On June 16, 2025, the 2025 Florida Legislative Session officially came to a close with the final vote on the fiscal year 2026 state budget. Previously slated to end on May 2, the session was extended 45 days to provide more time for differences over the budget to be ironed out between the House and Senate. While taxes appeared to be the primary sticking point between the chambers, funding for environmental programs efforts were also points of disagreement between the Senate and the House. Unfortunately, the final state budget, signed by Governor DeSantis on June 30, 2025, contains serious cuts to key land conservation and water quality programs that support healthy and thriving coastal environments and waterways.
2025-2026 State Budget
The final state budget signed by Governor DeSantis totals $117.4 billion, after the Governor delivered line item vetoes totaling about $600 million. In Florida, the governor has the authority to make “line item vetoes” in the budget, which means he can terminate specific funding allocations without vetoing the entire budget.
Overall, the final 2025-2026 budget is a disappointment for environmental programs and progress. Programs with successful records face severe cuts that threaten to stagnate environmental progress and risk regression in water quality, restoration, and conservation across the state. Furthermore, many of these cuts are counter to the policy victories we have seen in recent years and overwhelming public support and interest in protecting and conserving our state’s invaluable natural resources. The breakdown below summarizes funding outcomes for Surfrider’s key focus areas for coastal protection and enjoyment.
Coastal Resilience
Fortunately, the primary funding for dynamic coastal resilience projects, the Resilient Florida Program, was retained at $150 million with an additional $20 million for grants to local governments for resilience projects. While maintaining funding for this program is a baseline necessity, it is unfortunate that more funding was not allocated to Resilient Florida. Over the last few years, we have seen the total amount for Resilient Florida decrease from an initial $300 million allocation, despite the program continuing to receive far more eligible project applications than it has the funding to support. Especially as we continue to see the impacts of rising sea level and flooding in communities across the state, proactive and pragmatic resilience action is vital to thriving communities, economies, and coasts.
Beach renourishment projects received $52 million to support beach and inlet management. While beach renourishment is preferable to hard armoring methods, which actually cause more erosion and beach loss in surrounding areas, these projects have proven to be quite costly as compatible sand is increasingly difficult to secure. Nourishment projects are jeopardized and undermined by major storms and tend to require repeated cycles of nourishment for the same beach regions.
Disappointingly, the Hurricane Restoration Reimbursement Grant Program (HRRGP) was once again extended and the unspent funds rolled over to the 2025-2026 fiscal year. This program was originally slated to expire in July 2023 after its passage in a 2022 post-hurricane season special session. The program allows public funds to be disbursed to private property owners for hard coastal armoring to protect their private property. Surfrider has opposed this program since its inception because of the program’s unconstitutional expenditure of public funds without serving a public purpose. We are disappointed to see this program extended again instead of allocating any unspent funds to Resilient Florida and nature-based solutions projects in the public interest.
Water Quality
After passing key legislation to direct additional revenue from the Seminole Gaming Compact just last year, the legislature reversed their position this year and repealed the provisions that direct the funding to environmental programs. This change removes the dedication of at least $400 million in annual revenues from the Seminole Gaming Compact that were previously allocated to fund land conservation and management, water protection and improvement, and community resilience grants. While this change will have serious negative impacts for many environmental areas, the change presents particular problems for the long-term support of water quality projects and efforts. The loss of this dedicated financial support is contrary to the continued need for significant and consistent investment in water quality projects and wastewater infrastructure repairs and improvements. In the coming years, it will be incumbent upon state legislators to allocate robust funding to water quality projects and ensure adequate funding for improvements across the state.
Specific funding for water quality projects also saw reductions in the state budget. Notably, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) Protection Program – enacted in 2023 in recognition of the dire water quality conditions throughout the waterway – received just $25 million to support water quality projects and infrastructure improvements. Last year, the program received $75 million; in 2023, the program received $100 million. The reduction in funding will slow improvement efforts in a watershed that desperately needs steady and robust funding. Surfrider’s Space Coast Chapter provides water quality data for popular recreational sites along the IRL and has worked with the local government to create buffer gardens and bioswales that provide natural filtration and flood control. We will continue to monitor and advocate for the IRL watershed as a vital component of healthy recreation, tourism and economies, and coastal resilience. Funding for water quality projects near Biscayne Bay was maintained at $20 million, the same amount received in 2024 and 2023. Notably, Ballard Park in Brevard County (located on the IRL) and Park View Kayak Launch in Miami (located on Biscayne Bay) are once again bacteria hot spots identified in Surfrider’s annual Clean Water Report. Local chapter efforts and policy advocacy have facilitated some progress but these locations, and others in the state, are in need of more funding and stronger water quality testing and notification requirements.
Disappointingly, Governor DeSantis vetoed a $6.25 million appropriation for Ocklawaha River restoration. This long-sought after funding would have begun the process to restore the natural flow of water to 20 springs and over 7,500 acres of wetlands. The Ocklawaha River was dammed nearly 60 years ago in preparation for the ill-advised Cross Florida BargeCanal Project, a proposal to bisect the peninsula with a canal. Environmental advocates have long called for the restoration of natural watersheds and water flow, which would have positive benefits for habitat restoration, species protection, and flood control. This funding allocation from the Legislature was a crucial step toward restoration and it is very unfortunate that the Governor vetoed this item.
