This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h0723.ACR
DATE: 1/25/2024
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 723 Everglades Protection Area
SPONSOR(S): Busatta Cabrera and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1364
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Agriculture, Conservation & Resiliency
Subcommittee
Gawin Moore
2) Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations
Subcommittee
3) Infrastructure Strategies Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Everglades/Florida Bay system covers approximately two million acres in South Florida and contains the
largest subtropical wetland in the United States. Historically, the Everglades covered over seven million acres
of South Florida, and water flowed down the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee, then south through the
Everglades to the Florida Bay. The present Everglades system has been subdivided by the construction of
canals, levees, roads, and other facilities because of efforts to drain the wetland for agriculture, development,
and flood control. As a result, the Everglades is less than half the size it was a century ago, and connections
between the central Everglades and adjacent transitional wetlands have been lost. This separation and
isolation can impair the Everglades' wildlife communities and the sustainability of the ecosystem.
Every city and county is required to create and implement a comprehensive plan to guide future development.
A local government’s comprehensive plan outlines the locations for future public facilities, including roads,
water and sewer facilities, neighborhoods, parks, schools, and commercial and industrial developments.
Comprehensive plans and plan amendments are subject to review by other state and local governmental
entities. Most comprehensive plan amendments follow the Expedited State Review process. However, plan
amendments that are in an area of critical state concern, propose a rural land stewardship area, or propose a
sector plan or an amendment to an adopted sector plan, as well as other specified amendments, must follow
the State Coordinated Review process. New plans for newly incorporated municipalities must also follow the
State Coordinated Review process. Plan amendments adopted by local governments that qualify as small-
scale development amendments are authorized to follow a small-scale review process, which only requires
one public hearing and a compliance determination from the state land planning agency before becoming
effective.
The bill requires plans and plan amendments that apply to any land within, or within two miles of, the
Everglades Protection Area (EPA) to:
Follow the State Coordinated Review process;
Be reviewed by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), within 30 days of receipt, which
must determine whether the plan or plan amendment adversely impacts the EPA or statutory
Everglades restoration and protection objectives; and
Include written notice from DEP stating the plan or plan amendment does not adversely impact the EPA
or Everglades protection and restoration.
The bill prohibits a proposed amendment impacting property located within, or within two miles of, the EPA
from being considered a small-scale development amendment.
The bill may have an insignificant negative fiscal impact on DEP that can be absorbed within existing
resources and an indeterminate negative fiscal impact on local governments. STORAGE NAME: h0723.ACR PAGE: 2
DATE: 1/25/2024
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
The Everglades/Florida Bay System
The Everglades/Florida Bay system covers approximately two million acres in South Florida and
contains the largest subtropical wetland in the United States. The area consists of a vast sawgrass
marsh dotted with tree islands and interspersed with wet prairies and aquatic sloughs.
1
Historically, the Everglades covered over seven million acres of South Florida, and water flowed down
the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee, then south through the Everglades to the Florida Bay.
2
The present Everglades system has been subdivided by the construction of canals, levees, roads, and
other facilities because of efforts to drain the wetland for agriculture, development, and flood control. As
a result, the Everglades is less than half the size it was a century ago, and connections between the
central Everglades and adjacent transitional wetlands have been lost. This separation and isolation can
impair the Everglades' wildlife communities and the sustainability of the ecosystem.
3
To address these issues, the Legislature passed the Everglades Forever Act (EFA) in 1994.
4
The EFA
established long-term goals to restore and protect the Everglades ecosystem and created the
Everglades Protection Area (EPA), depicted in the figure below,
5
which is composed of the Water
Conservation Areas
6
(WCA 1,
7
WCA 2A, WCA 2B, WCA 3A, and WCA 3B), and Everglades National
Park, which also includes the Florida Bay.
