The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: SPB 2506
INTRODUCER: For consideration by the Appropriations Committee
SUBJECT: Natural Resources
DATE: April 1, 2025
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
Reagan Sadberry Pre-meeting
I. Summary:
SPB 2506 provides conforming changes necessary to implement the Senate’s Proposed General
Appropriations Act for the 2025-2026 fiscal year by amending the environmental spending
distributions of the gaming compact revenues. Specifically, the bill amends s. 380.095, F.S.:
• Regarding land acquisitions to:
o Require the annual distribution be provided to the Incidental Trust Fund within the
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) for the Rural and Family
Lands Protection Program; and
o Remove the provision that the funds be appropriated in Administered Funds and that
eligible state agencies may submit budget amendments for release of these funds.
• Regarding land management activities to add costs associated with land management
contracts between a state agency, water control districts, local governments, and soil and
water conservation districts as an authorized use of land management funds.
• Regarding the distribution to the Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund to
limit to $300 million, rather than all remaining undistributed funds, the distribution to the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the Water Quality Improvement Grant
Program.
• Regarding agricultural water conservation and agricultural water supply planning to create a
distribution of the lesser of 13.021 percent or $30 million to the General Inspection Trust
Fund within the DACS for agricultural water conservation and agricultural water supply
planning.
• Provide that any remaining funds shall be transferred to the General Revenue Fund.
The bill amends s. 403.0673, F.S., to require DEP to dedicate at least $50 million of the funds
from the gaming compact revenues to projects within a rural area of opportunity. The bill also
amends s. 403.891, F.S., to require that funds in excess of $400 million distributed pursuant to s.
201.15, F.S., relating to documentary stamp tax revenues, or s. 380.095, F.S., relating to gaming
compact revenues be transferred to the General Revenue Fund at the end of the fiscal year.
REVISED: BILL: SPB 2506 Page 2
The bill amends s. 380.093, F.S., to require as a Tier 1 criteria within the scoring system used by
the DEP to rank projects in the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience plan the
degree to which the project reduces the flood risk and, thereby, increases credits awards to a
community participating in the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System.
The bill amends s. 570.93, F.S., to direct the DACS to establish an agricultural non-point source
regional water program that includes implementation of works, technologies, or practices that
improve water quality in impaired water bodies.
The revisions to the distribution of funds from the gaming compact revenues results for the
2025-2026 fiscal year in approximately $204 million in additional revenues to the General
Revenue Fund. See Section V., Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2025.
II. Present Situation:
2021 Gaming Compact
Gaming compacts are regulated by the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, s. 25
U.S.C. 2701, et seq., and ch. 285, part II, F.S. The State of Florida (state) entered into a gaming
compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida (Seminole Tribe) on April 7, 2010 (the 2010
Compact). In ch. 2021-268, Laws of Florida (CS/SB 2A), the Legislature ratified a new Gaming
Compact between the Seminole Tribe and the state, which was executed by Governor Ron
DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe on April 23, 2021, as amended on May 17, 2021 (the 2021
Compact). The 2021 Compact was approved by the United States Department of the Interior on
August 6, 2021, and became effective upon the publication of notice in the Federal Register. The
2021 Compact supersedes the 2010 Compact.
Revenue Sharing under the 2021 Gaming Compact
The 2021 Compact establishes a guaranteed minimum payment period for the first five years of
the compact. During the five-year period, the Seminole Tribe is to make guaranteed minimum
revenue share payments as specified, to total $2.5 billion. The revenue share payments must be
paid by the Seminole Tribe to the state as follows:
• Percentage payments for slots, raffles, drawings, and new games range from 12 percent of
net win
1
up to $2 billion, to 25 percent of net win greater than $3.5 billion.
• Percentage payments for table games range from 15 percent of net win up to $1 billion, to 25
percent of net win greater than $2 billion.
• Percentage payment for tribal sports betting is 13.75 percent of net win excluding the net win
received by the Seminole Tribe on pari-mutuel sports betting.
