Florida SB 1638 (2024): Funding for Environmental Resource Management

In April 2024, the Governor of Florida signed Senate Bill 1638 into law to bolster funding for environmental resource management. Codified in Fla. Stat. §380.095 (2024), the Act establishes two important revenue streams: a one-time grant of $150 million and a recurring portion of the Seminole Tribe Gaming Compact allocated for extreme weather resilience, water infrastructure upgrades, and management of state conservation lands. 

Previously, in 2021, the Seminole Tribe Gaming Compact was signed, allowing the Tribe exclusive gaming rights in the state in exchange for a share of the revenue. For the 30-year compact term, SB 1638 allocates 96% of this revenue to fund the protection of Florida’s natural resources, bringing in an estimated $750 million per year and a total of $6 billion through 2030. The lesser of 26.042% or $100 million of the annual revenue is directed to the Resilient Florida Grant Fund for its Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan, “which will guard inland and coastal communities against the impacts of storm damage, surges, hurricanes, and flooding.” This comes in response to the Legislature’s findings “that enhancing the state’s resiliency to storm events and sea level rise is essential to Florida’s economic stability and growth.” The remainder of funding is either annually allocated or deposited in a non-recurring grant to local trail management, land management in wildlife corridors and agricultural areas, and a trust for state parks. 

While the gaming revenue funds a wide variety of land conservation and resilience measures for sea-level rise and flooding, the one-time $150 million grant is primarily reserved for maintenance and upgrades to water management systems to improve water quality and infrastructure. The funds come from the General Revenue Fund and are to be placed in a reserve and managed by the South Florida Water Management District. The requirements for the non-recurring fund are explicit in the Bill, including a partnership with the Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University to assess the health and ecosystem of local water bodies, in addition to water infrastructure maintenance. 

 

Publication Date: April 4, 2024

Related Organizations:

  • State of Florida

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  • Funding program
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