HB 1175 2025
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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 mitigation banks; amending s. 2
373.4136, F.S.; revising provisions for the release 3
and use of mitigation bank credits; providing 4
conditions for the use of out-of-service-area 5
mitigation credits by project applicants; providing a 6
methodology for determining the award of such credits; 7
requiring mitigation banks to submit specified annual 8
reports to the Department of Environmental Protection 9
or water management district; requiring the department 10
or water management district to submit specified 11
annual reports to the Legislature; amending s. 704.06, 12
F.S.; requiring certain water management districts, 13
upon application by the owner of a parcel subject to a 14
conservation easement, to release the conservation 15
easement if specified conditions are met, including 16
obtaining sufficient mitigation credits from a 17
mitigation bank; providing for the valuation of the 18
property upon such release; specifying that land 19
released from the conservation easement may be used 20
for development consistent with certain zoning; 21
providing an effective date. 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
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
Section 1. Subsections (5) and (6) of section 373.4136, 26
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 27
373.4136 Establishment and operation of mitigation banks. — 28
(5) SCHEDULE FOR CREDIT RELEASE. —After issuing awarding 29
mitigation credits to a mitigation bank permit, the department 30
or the water management district shall adhere to the credit 31
release schedule set forth in this subsection a schedule for the 32
release of those credits awarded by in the mitigation bank 33
permit. A mitigation credit that has been released may be sold 34
or used to offset adverse impacts from an activit y regulated 35
under this part. 36
(a) Thirty percent of awarded credits shall be released 37
for the recording of the conservation easement and establishment 38
of financial assurances required by the mitigation bank permit. 39
If a preservation-only bank is used, 100 percent of awarded 40
credits shall be released for the recording of the conservation 41
easement and establishment of financial assurances required by 42
the mitigation bank permit The department or the water 43
management district shall allow a portion of the mitig ation 44
credits awarded to a mitigation bank to be released for sale or 45
use prior to meeting all of the performance criteria specified 46
in the mitigation bank permit. The department or the water 47
management district shall allow release of all of a mitigation 48
bank's awarded mitigation credits only after the bank meets the 49
mitigation success criteria specified in the permit . 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
(b) Thirty percent of awarded credits shall be released 51
following completion of initial construction activities as 52
established by the miti gation bank permit The number of credits 53
and schedule for release shall be determined by the department 54
or water management district based upon the performance criteria 55
for the mitigation bank and the success criteria for each 56
mitigation activity. The rele ase schedule for a specific 57
mitigation bank or phase thereof shall be related to the actions 58
required to implement the bank, such as site protection, site 59
preparation, earthwork, removal of wastes, planting, removal or 60
control of nuisance and exotic specie s, installation of 61
structures, and annual monitoring and management requirements 62
for success. In determining the specific release schedule for a 63
bank, the department or water management district shall 64
consider, at a minimum, the following factors: 65
1. Whether the mitigation consists solely of preservation 66
or includes other types of mitigation. 67
2. The length of time anticipated to be required before a 68
determination of success can be achieved. 69
3. The ecological value to be gained from each action 70
required to implement the bank. 71
4. The financial expenditure required for each action to 72
implement the bank. 73
(c) Twenty percent of awarded credits shall be released in 74
increments as monitoring indicates interim performance criteria 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
established by the mitigati on bank permit are being met. 76
(d) Twenty percent of awarded credits shall be released 77
upon meeting final success criteria established by the 78
mitigation bank permit. 79
(e)(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, 80
a mitigation no credit may not shall be released for freshwater 81
wetland creation until the success criteria established included 82
in the mitigation bank permit for initial construction 83
activities are met. 84
(f)(d) The withdrawal of mitigation credits from a 85
mitigation bank shall be accomplished as a minor modification of 86
the mitigation bank permit. A processing fee is not shall not be 87
required by the department or water management district for this 88
minor modification. 89
