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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 the Safe Waterways Act; providing a 2
short title; requiring the Department of Health to 3
provide a report of specified information to the 4
Governor and the Legislature by a specified date; 5
requiring the Department of Health and the Departme nt 6
of Environmental Protection to submit to the Governor 7
and the Legislature, by a specified date, certain 8
recommendations relating to the transfer of duties 9
related to the bacteriological sampling of beach 10
waters and public bathing places; requiring the 11
departments to enter into an interagency agreement, by 12
a specified date, that meets certain requirements; 13
transferring the duties related to the bacteriological 14
sampling of beach waters and public bathing places 15
from the Department of Health to the Departme nt of 16
Environmental Protection by a type two transfer by a 17
specified date; providing that certain employees 18
retain and transfer certain types of leave upon the 19
transfer; amending s. 514.021, F.S.; specifying that 20
the Department of Environmental Protection is solely 21
responsible for adopting and enforcing rules related 22
to the bacteriological sampling of beach waters and 23
public bathing places; amending s. 514.023, F.S.; 24
defining the term "department"; requiring, rather than 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
authorizing, the Department of Healt h to adopt and 26
enforce certain rules; revising requirements for such 27
rules; requiring, rather than authorizing, the 28
Department of Environmental Protection to issue health 29
advisories under certain circumstances; directing the 30
department to require closure o f beach waters and 31
public bathing places under certain circumstances; 32
requiring that such closures remain in effect for a 33
specified period; including public bathing places in 34
an existing preemption of authority to the state 35
pertaining to the issuance of su ch health advisories 36
and an existing notification requirement; requiring 37
the department to notify affiliates of national 38
television networks in affected areas; requiring 39
municipalities and counties to notify the department 40
of any incident that may affect t he quality of beach 41
waters and public bathing places within their 42
respective jurisdictions; requiring public boat docks, 43
marinas, and piers to notify the jurisdictional 44
municipality or county of any incident that may affect 45
the quality of beach waters in w hich the dock, marina, 46
or pier is located; requiring the department to 47
investigate wastewater treatment facilities and ocean 48
outfalls within the adjoining municipalities and 49
counties of the affected beach waters and public 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
bathing places; requiring the dep artment to adopt by 51
rule a certain health advisory sign; providing 52
requirements for the sign; providing that 53
municipalities and counties are responsible for 54
posting and maintaining the health advisory signs 55
around affected beach waters and public bathing p laces 56
that they own; providing that the department is 57
responsible for maintaining the health advisory signs 58
around affected beach waters and public bathing places 59
owned by the state; requiring the department to 60
coordinate with the Department of Health and the Fish 61
and Wildlife Conservation Commission as necessary to 62
implement such signage requirements; requiring the 63
department to monitor affected beach waters and public 64
bathing places for compliance with the signage 65
requirements; requiring the department to establish a 66
public statewide interagency database for a specified 67
purpose; requiring the department, in coordination 68
with the Department of Health, to adopt certain rules 69
and procedures; providing requirements for the 70
publication of certain data; amending s. 514.0231, 71
F.S.; deleting an obsolete provision; conforming a 72
provision to changes made by the act; providing 73
effective dates. 74
75
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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
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 76
77
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Safe Waterways 78
Act." 79
Section 2. (1) By July 1, 2025, the Department of Health 80
shall provide a report to the Governor, the President of the 81
Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives 82
detailing all of the following information regarding the 83
department's bacteriological sampling of beach waters and public 84
bathing places: 85
(a) The average number of bacteriological samples 86
collected each year, differentiated by those collected by the 87
department and those submitted by owners of beach waters or 88
public bathing places. 89
(b) The average number of health advisories issued each 90
year, including their average duration. 91
(c) The number of department employees conducting work on 92
or related to the bacteriological sampling of beach waters and 93
public bathing places, includ ing enforcement duties. 94
(d) The costs associated with fulfilling the department's 95
duties, including, but not limited to, salaries and benefits, 96
operational costs, and equipment costs. 97
(2) By December 31, 2025, the Department of Health and the 98
Department of Environmental Protection shall submit 99
recommendations to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 100
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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
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives regarding the 101
transfer of bacteriological sampling of beach waters and public 102
bathing places from the D epartment of Health to the Department 103
of Environmental Protection. The recommendations must address 104
all aspects of the transfer, including the continued role, if 105
any, of the county health departments in the collection and 106
tracking of data relating to bacte riological sampling of beach 107
waters and public bathing places and enforcement of posted 108
signage requirements under s. 514.023, Florida Statutes, which 109
would be conducted under the direction of the Department of 110
Environmental Protection. 111
