National Audubon Society

Florida Legislative Session and Policy Update

This week’s policy highlights:

- Updated budget numbers show House and Senate differ on key environmental appropriations.

- A proposed House budget conforming bill, BUC6, would repeal a 2024 state law that distributed millions of dollars in Seminole Tribe gambling revenue for environmental programs.

- Proposed Senate conforming bill, SB 2506, would expand Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ easement programs for Florida Wildlife Corridor acquisitions, deemphasizing Florida Forever.

- Beneficial amendments pass on water management district legislation.

- “One Water” approach included in nonbinding committee vote.

- Wetland mitigation bill that could worsen flooding advances despite opposition.

The House and Senate Environmental Appropriations Subcommittees Update Budget Proposals

Lawmakers in budget committees in both chambers on Wednesday approved respective spending proposals for the coming fiscal year and will need to work out the larger-than-usual $4 billion difference between the two budgets.

The Senate Appropriations Committee moved forward with that chamber's $117.4 billion budget proposal (SB 2500) while the House proposed its smaller plan (BUC1) to spend just under $113 billion. These numbers are as of Friday, April 4, and will continue to evolve as negotiations progress.

The Governor makes his budget recommendations 30 days prior to the onset of the legislative session, following which, the House and Senate committees workshop the budget and each chamber passes an independent appropriations bill.

Over the next few weeks, the differences between the bills will be resolved through a budget conference by members of the House and Senate. The product of the conference process is the Conference Report of the General Appropriations Act. This is eventually sent to the Governor for his signature and line-item vetoes.

See the table below for details:

*** Note that this year, the Senate, instead of proposing a single amount of funding for Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Projects as has been done in the past, has proposed funding amounts for each individual project that contributes to Everglades restoration. The number reflected in the table below is the total amount proposed for all the projects.

* The funds proposed from the wastewater grant program in the House are allocated in their entirety to member Water Projects. In the Senate the funds are allocated to the six programs listed in the table.

Above: Black-crowned Night Heron. Photo: Deborah Bifulco/Great Backyard Bird Count

House Conforming Bill Would Cut Environmental Funding

A proposed House budget conforming bill, BUC6, would repeal a 2024 state law that distributed millions of dollars in Seminole Tribe gambling revenue for environmental programs. House Budget Chair Lawrence McClure (R-Dover) said Tuesday the repeal is needed because the state's financial outlook has changed. Section 380.095, F.S., requires the Department of Revenue to deposit 96 percent of any revenue share payment received under the 2021 Compact into the Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund.

The bill removes authorization for voluntary agreements with private landowners for environmental services within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, and amends sections in the Florida Statutes to conform to the changes made by the act, including modifying provisions related to the Indian Gaming Revenue Clearing Trust Fund and the Land Management Uniform Accounting Council.

Wood Duck. Photo: Scott Suriano/Audubon Photography Awards

Additional Funding Changes Could be in Store for FDACS

The Senate has proposed a conforming bill, SB 2506, that makes significant changes to the state’s land acquisition programs, favoring the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ easements program to target Florida Wildlife Corridor parcel acquisitions.

And while the House’s bill repeals the allocations from the Gaming Compact, the Senate bill allocates funding from the Gaming Compact for water and resilience programs and also establishes an agricultural non-point pollution regional source reduction program within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It also establishes an agricultural non-point pollution regional source reduction program and provides for construction of stormwater treatment areas and dispersed water management facilities.

In general, the bill shows a trend of movement of environmental land and water quality protection programs away from the Department of Environmental Protection, sharing those programs and funds with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Audubon has always believed that purchases and easements through both Florida Forever and Rural and Family Protection programs provides an ideal mix of protection for land conservation—a balance that would be tipped by this bill. Similarly, agricultural water quality funding is a sound investment for Florida, but the Department of Environmental Protection must continue to play an important role as a regulator and implementing agency of Florida’s wetland protections.

Our policy staff are carefully evaluating the potential impacts of these proposals.

