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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to funding for environmental resource 2
management; creating s. 380.095, F.S.; providing 3
legislative findings and intent; requiring the 4
Department of Revenue to deposit into the Indian 5
Gaming Revenue Trust Fund within the Department of 6
Financial Services a specified percentage of the 7
revenue share payments received under the gaming 8
compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the 9
State of Florida; providing requirements for the 10
distribution of such funds; creating s. 260.0145, 11
F.S.; creating the Local Trail Management Grant 12
Program within the Department of Environmental 13
Protection for a specified purpose; providing for the 14
administration and prioritization of awards; 15
specifying the authorized and prohibited uses of grant 16
funds; requiring the department to submit an annual 17
report to the Governor and the Legislature by a 18
specified date; providing requirements for the report; 19
amending s. 259.1055, F.S.; authorizing the Fish and 20
Wildlife Conservation Commission to enter into 21
voluntary agreements with private landowners for 22
environmental services within the wildlife corridor; 23
providing requirements for such agreements; 24
authorizing the use of land management funds; 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
requiring the Land Management Uniform Accounting 26
Council to recommend the efficient and effective use 27
of certain funds available to state agencies for land 28
management activities; providing requirements for such 29
recommendations; requi ring the council to adopt and 30
submit its initial recommendation to the Executive 31
Office of the Governor and the Legislature by a 32
specified date; requiring biennial updates; amending 33
s. 403.0673, F.S.; revising the projects the 34
department is required to pri oritize within the water 35
quality improvement grant program; revising the 36
components required for the grant program's annual 37
report; providing appropriations; requiring the 38
department to coordinate with the Water School at 39
Florida Gulf Coast University for specified purposes; 40
requiring the Water School to conduct a specified 41
study; providing requirements for the study; requiring 42
the department to submit a report to the Executive 43
Office of the Governor and the Legislature by a 44
specified date; providing approp riations; requiring 45
the South Florida Water Management District to enter 46
into a contract with the Water School at Florida Gulf 47
Coast University to conduct a study of the health and 48
ecosystem of Lake Okeechobee; providing requirements 49
for the study; requiri ng a report to the Executive 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Office of the Governor and the Legislature by a 51
specified date; authorizing the Department of 52
Environmental Protection to submit budget amendments 53
for the release of specified funds; providing an 54
effective date. 55
56
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 57
58
Section 1. Section 380.095, Florida Statutes, is created 59
to read: 60
380.095 Dedicated funding for conservation lands, 61
resiliency, and clean water infrastructure. — 62
(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT. —The Legislature recognizes that 63
the conservation and preservation of the land and water 64
resources of this state are essential to maintaining the quality 65
of life enjoyed by Floridians and to sustaining and growing a 66
thriving state economy, including legacy industries suc h as 67
tourism, agriculture, and fishing. 68
(a) The Legislature recognizes that historic investments 69
in land conservation have fostered and will continue to foster 70
the preservation of Florida's heritage, allow for the strategic 71
expansion and interconnectivit y of the Florida wildlife 72
corridor, and promote the protection of crucial habitat 73
necessary for the survival, protection, and recovery of 74
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threatened and endangered native species, including the Florida 75
panther. 76
(b) The Legislature further recognizes that as the state 77
acquires land, the state needs to be a good steward of the land, 78
which necessitates the need for a commitment to provide funding 79
at levels sufficient to ensure the proper management of such 80
lands. These investments provide opportunities for e xpanded 81
public access to state lands, including state parks, the Florida 82
Greenways and Trails System, and game lands, among others, for 83
recreation; and promote opportunities to protect such lands from 84
wildfire damage and the infiltration of dangerous nonna tive 85
plant and animal species, among other benefits. 86
(c) The Legislature finds that the state is particularly 87
vulnerable to adverse impacts from increases in the frequency 88
and duration of rainfall events and sea level rise. The 89
consequences of such event s not only endanger human lives and 90
properties, but also threaten Florida's natural habitats and 91
biodiversity. The Legislature further recognizes that enhancing 92
the state's resiliency to storm events and sea level rise is 93
essential to Florida's economic st ability and growth. 94
(d) Furthermore, the Legislature recognizes the need for 95
additional revenue sources to address the gap in funding needs 96
necessary to address water quality impacts, and that the 97
projections for significant population growth further exa cerbate 98
such need. 99
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(e) Therefore, the Legislature finds that it is in the 100
best interest of the residents of the State of Florida to 101
