Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1580 By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and Senator Rodriguez 592-02839-25 20251580c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to infrastructure and resiliency; 3 amending s. 255.065, F.S.; revising the definition of 4 the term qualifying project; creating s. 380.0934, 5 F.S.; defining terms; granting the Department of 6 Environmental Protection the exclusive authority to 7 execute coastal resiliency projects through public 8 private partnerships; authorizing the department to 9 take certain actions to encourage investment from the 10 private sector in coastal resiliency projects; 11 requiring the department to publish certain 12 information on its website; providing an effective 13 date. 14 15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16 17 Section 1.Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section 18 255.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 19 255.065Public-private partnerships. 20 (1)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 21 (i)Qualifying project means: 22 1.A facility or project that serves a public purpose, 23 including, but not limited to, any ferry or mass transit 24 facility, vehicle parking facility, airport or seaport facility, 25 rail facility or project, fuel supply facility, oil or gas 26 pipeline, medical or nursing care facility, recreational 27 facility, sporting or cultural facility, or educational facility 28 or other building or facility that is used or will be used by a 29 public educational institution, or any other public facility or 30 infrastructure that is used or will be used by the public at 31 large or in support of an accepted public purpose or activity; 32 2.An improvement, including equipment, of a building that 33 will be principally used by a public entity or the public at 34 large or that supports a service delivery system in the public 35 sector; 36 3.A water, wastewater, or surface water management 37 facility or other related infrastructure; 38 4.A coastal resiliency project as defined in s. 380.0934; 39 or 40 5.4.Notwithstanding any provision of this section, for 41 projects that involve a facility owned or operated by the 42 governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital or 43 health care system, or projects that involve a facility owned or 44 operated by a municipal electric utility, only those projects 45 that the governing board designates as qualifying projects 46 pursuant to this section. 47 Section 2.Section 380.0934, Florida Statutes, is created 48 to read: 49 380.0934Public-private partnerships for coastal resiliency 50 projects. 51 (1)DEFINITIONS.As used in this section, the term: 52 (a)Coastal resiliency project means: 53 1.The planning, contracting, and execution of a project to 54 address flooding and sea level rise in a coastal or inland 55 community in this state pursuant to s. 380.093(5); 56 2.Public infrastructure repair and upgrades to seawalls 57 and stormwater drainage; and 58 3.Resiliency measures designed to withstand extreme 59 weather, mitigate flooding, and prevent coastal erosion, 60 including: 61 a.Acquisition of at-risk coastal and flood-prone 62 properties; 63 b.Acquisition of properties in areas at high risk of 64 flooding; 65 c.Infrastructure hardening and development of natural 66 barriers; 67 d.Construction of large-scale seawalls, levees, and 68 elevated flood barriers; or 69 e.Expansion and restoration of natural protective systems. 70 (b)Department means the Department of Environmental 71 Protection. 72 (c)Public-private partnership means a coastal resiliency 73 project entered into by the department under s. 255.065. 74 (2)The department shall have the exclusive authority to 75 execute coastal resiliency projects through public-private 76 partnerships under s. 255.065. 77 (3)To encourage investment from the private sector in 78 coastal resiliency projects, the department may: 79 (a)Enter into long-term revenue-sharing agreements. 80 (b)Provide expedited permitting for construction. 81 (c)Seek comments from local governments and the public 82 during project planning and execution and incorporate actions 83 responsive to such comments into the project. 84 (d)Engage in-state vocational schools and apprenticeship 85 programs to train workers in specialized resiliency 86 construction. 87 (4)The department shall publish biennial progress reports 88 for each coastal resiliency project funded through a public 89 private partnership, including project milestones, expenditures, 90 and public benefits, on the departments website. The department 91 shall also create and maintain on its website an online 92 dashboard for real-time updates on project execution. 93 Section 3.This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.