Florida Senate - 2025 CONFERENCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2506
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
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Floor: AD/CR . Floor: AD
06/16/2025 10:29 PM . 06/16/2025 11:04 PM
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The Conference Committee on SB 2506 recommended the following:
1 Senate Conference Committee Amendment (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete everything after the enacting clause
5 and insert:
6 Section 1. Section 17.71, Florida Statutes, is amended to
7 read:
8 17.71 Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund.—
9 (1) The Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund is
10 created within the Department of Financial Services. The purpose
11 of the trust fund is to act as a depository for a portion of the
12 revenue-sharing payments received by the state under the gaming
13 compact, as the term “compact” is defined in s. 285.710(1).
14 (2) Funds shall be credited to the Indian Gaming Revenue
15 Clearing Trust Fund as provided in s. 380.095. Funds received
16 from such revenue-sharing payments and deposited into the trust
17 fund are exempt from the service charges imposed pursuant to s.
18 215.20.
19 (3) The department shall disburse funds, by nonoperating
20 transfer, from the Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund as
21 provided in s. 380.095.
22 (4) Pursuant to s. 19(f)(3), Art. III of the State
23 Constitution, the Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund is
24 exempt from the termination provisions of s. 19(f)(2), Art. III
25 of the State Constitution.
26 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 253.0251, Florida
27 Statutes, is amended to read:
28 253.0251 Alternatives to fee simple acquisition.—
29 (2) All applications for full alternatives to fee simple
30 acquisition projects must shall identify, within their
31 acquisition plans, the reasons the projects that require a full
32 fee simple interest to achieve the public policy goals, together
33 with the reasons full title is determined to be necessary. The
34 state agencies and the water management districts may use
35 alternatives to fee simple acquisition to bring the remaining
36 projects in their acquisition plans under public protection. For
37 purposes of this section, the phrase “alternatives to fee simple
38 acquisition” includes, but is not limited to, purchase of
39 development rights; obtaining conservation easements; obtaining
40 flowage easements; purchase of timber rights, mineral rights, or
41 hunting rights; purchase of agricultural interests or
42 silvicultural interests; fee simple acquisitions with
43 reservations; creating life estates; or any other acquisition
44 technique that achieves the public policy goals listed in
45 subsection (1). It is presumed that a private landowner retains
46 the full range of uses for all the rights or interests in the
47 landowner’s land which are not specifically acquired by the
48 public agency. The lands upon which hunting rights are
49 specifically acquired pursuant to this section shall be
50 available for hunting in accordance with the management plan or
51 hunting regulations adopted by the Fish and Wildlife
52 Conservation Commission, unless the hunting rights are purchased
53 specifically to protect activities on adjacent lands.
54 Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (7) of section
55 259.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
56 259.032 Conservation and recreation lands.—
57 (7)
58 (d) State agencies designated to manage lands acquired
59 under this chapter or with funds deposited into the Land
60 Acquisition Trust Fund, except those lands acquired under s.
61 259.1052, may contract with local governments, water control
62 districts designated pursuant to chapter 298, and soil and water
63 conservation districts to assist in management activities,
64 including the responsibility of being the lead land manager.
65 Such land management contracts must may include a provision for
66 the transfer of management funding to the local government,
67 water control district, or soil and water conservation district
68 from the land acquisition trust fund of the lead land managing
69 agency in an amount adequate for the local government, water
70 control district, or soil and water conservation district to
71 perform its contractual land management responsibilities or and
72 proportionate to its responsibilities, and which otherwise would
73 have been expended by the state agency to manage the property.
74 Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
75 259.037, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
76 259.037 Land Management Uniform Accounting Council.—
77 (7)(a) The LMUAC shall recommend the most efficient and
78 effective use of the funds available to state agencies for land
79 management activities pursuant to s. 380.095. The
80 recommendations must be based on a review of the resources of
81 each land management agency to determine current expenditures,
82 including personnel costs, spent specifically on upland
83 management activities and invasive species removal. The
84 recommendations must include a calculation methodology to
85 distribute the funds between to the state agencies specified in
86 s. 380.095(2)(b).
87 Section 5. Paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section
88 259.1055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
89 259.1055 Florida wildlife corridor.—
90 (6) MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES.—The Fish and Wildlife
91 Conservation Commission is authorized to enter into voluntary
92 agreements with private landowners for environmental services
93 within the Florida wildlife corridor.
94 (c) Subject to appropriation, the commission may use land
95 management funds received pursuant to s. 380.095 for this
96 purpose.