Public Lands & Conservation
Florida Forever, the state premier land acquisition and conservation program, took a significant funding hit with just $18 million appropriated. Florida Forever follows an intentional and science-driven process for identifying priority lands for acquisition, conservation, and public recreation. Just two years ago, the Florida Legislature committed to funding the program at $100 million annually – and this investment returns significant recreational, environmental, and resilience benefits for the state. This abrupt decrease in funding will stagnate land acquisition and contravenes widespread interest across the state in protecting and expanding public lands. Numerous coastal land parcels have been purchased through the Florida Forever Program, as well as several parcels on the priority list for future acquisition.
The Rural & Family Lands Protection Program, providing protections for agricultural land, received significant funding at $250 million. While this program is certainly an important component in statewide checks on development, it is not the same as funding the acquisition of land for conservation and public use like the purchases made through Florida Forever. Both programs must be priorities and receive robust funding in future years to support comprehensive and effective conservation efforts across the state.
State Policy Updates
Governor DeSantis has continued to receive policy bills for his final approval before becoming law. Unlike the budget, the Florida governor has no line-item veto for policy legislation, so the options are: (1) sign the bill into law; (2) do nothing and the bill becomes law at its prescribed enactment date; or (3) veto the entire bill. To date, the Governor has taken action on these bills related to our ocean, coasts, and waterways:
The Good
HB209 State Park Preservation Act - signed into law on May 22, 2025. This bill is a significant victory for public lands in Florida as it provides permanent protections from development for our state parks. The bill also requires more transparency and opportunity for public engagement in the parks’ land management planning processes. This law responds to the call from thousands of Floridians to ensure the protection of our wild public lands for generations to come.
SB1622 Beaches - signed into law on June 24, 2025. This bill restores authority to local governments to recognize and protect public recreational customary use on beaches. The law repeals the requirement for local governments to follow time-consuming and expensive judicial procedures before moving forward with a local ordinance. This law facilitates the public’s rightful access to our treasured beaches.
HB1143 Permits for Drilling, Exploration, and Extraction of Oil and Gas Resources - signed into law on June 30, 2025. This bill provides permanent protections from oil and gas development and exploration for the Apalachicola Bay and the surrounding wetlands. These protections are vital for this ecologically-fragile and economically-significant region. The new law also clarifies and strengthens the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s permit assessment of whether natural resources and watersheds are adequately protected in the event of an accident or blowout from onshore drilling and exploration activities. This law recognizes the threat oil and gas development pose to Florida’s unique coasts and ecosystems.
SB948 Flood Disclosures - signed into law on June 24, 2025. This bill expands the flood disclosure requirements passed last year to apply to rental properties and condominiums. Landlords will be required to disclose certain information regarding flood risks and past flooding events to prospective renters. Further, the bill requires sellers to disclose any flood damage that occurred during their ownership and whether they received assistance from any source for flood damage (previously only required to disclose assistance from federal sources). This law will support more informed purchasing and renting decisions for the public.
The Bad
SB492 Mitigation Banking - signed into law on June 30, 2025. This bill revises the process and requirements for securing wetland mitigation bank credits. Mitigation banks offer an option for developers to purchase “credits” to support wetland restoration or creation when a project will negatively impact existing wetlands. Despite some improvements to this bill over the course of the session in response to environmental opposition, the final bill still allows credits to be purchased outside of the impacted watershed. This means a developer could destroy wetlands in one region and purchase credits for restoration in a different, disconnected watershed – undermining the purpose of mitigation banking and contributing to development hotspots. The loss of wetlands exacerbates flooding and resilience vulnerability as well as water quality degradation across the state.
SB180 Emergencies – signed into law on June 30, 2025. This bill is a comprehensive legislative package related to emergency preparedness, disaster response, and community recovery. Although the bill includes provisions that will help individuals and communities, it also includes a pro-development provision with broad reach and consequences. Presented as a recovery measure, the bill prohibits local governments from adopting any changes to its comprehensive plan or land use regulations that could be deemed more “restrictive or burdensome.” These terms are not defined in the legislation and could result in practical changes for environmental protection and smart development being vulnerable to legal challenges. Further, local governments would be on the hook for legal costs. This provision has the potential to chill local action for common-sense development and environmental protections.
Final Reflections & Looking Ahead
Surfrider’s Florida network took action for our coasts, ocean, and communities in the months leading up to the 2025 Legislative Session and over the entirety of the 105-day session. With your tireless efforts, we secured significant victories including permanent protections for our state parks, stopping the expansion of the plastic preemption law, and supporting public access on beaches. While we celebrate these wins, we also saw disappointing environmental funding allocations and the passage of laws that prioritize development over the protection of vital natural resources and long-term resilience. Looking ahead to the 2026 Legislative Session, we will prioritize improving statewide beach water quality monitoring and notification and scaling nature-based solutions for resilience. As always, thank you for your dedication and commitment to thriving coasts and communities in the Sunshine State!