dedicate revenues from the gaming compact between the Seminole 102
Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida to acquire and ma nage 103
conservation lands, and to make significant investments in 104
resiliency efforts and clean water infrastructure. 105
(2) DISTRIBUTION.—Notwithstanding s. 285.710, the 106
Department of Revenue shall, upon receipt, deposit 96 percent of 107
any revenue share paymen t received under the compact as defined 108
in s. 285.710 into the Indian Gaming Revenue Trust Fund within 109
the Department of Financial Services. The funds deposited into 110
the trust fund shall be distributed as follows: 111
(a) The sum of $100 million to support t he Florida 112
wildlife corridor as defined in s. 259.1055, including the 113
acquisition of lands or conservation easements within the 114
Florida wildlife corridor. To be eligible for funding, the 115
acquisition project must be included on a land acquisition 116
priority list developed pursuant to s. 259.035 or s. 570.71. The 117
funds must be appropriated in Administered Funds each fiscal 118
year. Eligible state agencies may, on a first -come, first-served 119
basis, submit a budget amendment to request release of funds 120
pursuant to chapter 216. Release is contingent upon approval, if 121
required. 122
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(b) The sum of $100 million for the management of uplands 123
and the removal of invasive species, which must be divided as 124
follows: 125
1. Thirty-six million to the Department of Environmental 126
Protection, of which: 127
a. Thirty-two million to the State Park Trust Fund within 128
the department for land management activities within the state 129
park system; and 130
b. Four million to the Internal Improvement Trust Fund 131
within the department for the purpose of implementing the Local 132
Trail Management Grant Program created pursuant to s. 260.0145. 133
2. Thirty-two million to the Incidental Trust Fund within 134
the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for land 135
management activities. 136
3. Thirty-two million to the State Game Trust Fund within 137
the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for land 138
management activities, including management activities for 139
gopher tortoises and Florida panthers. 140
141
For sub-subparagraph 1.a. and subparagraphs 2. and 3., a land 142
manager may not use more than 25 percent of the distribution for 143
operation capital outlay or capital assets. 144
(c) The sum of $100 million to the Resilient Florida Trust 145
Fund within the Department of Environmental Protec tion for the 146
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Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan to be used 147
in accordance with s. 380.093. 148
(d) The remainder to the Water Protection and 149
Sustainability Program Trust Fund within the Department of 150
Environmental Protection for the Water Q uality Improvement Grant 151
Program, to be used in accordance with s. 403.0673. 152
Section 2. Section 260.0145, Florida Statutes, is created 153
to read: 154
260.0145 Local Trail Management Grant Program. — 155
(1) The Local Trail Management Grant Program is created 156
within the department to assist local governments with costs 157
associated with the operation and maintenance of trails within 158
the Florida Greenways and Trails System. Funding for the program 159
is subject to appropriation. 160
(2) A local government may receive m ultiple grant awards 161
per application cycle. 162
(3) The department shall give priority to each of the 163
following: 164
(a) A local government that provides cost share for the 165
costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the 166
trails, except for trails wi thin fiscally constrained counties 167
or rural areas of opportunity. 168
(b) Trails within the Florida wildlife corridor as defined 169
in s. 259.1055. 170
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(4) A local government may only use grant funds for the 171
operation and maintenance of trails, including, but not limited 172
to, the purchase of equipment and capital assets; the funding of 173
necessary repairs to ensure the safety of trail users; and other 174
necessary maintenance, such as pressure washing, bush pruning, 175
and clearing debris. A local government may not use gr ant funds 176
for the planning, design, or construction of trails. 177
(5) Beginning January 15, 2025, and each January 15 178
thereafter, the department shall submit a report to the 179
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the 180
House of Representati ves in accordance with s. 286.001 listing 181
the grants awarded pursuant to this section. The report must 182
include the following information for each grant award: the 183
grant recipient's name, a description of the individual 184
components of the trail, a descriptio n of the maintenance 185
activities funded, the total management cost for the trail 186
components, and the cost share, if any, provided by the 187
recipient. 188
Section 3. Present subsection (6) of section 259.1055, 189
Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (7 ), and a new 190
subsection (6) is added to that section, to read: 191
259.1055 Florida wildlife corridor. — 192
(6) MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES. —The Fish and Wildlife 193
Conservation Commission is authorized to enter into voluntary 194
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
agreements with private landowners for en vironmental services 195
within the Florida wildlife corridor. 196
(a) The agreements must require that the landowner protect 197
and restore water resources; improve management of wildlife 198
