National Audubon Society

Florida Legislative Session and Policy Update

This week’s policy highlights:

- In the first volley of budget building, the House spending proposal is $119 billion, while the Senate spending proposal is $117.36 billion. Audubon goals as appropriators negotiate will be to increase funding for both conservation and Everglades restoration above the starting offers.

- Mitigation bill that could worsen local flooding clears another committee hurdle. Listen to important coverage on WLRN.

- Stormwater management legislation that would combat flooding also moves forward.

- Committee advances bill limiting onshore oil drilling near vulnerable water bodies.

- Suwannee River Water Management District proposes to surplus conservation land, allow gopher tortoise habitat to be converted into peanut farm. Sign Audubon’s petition.

The House and Senate Environmental Appropriations Subcommittees Released their Preliminary Budget Proposals

House Top Line:

This year’s House proposed spending plan was $119 billion, up 30% from five years ago at $92 billion.

A Closer Look:

Chair Rep. Esposito (R-Deltona) of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee, expressed concern about the Legislative Budget Commission’s long-range financial outlook that projected budget deficits beginning next year if we don’t reduce our spending. The Committee’s budget request is $6.4 billion for FY 2025-26, a reduction of $900 million from the current budget.

For water and Everglades funding, the committee proposed $822 million, of which $357 is for Everglades restoration. This is significantly less than what is needed to keep the current pace of Everglades restoration on track and to draw down federal match as cost-share appropriations for Everglades.

Additional budget highlights include: $60 million for alternative water supply programs, $220 million for the resiliency program, $195 million for petroleum clean-up programs, $15 million for state park improvements. Disappointingly, there was no funding proposed for Florida Forever and $200 million for the Rural and Family Lands protection Program.

Senate Top Line:

The Senate’s proposed budget appropriates $117.36 billion, or $1.3 billion less than the adjusted total budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year ($118.6 billion).

A Closer Look:

Sen. Brodeur (R-Sanford), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government, said that the “Committee’s budget decisions would do great things for our environment and will ensure that our departments run effectively and efficiently.”

The committee proposes $1.2 billion for water and Everglades, of which more than $712 million is proposed for Everglades restoration.

On a positive note, the Senate has proposed over $6 million in funding for the partial restoration of the Ocklawaha River. We hope to see this funding make it to the finish line this year.

The committee proposal highlights include: $218 million for flooding and sea level rise mitigation projects, $47 million for state park improvements, $100 million for Florida Forever, and $150 million for Rural And Family Lands Protection program easements.

Stay tuned for details on the full Appropriations Committee proposals in next week’s Advocate. Audubon’s policy team will advocate for strong funding for land conservation, restoration, Everglades, and water.

American White Pelican. Photo: Joseph Przybyla/Audubon Photography Awards

Mitigation Bill That Could Worsen Flooding Passes Another Committee Hurdle

SB 1142, sponsored by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez (R-Doral), aims to allow water management districts to release conservation easements to allow development on certain properties, particularly those under 15 acres and bordered by impervious surfaces (like concrete).

This bill passed the Judiciary Committee (Chair, Sen. Clay Yarborough (R-Jacksonville)) this week. Committee members expressed concerns and asked whether wetland mitigation would occur in the same county and rightfully raised concerns about flood control and drainage. They discussed that amendments were needed to narrow the scope of what this bill will allow.

While this is a stand-alone bill in the Senate, in the House this language is included in the worrisome mitigation bill, HB 1175, sponsored by Rep. Duggan (R-Jacksonville). See more below.

Anhinga. Photo: Jean Hall/Audubon Photography Awards

Purple Gallinule swimming near lily pads

Why Worry about Mitigation Bills? We'll Explain!

Audubon continues to bring attention to SB 492 and HB 1175 which would reshape the way wetland mitigation works in Florida. Wetlands play a crucial role in filtering pollutants and improving water quality, they absorb and store excess water during flood events—reducing the risk of flooding and damage to property and infrastructure.

Florida is seeing intensified storm surges and heavier rainfall events, impacting coastal areas and even inland regions. Mitigation can help reduce the economic losses associated with natural disasters and mitigation done closest to where the disturbance occurs protects resilience of communities to natural hazards and storm events.

Last week we shared with you the risks to local communities posed by changes to wetland mitigation rules proposed in HB 1175 and SB 492 (learn more here). Listen to WLRN’s coverage of the issue and what it could mean for South Florida communities here.

Purple Gallingule. Photo: Robert Amoruso/Audubon Photography Awards.

How are Mitigation and Stormwater Bills Linked? See Below!

SB 0810, Stormwater Management Systems, by Sen. Burgess (R-Zephyrhills), passed the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development this week.

SB 0810 is intended to mitigate flooding, especially in urban areas where flooding has become a chronic problem exacerbated during high storm events. The bill aims to improve Florida’s stormwater management systems, requiring local governments to take action before each hurricane season to ensure that canals and culverts under their control are properly maintained.

There is a cause-and-effect case to be made here: Maintenance of our stormwater infrastructure should always be a priority, as should proper wetland mitigation and preservation of small remaining tracts of green spaces within and between our large swathes of developed areas. As Florida rapidly develops, we must be mindful not to lose our natural infrastructure. Proper mitigation must be a priority.

Black-and-white Warbler. Photo: Brandon Corry/Audubon Photography Award

Drilling Bill to Help Sensitive Areas

SB 1300, Permits for Drilling, Exploration and Extraction of Oil and Gas, sponsored by Sen. Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee), would update Florida’s oil and gas permitting regulations with improvements for protecting sensitive ecosystems. Both the House and Senate bills add a “balancing test” to clarify how the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) evaluates permits within one mile of the coast, estuaries, lakes, rivers, or streams.

DEP already has discretion in issuing such permits, but this test provides greater transparency by outlining the factors DEP must consider, such as ecological function and restoration costs.

The bill passed the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee (Chair, Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez) this week.

HB 1143, the House companion by Rep. Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe), also includes an additional provision not found in SB 1300: a 10-mile drilling ban around national estuarine research reserves. The bill was voted through the House Natural Resources and Disasters Subcommittee (Chair, Rep. Botana (R-Bonita Springs)).

We Need Your Voice

The Suwannee River Water Management District is proposing to surplus a piece of public conservation land in exchange for another riverfront parcel. The result would be that this parcel of critical gopher tortoise habitat, managed and restored with taxpayer dollars for more than 30 years, would become a peanut farm.

While the land proposed for the swap does have conservation value, there are other means of acquiring it other than giving up this conservation acreage. Further, Florida's standard for surplussing conservation land is that it must no longer be needed for conservation purposes. This is clearly not the case for the Ellaville tract of Twin Rivers State Forest.

We need your voice. Sign our petition to encourage the District to abandon the Ellaville land swap, acquire the additional parcel through other means (like the Florida Forever conservation program), and permanently remove the Ellaville tract from the surplus list.

Sign our petition.

Gopher tortoise. Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

CONNECT WITH US

Audubon Florida
4500 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 350, Miami, FL 33137
(305) 371-6399 | fl.audubon.org

© 2025 National Audubon Society, Inc.

Unsubscribe