BILL SUMMARY DETAILS

SB 986 (Burton) provides an exemption from surface water management and storage regulations for implementing water quality improvements and specified measures for environmental habitat restoration, enhancement and creation on certain agricultural lands or government-owned lands. The measures may alter topography of the land, divert or impede the flow of surface waters on the land, or impact wetlands if the measures result in a net increase in wetland functions. The bill prohibits the use of the exemption to establish mitigation banks or regional offsite mitigation areas. (O’Hara)

HB 527 (Maggard) and SB 664 (Burgess) require a local government to use eminent domain to acquire any land or water buffer area that exceeds the minimum land or water buffer areas required under state law for development in or around wetlands. The bills also preempt dredge and fill permitting to the state and eliminate statutory authority for Land Management Review Teams at water management districts. (O’Hara)

SB 784 (Gruters) revises the application and installation requirements for uniform waterway markers. It requires that all waterway markers and information markers be affixed to plastic breakaway structures or floating buoys by January 1, 2025. The bill prohibits a governmental entity from affixing a waterway marker to a steel beam or wood piling. (O’Hara)

HB 1005 (Roth) and SB 1354 (Wright) require 40% or $60 million, whichever is greater, of the proceeds paid into the state’s Water Protection and Sustainability Trust Fund to be used for the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program (Program). The funds may only be used to install and connect septic systems within the Program area to wastewater treatment facilities that have been prioritized by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The funds shall be disbursed to local governments but may not be used to cover more than 50% of the total cost to install and connect dwellings to wastewater treatment facilities. In addition, the bills require DEP to identify and categorize all the commercial or residential properties that use septic systems within Basin Management Action plan areas that are within the Program area and estimate the economic cost of connecting the septic systems to a wastewater treatment facility. The bills direct DEP to perform a cost-benefit analysis to rank and prioritize systems for funding connection grants. The bills require DEP to submit an annual report on its actions relating to the Program to the Governor and the Legislature. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/CS/SB 770 (Martin) and CS/HB 927 (Trabulsy) revise requirements relating to the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. The bills define “commercial property,” “facility,” “government commercial property,” nongovernmental lessee,” program administrator,” “qualifying improvement contractor,” “qualifying improvement program,” “qualifying improvement,” and “residential property” for purposes of the PACE program. CS/CS/SB 770 authorizes the use of interlocal agreements for the purpose of PACE financing but specifies that the property for which qualifying improvements are made must be located within the jurisdictions of the local governments that are parties to the interlocal agreement. The bills authorize local governments to enter financing agreements with property owners to finance or refinance qualifying improvements and require such agreements to meet specified conditions. The definition of “qualifying improvement” is expanded to include wastewater improvements relating to repair, replacement, or conversion of a septic tank system, and flood and water damage mitigation and resiliency improvements. The bills define “qualifying improvements” for commercial properties. The bills revise and specify public recording requirements for assessment financing agreements and notices of lien. The bills authorize local governments to include in any contracts with program administrators provisions for performing annual reviews to confirm compliance. The bills prohibit liens relating to PACE improvements from being enforced in a manner that accelerates the remaining nondelinquent unpaid balance. Numerous new consumer protection requirements are imposed on the approval of PACE financing agreements, including requirements that a local government or program administrator determine whether a property owner has the ability to pay the assessment, requirements for disclosures to property owners, requirements for obtaining the consent of certain mortgage holders or loan servicers, requirements for monitoring compliance by qualifying improvement contractors, and requirements for annual reporting by local governments. CS/CS/CS/SB 770 passed the Senate (34-2) and the House (87-24) is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 1417 (Buchanan) and CS/SB 1638 (Hutson) require the Legislature to appropriate 96% of the revenue share payments received under the 2021 gaming compact for the purpose of acquiring and managing conservation lands, improving water quality and addressing resiliency needs, including money for grants to local government for water quality improvement and greenways and trails. CS/SB 1638 passed the Senate (37-0) and the House (114-0) and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)

