Florida HB 751: Public Assistance

Bill Text

HB 751 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb751-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to infrastructure and resiliency; 2
amending s. 255.065, F.S.; revising the definition of 3
the term "qualifying project"; creating s. 380.0934, 4
F.S.; providing definitions; providing that the 5
Department of Environmental Protection has the 6
exclusive authority to execute coastal resiliency 7
projects through public-private partnerships; 8
authorizing the department to take certain actions to 9
encourage investment from the private sector in 10
coastal resiliency projects; requiring the department 11
to publish certain information on its website; 12
providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section 17
255.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 18
255.065 Public-private partnerships.— 19
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 20
(i) "Qualifying project" means: 21
1. A facility or project that serves a public purpose, 22
including, but not limited to, any ferry or mass transit 23
facility, vehicle parking facility, airport or seaport facility, 24
rail facility or project, fuel supply facility, oil or gas 25

HB 751 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb751-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

pipeline, medical or nursing care facility, recreational 26
facility, sporting or cultural facility, or educational facility 27
or other building or facility that is used or will be used by a 28
public educational institution, or any other public facility or 29
infrastructure that is used or will be used by the public at 30
large or in support of an accepted public purpose or activity; 31
2. An improvement, including equipment, of a building that 32
will be principally used by a public entity or the public at 33
large or that supports a service delivery system in the public 34
sector; 35
3. A water, wastewater, or surface water management 36
facility or other related infrastructure; 37
4. A coastal resiliency project as defined in s. 38
380.0934(1); or 39
5.4. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, for 40
projects that involve a facility owned or operated by the 41
governing board of a county, district, or municipal hospital or 42
health care system, or projects that involve a facility owned or 43
operated by a municipal electric utility, only those projects 44
that the governing board designates as qualifying projects 45
pursuant to this section. 46
Section 2. Section 380.0934, Florida Statutes, is created 47
to read: 48
380.0934 Public-private partnerships for coastal 49
resiliency projects.— 50

HB 751 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

(1) As used in this section, the term: 51
(a) "Coastal resiliency project" means: 52
1. Planning, contracting, and executing a project to 53
address flooding and sea level rise in a coastal or inland 54
community in this state under s. 380.093(5); 55
2. Public infrastructure repair and upgrades to seawalls 56
and stormwater drainage; and 57
3. Resiliency measures designed to withstand extreme 58
weather, mitigate flooding, and prevent coastal erosion, 59
including: 60
a. Acquisition of at-risk coastal and flood-prone 61
properties; 62
b. Acquisition of properties in areas at high risk of 63
flooding; 64
c. Infrastructure hardening and development of natural 65
barriers; 66
d. Construction of large-scale seawalls, levees, and 67
elevated flood barriers; or 68
e. Expansion and restoration of natural protective 69
systems. 70
(b) "Department" means the Department of Environmental 71
Protection. 72
(c) "Public-private partnership" means a coastal 73
resiliency project entered into by the department under s. 74
255.065. 75

HB 751 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb751-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

(2) The department has the exclusive authority to execute 76
coastal resiliency projects through public-private partnerships 77
under s. 255.065. 78
(3) To encourage investment from the private sector in 79
coastal resiliency projects, the department may: 80
(a) Enter into long-term revenue-sharing agreements. 81
(b) Provide expedited permitting for construction. 82
(c) Seek comments from local governments and the public 83
during project planning and execution and incorporate actions 84
responsive to such comments into the project. 85
(d) Engage in-state vocational schools and apprenticeship 86
programs to train workers in specialized resiliency 87
construction. 88
(4) The department shall publish on its website biennial 89
progress reports for each coastal resiliency project funded 90
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