Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

       Florida Senate - 2025                                      SB 56



       By Senator Garcia





       36-00059-25                                             202556__
                      A bill to be entitled                      
       An act relating to weather modification activities;
       repealing ss. 403.281, 403.291, 403.301, 403.311,
       403.321, 403.331, 403.341, 403.351, 403.361, 403.371,
       403.381, 403.391, and 403.401, F.S., relating to the
       definitions, purpose, licensing requirements,
       applications, proof of financial responsibility
       requirements, license issuance and discipline
       provisions, publication of notice of intention to
       operate requirements, required contents of the notice
       of intention, publication of the notice of intention
       requirements, proof of publication requirements,
       record and reports of operations requirements,
       provision of emergency licenses, and suspension or
       revocation of licenses, respectively, of the weather
       modification law; amending s. 403.411, F.S.;
       prohibiting certain acts intended to affect the
       temperature, the weather, or the intensity of sunlight
       within the atmosphere of this state; increasing civil
       penalties for violations of the weather modification
       law; amending ss. 252.44, 253.002, 373.026, 373.1501,
       373.4598, and 373.470, F.S.; conforming cross
       references and provisions to changes made by the act;
       making technical changes; providing an effective date.
        
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

       Section 1. Sections 403.281, 403.291, 403.301, 403.311,
403.321, 403.331, 403.341, 403.351, 403.361, 403.371, 403.381,
403.391, and 403.401, Florida Statutes, are repealed.
       Section 2. Section 403.411, Florida Statutes, is amended to
read:
       403.411 Weather modification activities prohibited;
penalty.—
       (1) The injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of
a chemical, a chemical compound, a substance, or an apparatus
into the atmosphere within the borders of this state for the
express purpose of affecting the temperature, the weather, or
the intensity of sunlight is prohibited.
       (2) A Any person who conducts conducting a weather
modification operation in violation of this section commits
without first having procured a license, or who shall make a
false statement in his or her application for license, or who
shall fail to file any report or reports as required by this
act, or who shall conduct any weather modification operation
after revocation or suspension of his or her license, or who
shall violate any other provision of this act, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in
s. 775.082 and by a fine not exceeding $10,000, or s. 775.083;
and, if a corporation, the corporation commits shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable by a fine not
exceeding $10,000 as provided in s. 775.083. Each such violation
is shall be a separate offense.
       Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 252.44, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       252.44 Emergency mitigation.—
       (1) In addition to prevention measures included in the
state and local comprehensive emergency management plans, the
Governor shall, consider on a continuing basis, consider steps
that could be taken to mitigate the harmful consequences of
emergencies. At the Governor’s direction and pursuant to any
other authority and competence they have, state agencies,
including, but not limited to, those charged with
responsibilities in connection with protecting and maintaining
the public health, flood plain management, stream encroachment
and flow regulation, weather modification, fire prevention and
control, air quality, public works, land use and land use
planning, and construction standards, shall make studies of
emergency-mitigation-related matters. The Governor shall, from
time to time, shall make such recommendations to the
Legislature, local governments, and other appropriate public and
private entities as may facilitate measures for mitigation of
the harmful consequences of emergencies.
       Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 253.002, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       253.002 Department of Environmental Protection, water
management districts, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; duties with
respect to state lands.—
       (1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall
perform all staff duties and functions related to the
acquisition, administration, and disposition of state lands,
title to which is or will be vested in the Board of Trustees of
the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. However, upon the effective
date of rules adopted pursuant to s. 373.427, a water management
district created under s. 373.069 shall perform the staff duties
and functions related to the review of any application for
authorization to use board of trustees-owned submerged lands
necessary for an activity regulated under part IV of chapter 373
for which the water management district has permitting
responsibility as set forth in an operating agreement adopted
pursuant to s. 373.046(4). The Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services shall perform the staff duties and functions
related to the review of applications and compliance with
conditions for use of board of trustees-owned submerged lands
under authorizations or leases issued pursuant to ss. 253.67
253.75 and 597.010 and the acquisition, administration, and
disposition of conservation easements pursuant to s. 570.71.
Unless expressly prohibited by law, the board of trustees may
delegate to the department any statutory duty or obligation
relating to the acquisition, administration, or disposition of
lands, title to which is or will be vested in the board of
trustees. The board of trustees may also delegate to any water
management district created under s. 373.069 the authority to
take final agency action, without any action on behalf of the
board, on applications for authorization to use board of
trustees-owned submerged lands for any activity regulated under
part IV of chapter 373 for which the water management district
has permitting responsibility as set forth in an operating
agreement adopted pursuant to s. 373.046(4). This water
management district responsibility under this subsection is
shall be subject to the department’s general supervisory
authority pursuant to s. 373.026(6) s. 373.026(7). The board of
trustees may also delegate to the Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services the authority to take final agency action on
behalf of the board on applications to use board of trustees
