Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 302
Ì6188320Î618832
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/04/2026 .
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The Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and
General Government (Garcia) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (e) of subsection (3) of
6 section 258.397, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
7 258.397 Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve.—
8 (3) AUTHORITY OF TRUSTEES.—The Board of Trustees of the
9 Internal Improvement Trust Fund is authorized and directed to
10 maintain the aquatic preserve hereby created pursuant and
11 subject to the following provisions:
12 (b) No further dredging or filling of submerged lands of
13 the preserve shall be approved or tolerated by the board of
14 trustees except:
15 1. Such minimum dredging and spoiling as may be authorized
16 for public navigation projects or for such minimum dredging and
17 spoiling as may be constituted as a public necessity or for
18 preservation of the bay according to the expressed intent of
19 this section.
20 2. Such other alteration of physical conditions, including
21 the placement of riprap, as may be necessary to enhance the
22 quality and utility of the preserve.
23 3. Such minimum dredging and filling as may be authorized
24 for the creation and maintenance of marinas, piers, and docks
25 and their attendant navigation channels and access roads. Such
26 projects may only be authorized upon a specific finding by the
27 board of trustees that there is assurance that the project will
28 be constructed and operated in a manner that will not adversely
29 affect the water quality and utility of the preserve. This
30 subparagraph shall not authorize the connection of upland canals
31 to the waters of the preserve.
32 4. Such dredging as is necessary for the purpose of
33 eliminating conditions hazardous to the public health or for the
34 purpose of eliminating stagnant waters, islands, and spoil
35 banks, the dredging of which would enhance the aesthetic and
36 environmental quality and utility of the preserve and be clearly
37 in the public interest as determined by the board of trustees.
38 5. Such minimum dredging and filling as may be authorized
39 for the restoration and enhancement of natural systems,
40 including the management of substrate for vegetation planting
41 and restoration for mangroves, salt marshes, seagrasses, and
42 oyster reefs, to enhance the quality and utility of the preserve
43 and coastal resiliency.
44
45 Any dredging or filling under this subsection or improvements
46 under subsection (5) shall be approved only after public notice
47 as provided by s. 253.115.
48 (e) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, the
49 board of trustees may, respecting lands lying within Biscayne
50 Bay:
51 1. Enter into agreements for and establish lines
52 delineating sovereignty and privately owned lands.
53 2. Enter into agreements for the exchange of, and exchange,
54 sovereignty lands for privately owned lands.
55 3. Accept gifts of land within or contiguous to the
56 preserve.
57 4. Negotiate for, and enter into agreements with owners of
58 lands contiguous to sovereignty lands for, any public and
59 private use of any of such lands.
60 5. Take any and all actions convenient for, or necessary
61 to, the accomplishment of any and all of the acts and matters
62 authorized by this paragraph.
63 6. Conduct restoration and enhancement efforts in Biscayne
64 Bay and its tributaries.
65 7. Stabilize eroding shorelines of Biscayne Bay and its
66 tributaries that are contributing to turbidity by planting
67 natural vegetation to the greatest extent feasible and by the
68 placement of riprap and living shorelines and seawalls, as
69 determined by Miami-Dade County in conjunction with the
70 Department of Environmental Protection.
71 8. Request the South Florida Water Management District to
72 enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of
73 Environmental Protection, the Biscayne National Park Service,
74 the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources
75 Management and, at their option, the Corps of Engineers to
76 include enhanced marine productivity in Biscayne Bay as an
77 objective when operating the Central and Southern Florida Flood
78 Control projects consistently with the goals of the water
79 management district, including flood protection, water supply,
80 and environmental protection.
81 Section 2. Paragraph (e) of subsection (3) of section
82 258.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
83 258.42 Maintenance of preserves.—The Board of Trustees of
84 the Internal Improvement Trust Fund shall maintain such aquatic
85 preserves subject to the following provisions:
86 (3)
87 (e) Structures may not be erected within the preserve,
88 except:
89 1. Private residential docks may be approved for reasonable
90 ingress or egress of riparian owners. Slips at private
91 residential single-family docks which contain boat lifts or
92 davits that do not float in the water when loaded may not, in
93 whole or in part, be enclosed by walls, but may be roofed if the
94 roof does not overhang more than 1 foot beyond the footprint of
95 the lift and the boat stored at the lift. Such roofs are not
96 included in the square-footage calculation of a terminal
97 platform.
98 2. Private residential multislip docks may be approved if
99 located within a reasonable distance of a publicly maintained
100 navigation channel, or a natural channel of adequate depth and
101 width to allow operation of the watercraft for which the docking
102 facility is designed without the craft having an adverse impact
103 on marine resources. The distance shall be determined in
104 accordance with criteria established by the trustees by rule,
105 based on the depth of the water, nature and condition of bottom,
106 and presence of manatees.
107 3. Commercial docking facilities shown to be consistent
108 with the use or management criteria of the preserve may be
109 approved if the facilities are located within a reasonable
110 distance of a publicly maintained navigation channel, or a
111 natural channel of adequate depth and width to allow operation
112 of the watercraft for which the docking facility is designed
113 without the craft having an adverse impact on marine resources.