97 Section 6. Section 260.0145, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
98 Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section
99 373.026, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
100 373.026 General powers and duties of the department.—The
101 department, or its successor agency, shall be responsible for
102 the administration of this chapter at the state level. However,
103 it is the policy of the state that, to the greatest extent
104 possible, the department may enter into interagency or
105 interlocal agreements with any other state agency, any water
106 management district, or any local government conducting programs
107 related to or materially affecting the water resources of the
108 state. All such agreements shall be subject to the provisions of
109 s. 373.046. In addition to its other powers and duties, the
110 department shall, to the greatest extent possible:
111 (8)
112 (b) To ensure to the greatest extent possible that project
113 components will go forward as planned, the department shall
114 collaborate with the South Florida Water Management District in
115 implementing the comprehensive plan as defined in s.
116 373.470(2)(b), the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Protection Plan as
117 defined in s. 373.4595(2), and the River Watershed Protection
118 Plans as defined in s. 373.4595(2). Before any project component
119 is submitted to Congress for authorization or receives an
120 appropriation of state funds, the department must approve, or
121 approve with amendments, each project component within 60 days
122 following formal submittal of the project component to the
123 department. Prior to the release of state funds for the
124 implementation of the comprehensive plan, department approval
125 shall be based upon a determination of the South Florida Water
126 Management District’s compliance with s. 373.1501(6) s.
127 373.1501(5). Once a project component is approved, the South
128 Florida Water Management District shall provide to the President
129 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a
130 schedule for implementing the project component, the estimated
131 total cost of the project component, any existing federal or
132 nonfederal credits, the estimated remaining federal and
133 nonfederal share of costs, and an estimate of the amount of
134 state funds that will be needed to implement the project
135 component. All requests for an appropriation of state funds
136 needed to implement the project component shall be submitted to
137 the department, and such requests shall be included in the
138 department’s annual request to the Governor. Prior to the
139 release of state funds for the implementation of the Lake
140 Okeechobee Watershed Protection Plan or the River Watershed
141 Protection Plans, on an annual basis, the South Florida Water
142 Management District shall prepare an annual work plan as part of
143 the consolidated annual report required in s. 373.036(7). Upon a
144 determination by the secretary of the annual work plan’s
145 consistency with the goals and objectives of s. 373.4595, the
146 secretary may approve the release of state funds. Any
147 modifications to the annual work plan shall be submitted to the
148 secretary for review and approval.
149 Section 8. Present subsections (4) through (10) of section
150 373.1501, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5)
151 through (11), respectively, a new subsection (4) is added to
152 that section, and present subsection (9) of that section is
153 amended, to read:
154 373.1501 South Florida Water Management District as local
155 sponsor.—
156 (4) The Legislature declares that acquiring land for water
157 storage north of Lake Okeechobee is in the public interest, for
158 a public purpose, and necessary for the public health and
159 welfare. The governing board of the district is authorized to
160 acquire land, if necessary, to implement a reservoir project
161 north of Lake Okeechobee with the goal of providing at least
162 200,000 acre-feet of water storage. Any acquisition of real
163 property for the purpose of a reservoir project constitutes a
164 public purpose for which it is in the public interest to expend
165 public funds. Any land necessary for implementing the projects
166 in this subsection may be acquired only in accordance with s.
167 373.139(2) and chapters 73 and 74. The district and the state
168 are not authorized to request that the United States Army Corps
169 of Engineers acquire the lands for such reservoir project and
170 may not include any such request in the project partnership
171 agreement for such reservoir project.
172 (10)(9) Final agency action with regard to any project
173 component subject to s. 373.026(8)(b) must shall be taken by the
174 department. Actions taken by the district pursuant to subsection
175 (6) are (5) shall not be considered final agency action. Any
176 petition for formal proceedings filed pursuant to ss. 120.569
177 and 120.57 must require shall require a hearing under the
178 summary hearing provisions of s. 120.574, which is shall be
179 mandatory. The final hearing under this section must shall be
180 held within 30 days after receipt of the petition by the
181 Division of Administrative Hearings.
182 Section 9. Paragraph (g) of subsection (5) of section
183 380.093, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
184 380.093 Resilient Florida Grant Program; comprehensive
185 statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise data set and
186 assessment; Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience
187 Plan; regional resilience entities.—
188 (5) STATEWIDE FLOODING AND SEA LEVEL RISE RESILIENCE PLAN.—
189 (g) The department shall implement a scoring system for
190 assessing each project eligible for inclusion in the plan
191 pursuant to this subsection. The scoring system must include the
192 following tiers and associated criteria:
193 1. Tier 1 must account for 40 percent of the total score
194 and consist of all of the following criteria:
195 a. The degree to which the project addresses the risks
196 posed by flooding and sea level rise identified in the local
197 government vulnerability assessments or the comprehensive
198 statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise assessment, as
199 applicable.
