Florida Senate - 2025                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1580
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì607800wÎ607800                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/25/2025           .                                
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       The Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (Rodriguez)
       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section
    6  255.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         255.065 Public-private partnerships.—
    8         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
    9         (i) “Qualifying project” means:
   10         1. A facility or project that serves a public purpose,
   11  including, but not limited to, any ferry or mass transit
   12  facility, vehicle parking facility, airport or seaport facility,
   13  rail facility or project, fuel supply facility, oil or gas
   14  pipeline, medical or nursing care facility, recreational
   15  facility, sporting or cultural facility, or educational facility
   16  or other building or facility that is used or will be used by a
   17  public educational institution, or any other public facility or
   18  infrastructure that is used or will be used by the public at
   19  large or in support of an accepted public purpose or activity;
   20         2. An improvement, including equipment, of a building that
   21  will be principally used by a public entity or the public at
   22  large or that supports a service delivery system in the public
   23  sector;
   24         3. A water, wastewater, or surface water management
   25  facility or other related infrastructure;
   26         4.A coastal resiliency project as defined in s. 380.0934;
   27  or
   28         5.4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, for
   29  projects that involve a facility owned or operated by the
   30  governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital or
   31  health care system, or projects that involve a facility owned or
   32  operated by a municipal electric utility, only those projects
   33  that the governing board designates as qualifying projects
   34  pursuant to this section.
   35         Section 2. Section 380.0934, Florida Statutes, is created
   36  to read:
   37         380.0934 Public-private partnerships for coastal resiliency
   38  projects.—
   39         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   40         (a) “Coastal resiliency project” means:
   41         1. The planning, contracting, and execution of a project to
   42  address flooding and sea level rise in a coastal or inland
   43  community in this state pursuant to s. 380.093(5);
   44         2. Public infrastructure repair and upgrades to seawalls
   45  and stormwater drainage; and
   46         3. Resiliency measures designed to withstand extreme
   47  weather, mitigate flooding, and prevent coastal erosion,
   48  including:
   49         a. Acquisition of at-risk coastal and flood-prone
   50  properties;
   51         b. Acquisition of properties in areas at high risk of
   52  flooding;
   53         c. Infrastructure hardening and development of natural
   54  barriers;
   55         d. Construction of large-scale seawalls, levees, and
   56  elevated flood barriers; or
   57         e. Expansion and restoration of natural protective systems.
   58         (b) “Department” means the Department of Environmental
   59  Protection.
   60         (c) “Public-private partnership” means a coastal resiliency
   61  project entered into by the department under s. 255.065.
   62         (2) The department shall have the exclusive authority to
   63  execute coastal resiliency projects through public-private
   64  partnerships under s. 255.065.
   65         (3) To encourage investment from the private sector in
   66  coastal resiliency projects, the department may:
   67         (a) Enter into long-term revenue-sharing agreements.
   68         (b) Provide expedited permitting for construction.
   69         (c) Seek comments from local governments and the public
   70  during project planning and execution and incorporate actions
   71  responsive to such comments into the project.
   72         (d) Engage in-state vocational schools and apprenticeship
   73  programs to train workers in specialized resiliency
   74  construction.
   75         (4) The department shall publish biennial progress reports
   76  for each coastal resiliency project funded through a public
   77  private partnership, including project milestones, expenditures,
   78  and public benefits, on the department’s website. The department
   79  shall also create and maintain on its website an online
   80  dashboard for real-time updates on project execution.
   81         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
   82  
   83  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   84  And the title is amended as follows:
   85         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   86  and insert:
   87                        A bill to be entitled                      
   88         An act relating to infrastructure and resiliency;
   89         amending s. 255.065, F.S.; revising the definition of
   90         the term “qualifying project”; creating s. 380.0934,
   91         F.S.; defining terms; granting the Department of
   92         Environmental Protection the exclusive authority to
   93         execute coastal resiliency projects through public
   94         private partnerships; authorizing the department to
   95         take certain actions to encourage investment from the
   96         private sector in coastal resiliency projects;
   97         requiring the department to publish certain
   98         information on its website; providing an effective
   99         date.