelines; requiring the department, in consultation
9 with the Division of Insurance Agent and Agency
10 Services of the Department of Financial Services, to
11 conduct a statewide feasibility study regarding the
12 value of nature-based solutions being used for a
13 specified purpose; requiring the department to submit
14 a report to the Governor and the Legislature by a
15 specified date; providing an appropriation; providing
16 an effective date.
17
18 WHEREAS, Florida’s coastline is a critical state resource
19 that benefits the public interest by providing economic
20 benefits, such as flood control, fishing, recreation, and
21 navigation, and natural habitat and biodiversity functions, such
22 as improved water quality and habitat for endangered and
23 threatened species and other flora and fauna, and
24 WHEREAS, rising sea levels and an increasing frequency of
25 adverse weather events pose a significant risk to people and
26 property along the coastline and threaten the public benefits
27 and functions offered by the coastline, and
28 WHEREAS, as identified in the Miami-Dade Back Bay Coastal
29 Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study, nature-based solutions,
30 including mangrove stands and living seawalls, can play an
31 essential role in improving coastal resilience and mitigating
32 harm to this state’s coastlines, and
33 WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to promote state and local
34 efforts to restore mangrove forests along the coastline and
35 further study the impact of other nature-based solutions on this
36 state’s coastal resilience and economic development, NOW,
37 THEREFORE,
38
39 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
40
41 Section 1. Section 380.0938, Florida Statutes, is created
42 to read:
43 380.0938 Nature-based solutions for improving coastal
44 resilience.—
45 (1) As used in this section, the term:
46 (a) “Gray infrastructure” means the use of conventionally
47 engineered structures to manage stormwater and mitigate
48 flooding.
49 (b) “Green infrastructure” means the use of natural systems
50 to manage stormwater, improve water quality, and mitigate
51 flooding.
52 (c) “Hybrid infrastructure” means infrastructure that
53 combines the use of gray and green infrastructure.
54 (d) “Nature-based solutions” means the use of natural
55 features and processes to reduce risks from hazards, such as
56 flooding and erosion.
57 (2) The Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt
58 rules and guidelines for the implementation of nature-based
59 solutions to improve coastal resilience. The rules and
60 guidelines must, at a minimum, do all of the following:
61 (a) Provide methods and practices to mitigate erosion in
62 areas of critical state concern.
63 (b) Provide a framework for developers to avoid or mitigate
64 impacts on existing mangrove stands.
65 (c) Encourage local governmental entities to develop or
66 participate in:
67 1. Mangrove replanting and hydrological restoration
68 programs; and
69 2. Oyster reef, salt marsh, and coral reef restoration.
70 (d) Create mechanisms that identify and monitor threats to
71 mangroves.
72 (e) Provide for the protection of barrier and spoil
73 islands.
74 (f) Provide a framework for the implementation of nature
75 based solutions, which must include, but need not be limited to,
76 all of the following:
77 1. Beach renourishment.
78 2. Dune restoration and reinforcement.
79 3. Wetland restoration.
80 4. Reef restoration.
81 5. Living seawalls.
82 6. Shoreline and vegetation planting.
83 7. Stormwater planters.
84 8. Permeable pavements.
85 9. Ecologically sound building materials.
86 10. Green infrastructure.
87 (g) Provide a framework for local governments to identify
88 vulnerable public and private properties along coastlines so
89 that such entities may create local protection and restoration
90 zone programs or projects that implement nature-based solutions
91 through the Resilient Florida Grant Program pursuant to s.
92 380.093(3).
93 (h) Encourage local governments to promote awareness of the
94 value of nature-based solutions, including wetland and
95 floodplain preservation and restoration, through education
96 campaigns.
97 (i) Provide for the protection, maintenance, continued
98 access to, and navigation of the marked channel and the right
99 of-way of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway as defined in s.
100 327.02.
101 (j) Create permitting incentives and approval processes for
102 the use of new strategies and technologies, such as 3D printing,
103 for living shorelines and nature-based solutions.
104 (k) Provide for the development of workforce training that
105 includes flood and sea level rise research methods, predictive
106 strategies, and adaptation and mitigation strategies. The
107 department shall provide incentives to local communities that
108 apply for funding through the Workforce Development
109 Capitalization Incentive Grant Program pursuant to s. 1011.801
110 to implement such workforce training.
111 (l) Develop methodology for determining whether a green
112 infrastructure project is not contrary to the public interest or
113 is clearly in the public interest pursuant to s. 373.414(1)(a).
114 (m) Streamline the permitting process under s. 373.4131 for
115 green infrastructure projects.
116 (n) Streamline permitting, after designated storm events or
117 disasters, for the replacement of failed coastal infrastructure
118 with hybrid infrastructure that follows established stormwater
119 infrastructure design guidelines.
120 (o) Provide guidance on the optimal combination of nature
121 based solutions and hybrid infrastructure to address sea level
122 rise and mitigate the impact of storm surges.
123 (p) Model the projected effects, including flood risk
124 reduction, socioeconomic benefits, and environmental benefits,
125 of the integration of hybrid infrastructure designs.
126 (3) The department, in consultation with the Division of
127 Insurance Agent and Agency Services within the Department of
128 Financial Services, shall conduct a statewide feasibility study
129 to determine the value of nature-based solutions for coastal
130 flood risk reduction within coastal communities to reduce
131 insurance premiums and improve local governments’ community
132 ratings in the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating
133 System. The department shall submit a report on the findings of
134 the study to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
135 Speaker of the House of Representatives by July 1, 2027.
136 Section 2. For the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the sum of
137 $250,000 in nonrecurring funds from the Resilient Florida Trust
138 Fund is appropriated to the Department of Environmental
139 Protection to conduct the feasibility study for coastal flood
140 risk reduction required by this act.
141 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.