(6) MITIGATION SERVICE AREA. —The department or water 90
management district shall establish a mitigation service area 91
for each mitigation bank permit. The department or water 92
management district shall notify and consider comments received 93
on the proposed mitigation service area from each local 94
government within the proposed mitigation service area. Except 95
as provided in this section herein, mitigation credits may be 96
withdrawn and used only to offset adverse impacts in the 97
mitigation service area. The bo undaries of the mitigation 98
service area shall depend upon the geographic area where the 99
mitigation bank could reasonably be expected to offset adverse 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
impacts. Mitigation service areas may overlap, and mitigation 101
service areas for two or more mitigation ba nks may be approved 102
for a regional watershed. 103
(a) In determining the boundaries of the mitigation 104
service area, the department or the water management district 105
shall consider the characteristics, size, and location of the 106
mitigation bank and, at a minimu m, the extent to which the 107
mitigation bank: 108
1. Contributes to a regional integrated ecological 109
network; 110
2. Will significantly enhance the water quality or 111
restoration of an offsite receiving water body that is 112
designated as an Outstanding Florida Water , a Wild and Scenic 113
River, an aquatic preserve, a water body designated in a plan 114
approved pursuant to the Surface Water Improvement and 115
Management Act, or a nationally designated estuarine preserve; 116
3. Will provide for the long -term viability of endange red 117
or threatened species or species of special concern; 118
4. Is consistent with the objectives of a regional 119
management plan adopted or endorsed by the department or water 120
management districts; and 121
5. Can reasonably be expected to offset specific types of 122
wetland impacts within a specific geographic area. A mitigation 123
bank need not be able to offset all expected impacts within its 124
service area. 125
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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 department and water management districts shall 126
use regional watersheds to guide the establishment of mitigation 127
service areas. Drainage basins established pursuant to s. 128
373.414(8) may be used as regional watersheds when they are 129
established based on the hydrological or ecological 130
characteristics of the basin. A mitigation service area may 131
extend beyond the regional watershed in which the bank is 132
located into all or part of other regional watersheds when the 133
mitigation bank has the ability to offset adverse impacts 134
outside that regional watershed. Similarly, a mitigation service 135
area may be smaller than t he regional watershed in which the 136
mitigation bank is located when adverse impacts throughout the 137
regional watershed cannot reasonably be expected to be offset by 138
the mitigation bank because of local ecological or hydrological 139
conditions. 140
(c) Once a mitigation bank service area has been 141
established by the department or a water management district for 142
a mitigation bank, such service area shall be accepted by all 143
water management districts, local governments, and the 144
department and shall be considered to ha ve met the cumulative 145
impact requirements of s. 373.414(8)(a) for impacts permitted 146
within any regional watershed included in the mitigation bank 147
service area. 148
(d) If the requirements in s. 373.414(1)(b) and (8) are 149
met, the following projects or activit ies regulated under this 150
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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
part shall be eligible to use credits released from a mitigation 151
bank to offset impacts resulting from such projects or 152
activities a mitigation bank, regardless of whether they are 153
located within the mitigation service area : 154
1. Projects with adverse impacts partially located within 155
the mitigation service area. 156
2. Linear projects, such as roadways, transmission lines, 157
distribution lines, pipelines, railways, or seaports listed in 158
s. 311.09(1). 159
3. Projects with total adverse im pacts of less than 1 acre 160
in size. 161
4. Projects that meet the requirements of s. 373.414(1)(b) 162
and the criteria in paragraphs (e), (f), and (g). 163
(e) If the requirements of s. 373.414(1)(a) are met and an 164
insufficient number or type of credits have been released within 165
the mitigation bank service area in which the impacts associated 166
with a proposed project are located, the project applicant is 167
entitled to a one-time use of credits released from a mitigation 168
bank outside the mitigation bank service area to offset impacts 169
pursuant to s. 373.414(1)(b), as established by the procedure in 170
paragraph (h), and upon verification by the department or water 171
management district that mitigation banks within the regional 172
watershed in which the adverse impacts are locate d lack the 173
appropriate credit type to offset impacts associated with the 174