habitat, including the long -term conservation of forest and 199
grassland soils and native plants; manage the land in a manner 200
that keeps the desired ecosystem healthy for protected species, 201
such as the gopher tortoise and the Florida panther; or provide 202
other incentives to landowners to continue and improve land uses 203
that are both economically sustainable and beneficial to the 204
environment of this state. 205
(b) The commission shall ensure that any agreement for 206
environmental services entered into requires the landowner to 207
manage the land in a manner that improves or enhances the land 208
beyond what is required under any other agreement or contract 209
the landowner may have with the state. 210
(c) Subject to appropriation, the commission may use land 211
management funds received pursuant to s. 380.095 for this 212
purpose. 213
Section 4. (1) The Land Management Uniform Accounting 214
Council (LMUAC) shall recommend the most efficient and effective 215
use of the funds available to state agencies for land management 216
activities pursuant to s. 380.095, Florida Statutes. The 217
recommendations must be based on a revie w of the resources of 218
each land management agency to determine current expenditures, 219
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
including personnel costs, spent specifically on upland 220
management activities and invasive species removal. The 221
recommendations must include a calculation methodology to 222
distribute the funds to the state agencies specified in s. 223
380.095(2)(b), Florida Statutes. 224
(2) The LMUAC shall adopt its initial recommendation and 225
submit it to the Executive Office of the Governor, the President 226
of the Senate, and the Speaker of the Hou se of Representatives 227
by January 3, 2027. Thereafter, the LMUAC shall update its 228
recommendation in the biennial report developed pursuant to s. 229
259.037, Florida Statutes. 230
Section 5. Subsections (3) and (7) of section 403.0673, 231
Florida Statutes, are ame nded to read: 232
403.0673 Water quality improvement grant program. —A grant 233
program is established within the Department of Environmental 234
Protection to address wastewater, stormwater, and agricultural 235
sources of nutrient loading to surface water or groundwat er. 236
(3) The department shall consider and prioritize those 237
projects that: 238
(a) Have the maximum estimated reduction in nutrient load 239
per project; 240
(b) Demonstrate project readiness; 241
(c) Are cost-effective; 242
(d) Have a cost share identified by the applicant, except 243
for rural areas of opportunity; 244
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(e) Have multi-year project implementation schedules with 245
previous state commitment and involvement in the project, 246
considering previously funded phases, the total amount of 247
previous state funding, and previous partial appropriations for 248
the proposed project; or 249
(f) Are in a location where reductions are needed most to 250
attain the water quality standards of a waterbody not attaining 251
nutrient or nutrient -related standards; or 252
(g) Were determined eligible in a previous application 253
cycle and were able to demonstrate project readiness but were 254
not awarded a grant. 255
256
Any project that does not result in reducing nutrient loading to 257
a waterbody identified in subsection (1 ) is not eligible for 258
funding under this section. 259
(7) Beginning January 15, 2024, and each January 15 260
thereafter, the department shall submit a report regarding the 261
projects funded pursuant to this section to the Governor, the 262
President of the Senate, an d the Speaker of the House of 263
Representatives. The report must include a list of those 264
projects receiving funding and those projects not receiving 265
funding which were determined eligible by the department and 266
were able to demonstrate project readiness. The report must 267
include and the following information for each project: 268
(a) A description of the project; 269
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(b) The cost of the project; 270
(c) The estimated nutrient load reduction of the project; 271
(d) The location of the project; 272
(e) The waterbody or waterbodies where the project will 273
reduce nutrients; and 274
(f) The total cost share being provided for the project ; 275
and 276
(g) The progress made in the implementation of multi -year 277
projects, including the funds spent, remaining costs, and 278
remaining timeline for full implementation . 279
Section 6. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 280
distributed to the Indian Gaming Revenue Trust Fund pursuant to 281
s. 380.095, Florida Statutes, and for the 2024 -2025 fiscal year, 282
the sum of $2 million in recurring funds from the General 283
Revenue Fund is appropriated to the University of Florida to 284
continually update the Florida Wildlife Corridor plan and the 285
Florida Ecological Greenways Network plan. 286
Section 7. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 287
distributed to the Department of Environmental Protection 288
pursuant to s. 380.095(2)(c), Florida Statutes, and for the 289
2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of $5 million in nonrecurring 290
funds from the Water Protection and Sustainability Trust Fund 291
within the Department of Environmental Protection is 292
appropriated to the department to coordinate with the Water 293
School at Florida Gulf Coast University to conduct a study to 294
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
identify and analyze potential regional projects that meet the 295
eligibility criteria set forth in s. 403.0673, Florida Statutes. 296