114 The distance shall be determined in accordance with criteria
115 established by the trustees by rule, based on the depth of the
116 water, nature and condition of bottom, and presence of manatees.
117 4. Structures for shore protection, including restoration
118 of seawalls at their previous location or upland of or within 18
119 inches waterward of their previous location, approved
120 navigational aids, or public utility crossings authorized under
121 paragraph (a) may be approved.
122 5. Nature-based solutions to improve coastal resiliency,
123 including living seawalls, shoreline and vegetation planting,
124 seagrass planting, wave attenuation devices, and green or hybrid
125 green-gray stormwater infrastructure, which are sited to provide
126 the most appropriate benefit.
127
128 A structure under this paragraph or chapter 253 may not be
129 prohibited solely because the local government fails to adopt a
130 marina plan or other policies dealing with the siting of such
131 structures in its local comprehensive plan.
132 Section 3. Section 380.0938, Florida Statutes, is created
133 to read:
134 380.0938 Nature-based methods for improving coastal
135 resiliency.—
136 (1) By January 1, 2027, the department shall develop design
137 guidelines and standards for optimal combinations of nature
138 based methods for using green or hybrid green-gray
139 infrastructure to address coastal resiliency, including local
140 mitigation strategies for erosion control, sea-level rise, and
141 storm surge.
142 (2) By January 1, 2027, the department must initiate
143 rulemaking, subject to legislative ratification, to provide for
144 a clear and consistent statewide permitting process under s.
145 373.4131 for nature-based methods for improving coastal
146 resiliency and to address all of the following:
147 (a) Criteria and thresholds for permits to implement
148 nature-based methods, including monitoring, inspection, and
149 reporting requirements.
150 (b) Procedures governing the review of applications and
151 notices, duration and modification of permits, operational
152 requirements, and transfers of permits.
153 (c) Provisions for emergencies, abandonment and removal of
154 systems, and significant erosion in areas of critical state
155 concern.
156 (d) Exemptions and general permits that do not allow
157 significant adverse impacts to occur individually or
158 cumulatively.
159 (e) Improvement of coastal resiliency using nature-based
160 solutions, including living seawalls, shoreline and vegetation
161 planting, seagrass planting, wave attenuation devices, green or
162 hybrid green-gray stormwater infrastructure, beach
163 renourishment, dune and wetland restoration, reinforced dunes,
164 reef restoration, and ecologically sound building materials.
165 (f) Protection and maintenance of access to and navigation
166 of the marked channel and the right-of-way of the Florida
167 Intracoastal Waterway as defined in s. 327.02.
168 (g) Creation of permitting incentives for the use of new
169 strategies and technologies, such as 3D printing and other forms
170 of manufacturing, for living shorelines and nature-based
171 features for coastal protection.
172 (h) Incentives to encourage local governmental entities to
173 create projects using nature-based solutions for coastal
174 protection through the Resilient Florida Grant Program pursuant
175 to s. 380.093(3)(b)1.d.
176 (i) Guidelines for determining when a nature-based
177 solutions project is clearly in the public interest and safety
178 under s. 373.414(1)(a).
179 (j) Development of a clear and efficient permitting process
180 after designated storm events or disasters to replace failed
181 coastal infrastructure with nature-based or hybrid green-gray
182 infrastructure that follows established guidelines in subsection
183 (1).
184 (k) Identification of ways local governmental entities can
185 participate in coastal resiliency, including:
186 1. Mangrove replanting and hydrological restoration
187 programs.
188 2. Restoration of oyster reefs, salt marshes, seagrass
189 beds, and coral reefs.
190 3. Identification and monitoring of threats to mangroves.
191 4. Protection of barrier and spoil islands.
192 (3) The department and local governments shall promote
193 public awareness and education on the value of nature-based
194 solutions for coastal resiliency, including the preservation and
195 restoration of wetlands, floodplains, seagrasses, mangroves, and
196 other natural systems along the coastline.
197 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.
198
199 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
200 And the title is amended as follows:
201 Delete everything before the enacting clause
202 and insert:
203 A bill to be entitled
204 An act relating to nature-based coastal resiliency;
205 amending s. 258.397, F.S.; authorizing certain
206 dredging and filling of submerged lands and placement
207 of certain shorelines and seawalls within the Biscayne
208 Bay Aquatic Preserve; amending s. 258.42, F.S.;
209 authorizing the erection of certain structures within
210 aquatic preserves; creating s. 380.0938, F.S.;
211 requiring the Department of Environmental Protection,
212 by a specified date, to develop guidelines and
213 standards for nature-based methods to address coastal
214 resiliency and to adopt rules, subject to legislative
215 ratification, for a statewide permitting process for
216 such coastal resiliency; providing requirements for
217 such rules; requiring the department and local
218 governments to promote public awareness and education
219 on nature-based solutions for coastal resiliency;
220 providing an effective date.
221