(3) By June 30, 2026, the Department of Health and the 112
Department of Environmental Protection shall enter into an 113
interagency agreement, based on the report and recommendations 114
submitted pursuant to subsections (1) and (2), respectively, 115
which must address all aspects of c ooperation between the two 116
agencies for a period of at least 5 years after the date of the 117
transfer, including, but not limited to, all of the following: 118
(a) Any continued role of the county health departments in 119
the collection and tracking of data relat ing to bacteriological 120
sampling of beach waters and public bathing places and 121
enforcement of posted signage requirements imposed under s. 122
514.023, Florida Statutes. 123
(b) The proportionate number of administrative, auditing, 124
inspector general, attorney, an d operational support positions, 125
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and their respective related funding levels and sources and 126
assigned property, that is appropriate to be transferred from 127
the Office of General Counsel, the Office of Inspector General, 128
and the Division of Administrative Se rvices or other relevant 129
offices or divisions within the Department of Health to the 130
Department of Environmental Protection. 131
(c) The development of a recommended plan to address the 132
transfer or shared use of buildings, regional offices, and other 133
facilities used or owned by the Department of Health. 134
(d) Any operating budget adjustments that are necessary to 135
implement the requirements of this act. Adjustments made to the 136
operating budgets of the agencies in the implementation of this 137
act must be made in consultation with the appropriate 138
substantive and fiscal committees of the Senate and the House of 139
Representatives. The adjustments to the approved operating 140
budgets for the 2026 -2027 fiscal year which are necessary to 141
reflect the organizational changes ma de by this act must be 142
implemented pursuant to s. 216.292(4)(d), Florida Statutes, and 143
are subject to s. 216.177, Florida Statutes. Subsequent 144
adjustments between the Department of Health and the Department 145
of Environmental Protection that are determined n ecessary by the 146
respective agencies and approved by the Executive Office of the 147
Governor are authorized and subject to s. 216.177, Florida 148
Statutes. Before such adjustments are made, the appropriate 149
substantive committees of the Senate and the House of 150
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Representatives must be notified of the proposed adjustments to 151
ensure their consistency with legislative policy and intent. 152
(4) Effective July 1, 2026, all powers, duties, functions, 153
records, offices, personnel, associated administrative support 154
positions, property, pending issues, administrative authority, 155
administrative rules, and unexpended balances of appropriations, 156
allocations, and other funds for the regulation of 157
bacteriological sampling of beach waters and public bathing 158
places of the Department of Health are transferred by a type two 159
transfer, as defined in s. 20.06(2), Florida Statutes, to the 160
Department of Environmental Protection. 161
(5) Notwithstanding chapter 60L -34, Florida Administrative 162
Code, or any law to the contrary, employees transferred from the 163
Department of Health to the Department of Environmental 164
Protection to fill positions transferred by this act retain and 165
transfer any accrued annual leave, sick leave, and regular and 166
special compensatory leave balances. 167
Section 3. Effective July 1, 2026, subsection (1) of 168
section 514.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 169
514.021 Department authorization. — 170
(1) With the exception of rules related to the 171
bacteriological sampling of beach waters and public bathing 172
places under s. 514.023, for which the adoption and enforcement 173
are solely the responsibility of the Department of Environmental 174
Protection, the department may adopt and enforce rules to 175
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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
protect the health, safety, or welfare of persons by setting 176
sanitation and safety standards for public swimming pools and 177
public bathing places. The department shall review and revise 178
such rules as necessary, but not less than biennially. 179
Sanitation and safety standards must shall be limited to matters 180
relating to source of water supply; microbio logical, chemical, 181
and physical quality of water in the pool or bathing area; 182
method of water purification, treatment, and disinfection; 183
lifesaving apparatus; and measures to ensure safety of bathers. 184
Section 4. Effective July 1, 2026, section 514.023, 185
Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 186
514.023 Sampling of beach waters ; and public bathing 187
places; health advisories ; signage; database.— 188
(1) As used in this section, the term : 189
(a) "Beach waters" means the waters along the coastal and 190
intracoastal beaches and shores of this the state, and includes 191
salt water and brackish water. 192
(b) "Department" means the Department of Environmental 193
Protection. 194
(2) The department shall may adopt and enforce rules to 195
protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons using the 196
beach waters and public bathing places of this the state. The 197
rules must establish health standards and prescribe procedures 198
and timeframes for bacteriological samplin g of beach waters and 199
public bathing places. At a minimum, the rules must require 200
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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
owners of beach waters and public bathing places to both notify 201
the department and resample the water within 24 hours after a 202
test result indicates that a sample of the beach waters or 203
public bathing place fails to meet standards established by the 204
department. 205
(3) The department must immediately may issue health 206
advisories if the quality of beach waters or a public bathing 207
place fails to meet standards established by the dep artment and 208
must require closure of beach waters and public bathing places 209
