Legislative Session Wrap Up: Wins, Setbacks, and What's Next

When the Florida Legislature adjourned its regular session Friday afternoon, members left with unfinished business on the next state budget, including whether Florida Forever will get its fair share of funding. They’ll be back after Easter, but leadership has a lot of work to do before they return. Meanwhile, we have some significant successes and setbacks to share in our priority areas.  We’ll be addressing many more bills, and getting into more detail, in our legislative wrap up webinar at noon, March 25.

Successes

HB 299/SB 354 -- the so-called Blue Ribbon projects bill – was defeated

This bill, which would have allowed entire cities to be built without meaningful oversight from local leaders and their constituents, died in both the House and the Senate without final votes on the floor. Throughout the session, we warned you about the damaging implications of this bill for the environment, responsible planning and taxpayer costs, and you responded in a big way – more than 2,000 of you took action, sending just over 93,000 emails to legislators since December. Your engagement worked. Thank you! But due to a sizeable investment in lobbying and campaign contributions from the backers of this bill, we expect it to return in future sessions. We’ll be ready, and asking for your help again. 

HB 441/SB 546 – Conservation Lands – passed unanimously

Stemming from public outrage over the narrowly averted proposal last year to swap precious conservation land in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area, this bill requires more public notice and transparency for any future attempts to sell or swap conservation land. With your strong engagement in favor, it passed in the Senate and House without any opposition, and awaits action from the Governor. 

HB 399 – Land Use and Development Regulations – had its worst provisions removed

In earlier versions, this proposal could have eliminated protections for rural areas throughout Florida – and directly threatened urban development boundaries in Miami-Dade, Seminole, and Orange counties. One proposal would have eliminated supermajority requirements for approval of development in designated rural protection areas. Another would have directed the Legislature’s research arm to conduct a study challenging urban development boundaries in Miami-Dade and elsewhere. A floor amendment from Sen. Jonathan Martin of Lee County would have forced Seminole and Orange counties to allow property owners in voter-approved rural areas to develop their land to urban densities, or pay them off for complying with development limits. Despite support from Sen. Jason Brodeur of Seminole County, this amendment was rejected on a voice vote. We warned you about these threats, and you responded by contacting legislators to express your opposition. Ultimately, the most harmful provisions were removed from the bill. Unfortunately, one provision that survived will allow a resort hotel owner in Miami Beach to build a water park over local opposition, and could create similar opportunities at other locations. 

Setbacks

SB 840 -- Land Use Regulations for Local Governments Affected by Natural Disasters—failed

This bill from Sen. Nick DiCeglie of Pinellas County was the best chance to repair the damage done by 2025’s SB 180, the bill that imposed a three-year freeze on local planning authority. SB 840 was passed by the Senate, but never taken up by the House. For Senate debate on another bill, HB 399, Sen. DiCeglie proposed SB 840 as an amendment, but withdrew it before it could be considered. During House debate on HB 399, Rep. Dr. Anna Eskamani of Orange County proposed SB 840 as an amendment. However, her rescue attempt was thwarted without a vote by a motion from Rep. John Snyder of Martin County declaring the amendment out of order.  We are disappointed but remain determined to maintain our efforts to fix SB 180. 

SB 1066/HB 981 -- Tributaries of the St. Johns River – died without a Senate vote

A disappointing outcome of this legislative session is that in its final days, the Senate did not take up legislation with strong support in both chambers to pave the way for restoring the Ocklawaha River. The bill was carefully crafted to ensure that community input, appropriate planning for recreational opportunities and funding were taken into consideration. It drew only three negative votes in the 120-member House, and just one in three Senate committee hearings. It’s an unfortunate outcome for an endangered river in an economically depressed region. The House passed the measure and even Governor DeSantis indicated that the bills being considered addressed some of his concerns related to funding. Nevertheless, 1000 Friends of Florida, along with other coalition members who have been working on this environmental imperative for almost half a century, will keep pressing forward and hope to see the bill return next session.

2026 Florida Legislative Wrap Up
Wednesday, March 25
12:00–1:30 PM (EDT)
 Virtual | Free
sign up here