Palm Warbler. Photo: Marti Phillips/Audubon Photography Awards

SB 7002 - Enhanced Oversight for Water Management Districts

Senate Version

Water is at the heart of Florida’s prosperity—without it, communities, industries, and our economy would wither. Accordingly, the establishment of Florida’s water management districts was one of Floridians’ best ideas: Independent taxing districts that employ permitting authority and infrastructure investments to safeguard this finite resource. While their governing boards are appointed by the executive branch, their modest independence and more predictable funding stream helps them follow the science to fulfill their mandate, planning and implementing huge multi-year ecosystem-scale projects—because there is not a moment to lose.

SB 7002, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Sanford), aims to sharpen the focus of Florida’s Water Management Districts (WMDs) on core missions like water resource protection and planning. Additional reforms are designed to enhance transparency, streamline operations, increase reporting requirements, and provide new tools for long-term resilience. However, Audubon had concerns that these requirements could be redundant with executive branch oversight and result in delays to desperately needed water resource and restoration projects.

Several provisions were clarified during the committee process after stakeholders, including environmental groups, weighed in—resulting in a more thoughtful, practical bill. The bill passed the Appropriations Committee, (Chair, Sen. Hooper (R-Palm Harbor)) this week and is on the Senate Special Order Calendar.

While the bill includes good investments in Everglades restoration, the switch from appropriating one lump sum to multiple appropriations itemized by project will reduce flexibility, possibly slowing progress on projects.

House Version

The House companion bill, HB 1169 by Rep. Conerly (R-Lakewood Ranch), largely mirrors SB 7002, and was recently amended to include a handful of notable changes in the House Natural Resources and Disasters Subcommittee (Chair, Rep. Botana (R-Bonita Springs)).

Of these, enhanced competitive bid requirements for contracts are now triggered at $20 million instead of $1 million, as proposed in the original bill. This change is beneficial because it reduces bureaucratic delays for smaller projects, allowing water management districts to respond more efficiently to local needs. By focusing competitive bidding requirements on larger contracts, the new threshold helps streamline routine work while still ensuring transparency and oversight where it's most needed.

Merlin. Photo: Tim Boyer/Audubon Photography Awards

"One Water" Approach

HR 661, sponsored by Rep. Albert (R-Winter Haven), and SR 1846, sponsored by Sen. Truenow (R-Tavares), encourage the adoption of a “One Water” approach to water resource management in Florida.

Both resolutions promote integrated, collaborative, and resilient planning strategies to address water supply challenges, improve water quality, and protect natural systems. They recognize the importance of managing all water types—fresh, brackish, surface, groundwater, stormwater, wastewater, and recycled water—as a connected resource.

HB 661 passed the House Natural Resources and Disasters Subcommittee this week. While nonbinding, these measures express growing legislative desire for unified water planning principles in response to Florida’s population growth and environmental pressures. Interconnectedness is important in planning for this critical resource; however as water supply dwindles, regions that have been good stewards of their water worry that other regions with shortages will look to use others’ water rather than implement conservation measures.

Indigo Bunting. Photo: Brady Karg/Audubon

Bad News - Mitigation Bill Moves Forward

HB 1175, Mitigation, by Rep. McClain (R-Ocala) took another step forward in the legislative process this week. Read more about the legislation here.

What Happened?

The bill was voted through in the House State Affairs Committee (Chair, Rep. Robinson (R-Bradenton)).

Rep. Lindsay Cross (D-St. Petersburg) offered a late-filed amendment that included some of Audubon’s common-sense improvements to blunt the worst impacts of this legislation. Unfortunately, the amendment failed on a voice vote.

The bill sponsor filed an amendment with modest improvements, but a far cry from what is needed for this bill to protect communities from flooding and harmful algal blooms, while still addressing mitigation credit shortages. The amendment passed with committee vote.

Audubon staff will continue to work to blunt the worst provisions in this bill.

Great Blue Heron. Photo: Mick Thompson

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