Florida Senate - 2025 SB 50
By Senator Garcia
36-00202-25 202550__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to nature-based methods for improving
3 coastal resilience; amending s. 380.0933, F.S.;
4 requiring the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research
5 and Innovation at the University of South Florida
6 College of Marine Science to develop design guidelines
7 and standards for green and gray infrastructure and
8 models for conceptual designs of green infrastructure
9 and green-gray infrastructure; creating s. 380.0938,
10 F.S.; requiring the Department of Environmental
11 Protection to adopt rules for nature-based methods for
12 coastal resilience; providing requirements for such
13 rules; requiring the department, in consultation with
14 the Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services of
15 the Department of Financial Services, to conduct a
16 statewide feasibility study regarding the value of
17 nature-based methods being used for a specified
18 purpose; requiring the department to submit a report
19 to the Governor and the Legislature by a specified
20 date; providing an effective date.
21
22 WHEREAS, the coastline is a critical state resource that
23 benefits the public interest by providing economic benefits,
24 such as flood control, fishing, recreation, and navigation, and
25 natural habitat and biodiversity functions, such as improved
26 water quality and habitat for endangered and threatened species
27 and other flora and fauna, and
28 WHEREAS, rising sea levels and an increasing frequency of
29 adverse weather events pose a significant risk to people and
30 property along the coastline and threaten the public benefits
31 and functions offered by the coastline, and
32 WHEREAS, as identified in the Miami-Dade Back Bay Coastal
33 Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study, natural infrastructure,
34 including mangrove stands, living seawalls, and other nature
35 based designs, can play an essential role in improving coastal
36 resilience and mitigating harm to this state’s coastlines, and
37 WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to promote state and local
38 efforts to restore mangrove forests along the coastline and
39 further study the impact of other nature-based methods on this
40 state’s coastal resilience and economic development, NOW,
41 THEREFORE,
42
43 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
44
45 Section 1. Present paragraphs (c) through (i) of subsection
46 (2) of section 380.0933, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
47 paragraphs (e) through (k), respectively, and new paragraphs (c)
48 and (d) are added to that subsection, to read:
49 380.0933 Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and
50 Innovation.—
51 (2) The hub shall, at a minimum:
52 (c) Develop design guidelines and standards for optimal
53 combinations of green and gray infrastructure to address sea
54 level rise and the impact of storm surges.
55 (d) Model the effects, including flood risk reduction and
56 socio-economic benefits, of conceptual designs of green
57 infrastructure and hybrid green-gray infrastructure, and
58 integration of green natural systems into gray infrastructure
59 systems, on this state’s coastal resilience.
60 Section 2. Section 380.0938, Florida Statutes, is created
61 to read:
62 380.0938 Nature-based methods for improving coastal
63 resilience.—
64 (1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall adopt
65 rules governing nature-based methods for improving coastal
66 resilience. The rules must do all of the following:
67 (a) Address significant erosion in areas of critical state
68 concern.
69 (b) Identify ways that new developments can avoid or
70 mitigate their impacts on mangrove stands.
71 (c) Encourage local governmental entities to develop or
72 participate in:
73 1. Mangrove replanting and hydrological restoration
74 programs; and
75 2. Restoration of oyster reefs, salt marshes, and coral
76 reefs.
77 (d) Identify and monitor threats to mangroves.
78 (e) Protect barrier and spoil islands.
79 (f) Assist efforts to improve coastal resilience through
80 the use of green infrastructure, beach renourishment, dune
81 restoration, living seawalls, shoreline and vegetation planting,
82 stormwater planters, permeable pavements, and ecologically sound
83 building materials.
84 (g) Promote public awareness of the value of green
85 infrastructure and statewide education campaigns conducted by
86 local governmental entities.
87 (h) Identify vulnerable public and private properties along
88 the coastline and encourage partnerships with local governmental
89 entities to create local protection and restoration zone
90 programs for implementing the rules developed by the department
91 pursuant to this section.
92 (i) Protect and maintain access to and navigation of the
93 marked channel and the right-of-way of the Florida Intracoastal
94 Waterway as defined in s. 327.02.
95 (j) Create permitting incentives and approvals of, and
96 encourage the use of, new strategies and technologies, such as
97 3D printing, for living shorelines and nature-based features for
98 coastal protection.
99 (k) Assist in the development of workforce training in this
100 state which includes flood and sea level rise research,
101 prediction, and adaptation and mitigation strategies. The
102 department shall provide incentives to local communities that
103 apply for funding through the Workforce Development
104 Capitalization Incentive Grant Program pursuant to s. 1011.801
105 to implement such workforce training.
106 (l) Encourage partnerships with local governmental entities
107 to create projects using green infrastructure for coastal
108 protection through the Resilient Florida Grant Program pursuant
109 to s. 380.093(3)(b)1.d.
110 (m) Develop guidelines for determining when a green
111 infrastructure project is clearly in the public interest under
112 s. 373.414(1)(a).
113 (n) Streamline the permitting process under s. 373.4131 for
114 green infrastructure projects.
115 (o) Streamline permitting after designated storm events or
116 disasters to replace failed coastal infrastructure with green or
117 hybrid green-gray infrastructure that follows established green
118 and green-gray design guidelines.
119 (2) The department, in consultation with the Division of
120 Insurance Agent and Agency Services, shall conduct a statewide
121 feasibility study to determine the value of nature-based methods
122 for coastal flood risk reduction within coastal communities to
123 reduce insurance premiums and improve local governments’
124 community ratings in the National Flood Insurance Program
125 Community Rating System. The department shall submit a report on
126 the findings of the study to the Governor, the President of the
127 Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by July
128 1, 2026.
129 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.