owned submerged lands for any activity for which that department
has responsibility pursuant to ss. 253.67-253.75, 369.25,
369.251, and 597.010. However, the board of trustees shall
retain the authority to take final agency action on establishing
any areas for leasing, new leases, expanding existing lease
areas, or changing the type of lease activity in existing
leases. Upon issuance of an aquaculture lease or other real
property transaction relating to aquaculture, the Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services must send a copy of the
document and the accompanying survey to the Department of
Environmental Protection. The board of trustees may also
delegate to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission the
authority to take final agency action, without any action on
behalf of the board, on applications for authorization to use
board of trustees-owned submerged lands for any activity
regulated under ss. 369.20 and 369.22.
       Section 5. Subsection (6) of section 373.026, Florida
Statutes, is amended to read:
       373.026 General powers and duties of the department.—The
department, or its successor agency, shall be responsible for
the administration of this chapter at the state level. However,
it is the policy of the state that, to the greatest extent
possible, the department may enter into interagency or
interlocal agreements with any other state agency, any water
management district, or any local government conducting programs
related to or materially affecting the water resources of the
state. All such agreements shall be subject to the provisions of
s. 373.046. In addition to its other powers and duties, the
department shall, to the greatest extent possible:
       (6) Conduct, either independently or in cooperation with
any person or governmental agency, a program of study, research,
and experimentation and evaluation in the field of weather
modification.
       Section 6. Subsections (1) and (9) of section 373.1501,
Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
       373.1501 South Florida Water Management District as local
sponsor.—
       (1) As used in this section and s. 373.026(7) s.
373.026(8), the term:
       (a) “C-111 Project” means the project identified in the
Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project, Real Estate
Design Memorandum, Canal 111, South Miami-Dade County, Florida.
       (b) “Department” means the Department of Environmental
Protection.
       (c) “District” means the South Florida Water Management
District.
       (d) “Kissimmee River Restoration Project” means the project
identified in the Project Cooperation Agreement between the
United States Department of the Army and the South Florida Water
Management District dated March 22, 1994.
       (e) “Pal-Mar Project” means the Pal-Mar (West Jupiter
Wetlands) lands identified in the Save Our Rivers 2000 Land
Acquisition and Management Plan approved by the South Florida
Water Management District on September 9, 1999 (Resolution 99
94).
       (f) “Project” means the Central and Southern Florida
Project.
       (g) “Project component” means any structural or operational
change, resulting from the restudy, to the Central and Southern
Florida Project as it existed and was operated as of January 1,
1999.
       (h) “Restudy” means the Comprehensive Review Study of the
Central and Southern Florida Project, for which federal
participation was authorized by the federal Water Resources
Development Acts of 1992 and 1996 together with related
congressional resolutions and for which participation by the
South Florida Water Management District is authorized by this
section. The term includes all actions undertaken pursuant to
the aforementioned authorizations which will result in
recommendations for modifications or additions to the Central
and Southern Florida Project.
       (i) “Southern Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed
Project” means the area described in the Critical Restoration
Project Contract C-9906 Southern Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem
Watershed Project Addition/Imperial River Flowway and approved
by the South Florida Water Management District on August 12,
1999.
       (j) “Water Preserve Areas” means those areas located only
within Palm Beach and Broward counties that are designated as
Water Preserve Areas, as approved by the South Florida Water
Management District Governing Board on September 11, 1997, and
shall also include all of those lands within Cell II of the East
Coast Buffer in Broward County as delineated in the boundary
survey prepared by Stoner and Associates, Inc., dated January
31, 2000, SWFWMD #10953.
       (k) “Ten Mile Creek Project” means the Ten Mile Creek Water
Preserve Area identified in the Central and Southern Florida
Ecosystem Critical Project Letter Report dated April 13, 1998.
       (9) Final agency action with regard to any project
component subject to s. 373.026(7)(b) s. 373.026(8)(b) shall be
taken by the department. Actions taken by the district pursuant
to subsection (5) may shall not be considered final agency
action. A Any petition for formal proceedings filed pursuant to
ss. 120.569 and 120.57 requires shall require a hearing under
the summary hearing provisions of s. 120.574, which is shall be
mandatory. The final hearing under this section must shall be
held within 30 days after receipt of the petition by the
Division of Administrative Hearings.
       Section 7. Paragraph (c) of subsection (10) of section
373.4598, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
       373.4598 Water storage reservoirs.—
       (10) FUNDING.—
       (c) Notwithstanding s. 373.026(7)(b) s. 373.026(8)(b) or
any other provision of law, the use of state funds is authorized
for the EAA reservoir project.
       Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
373.470, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
       373.470 Everglades restoration.—
       (6) DISTRIBUTIONS FROM SAVE OUR EVERGLADES TRUST FUND.—
       (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) and for
funds appropriated for debt service, the department shall
distribute funds in the Save Our Everglades Trust Fund to the
district in accordance with a legislative appropriation and s.
373.026(7)(b) s. 373.026(8)(b). Distribution of funds to the
district from the Save Our Everglades Trust Fund shall be
equally matched by the cumulative contributions from the
district by fiscal year 2019-2020 by providing funding or
credits toward project components. The dollar value of in-kind
project design and construction work by the district in
furtherance of the comprehensive plan and existing interest in
public lands needed for a project component are credits towards
the district’s contributions.
       Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
Statutes affected: 
S 56 Filed: 403.411, 252.44, 253.002, 373.026, 373.4598, 373.470