• Percentage payment for pari-mutuel sports betting is 10 percent of net win received by the
Seminole Tribe on pari-mutuel sports betting.
1
The term “Net Win” is defined in the 2010 Gaming Compact and the 2021 Gaming Compact as “the total receipts from the
play of all Covered Games less all prize payouts and free play or promotional credits issued by the Tribe.” See 2021 Gaming
Compact Part III, Section T, available at https://www.seminolecompact.com/ (last visited Jan. 22, 2024). BILL: SPB 2506 Page 3
• The Seminole Tribe’s guaranteed minimum revenue share payment is $400 million per year
for the first five years.
• At the end of the third year of the five-year guaranteed minimum payment period, if the total
revenue share payments are less than $1.5 billion, the Seminole Tribe must pay the difference
to the state.
• At the end of the fifth year of the five-year guaranteed minimum payment period, if the total
revenue share payments are less than $2.5 billion, the Seminole Tribe must pay the difference
to the state.
The specific revenue share payment amounts paid by the Seminole Tribe to the state will be
calculated as outlined in the chart below in accordance with the 2021 Compact.
SUMMARY OF REVENUE SHARE PAYMENTS -2021 Gaming Compact
(Revenue Share Payments by the Seminole Tribe to the State)
Net Win - Slots, Raffles and Drawings; New Games, if Authorized by the State
$0-2B: 12%;
$2-2.5B: 17.5%
$2.5-3B: 20%
$3-3.5B: 22.5%
$3.5B+: 25%
Net Win - Slots, Raffles and Drawings; New Games, if Authorized by the State
$0-1B: 15%;
$1-1.5B: 17.5%
$1.5-2B: 22.5%
$2B+: 25%
Net Win – Sports Betting
Guaranteed Minimum Compact Term Payment of $2.5B
(Two billion, five hundred million dollars)
(includes all Revenue Share Payments for the first five years of the 2021 Gaming Compact)
Conservation Lands
Article X, section 18 of the Florida Constitution requires that “the fee interest in real property
held by an entity of the state and designated for natural resources conservation purposes as
provided by general law shall be managed for the benefit of the citizens of this state…”
2
Conservation Land Management
The Board of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (board) is charged with the management,
control, supervision, conservation, and protection of all lands owned by, or which may hereafter
inure to, the state or any of its agencies, departments, boards or commissions.
3
Section 253.034,
F.S., specifies that state lands acquired pursuant to ch. 259, F.S., are required to be managed to
ensure the conservation of the state’s plant and animal species and to ensure the accessibility of
state lands for the benefit and enjoyment of all people of the state, both present and future.
4
Additionally, all lands acquired and managed under ch. 259, F.S., are required to be managed in
2
FLA. CONST. art. X, s. 18.
3
Section 253.03, F.S.
4
Section 253.034(5)(a), F.S. BILL: SPB 2506 Page 4
a manner that provides the greatest combination of benefits to the public and to the resources, for
public outdoor recreation which is compatible with the conservation and protection of public
lands, and for the purposes for which the lands were acquired.
5
The board is authorized to enter into leases or similar instruments for the use, benefit, and
possession of public lands by agencies which may properly use and possess such lands for the
benefit of the state.
6
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the main land
management entity for the state. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS)
and the DEP also manage state lands.
7
Each manager of conservation lands is required to submit a land management plan to the division
at least every 10 years.
8
The land management plan must contain, at a minimum, all of the
following elements:
• A physical description of the land.
• A quantitative data description of the land which includes an inventory of forest and other
natural resources; exotic and invasive plants; hydrological features; infrastructure, including
recreational facilities; and other significant land, cultural, or historical features.
• A detailed description of each short-term and long-term land management goal, the
associated measurable objectives, and the related activities that are to be performed to meet
the land management objectives.
• A schedule of land management activities which contains short-term and long-term land
management goals and the related measurable objectives and activities.