8
The EFA specified that the long-term water quality objective for the Everglades is to implement the
optimal combination of source controls, stormwater treatment areas, advanced treatment technologies,
and regulatory programs to ensure that all waters discharged to the EPA achieve water quality
standards consistent with the EFA. To achieve these goals, the EFA required the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) to:
Restore and protect the Everglades ecological system;
Authorize the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to proceed expeditiously with
implementation of Everglades restoration;
Reduce excessive levels of phosphorus;
Pursue comprehensive and innovative solutions to the issues of water quality, water quantity,
hydroperiod, and invasions of nonnative species that affect the Everglades ecosystem;
Expedite plans and programs for improving water quantity reaching the Everglades; and
Achieve the water quality goals of the Everglades program through implementation of
stormwater treatment areas and best management practices.
9
1
South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), Everglades, https://www.sfwmd.gov/our-work/everglades (last visited Jan. 19,
2024).
2
Id.
3
Id.
4
Chapter 94-115, Laws of Fla.
5
SFWMD, 2016 South Florida Environmental Report, p. 3, available at
https://issuu.com/southfloridawatermanagement/docs/2016_sfer_highlights_final?e=4207603/33817547 (last visited Jan. 19, 2024).
6
The WCAs were designated primarily to receive flood waters from adjacent areas and store them for beneficial municipal, urban, and
agricultural uses. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Everglades Water Conservation Areas,
https://myfwc.com/fishing/freshwater/sites-forecasts/s/everglades-water-conservation-
areas/#:~:targetText=Palm%20Beach%2C%20Broward%20and%20Miami,in%20effect%20for%20the%20area (last visited Jan. 19,
2024).
7
WCA 1 is also known as the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
8
Section 373.4592(2)(i), F.S.
9
DEP, Everglades Forever Act (EFA), available at https://floridadep.gov/eco-pro/eco-pro/content/everglades-forever-act-efa (last
visited Jan. 19, 2024). STORAGE NAME: h0723.ACR PAGE: 3
DATE: 1/25/2024
Comprehensive Plans and Plan Amendment Process
In 1985, the Florida Legislature passed the landmark Growth Management Act, which required every
city and county to create and implement a comprehensive plan to guide future development.
10
A local
government’s comprehensive plan outlines the locations for future public facilities, including roads,
water and sewer facilities, neighborhoods, parks, schools, and commercial and industrial
developments.
11
Comprehensive plans and plan amendments are subject to review by other state and local
governmental entities. Most plan amendments are required to follow the Expedited State Review
process. However, plan amendments that are in an area of critical state concern, propose a rural land
stewardship area, or propose a sector plan or an amendment to an adopted sector plan, as well as
other specified amendments, must follow the State Coordinated Review process.
12
New plans for newly
incorporated municipalities must also follow the State Coordinated Review process.
A proposed comprehensive plan or plan amendment is required, under both processes, to receive a
public hearing by the local governing body before it may be transmitted for review. Before the local
governing body may consider the proposal, the local planning board must first hold a public hearing at
which it makes a recommendation to the local governing body on adoption of the plan or plan
amendment.
13
The local governing body must then hold a public hearing to consider transmittal of the
proposed plan or plan amendment. If a majority of the local governing body members present at the
10
Chapter 85-55, Laws of Fla.
11
Id.
12
Section 163.3184(2)(c), F.S.
13
Sections 163.3174(4)(a) and 163.3184(11), F.S. STORAGE NAME: h0723.ACR PAGE: 4
DATE: 1/25/2024
hearing approve such transmittal, the plan or amendment must be transmitted within 10 working days
to the following state and local governmental entities, known as reviewing agencies:
14
The state land planning agency, designated in statute as the Department of Commerce;
15
The appropriate regional planning council;
The appropriate water management district;
DEP;
The Department of State;
The Department of Transportation;
For plan amendments relating to public schools, the Department of Education;
For plans or plan amendments that affect certain military installations, the commanding officer of
the affected military installation;
For county plans and plan amendments, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and
the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and
For municipal plans and plan amendments, the county in which the municipality is located.
