Lawmakers seek to bolster resiliency efforts

The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously Monday to support the expanded proposal (SB 1940), filed by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford. The measure would set up a Statewide Office of Resiliency in the governor’s office. The office was an early DeSantis priority.

Before the vote, Brodeur made a change to also direct the office to develop a resilience action plan for the state highway system, set up a prioritized list of resilience projects that would include costs and timelines and create a database that identifies such things as medical centers, utilities, emergency operations centers and airports that would be threatened by rising sea levels.

“Flooding impacts our entire state, not just our coastal areas,” Brodeur said. “So, with the reality of higher seas and stronger storms and more frequent flooding, addressing Florida's vulnerabilities will take some coordinated effort.”

Last year, lawmakers approved a measure that calls for spending up to $100 million a year on projects to address flooding and sea-level rise. A priority of House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, the proposal also created a grant program for local governments.

Brodeur’s proposal would seek to open the grant program to water management districts, drainage districts, erosion control districts and flood control districts and would put an emphasis on small counties and cities.

Environmentalists backed the revised proposal but said the state should do more to address climate change.

“You don’t win a Super Bowl playing defense alone,” said Lindsay Cross, water and land policy director for Florida Conservation Voters. “We cannot have an honest conversation about resilience without also talking about our reliance on dirty fossil fuels and their contribution to a changing climate. … We encourage you to strengthen the bill by adding a commitment towards renewable energy goals and doubling down on our protection of our natural areas, like wetlands that store carbon and help to recharge our drinking water supplies.”

Such a request might be a non-starter for lawmakers, as DeSantis dismissed “left wing stuff” while saying recently that the state needs to build strong infrastructure to protect property and lives as the population continues to grow.

“As our state becomes more populated, of course, there's more property that can be damaged, there's more human lives that would be at stake,” DeSantis said during a Dec. 7 appearance in Oldsmar. “So rather than just simply reacting every time something like that happens, you know, let's be more proactive, and let's build strong infrastructure going forward. And so, I think that's just the right thing to do, regardless. But be very careful of people trying to smuggle in their ideology.”

Paul Owens, president of 1000 Friends of Florida, said he supports Brodeur’s proposal because the commitment shown by current state leaders might not continue when they are gone.

“Our current governor and our current legislative leaders will be succeeded sooner or later. And their successors may have different priorities,” Owens said. “But Florida, the state most threatened by sea-level rise, storm surges, flooding and other climate change impacts, simply can't afford to risk losing resilience as a priority.”

Days after he became governor in January 2019, DeSantis issued an executive order that created the Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection within the Department of Environmental Protection.

DeSantis has requested $550 million for coastal resiliency as part of his budget proposal for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.