• A summary budget for the scheduled land management activities of the land management
plan. For state lands containing or anticipated to contain imperiled species habitat, the
summary budget shall include any fees anticipated from public or private entities for projects
to offset adverse impacts to imperiled species or such habitat, which fees shall be used solely
to restore, manage, enhance, repopulate, or acquire imperiled species habitat.
9
The summary
budget is required to be prepared in such a manner that it facilitates computing an aggregate
of land management costs for all state-managed lands using the following categories:
o Resource management;
o Administration;
o Support;
o Capital improvements;
o Recreation visitor services; and
o Law enforcement activities.
10
5
Section 259.032(7), F.S.; s. 259.032(7)(a)2, F.S., provides that “such management may include, but not be limited to, the
following public recreational uses: fishing, hunting, camping, bicycling, hiking, nature study, swimming, boating, canoeing,
horseback riding, diving, model hobbyist activities, birding, sailing, jogging, and other related outdoor activities compatible
with the purposes for which the lands were acquired.”
6
Section 253.03(2), F.S.
7
See Land Management Uniform Accounting Council Annual Report (last visited Jan. 22, 2024).
8
Section 253.034(5), F.S.
9
Id.
10
Section 259.037(3)(a), F.S. BILL: SPB 2506 Page 5
Each land management plan is required to provide a desired outcome, describe both short-term
and long-term management goals, and include measurable objectives to achieve those goals.
11
Short-term goals are required to be achievable within a two-year planning period, and long-term
goals are required to be achievable within a 10-year planning period.
12
These short-term and
long-term management goals are the basis for all subsequent land management activities.
13
Short-term and long-term management goals must include measurable objectives for the
following, as appropriate:
• Habitat restoration and improvement.
• Public access and recreational opportunities.
• Hydrological preservation and restoration.
• Sustainable forest management.
• Exotic and invasive species maintenance and control.
• Capital facilities and infrastructure.
• Cultural and historical resources.
• Imperiled species habitat maintenance, enhancement, restoration, or population restoration.
14
Land management plans are required to be updated every 10 years on a rotating basis.
15
Each
manager of conservation lands is required to update a land management plan whenever the
manager proposes to add new facilities or make substantive land use or management changes
that were not addressed in the approved plan, or within one year of the addition of significant
new lands.
16
Regional land management review teams are required to evaluate the extent to which the existing
management plan provides sufficient protection to threatened or endangered species, unique or
important natural or physical features, geological or hydrological functions, or archaeological
features, and the extent to which the land is being managed for the purposes for which it was
acquired and the degree to which actual management practices, including public access, are in
compliance with the adopted management plan.
17
If the land management review team determines that reviewed lands are not being managed for
the purposes for which they were acquired or in compliance with the adopted land management
plan, management policy statement, or management prospectus, or if the managing agency fails
to address the review findings in the updated management plan, the department is required to
provide the review findings to the board, and the managing agency must report to the board its
reasons for managing the lands as it has.
18
The manager of the land is required to consider the
findings and recommendations of the land management review team in finalizing the 10-year
update of the land management plan.
19
11
Section 253.034(5)(a), F.S.
12
Id.
13
Id.
14
Section 253.034(5)(b), F.S.
15
Section 253.034(5)(e), F.S.
16
Section 253.034(5), F.S.
17
Section 259.036(3), F.S.
18
Section 259.036(5), F.S.
19
Section 259.036(2), F.S. BILL: SPB 2506 Page 6
By July 1 of each year, each governmental agency and each private entity designated to manage
lands is required to report to the department on the progress of funding, staffing, and resource
management of every project for which the agency or entity is responsible.
20
The use or
possession of any such lands that is not in accordance with an approved land management plan is
subject to termination by the board.
21
Rural and Family Lands Protection Program
The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP) within the DACS is an agricultural
land preservation program designed to protect agricultural lands through the acquisition of
conservation easements. The DACS is authorized to enter into conservation easements for any of
the following purposes:
• Promotion and improvement of wildlife habitat;
• Protection and enhancement of water bodies, aquifer recharge areas, wetlands, and
watersheds;
• Perpetuation of open space on lands with significant natural areas; or
• Protection of agricultural lands threatened by conversion to other uses.