proposed project. If the number of released credits within a 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
mitigation service area only partially offset the impacts 176
associated with a proposed project in the mitigation service 177
area, the project applicant may use out -of-service-area credits 178
to account for the difference between the released credits 179
available in the mitigation bank service area and the credits 180
required to offset the impacts associated with the proposed 181
project. In implementing this subsection, the department and 182
water management districts shall apply a proximity factor to 183
determine adequate compensatory mitigation as follows: 184
1. A multiplier may not be applied for use of out -of-185
service-area credits located within th e same regional watershed 186
as the proposed impacts. 187
2. A 1.2 multiplier shall be applied for use of out -of-188
service-area credits located within a regional watershed 189
immediately adjacent to the regional watershed in which proposed 190
impacts are located. 191
3. When credits are not available in the regional 192
watershed immediately adjacent to the regional watershed in 193
which the proposed impacts are located, an additional 0.25 194
multiplier shall be applied for each additional regional 195
watershed located outside the reg ional watershed immediately 196
adjacent to the regional watershed in which the proposed impacts 197
are located. 198
4. An additional 0.50 multiplier shall be applied if the 199
mitigation used to offset impacts entails out -of-kind 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
replacement. 201
(f) Use of the multipl iers in paragraph (e) must meet the 202
cumulative impact requirements of s. 373.414(8)(a). 203
(g) Once a project applicant requests to use out -of-204
service-area credits, the department or water management 205
district shall contact all mitigation banks within a miti gation 206
service area encompassing the location of the proposed impacts 207
within 3 business days after receipt of the request from the 208
project applicant and request an accounting of available 209
credits. The accounting may not include credits reserved for 210
other project applicants. The mitigation banks contacted by the 211
department or water management district shall provide the 212
accounting within 5 business days after receipt of the request 213
by the department or water management district. Upon receipt of 214
the accounting from the mitigation banks, the department or 215
water management district shall determine if sufficient credits 216
are available to offset impacts associated with the proposed 217
project and notify the project applicant of such determination. 218
The project applicant may rely on the determination from the 219
department or water management district for a period of 1 year 220
after such determination. 221
(h) Beginning July 1, 2026, and each July 1 thereafter, 222
each mitigation bank in this state shall submit to the 223
department or water management district a report with an 224
accounting of the number and type of credits the mitigation has 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
available for sale. The report may not include names of parties 226
for which credits have been reserved or the contract price paid 227
for the credits. The department or water management district 228
shall compile the annual reports to provide an assessment of 229
this state's mitigation banking system and submit a report to 230
the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 231
Representatives on October 1, 202 6, and each October 1 232
thereafter. 233
Section 2. Subsection (14) is added to section 704.06, 234
Florida Statutes, to read: 235
704.06 Conservation easements; creation; acquisition; 236
enforcement.— 237
(14)(a) Upon application by the fee simple owner of a 238
parcel of land subject to a conservation easement to a water 239
management district, a water management district shall release 240
the conservation easement if the following conditions are met: 241
1. The land subject to the easement is less than 15 acres 242
and is bordered on three or more sides by impervious surfaces; 243
2. Any undeveloped adjacent parcels of land are less than 244
15 acres and similarly bordered on three or more sides by 245
impervious surfaces; 246
3. The land contains no historical, architectural, 247
archeological, or cu ltural significance; and 248
4. Prior to the release of the conservation easement, the 249
applicant must have secured sufficient mitigation credits using 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
the uniform mitigation assessment method from a mitigation bank 251
located in this state to offset the loss of wetlands located on 252
the land subject to the conservation easement. 253
(b) Upon the water management district's release of the 254
conservation easement, the ad valorem taxes on the property 255
shall be based on the just value of the property, and the 256
property may be used for development consistent with the zoning 257
designation of the adjacent lands. 258
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 259