that fail to meet the department's standards if it deems closure 210
is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the 211
public. Closures must remain in effect until the qual ity of the 212
beach waters or public bathing place is restored in accordance 213
with the department's standards and until the department has 214
removed any related health advisories that it issued . The 215
issuance of health advisories related to the results of 216
bacteriological sampling of beach waters and public bathing 217
places is preempted to the state. 218
(4)(a) When the department issues a health advisory 219
against swimming in beach waters or a public bathing place on 220
the basis of finding elevated levels of fecal colifor m, 221
Escherichia coli, or enterococci bacteria in a water sample, the 222
department must immediately and shall concurrently notify the 223
municipality or county in which the affected beach waters or 224
public bathing place is are located, whichever has jurisdiction, 225
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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
and the local office of the Department of Health, and the local 226
affiliates of national television networks in the affected area 227
Environmental Protection, of the advisory. 228
(b) Municipalities and counties shall immediately notify 229
the department of any inci dent that may affect the quality of 230
beach waters or public bathing places within their respective 231
jurisdictions. Public boat docks, marinas, and piers shall 232
immediately notify the jurisdictional municipality or county of 233
any incident that may affect the qu ality of beach waters in 234
which the dock, marina, or pier is located. 235
(c) The local office of the department of Environmental 236
Protection shall promptly investigate wastewater treatment 237
facilities and ocean outfalls within the adjoining 238
municipalities and counties 1 mile of the affected beach waters 239
or public bathing place to determine whether if a facility 240
experienced an incident that may have contributed to the 241
contamination and provide the results of the investigation in 242
writing or by electronic means to the municipality or county, as 243
applicable. 244
(d) The department shall adopt by rule a sign that must be 245
used when it issues a health advisory against swimming in 246
affected beach waters or public bathing places due to elevated 247
levels of fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, or enterococci 248
bacteria in the water. The sign must include the following 249
language: "THIS WATER BODY HAS BEEN VERIFIED TO BE CONTAMINATED 250
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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
WITH FECAL BACTERIA. RESTORATION IN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE WATER 251
QUALITY STANDARDS IS REQUIRED. THIS WATE R BODY PRESENTS A RISK 252
OF INFECTION OR ILLNESS. AVOID SWIMMING AND USE CAUTION TO AVOID 253
INGESTING THE WATER OR EXPOSING OPEN WOUNDS. SECTION 514.023, 254
FLORIDA STATUTES." The department shall require that health 255
advisory signs be displayed at beach access po ints and in 256
conspicuous areas around affected beach waters and public 257
bathing places until subsequent testing of the water 258
demonstrates that the bacteria levels meet the standards 259
established by the department. 260
(e) Municipalities and counties are respons ible for 261
posting and maintaining health advisory signs as described in 262
paragraph (d) around affected beach waters and public bathing 263
places that they own. The department is responsible for posting 264
and maintaining health advisory signs around affected beach 265
waters and public bathing places owned by the state. The 266
department shall coordinate with the Department of Health and 267
the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as necessary to 268
implement the signage requirements of this subsection. 269
(f) The department shall monitor affected beach waters and 270
public bathing places for compliance with the signage 271
requirements of this subsection, ensuring that only department -272
approved health advisory signs are used and that such signage is 273
posted and maintained in complia nce with this subsection until 274
the health advisory is no longer in effect. 275
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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
(5) The department shall establish a public statewide 276
interagency database for the reporting of fecal indicator 277
bacteria data for beach waters and public bathing places in this 278
state. The department, in coordination with the Department of 279
Health, shall adopt rules and procedures for the sharing of 280
fecal indicator bacteria data between agencies and for the 281
reporting of such data in the database. Fecal indicator bacteria 282
data relating to sampled beach waters and public bathing places 283
must be published in the database immediately after receipt and 284
confirmation of the data. 285
Section 5. Effective July 1, 2026, section 514.0231, 286
Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 287
514.0231 Advisory committee to oversee sampling of beach 288
waters.—The Department of Environmental Protection Health shall 289
form an interagency technical advisory committee to oversee the 290
performance of the study required in s. 514.023 and to advise it 291
in rulemaking pertainin g to standards for public bathing places 292
along the coastal and intracoastal beaches and shores of the 293
state. Membership on the committee must shall consist of equal 294
numbers of staff of the Department of Environmental Protection 295
and the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental 296
Protection with expertise in the subject matter of the study. 297
Members shall be appointed by the Secretary of Environmental 298
Protection and the State Surgeon General and the Secretary of 299
Environmental Protection . The committee shall be chaired by a 300
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representative from the Department of Environmental Protection 301
Health. 302
Section 6. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 303
act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 304