The DACS developed a priority list in 2024, which includes 232 projects, totaling 300,773
acres.
22
Florida Wildlife Corridor
The 2021 Legislature created the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act to “create incentives for
conservation and sustainable development while sustaining and conserving green infrastructure
that acts as the foundation of the state’s economy and quality of life.”
23
The Legislature
appropriated $300 million,
24
directing the DEP to encourage and promote investments in areas
that protect and enhance the Wildlife Corridor by establishing a “network of connected wildlife
habitats required for the long-term survival of and genetic exchange amongst regional wildlife
populations which serves to prevent fragmentation by providing ecological connectivity of the
lands needed to furnish adequate habitats and allow safe movement and dispersal.”
25
20
Section 259.032(8), F.S.
21
Section 253.034(5)(h), F.S.
22
See DACS 2024 RFLPP Projects Rankings, available at
https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/12172024_BOT_Item_%237_2024%20RFLPP%20Priority%20List.pdf (last visited
Mar. 31, 2025).
23
Section 259.1055(3), F.S.
24
Chapter 2021-37. L.O.F., s. 152.
25
Section 259.1055(4)(g), F.S. BILL: SPB 2506 Page 7
The Florida Wildlife Corridor (Wildlife Corridor) is statutorily defined as “the conserved
lands”
26
and “opportunity areas”
27
defined by the DEP as priority one, two, and three categories
of the Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN).
28
The FEGN “is the primary data layer
used to inform the Florida Forever and other state, federal, and regional land acquisition
programs regarding the most important ecological corridors and intact landscapes across the state
for protection of Florida’s native wildlife, ecosystem services, and ecological resiliency.”
29
The
priority-category lands “are the most important for protecting [an] ecologically functional
connected statewide network of public and private conservation lands.”
30, 31
The DEP notes that the existing Wildlife Corridor encompasses over 18 million acres of which
10 million acres are protected conservation lands.
32
The Resilient Florida Grant Program
The Florida Legislature has established several statewide resilience programs, including the
Resilient Florida Grant Program, the Comprehensive Statewide Flood Vulnerability and Sea
Level Rise Data Set, and the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan.
The Resilient Florida Grant Program provides grants to counties or municipalities for community
resilience planning, including vulnerability assessments, plan development, and projects to adapt
critical assets.
33
Vulnerability assessments funded through this program must encompass the
entire county or municipality; use the most recent publicly available Digital Elevation Model and
26
Defined in s. 259.1055(4)(a), F.S., to mean “federal, state, or local lands owned or managed for conservation purposes,
including, but not limited to, federal, state, and local parks; federal and state forests; wildlife management areas; wildlife
refuges; military bases and airports with conservation lands; properties owned by land trust and managed for conservation;
and privately owned land with a conservation easement, including, but not limited to, ranches, forestry operations, and
groves.”
27
Section 259.1055(4)(e), F.S., states “[T]hose lands and waters within the Florida wildlife corridor which are not conserved
lands and the green spaces within the Florida wildlife corridor which lack conservation status, are contiguous to or between
conserved lands, and provide an opportunity to develop the Florida wildlife corridor into a statewide conservation network.”
28
Section 259.1055(4)(d), F.S. For a layered map reflecting the Wildlife Corridor, Florida Forever Projects and Acquisitions,
and FEGN Priority Levels 1-3, see the FDEP’s map available at
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/27b8d8cd961c4f5091655c52c74d3ada/ (last visited Mar. 30, 2025).
29
FDEP, Florida Wildlife Corridor, available at https://floridadep.gov/lands/lands/documents/florida-wildlife-corridor (last
visited Mar. 30, 2024).
30
Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI), CLIP: Critical Lands and Waters Identification Projects, available at
https://www.fnai.org/PDFs/CLIP_v4_user_tutorial.pdf (last visited Mar. 30, 2024). The FNAI provides scientific support to
the FDEP.
31
Section 259.1055(4)(c), F.S., defines the FEGN as “a periodically updated model developed to delineate large connected
areas of statewide ecological significance.”