16
The reviewing agencies and certain other government entities may provide comments to the local
government regarding the plan or amendment. State agencies may only comment on important state
resources and facilities that will be adversely impacted by the plan or plan amendment. Any comments
provided by state agencies must provide specificity on how the plan or amendment will adversely
impact an important state resource or facility and must identify measures the local government may
take to eliminate, reduce, or mitigate the adverse impacts.
17
Under the Expedited State Review
process, these comments must be provided directly to the local government within 30 days of receipt of
the plan or plan amendment.
18
Alternatively, a State Coordinated Review requires agencies to provide
comments to the Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce then has a total of 60 days
from receipt to provide the local government with a report detailing the state’s objections,
recommendations, and comments.
19
In both processes, comments from each governmental entity must be limited to their statutory
purview.
20
For example, DEP must limit its comments to the subjects of air and water pollution;
wetlands and other surface waters of the state; federal and state-owned lands and interest in lands,
including state parks, greenways and trails, and conservation easements; solid waste; water and
wastewater treatment; and Everglades ecosystem restoration.
21
After the local government receives the comments made by the reviewing agencies, whether directly
from the agencies or through the report issued by the Department of Commerce, the local governing
body must hold a second public hearing to approve or deny the plan or plan amendment.
22
The second
public hearing must be conducted within 180 days after the agency comments are received. For most
plan amendments, if a local government fails to adopt the plan amendment within 180 days, the plan
amendment is deemed withdrawn. Unless otherwise specified, the 180-day requirement may be
extended by agreement as long as notice is provided to the Department of Commerce and any affected
person that provided comments on the plan amendment.
23
After adopting a plan or plan amendment, the local government must transmit the plan or plan
amendment to the Department of Commerce within 10 days of the second public hearing, and the
Department of Commerce must notify the local government of any deficiencies with the plan
14
Sections 163.3184(3)(b)1. and 163.3184(4)(c), F.S.
15
Section 163.3164(44), F.S.; During the 2023 Legislative Session, the Legislature renamed the Department of Economic Opportunity
as the Department of Commerce. Chapter 2023-173, section 10, L.O.F. Senate Bill 82 (2024), a reviser bill that has passed both
chambers, updates all statutory references to the agency.
16
Section 163.3184(1)(c), F.S.
17
Sections 163.3184(3)(b)2. and 163.3184(4)(c), F.S.
18
Section 163.3184(3)(b)2.
19
Section 163.3184(4)(c)-(d), F.S.
20
Section 163.3184(3)(b)3.-4., F.S.
21
Section 163.3184(3)(b)4.a., F.S.
22
Section 163.3184(11), F.S.
23
Section 163.3184(3)(c), F.S. STORAGE NAME: h0723.ACR PAGE: 5
DATE: 1/25/2024
amendment within five working days. For purposes of completeness, a plan or plan amendment must
be deemed complete if it contains:
A full, executed copy of the adoption ordinance or ordinances;
In the case of a text amendment, a full copy of the amended language in legislative format with
new words inserted in the text underlined and words deleted stricken with hyphens;
In the case of a future land use map amendment, a copy of the future land use map clearly
depicting the parcel, its existing future land use designation, and its adopted designation; and
A copy of any data and analyses the local government deems appropriate.
24
The Department of Commerce then has either 31 days, under the Expedited State Review process, or
45 days, under the State Coordinated Review process, to determine whether the proposed
comprehensive plan or plan amendment is in compliance with all relevant agency rules and laws.
25
Under the Expedited State Review process, a plan amendment is considered effective on the 31st day
after receipt of the adopted amendment from the local government. Under the State Coordinated
Review process, the Department of Commerce must issue a notice of intent to find that the plan or plan
amendment is either in compliance or not in compliance. The Department of Commerce must also post
a copy of the notice of intent on the agency’s website. The plan or plan amendment is considered
effective upon publication of the notice of intent, unless administratively challenged.
26
Small-Scale Development Amendments
Plan amendments adopted by local governments that qualify as small-scale development amendments
are authorized to follow a small-scale review process.
