Florida Senate - 2021                             CS for SB 1668
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
       Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       592-03543-21                                          20211668c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to seagrass mitigation banks; amending
    3         s. 253.03, F.S.; authorizing the Board of Trustees of
    4         the Internal Improvement Trust Fund to authorize
    5         leases for seagrass mitigation banks under certain
    6         conditions; providing construction; requiring the
    7         Department of Environmental Protection to modify
    8         specified mitigation banking rules for specified
    9         purposes; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Subsection (17) is added to section 253.03,
   14  Florida Statutes, to read:
   15         253.03 Board of trustees to administer state lands; lands
   16  enumerated.—
   17         (17) The board of trustees may authorize leases for
   18  seagrass mitigation banks under s. 373.4136 to ensure the
   19  preservation and regeneration of seagrass, as defined in s.
   20  253.04(3)(a), and to offset the unavoidable impacts of projects
   21  when seagrass banks meet the public interest criteria under
   22  chapters 253 and 258. This subsection does not prohibit
   23  mitigation for impacts to seagrass or other habitats on
   24  sovereignty submerged lands, upon approval of the board of
   25  trustees.
   26         Section 2. The Department of Environmental Protection shall
   27  modify rules adopted pursuant to s. 373.4136, Florida Statutes,
   28  to remove any duplicative financial assurance requirements and
   29  to ensure that permitted seagrass mitigation banks comply with
   30  the federal mitigation banking rules.
   31         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.