32
FDEP, Florida Forever Data Map and Resources, available at https://floridadep.gov/lands/environmental-
services/content/additional-resources (last visited Mar. 30, 2025).
33
Section 380.093(2)(a), F.S. “Critical asset” is defined to include broad lists of assets relating to transportation, critical
infrastructure, emergency facilities, natural resources, and historical and cultural resources. BILL: SPB 2506 Page 8
dynamic modeling techniques, if available; and analyze the vulnerability of and risks to critical
assets,
34
including regionally significant assets.
35
The Comprehensive Statewide Flood Vulnerability and Sea Level Rise Data Set and Assessment
will provide information necessary to determine the risks to inland and coastal communities.
36
The Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan consists of ranked projects that
address risks of flooding and sea level rise to coastal and inland communities.
37
Examples of
projects include construction of living shorelines, seawalls, and pump stations, elevation
projects, and infrastructure hardening. Counties, municipalities, water management districts,
regional water supply authorities, and other entities may submit to the DEP an annual list of
proposed projects. Each project must have a minimum 50 percent cost share, unless the project
assists or is within a financially disadvantaged community.
38
The DEP ranks the projects using a
four-tier scoring system.
39
The DEP has adopted rules to implement s. 380.093, F.S., relating to
the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan and project submittal requirements.
These rules can be found in Chapter 62S-8 of the Florida Administrative Code.
40
In March of
2025, the DEP submitted the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise
Resilience Plan totaling nearly $225 million.
41
In 2022, the Statewide Office of Resilience was created within the Executive Office of the
Governor for the purpose of reviewing all flood resilience and mitigation activities in the state
and coordinating flood resilience and mitigation efforts with federal, state, and local
governmental entities and other stakeholders. The office’s Chief Resilience Officer and the DEP
worked together to provide the Governor and the Legislature with a report on flood resilience
and mitigation efforts across Florida.
42
34
Critical assets include transportation assets and evacuation routes (airports, bridges, bus terminals, major roadways, etc.),
critical infrastructure (wastewater and stormwater treatment facilities, drinking water facilities, solid and hazardous waste
facilities, etc.), critical community and emergency facilities (schools, correctional facilities, fire stations, hospitals, etc.), and
natural, cultural, and historical resources (conservation lands, parks, shorelines, wetlands, etc.). Section 380.093(2)(a), F.S.
35
Section 380.093(3)(c), F.S. Regionally significant assets are critical assets that support the needs of communities spanning
multiple geopolitical jurisdictions. Section 380.093(2)(d), F.S.
36
Section 380.093(4), F.S.; DEP, Resilient Florida Program – Statewide Assessment, https://floridadep.gov/rcp/resilient-
florida-program/content/resilient-florida-program-statewide-assessment (last visited Mar. 30, 2024).
37
Section 380.093(5), F.S.
38
Section 380.093(5)(e), F.S. A financially disadvantaged small community is a municipality with a population of 10,000 or
fewer, or a county with a population of 50,000 or fewer, where the per capita annual income is less than the state’s per capita
annual income. Id.
39
Section 380.093(5)(h), F.S.
40
Fla. Admin. Code Chapter 62S-8, available at https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/Final%20Rule%20Language_0.pdf.
41
DEP and Florida Statewide Office of Resilience, 2024-2025 Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan,
available at https://protectingfloridatogether.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-
2025%20Statewide%20Flooding%20and%20Sea%20Level%20Rise%20Resilience%20Plan_PFT%20formatted%20State%2
0Plan%20List%20FY24_25_08202024.pdf
42
DEP and Florida Statewide Office of Resilience, 2022 Flood Resilience and Mitigation Efforts Across Florida, 2, available
at
https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/2022%20Flood%20Resilience%20and%20Mitigation%20Efforts%20Report%20Onl
y_0.pdf. BILL: SPB 2506 Page 9
Water Quality Improvement Grant Program
The 2023 Legislature revised the Water Quality Improvement Grant Program
43
which provides
funding to address wastewater (including septic to sewer), stormwater and agricultural sources of
nutrients in waterbodies that are not attaining nutrient or nutrient-related standards, have an
established total maximum daily load or are located within a basin management action plan area,
a reasonable assurance plan area, an accepted alternative restoration plan area, or a rural area of
opportunity under s. 288.0656, F.S.