HB 749 (Basabe) and CS/SB 1766 (Rodriguez) provide that the maximum voluntary freeboard requirements for new construction and substantial improvements to existing construction is 10 feet. The bills prohibit voluntary freeboard from being used to calculate the maximum allowable height of a structure. The bills define “freeboard” as the additional height above the base flood elevation for determining the level at which a structure’s lowest floor or the bottom of the lowest horizontal structure member must be elevated in accordance with floodplain management regulations and the Florida Building Code. “Voluntary freeboard” is defined as the additional height above the freeboard required by floodplain management regulations and the Florida Building Code. The bills authorize local governments to adopt by ordinance minimum freeboard requirements or maximum voluntary freeboard that exceeds minimum requirements. In addition, the bills require the Florida Building Commission to adopt by rule minimum freeboard requirements and to incorporate such requirements into the next edition of the Florida Building Code and to review such requirements every five years. (O’Hara)

SB 510 (Stewart) imposes an excise tax on persons extracting water from waters of the state for commercial or industrial use. The bill specifies that tax proceeds must be deposited in the state Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund. In addition, it specifies that tax proceeds must also be used by the Department of Environmental Protection for geological surveys to monitor the health of waters of the state and for saltwater intrusion prevention and management. (O’Hara)

CS/HB 789 (Overdorf) and CS/CS/CS/SB 738 (Burgess) limit causes of action to damages for real and personal property directly resulting from pollution that was not authorized by any government approval or permit pursuant to Chapters 373, 376 and 403, Florida Statutes. In addition, the bills provide that the strict liability exceptions to such a cause of action include those specified in Section 376.308 and 376.82, Florida Statutes. The bills also require that nonindustrial stormwater management systems be designed with side slopes that meet certain minimum design requirements. The bills require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and water management districts to conduct reviews of their coastal permitting processes and permit programs and to submit reports of their findings and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by December 2024. The review must include coastal construction control line permits, Section 404 permits, and permitting processes related to water supply infrastructure, wastewater infrastructure and onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems. The purpose of the review is to identify areas of improvement and increase efficiency. Finally, CS/SB 738 provides that a prevailing party in actions against the DEP or water management district relating to authorizations issued pursuant to Chapters 403 or 373 is entitled to reasonable attorney costs and fees. CS/CS/CS/SB 738 passed the Senate (26-7) and died in House Messages. (O’Hara)

HB 723 (Busatta Cabrera) and CS/CS/SB 1364 (Calatayud) require comprehensive plans and plan amendments that apply to any land within, or within two miles of, the Everglades Protection Area (EPA) to follow the state-coordinated review process for state agency compliance review under Part II, Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, and requires the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to coordinate with the affected local governments on mitigation measures for plans or plan amendments that would impact Everglades restoration. The EPA consists of the three state-designated Water Conservations Areas (WCA-1, WCA-2 and WCA-3) as well as Everglades National Park. Plan amendments that apply to any land within, or within two miles of, the EPA must be transmitted to DEP within 10 days of the second public hearing on the amendment. Finally, the bills require a county whose boundaries include any portion of the EPA, and the municipalities within the county (any municipality within Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade County), to transmit a copy of any small-scale plan amendment to the Department of Economic Opportunity within 10 days after adoption. SB 1364 prohibits the adoption of a small-scale plan amendment if the affected property is located within, or within two miles of, the Everglades Protection Area. CS/CS/SB 1364 passed the Senate (40-0) and died in House Messages. (O'Hara)

HB 1073 (Truenow) and CS/CS/CS/SB 1532 (Brodeur) revise current law provisions for the sale and use of water quality enhancement credits from water quality enhancement areas. In addition, the bills require governmental entities to consider unsolicited proposals from private entities, and authorize governmental entities to solicit proposals from private entities, for wetland mitigation bank projects on public lands. The bills specify conditions for a mitigation bank established and operated by a private entity on public land. CS/CS/CS/SB 1532 passed the Senate (39-0) and the House (114-0) and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)