27
An amendment may be considered a small-
scale development amendment when:
The proposed amendment involves a use of 10 acres or fewer;
The proposed amendment does not involve a text change to the goals, policies, and objectives
of the local government’s comprehensive plan, but only proposes a land use change to the
future land use map for site-specific small-scale development activity; and
The property that is the subject of the proposed amendment is not located within an area of
critical concern.
28
Small-scale development amendments only require one public hearing and a compliance determination
from the state land planning agency before becoming effective.
29
Effect of the Bill
The bill requires comprehensive plans and plan amendments that apply to any land within, or within two
miles of, the EPA to follow the State Coordinated Review process. As part of the review process for
these plans and plan amendments, the bill also requires DEP to determine whether the plan or plan
amendment adversely impacts the EPA or the Everglades restoration and protection objectives
identified in s. 373.4592, F.S. DEP must provide a written determination to the state land planning
agency and the local government within 30 days after receipt of the proposed plan or plan amendment.
The determination must identify any adverse impacts and can be provided as part of the agency’s
comments.
The bill further requires DEP to work in coordination with the state land planning agency and the local
government to identify any planning strategies or measures the local government could include to
eliminate or mitigate any adverse impacts to the EPA or Everglades restoration and protection. If DEP
determines that any portion of the plan or plan amendment will adversely impact the EPA or
Everglades restoration and protection objectives, the local government must modify that portion of the
24
Id.
25
Sections 163.3184(3) and 163.3184(4), F.S.
26
Id.
27
Section 163.3184(2)(b), F.S.
28
Section 163.3187(1), F.S.
29
Section 163.3187, F.S. STORAGE NAME: h0723.ACR PAGE: 6
DATE: 1/25/2024
proposed plan or plan amendment to include planning strategies or measures to eliminate or mitigate
such adverse impacts before adopting the proposed plan or plan amendment. If the local government
does not modify that portion of the plan or plan amendment, the proposed plan or plan amendment
may not be adopted.
If a plan or any plan amendment that applies to any land within, or within two miles of, the EPA is
adopted at its second public hearing, the bill requires the local government to transmit such plan or
amendment to DEP, in addition to the Department of Commerce, within 10 working days after the
second public hearing.
The bill requires the state land planning agency, when determining compliance of a plan or plan
amendment, to limit its objections to the objections raised in the review of planning strategies or
measures adopted.
The bill prohibits a proposed amendment impacting property that is located within, or within two miles
of, the EPA from being considered a small-scale development amendment. The bill requires that, within
10 days after the adoption of a small-scale development amendment, a county whose boundaries
include any portion of the EPA, and all municipalities within the county, must transmit a copy of the
amendment to the state land planning agency for recordkeeping purposes.
The bill specifies that a site-specific text change that relates directly to, and is adopted simultaneously
with, a small-scale future land use map amendment may be included in a small-scale development
amendment.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1. Amends s. 163.3184, F.S., related to comprehensive plans and plan amendments.
Section 2. Amends s. 163.3187, F.S., related to procedures for small-scale development
amendments.
Section 3. Amends s. 420.615, F.S., to conform a cross-reference.
Section 4. Provides an effective date of July 1, 2024.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
The bill may have an insignificant negative fiscal impact on DEP because DEP will be required to
expend more agency resources on the review of local government comprehensive plans and plan
amendments that impact the EPA or an area within two miles of the EPA. DEP currently reviews
these plans and plan amendments, so the fiscal impact can be absorbed within existing resources.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
The bill may have an indeterminate negative fiscal impact on local governments that propose
comprehensive plans or plan amendments impacting the EPA or an area within two miles of the STORAGE NAME: h0723.ACR PAGE: 7
DATE: 1/25/2024
EPA if such local governments have to expend additional resources to comply with the State
Coordinated Review process.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not applicable. This bill does not appear to require counties or municipalities to spend funds or take
action requiring the expenditure of funds; reduce the authority that counties or municipalities have to
raise revenues in the aggregate; or reduce the percentage of state tax shared with counties or
municipalities.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
Not applicable.