Financial assistance is available to Florida's governmental entities for projects that have an
established total maximum daily load or are located within a basin management action plan area,
a reasonable assurance plan area, an accepted alternative restoration plan area, or a rural area of
opportunity under s. 288.0656, F.S., which will individually or collectively reduce excess
nutrient pollution. Grants may be provided to all of the following types of projects:
• Connecting onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems to central sewer facilities.
• Upgrading domestic wastewater treatment facilities to advanced waste treatment or greater.
• Repairing, upgrading, expanding, or constructing stormwater treatment facilities that result in
improvements to surface water or groundwater quality.
• Repairing, upgrading, expanding, or constructing domestic wastewater treatment facilities
that result in improvements to surface water or groundwater quality, including domestic
wastewater reuse and collection systems.
• Projects identified pursuant to s. 403.067(7)(a) or (e), relating to basin management action
plans and cooperative regional water quality improvements, respectively.
• Projects identified in a domestic wastewater treatment plan or an onsite sewage treatment and
disposal system remediation plan developed pursuant to s. 403.067(7)(a)9.a. and b.
• Projects listed in a city or county capital improvement element pursuant to s.
163.3177(3)(a)4.b.
• Retrofitting onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems to upgrade such systems to
enhanced nutrient-reducing onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems where central
sewerage is unavailable.
The department is required to give priority to projects that:
• Have the maximum estimated reduction in nutrient load per project.
• Demonstrate project readiness.
• Are cost-effective.
• Have a cost-share identified by the applicant, except for rural areas of opportunity.
• Have multiyear project implementation schedules with previous state commitment and
involvement in the project, considering previously funded phases, the total amount of
previous state funding, and previous partial appropriations for the proposed project;
• Are in a location where reductions are needed most to attain the water quality standards of a
waterbody not attaining nutrient or nutrient-related standards; or
• Were determined eligible in a previous application cycle and were able to demonstrate
project readiness but were not awarded a grant.
43
FDEP, Water Quality Improvement Grant Program, available at https://floridadep.gov/wra/wra/content/water-quality-
improvement-grant-program (last visited Mar. 30, 2025). BILL: SPB 2506 Page 10
Funding for Environmental Resource Management
Chapter 2024-58, Laws of Florida, provided that 96 percent of the revenues from the 2021
gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida for the
acquisition and management of conservation lands and the identification and prioritization of
critical clean water infrastructure investments be deposited into the Indian Gaming Revenue
Trust Fund within the Department of Financial Services.
Section 380.095, F.S., requires the distribution of gaming compact revenues as follows:
• The lesser of 26.042 percent or $100 million to support the wildlife corridor. Eligible state
agencies may submit budget amendments on a first come-first serve basis with the release of
funds contingent upon approval.
• The lesser of 26.042 percent or $100 million for the management of uplands and the removal
of invasive species, which is divided as follows:
o The lesser of 36 percent or $36 million to the Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP), of which:
▪ The lesser of 88.889 percent or $32 million for state park land management activities;
▪ The lesser of 11.111 percent or $4 million for implementation of the Local Trail
Management Grant Program;
o The lesser of 32 percent or $32 million to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services for land management activities;
o The lesser of 32 percent or $32 million to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission for land management activities;
• The lesser of 26.042 percent or $100 million to the DEP to the Resilient Florida Trust Fund;
• The remainder to the DEP to the Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund.
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 amends s. 253.0251, F.S., to require that all applications for full fee simple acquisition
projects to identify, within their acquisition plans, why the project requires a full fee simple
interest to achieve public policy goals, together with the reasons full title is determined to be
necessary.