CS/CS/HB 1645 (Payne) and CS/SB 1624 (Collins) substantially revise various statutes relating to energy policy and regulation. The bills provide that a “Resiliency Facility” is a permitted use in all commercial, industrial, and manufacturing land use categories and districts, and specify that such facilities must comply with landscape and buffering requirements for similar uses. A Resiliency Facility is defined as a facility of a public utility used for assembling, creating, holding, or deploying natural gas reserves for temporary use during a system outage or natural disaster. The bills prohibit a local government, after July 2024, from amending its comprehensive plan or land development regulations in a manner that would conflict with a resiliency facility’s classification as a permitted use in all land use categories and districts. The bills remove current law requirements that direct state agencies to purchase “climate-friendly preferred products” and to contract with “Green Lodging” facilities. In addition, the bills remove current law provisions that require state agencies to purchase the most fuel-efficient vehicles. The bills require the Department of Management Services to develop a “Florida Human Preferred Energy Products List.” The development of the List must include consideration of products available for purchase under state contracts that include an energy storage device or energy generation device with specified storage capacity that appear largely free from forced labor. State agencies are prohibited from purchasing products not on the List. The bills include “development districts” as entities preempted from regulating utility fuel sources and gas appliances. The bills require a public utility to petition the Public Service Commission for approval before retiring an electric power plant. In addition, the bills authorize the Commission to approve voluntary public utility programs for residential EV charging if the program will not adversely affect the utility’s rate payers. The bills revise the goals and objectives of the state’s Energy Policy and eliminate various grants and programs relating to renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate. The bills prohibit a homeowner’s association from precluding the types of fuel sources of energy production used to serve consumers, and from precluding the use of gas appliances. The bills direct the Public Service Commission to assess, study and report on the following: modernization of the state’s electric grid; the security and resiliency of the state’s electric grid and natural gas facilities; and the feasibility of using advanced nuclear power technologies. The bills require the Department of Transportation to study and report on the potential development of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. CS/CS/HB 1645 passed the Senate (28-12) and the House (81-29) and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)

SB 1548 (Gruters) prohibits the Department of Transportation from assigning or transferring its permitting rights across transportation rights-of-way operated by the Department to a third party or governmental entity that does not operate the transportation right-of-way. The bill amends Section 337.403, Florida Statutes, to prohibit permitting authorities from requiring a utility within a public road operated by the authority to be relocated on behalf of certain other third party or governmental agency project related to a separate public or private road or corridor. The bill requires the Public Service Commission to approve targeted storm reserve amounts for public utilities and provides for reserve requirements and base rate adjustments. It requires the Department of Commerce to expand categorical eligibility for the low-income home energy assistance program to include individuals who are enrolled in certain federal disability programs. It directs the Public Service Commission to conduct a feasibility study on the use of small modular nuclear reactors in the state and to submit a report to the Legislature. (O’Hara)

HB 163 (Gossett-Seidman) and SB 608 (Rodriguez) direct the Department of Environmental Protection to require, as a condition of a permit issued for the maintenance dredging of deepwater ports and for beach restoration projects, that any adverse impact analysis conducted for the activity be conducted by an independent contractor selected by the local government and in a manner prescribed by the Department. The bill specifies the independent contractor may not be associated with certain projects for one year prior and for one year after commencing the impact analysis. The bill also requires a local government to provide notice of its intent to conduct an analysis to adjacent local governments that may be affected by the activity. The bill’s requirements do not apply to any port dredging currently permitted or maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The bill specifies fines for violations of its requirements. (O’Hara)

CS/SB 1386 (Calatayud) and CS/CS/HB 1557 (Chaney) amend current law provisions relating to aquatic preserves, resilience, onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems (septic systems) and wastewater treatment facilities. The bills authorize the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to enter and inspect any property (except a private residence) that has a septic system to ascertain compliance with applicable regulations. In addition, the bills require all wastewater treatment facilities to prepare a reuse feasibility study and to implement reuse to the extent feasible. The bills also require wastewater treatment facilities that provide reclaimed water within a basin management action plan area to meet advanced waste treatment standards. The bills direct water management districts and DEP to develop rules to promote reclaimed water and encourage potable water offsets that produce significant water savings. The bills authorize extended permits for permittees that propose a water supply or water resource development project that uses reclaimed water. The bills expand criteria for grant eligibility under the Resilient Florida Grants Program and expand the types of projects that can be submitted by local or regional entities for inclusion in the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan. In addition, the bills require vulnerability assessments to use data from the Florida Flood Hub that is certified by the Chief Resilience Officer. CS/CS/HB 1557 passed the House (119-0) and the Senate (36-0) and is awaiting action by the Governor. (O’Hara)

CS/SB 1692 (Brodeur) and HB 1665 (Gossett-Seidman) establish the PFAS and 1,4-dioxane pretreatment initiative within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the purpose of coordinating wastewater facility industrial pretreatment programs. The bills require wastewater facilities with an industrial pretreatment program to: (1) By July 2025 complete and provide to DEP an inventory of industrial users to identify probable sources of PFAS or dioxane;

