Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1580
By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
Senator Rodriguez
592-02839-25 20251580c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to infrastructure and resiliency;
3 amending s. 255.065, F.S.; revising the definition of
4 the term “qualifying project”; creating s. 380.0934,
5 F.S.; defining terms; granting the Department of
6 Environmental Protection the exclusive authority to
7 execute coastal resiliency projects through public
8 private partnerships; authorizing the department to
9 take certain actions to encourage investment from the
10 private sector in coastal resiliency projects;
11 requiring the department to publish certain
12 information on its website; providing an effective
13 date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17 Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section
18 255.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
19 255.065 Public-private partnerships.—
20 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
21 (i) “Qualifying project” means:
22 1. A facility or project that serves a public purpose,
23 including, but not limited to, any ferry or mass transit
24 facility, vehicle parking facility, airport or seaport facility,
25 rail facility or project, fuel supply facility, oil or gas
26 pipeline, medical or nursing care facility, recreational
27 facility, sporting or cultural facility, or educational facility
28 or other building or facility that is used or will be used by a
29 public educational institution, or any other public facility or
30 infrastructure that is used or will be used by the public at
31 large or in support of an accepted public purpose or activity;
32 2. An improvement, including equipment, of a building that
33 will be principally used by a public entity or the public at
34 large or that supports a service delivery system in the public
35 sector;
36 3. A water, wastewater, or surface water management
37 facility or other related infrastructure;
38 4. A coastal resiliency project as defined in s. 380.0934;
39 or
40 5.4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, for
41 projects that involve a facility owned or operated by the
42 governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital or
43 health care system, or projects that involve a facility owned or
44 operated by a municipal electric utility, only those projects
45 that the governing board designates as qualifying projects
46 pursuant to this section.
47 Section 2. Section 380.0934, Florida Statutes, is created
48 to read:
49 380.0934 Public-private partnerships for coastal resiliency
50 projects.—
51 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
52 (a) “Coastal resiliency project” means:
53 1. The planning, contracting, and execution of a project to
54 address flooding and sea level rise in a coastal or inland
55 community in this state pursuant to s. 380.093(5);
56 2. Public infrastructure repair and upgrades to seawalls
57 and stormwater drainage; and
58 3. Resiliency measures designed to withstand extreme
59 weather, mitigate flooding, and prevent coastal erosion,
60 including:
61 a. Acquisition of at-risk coastal and flood-prone
62 properties;
63 b. Acquisition of properties in areas at high risk of
64 flooding;
65 c. Infrastructure hardening and development of natural
66 barriers;
67 d. Construction of large-scale seawalls, levees, and
68 elevated flood barriers; or
69 e. Expansion and restoration of natural protective systems.
70 (b) “Department” means the Department of Environmental
71 Protection.
72 (c) “Public-private partnership” means a coastal resiliency
73 project entered into by the department under s. 255.065.
74 (2) The department shall have the exclusive authority to
75 execute coastal resiliency projects through public-private
76 partnerships under s. 255.065.
77 (3) To encourage investment from the private sector in
78 coastal resiliency projects, the department may:
79 (a) Enter into long-term revenue-sharing agreements.
80 (b) Provide expedited permitting for construction.
81 (c) Seek comments from local governments and the public
82 during project planning and execution and incorporate actions
83 responsive to such comments into the project.
84 (d) Engage in-state vocational schools and apprenticeship
85 programs to train workers in specialized resiliency
86 construction.
87 (4) The department shall publish biennial progress reports
88 for each coastal resiliency project funded through a public
89 private partnership, including project milestones, expenditures,
90 and public benefits, on the department’s website. The department
91 shall also create and maintain on its website an online
92 dashboard for real-time updates on project execution.
93 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.