Resilient Florida funding slated just above statutory minimum as storm and insurance pressures persist

As budget negotiations continue, proposed cuts to the Resilient Florida Grant Trust Fund are drawing scrutiny.

The House and Senate proposals released last week set funding at $110 million and $120 million respectively, just above the program’s statutory minimum and well below last year’s $174 million allocation, which was itself the lowest since the program launched five years ago.

The reduction comes as Florida faces increasingly severe storms and a stressed property insurance market. Hurricanes and extreme rainfall have exposed vulnerabilities in stormwater systems, roads, and coastal infrastructure, while rising premiums and carrier instability have underscored the financial toll of repeated storm damage.

Program advocates argue resilience investments are not just environmental safeguards but long-term economic protections essential to reducing the risk that drives up insurance costs. When S&P awarded Florida its AAA bond rating in 2021 they specifically cited the state’s $679 million Resilient Florida investments as a factor.

The funding gap is significant. Last year’s $174 million supported just 14 of 123 eligible projects — less than 7% of the highest-ranked proposals submitted. Historically, only 12% to 17% of eligible projects receive Year 1 funding under the Statewide Resilience Plan, meaning roughly 6 out of 7 communities with ranked, ready-to-go projects go unfunded each cycle. At current proposed levels, even fewer will advance.

“What we don’t invest in protection, we pay far more for in damages,” said Dawn Shirreffs, Florida State Director of the Environmental Defense Fund. “If we’re only able to fund a handful of projects each year, what does that mean for long-term flood protection, insurance stability, and infrastructure planning for our state?”

Business and fiscal policy organizations are increasingly making that case. The Florida Council of 100’s latest report links infrastructure modernization to the state’s long-term economic strength and recommends increasing Resilient Florida funding by $100 million annually until it reaches at least $500 million per year.

“Every dollar invested in hurricane preparedness can preserve more than $7 in economic activity, and flood protection investments can preserve more than $25,” said Council Chair George LeMieux. “These returns show up in faster recovery, steadier jobs, stronger property values, and homes that remain insurable and more affordable.”

Florida TaxWatch has similarly called for resilience to remain a legislative priority, framing it as both a fiscal responsibility and a quality-of-life issue.

More than 120 resilience proposals have been submitted in recent funding cycles, with roughly 110 projects on this year’s House priority list. Even a full restoration to $174 million would fund only a fraction of those ranked projects. As negotiations continue, the central question is not whether resilience matters — it’s whether lawmakers will make it a sustained economic priority.