At a minimum, the study must include the collection and 297
consolidation of data regarding water quality to identify 298
potential regional projects, including stormwater, hydrologic 299
improvements, and innovative technologies, which re duce nutrient 300
loading to water bodies identified in s. 403.0673(1), Florida 301
Statutes. The department shall submit the report to the 302
Executive Office of the Governor, the President of the Senate, 303
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 3, 304
2025. 305
Section 8. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 306
distributed to the Indian Gaming Revenue Trust Fund within the 307
Department of Financial Services pursuant to s. 380.095, Florida 308
Statutes, and for the 2024 -2025 fiscal year, the sum of $100 309
million in nonrecurring funds from trust funds is appropriated 310
to Administered Funds for land acquisition pursuant to s. 311
380.095(2)(a), Florida Statutes. 312
Section 9. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 313
distributed to the Department of Environmental Protect ion 314
pursuant to s. 380.095(2)(b)1., Florida Statutes, and for the 315
2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of $4 million in nonrecurring 316
funds from the Internal Improvement Trust Fund within the 317
Department of Environmental Protection is appropriated for the 318
purpose of implementing the Local Trail Management Grant Program 319
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
created pursuant to s. 260.0145, Florida Statutes. 320
Section 10. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 321
distributed to the Department of Environmental Protection 322
pursuant to s. 380.095(2)(b)1., Flo rida Statutes, and for the 323
2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of $32 million in nonrecurring 324
funds from the State Park Trust Fund within the Department of 325
Environmental Protection is appropriated for land management 326
activities as specified in s. 380.095(2)(b) 1., Florida Statutes. 327
Section 11. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 328
distributed to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 329
Services pursuant to s. 380.095(2)(b)2., Florida Statutes, and 330
for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of $32 million in 331
nonrecurring funds from the Incidental Trust Fund within the 332
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is appropriated 333
for land management activities as specified in s. 334
380.095(2)(b)2., Florida Statutes. 335
Section 12. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 336
distributed to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 337
pursuant to s. 380.095(2)(b)3., Florida Statutes, and for the 338
2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of $32 million in nonrecurring 339
funds from the State Game Trust Fund within the Fish and 340
Wildlife Conservation Commission is appropriated for control of 341
invasive species and upland land management activities pursuant 342
to s. 380.095(2)(b)3., Florida Statutes, or s. 259.1055, Florida 343
Statutes. 344
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Section 13. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 345
distributed to the Resilient Florida Trust Fund pursuant to s. 346
380.095(2)(c), Florida Statutes, and for the 2024 -2025 fiscal 347
year, the sum of $100 million in nonrecurring funds from the 348
Resilient Florida Trust Fund within the Department of 349
Environmental Protect ion is appropriated for the Statewide 350
Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan pursuant to s. 351
380.093, Florida Statutes. 352
Section 14. Contingent upon sufficient funds being 353
distributed to the Water Protection and Sustainability Program 354
Trust Fund pursuant to s. 380.095(2)(d), Florida Statutes, and 355
for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of $79 million in 356
nonrecurring funds from the Water Protection and Sustainability 357
Program Trust Fund within the Department of Environmental 358
Protection is appropriated f or the Water Quality Improvement 359
Grant Program pursuant to s. 403.0673, Florida Statutes. 360
Section 15. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of $150 361
million in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is 362
appropriated in the Aid to Local Governm ents – Grants and Aids - 363
South Florida Water Management District - Operations 364
appropriation category to the South Florida Water Management 365
District for operations and maintenance responsibilities under 366
the purview of the district. The funds must be placed in 367
reserve. From the funds, the district shall enter into a 368
contract with the Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University 369
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to conduct a study of the health and ecosystem of Lake 370
Okeechobee. The study must take into account the health of 371
plant, fish, and wildlife to be used for future planning of 372
invasive plant control, replanting of native vegetation, and 373
fish and game management. The study must be submitted by January 374
1, 2025, to the Executive Office of the Governor, the President 375
of the Senate, and the S peaker of the House of Representatives. 376
The Department of Environmental Protection is authorized to 377
submit budget amendments to request release of funds pursuant to 378
chapter 216, Florida Statutes. Release is contingent upon the 379
submission of a spend plan an d negotiated draft contract between 380
the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Gulf 381
Coast University Water School. 382
Section 16. This act shall take effect upon becoming a 383
law. 384