Ileana Garcia’s revamped bill to support using natural buffers in coastal resiliency gets first Senate OK

An updated version of legislation aimed at expanding the use of green-gray infrastructure that nearly passed last Session is advancing again in the Senate.

Members of the Senate Environmental and Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously for the measure (SB 302), which “promotes the use of nature-based solutions to strengthen Florida’s coastal resiliency,” according to Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia, the bill’s sponsor.

“Florida’s coastlines face growing threats from sea level rise and severe weather, and this bill supports long-term, cost-effective solutions,” she said. “SB 302 positions Florida as a national leader in coastal resilience by combining science, sustainability and smart planning.”

The bill, if approved, would require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to adopt statewide guidelines for nature-based solutions to coastal resiliency issues and streamline incentivized permitting for green and hybrid infrastructure systems where natural barriers positively supplement or augment manmade shore protections.

It would also encourage local governments to identify vulnerable coastal areas and implement local restoration programs using Resilient Florida grants, support workforce training and flood modeling in nature-based construction, and establish a framework for projects like mangrove restorations, dune reinforcements and living seawalls like those in Miami Beach and Longboat Key.

Further, the measure would earmark $250,000 for DEP to conduct a statewide study on how nature-based solutions could reduce flood risk, lower insurance premiums and improve community ratings under the Natural Flood Insurance Program. A report would be due July 1, 2027.

SB 302 is a follow-up to legislation Garcia and Islamorada Republican Rep. Jim Mooney carried during the 2025 Session, which cleared the Senate and three House committees before dying on the lower chamber’s floor.

The prior bill and its current incarnation are largely interchangeable, substance-wise, with a notable difference. Last Session’s version sought to task the University of South Florida’s Florida Flood Hub with developing guidelines and standards for the optimal combination of green and gray infrastructure for DEP to adopt. SB 302 contains no mention of the hub.

Several environmental advocacy organizations signaled support for the measure, including the Surfrider Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund of Florida, 1000 Friends of Florida and Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association.

And while it passed with uniform support from the dais, one Senator voting “yes” expressed concerns about fiscal impacts.

Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican, said that because SB 302 relies on existing statutes, those statutes would have to be re-ratified if the financial impact is above $10 million. She asked what the expected impact would be and did not receive a definitive answer.

Ellen Rogers, the committee’s Staff Director, explained that because the language used in the bill is largely suggestive, with words like “encourage” and “streamline,” that it shouldn’t be difficult or costly for the state or localities to implement its directives.

Harrell wasn’t convinced. She said she supports the bill in concept, but that she’s concerned about definitions in statute and that if local governments are required to do things, they’ll face fiscal issues that must be carefully evaluated.

There’s also the workforce training portion of the bill, which requires DEP to use an undefined sum from the Department of Education’s Capitalization Incentive Grant Program to incentivize the development of flood and sea-level-rise research methods, predictive strategies and mitigation strategies.

That, Harrell said, suggests the bill should go before a Senate committee on education appropriations, which it is not currently scheduled to do.

SB 302 will next go to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment and General Government, after which it has one more committee stop before reaching the chamber floor.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, no House companion has been filed. Mooney did not immediately respond to a query about whether he intends to again carry the legislation. The deadline for House members to file bills is Jan. 9, four days before the first day of the 2026 Session.