(2) Before March 2025, provide notice to DEP of any industrial user that has been initially identified by the inventory as a probable source of PFAS or dioxane discharges. The notice must inform industrial users that they may become subject to pretreatment standards and requirements; (3) Submit to DEP a final inventory of industrial users that are subject to pretreatment standards and requirements and notify the users that they may be subject to enforcement action by July 2026; (4) Issue a permit, order or other measure to enforce applicable pretreatment standards; and (5) By July 2027, sample each industrial user’s facilities and other at-risk sites. If the sample is above discharge limits, the wastewater facility must implement corrective action to reduce levels of PFAS or dioxane at the user’s facilities or other at-risk sites. Beginning July 2026, the bills establish specified discharge limits for PFAS and dioxane for industrial users until new discharge limits are adopted by DEP. The bills provide that before July 2 027, an entity may not be subject to civil or criminal penalties for violations of the bills’ requirements. After July 2027, the bills direct DEP to consider the financial situation and costs of corrective actions for each wastewater facility that may be out of compliance with its permit or order when considering enforcement action for violations of pretreatment standards or violations of water quality standards. (O’Hara)

SB 198 (Avila) and HB 245 (Fabricio) specifies a ground vibration limit for construction materials mining activities within 1 mile of residentially zoned areas, which may not exceed .15 inches per second. It authorizes the State Fire Marshal to modify the standards, limits and regulations for the use of explosives in connection with construction materials mining activities within 1 mile of residentially zoned areas, which may include the temporary cessation of blasting. (O’Hara)

SB 36 (Stewart) and HB 455 (Casello) require the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plan by July 2025, based on recommendations from the Department's 2020 75% Recycling Goal Final Report. The bill also requires the Department to convene a technical assistance group to help develop the plan. The plan must include the following: recycling goals based on sustainable materials management and waste diversion; a 30-year plan to implement strategies relating to recycling education and outreach; local government recycling assistance; and recycling materials market development. The bill requires the Department to submit a report and recommendations to the Legislature following completion of the plan. HB 445 passed the House (119-0) and died in Senate Messages. (O'Hara)

HB 1079 (McFarland) provides that only coastal counties and municipalities that have received authorization from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) prior to December 1, 2023, may establish coastal construction zoning and building codes and exceptions thereto in lieu of state coastal construction regulations. The bill prohibits DEP from delegating authority for certain coastal permits to coastal counties and municipalities that did not receive such authorization prior to December 1, 2023. In addition, the bill authorizes DEP to award grants to coastal counties for saltwater intrusion vulnerability assessments and specifies requirements for such assessments. (O’Hara)

SB 1630 (Torres) and HB 1531 (Joseph) require the Department of Environmental Protection to establish the Blue Communities Program to incentivize local action to reduce nutrient pollution and ocean acidification in the ocean, coastal waters and fresh waters. The program would provide technical and financial assistance to local governments that qualify as blue communities under the bills. The bills specify qualification criteria for local governments to become blue communities. The bills establish the Ocean State Climate Adaptation and Resilience Grant Fund within the department and authorize the establishment of an advisory board to determine eligibility of projects for financial assistance for adaptation and resilience projects. They also establish the Carbon Sequestration Advisory Council within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to assist the Department in documenting and quantifying carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions associated with agricultural practices and land uses occurring on agricultural lands. The purpose of the documentation is to assist and encourage agricultural landowners to participate in carbon trading. The bills also establish the Ocean Stewardship Special Account from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund within the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for the collection and use of moneys for the conservation, restoration and enhancement of marine resources. The bills provide for the deposit of user fees and other funding sources into the Account, which shall be used for marine conservation, restoration, enhancement, research, enforcement actions and educational activities. The bills require ocean stewardship user fees to be paid by commercial vessels and all operators of watercraft or water sports equipment. In addition, HB 1531 requires the Department of Environmental Protection or county health departments to monitor PFAS compounds in community water systems and nontransient noncommunity water systems using the national primary drinking water regulations. If the presence of PFAS compounds is detected at or above a specified level but below the Environmental Protection Agency’s specified health advisory level, the bill requires the Department or county health department to annually monitor the PFAS compound levels in the water systems. The bill requires the Department to adopt rules by September 2024 to implement these requirements, including the establishment of enforceable maximum contaminant levels for PFAS compounds. (O’Hara)