Florida Senate - 2024 CS for SB 298 By the Committee on Fiscal Policy; and Senators Polsky and Stewart 594-02239-24 2024298c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to local government coastal 3 protections; amending s. 161.053, F.S.; providing that 4 only coastal counties and coastal municipalities that 5 received written authorization from the Department of 6 Environmental Protection on or before a specified date 7 may establish construction zoning and building code 8 exceptions to coastal construction control lines; 9 prohibiting the department from delegating certain 10 authority to coastal counties and coastal 11 municipalities that did not receive such 12 authorization; amending s. 380.093, F.S.; authorizing 13 the department to provide coastal counties, beginning 14 on a specified date, with Resilient Florida Grant 15 Program grants to fund saltwater intrusion 16 vulnerability assessments; specifying the purpose of 17 and requirements for the assessments; requiring the 18 department to update the comprehensive statewide flood 19 vulnerability and sea level rise data set and make 20 certain information received from the saltwater 21 intrusion vulnerability assessments publicly available 22 on its website; requiring the department to provide 23 cost-share funding up to a specified amount for 24 awarded grants; specifying that certain coastal 25 counties are not required to contribute to the cost 26 share funding; providing an effective date. 27 28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 29 30 Section 1.Subsections (3) and (15) of section 161.053, 31 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 32 161.053Coastal construction and excavation; regulation on 33 county basis. 34 (3)A coastal county or coastal municipality may establish 35 coastal construction zoning and building codes in lieu of the 36 provisions of this section if such zones and codes were are 37 approved in writing by the department on or before December 1, 38 2023, as being adequate to preserve and protect the beaches and 39 coastal barrier dunes adjacent to such beaches, which are under 40 the jurisdiction of the department, from imprudent construction 41 that will jeopardize the stability of the beach-dune system, 42 accelerate erosion, provide inadequate protection to upland 43 structures, endanger adjacent properties, or interfere with 44 public beach access. Exceptions to locally established coastal 45 construction zoning and building codes may not be granted unless 46 previously approved by the department before December 1, 2023. 47 The intent of this subsection is to provide for the local 48 administration of established coastal construction control lines 49 through approved zoning and building codes if desired by local 50 interests and where such local interests have, in the judgment 51 of the department, sufficient funds and personnel to adequately 52 administer the program. Should the department determine at any 53 time that the program is inadequately administered, the 54 department may revoke the authority granted to the county or 55 municipality. 56 (15)(a)Except as provided in paragraph (b), the department 57 may delegate In keeping with the intent of subsection (3), 58 authority for permitting certain types of activities that have 59 been defined by the department may be delegated by the 60 department to a coastal county or coastal municipality. Such 61 partial delegation must shall be narrowly construed to those 62 particular activities specifically named in the delegation and 63 agreed to by the affected county or municipality. The delegation 64 may be revoked by the department at any time if it is determined 65 that the delegation is improperly or inadequately administered. 66 (b)The department may not delegate such authority to a 67 coastal county or coastal municipality that did not receive 68 local coastal construction zoning and building code exceptions 69 to the coastal control line on or before December 1, 2023, 70 pursuant to subsection (3). 71 Section 2.Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 72 380.093, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (e) is 73 added to that subsection, to read: 74 380.093Resilient Florida Grant Program; comprehensive 75 statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise data set and 76 assessment; Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience 77 Plan; regional resilience entities. 78 (3)RESILIENT FLORIDA GRANT PROGRAM. 79 (b)Subject to appropriation, the department may provide 80 grants to any each of the following entities: 81 1.A county or municipality to fund: 82 a.The costs of community resilience planning and necessary 83 data collection for such planning, including comprehensive plan 84 amendments and necessary corresponding analyses that address the 85 requirements of s. 163.3178(2)(f). 86 b.Vulnerability assessments that identify or address risks 87 of inland or coastal flooding and sea level rise. 88 c.For coastal counties beginning July 1, 2025, saltwater 89 intrusion vulnerability assessments that analyze the effects of 90 saltwater intrusion on the coastal countys water supply and the 91 preparedness of the coastal county to respond to such a threat. 92 d.The development of projects, plans, and policies that 93 allow communities to prepare for threats from flooding and sea 94 level rise. 95 e.d.Preconstruction activities for projects to be 96 submitted for inclusion in the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level 97 Rise Resilience Plan and that are located in a municipality that 98 has a population of 10,000 or less fewer or a county that has a 99 population of 50,000 or less fewer, according to the most recent 100 April 1 population estimates posted on the Office of Economic 101 and Demographic Researchs website. 102 f.e.Feasibility studies and the cost of permitting for 103 nature-based solutions that reduce the impact of flooding and 104 sea level rise. 105 2.A water management district identified in s. 373.069 to 106 support local government adaptation planning, which may be 107 conducted by the water management district or by a third party 108 on behalf of the water management district. Such grants must be 109 used for the express purpose of supporting the Florida Flood Hub 110 for Applied Research and Innovation and the department in 111 implementing this section through data creation and collection, 112 modeling, and the implementation of statewide standards. 113 Priority must be given to filling critical data gaps identified 114 by the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation 115 under s. 380.0933(2)(a). 116 (e)1.A saltwater intrusion vulnerability assessment 117 conducted pursuant to sub-subparagraph (b)1.c. must include an 118 analysis of all of the following information: 119 a.The coastal countys primary water utilities. 120 b.Current maps of the coastal countys freshwater 121 wellfields and latest saltwater intrusion impact lines. 122 c.Projections of saltwater intrusion over the next decade, 123 including specific wells that may be impacted during that 124 timeframe. 125 d.The costs necessary to relocate freshwater wellfields 126 anticipated to be impacted, including current projects that are 127 underway to relocate the freshwater wellfields. 128 2.The department shall do all of the following: 129 a.Use the information contained in a coastal countys 130 saltwater intrusion vulnerability assessment to update its 131 comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise 132 data set under subsection (4). 133 b.Make publicly available on the departments website any 134 appropriate information from a saltwater intrusion vulnerability 135 assessment it receives from coastal counties pursuant to this 136 paragraph. 137 c.Provide 50 percent cost-share funding up to $250,000 for 138 each grant awarded under this paragraph. A coastal county with a 139 population of 50,000 or less is not required to contribute to 140 the cost share. 141 Section 3.This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.