Section 2 amends s. 259.032, F.S., to include water control districts existing pursuant to ch. 298,
F.S., to those governmental entities that may contract with state agencies for land management
activities.
Section 3 amends 380.093, F.S., to add as Tier 1 criteria for the scoring system for the DEP to
rank projects in the Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan the degree to which
the project reduces the flood risk and, thereby, increases credits awards to a community
participating in the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System. Tier 1
accounts for 40 percent to the total score of four tiers.
Section 4 amends s. 380.095, F.S., to require the annual distribution of the lesser of 26.042
percent or $100 million for land acquisition to be directed to the Incidental Trust Fund within the
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) for less-than-fee simple acquisitions BILL: SPB 2506 Page 11
for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The bill
also removes the provision that the funds be appropriated in Administered Funds and that
eligible state agencies may submit budget amendments for release of these funds.
The bill amends the authorized land management activities to include the costs associated with
land management contracts between a state agency, local governments, water control districts,
and soil and water conservation districts.
The bill provides an additional distribution of the lesser of 13.021 percent or $30 million to the
General Inspection Trust Fund within the DACS for agricultural water conservation and
agricultural water supply planning.
The bill amends the distribution to the Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund
to provide a limit of $300 million, rather than all remaining undistributed funds, to the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the Water Quality Improvement Grant
Program.
The bill provides that any remaining funds be transferred to the General Revenue Fund.
Section 5 amends s. 403.0673, F.S., to require that the DEP include projects located within a
rural area of opportunity when prioritizing projects within the Water Quality Improvement Grant
Program. The bill also directs the DEP to dedicate at least $50 million of the funds received
annually from the distributions made pursuant to s. 380.095, F.S., for projects located in a rural
area of opportunity.
Section 6 amends s. 403.891, F.S., to require that any funds in excess of a cumulative total of
$400 million distributed to the Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund pursuant
to ss. 201.15 and 380.095, F.S., per fiscal year be transferred to the General Revenue Fund by
June 30 of each year.
Section 7 amends s. 570.93, F.S., to direct the DACS to establish an agricultural non-point
source regional water program that includes implementation of works, technologies, or practices
that improve water quality in impaired water bodies. Through efforts such as nutrient reduction,
water conservation, and water retention, the program will help control and capture nutrient
runoff necessary to achieve nutrient loading reductions. Projects may include, but are not limited
to, dispersed water management of stormwater treatment areas.
Section 8 provides an effective date of July 1, 2025.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None. BILL: SPB 2506 Page 12
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The bill has an overall positive, significant impact on state revenues. Additionally, the
bill redistributes the gaming funds as follows:
• The bill requires the annual distribution of the lesser of 26.042 percent or $100
million to the Incidental Trust Fund within the Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services (DACS) for less-than-fee simple acquisitions.
• The bill provides an annual distribution of the lesser of 13.021 percent or $30 million
to the General Inspection Trust Fund within the DACS for agricultural water
conservation and agricultural water supply planning.
• The bill provides up to $300 million to be transferred to the Water Protection and
Sustainability Program Trust Fund within the Department of Environmental
Protection. The bill requires all amounts over $400 million per fiscal year transferred
pursuant to ss. 201.15 and 380.095, F.S., be transferred the General Revenue Fund by
June 30 of each year. Based on February Revenue Estimating Conferences, this will
result in a transfer of an additional $26.1 million to the General Revenue Fund in
Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
• The bill provides that any funds remaining after the distributions have been made
shall be transferred to the General Revenue Fund. Based on the February Revenue
Estimating Conference, the increase in transfers to the General Revenue Fund will be
$204 million.
SPB 2500, the Senate’s Proposed General Appropriations Act, makes the following
appropriations:
• $100 million from the Incidental Trust Fund within DACS for less-than-fee
purchases. BILL: SPB 2506 Page 13
• $30 million from the General Inspection Trust Fund within DACS for agricultural
water projects.
• $505 million from the Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund within
the DEP for water quality projects.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the following sections of the Florida Statutes: 253.0251, 259.032,
380.093, 380.095, 403.0673, and 570.93.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.