200 b. The degree to which the project addresses risks to
201 regionally significant assets.
202 c. The degree to which the project reduces risks to areas
203 with an overall higher percentage of vulnerable critical assets.
204 d. The degree to which the project contributes to existing
205 flooding mitigation projects that reduce upland damage costs by
206 incorporating new or enhanced structures or restoration and
207 revegetation projects.
208 e. The degree to which the project reduces the flood risk,
209 and thereby increases the credits awarded, to a community
210 participating in the National Flood Insurance Program’s
211 Community Rating System.
212 2. Tier 2 must account for 30 percent of the total score
213 and consist of all of the following criteria:
214 a. The degree to which flooding and erosion currently
215 affect the condition of the project area.
216 b. The overall readiness of the project to proceed in a
217 timely manner, considering the project’s readiness for the
218 construction phase of development, the status of required
219 permits, the status of any needed easement acquisition, and the
220 availability of local funding sources.
221 c. The environmental habitat enhancement or inclusion of
222 nature-based options for resilience, with priority given to
223 state or federal critical habitat areas for threatened or
224 endangered species.
225 d. The cost-effectiveness of the project.
226 3. Tier 3 must account for 20 percent of the total score
227 and consist of all of the following criteria:
228 a. The availability of local, state, and federal matching
229 funds, considering the status of the funding award, and federal
230 authorization, if applicable.
231 b. Previous state commitment and involvement in the
232 project, considering previously funded phases, the total amount
233 of previous state funding, and previous partial appropriations
234 for the proposed project.
235 c. The exceedance of the flood-resistant construction
236 requirements of the Florida Building Code and applicable flood
237 plain management regulations.
238 4. Tier 4 must account for 10 percent of the total score
239 and consist of all of the following criteria:
240 a. The proposed innovative technologies designed to reduce
241 project costs and provide regional collaboration.
242 b. The extent to which the project assists financially
243 disadvantaged communities.
244 Section 10. Section 380.095, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
245 Section 11. Subsections (10) and (11) are added to section
246 403.0673, Florida Statutes, to read:
247 403.0673 Water quality improvement grant program.—A grant
248 program is established within the Department of Environmental
249 Protection to address wastewater, stormwater, and agricultural
250 sources of nutrient loading to surface water or groundwater.
251 (10) The department shall dedicate at least 25 percent of
252 the funds appropriated for the water quality grant program each
253 fiscal year for projects located in a rural area of opportunity.
254 (11) The department shall announce grant awards by November
255 1 of each fiscal year in which funds are appropriated for the
256 grant program.
257 Section 12. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
258
259 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
260 And the title is amended as follows:
261 Delete everything before the enacting clause
262 and insert:
263 A bill to be entitled
264 An act relating to natural resources; amending s.
265 17.71, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made by
266 the act; deleting provisions authorizing the
267 Department of Financial Services to disburse certain
268 funds from the Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust
269 Fund; amending s. 253.0251, F.S.; revising
270 requirements for applications for full fee simple
271 acquisition projects; amending s. 259.032, F.S.;
272 revising the list of entities that certain state
273 agencies may contract with; revising the requirements
274 for certain provisions in certain land management
275 contracts; amending ss. 259.037 and 259.1055, F.S.;
276 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
277 repealing s. 260.0145, F.S., relating to the Local
278 Trail Management Grant Program; amending s. 373.1501,
279 F.S.; providing a legislative declaration; authorizing
280 the governing board of the South Florida Water
281 Management District to acquire land to implement a
282 reservoir project in a certain area; providing
283 construction; providing that land necessary for
284 implementing such project be acquired in a specified
285 manner; prohibiting the district or the state from
286 requesting that the United States Army Corps of
287 Engineers acquire lands for such reservoir project;
288 prohibiting the inclusion of any such request in a
289 certain agreement; making technical changes;
290 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
291 amending s. 380.093, F.S.; revising the scoring system
292 for assessing project eligibility for inclusion in the
293 statewide flooding and sea-level rise plan; repealing
294 s. 380.095, F.S., relating to dedicated funding for
295 conservation lands, resiliency, and clean water
296 infrastructure; amending s. 403.0673, F.S.; requiring
297 the Department of Environmental Protection to dedicate
298 a certain amount of funds to projects located in a
299 rural area of opportunity; requiring the department to
300 announce grant awards by a certain date; providing an
301 effective date.