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Appropriations Committee unveils budget highlights; reports several bills favorably
Summary
The committee presented funding priorities for fiscal 2025–26 and reported multiple agriculture, environment and regulatory bills favorably, including measures on wastewater permits, water‑access facilities, a Black History Museum site selection implementation and pet‑insurance regulation.
TALLAHASSEE — The Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government opened Wednesday by presenting its budget highlights for the 2025–26 fiscal year and reported a slate of bills favorably to the next stage of the Senate process.
Budget highlights: Chair Bridal summarized the committee’s funding priorities, calling the recommendations a strong package for environmental and regulatory agencies. Key items presented included approximately $1.2 billion for water‑quality improvements (including Everglades funding), $218 million for citrus‑recovery efforts (including money for tree acquisition and planting), $69 million for feeding programs with $50 million for a new grant to create or expand food banks and purchase transport equipment, $598 million for wastewater and drinking‑water revolving loan programs, $53 million for beach restoration, $20 million for the Florida Keys, and $94 million for the state facilities pool to complete capitol window and HVAC projects.
Chair Bridal noted additional allocations: petroleum‑tank cleanup funds, support for state and local parks, $218 million for flood and sea‑level rise programs, funds for the Florida Forest Service and the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, and continued support for the "My Safe Florida Home" program. She said project lists tied to the committee’s provisos were to be published Friday when the General Appropriations Act (GAA) is printed.
Committee motions and technical adjustments: Senator Grawle moved, and the committee adopted, a motion allowing staff to make technical adjustments to the budget recommendations without objection. Senator Sharif moved to accept the committee’s budget proposal as a recommendation to the full Senate Appropriations Committee; the motion was adopted without objection.
Votes at a glance: The committee reported several bills favorably during the hearing. Below are one‑line descriptions drawn from committee presentations and the roll calls recorded in the transcript.
- SB 796 (Sen. Bradley) — Creates a general permit authorization from DEP for distributed wastewater treatment systems to expedite remediation of water-quality impairments caused by failing septic systems. Reported favorably by committee.
- SB 1162 (Sen. Leake) — Expands certain water‑access and marina funding and authorizes FWC fuel‑tax‑funded grants for parking and boat‑hauling infrastructure. Reported favorably by committee.
- SB 466 (Sen. Leake) — Implements the 2023 Black History Task Force recommendation to locate a Florida Museum of Black History in West Augustine; drew local testimony from St. Johns County officials and residents. Reported favorably by committee.
- SB 178 (Sen. Roussan) — Establishes an agronomic study at Florida A&M University (subject to appropriation) to identify viable crops or products for land taken out of production due to disease or weather. Reported favorably by committee.
- CS for SB 678 (Sen. Truenow) — Allows pawn brokers to use printed or digital transaction forms. Reported favorably by committee.
- CS for CS for SB 736 (Sen. Truenow) — Updates the brownfields program administered by DEP and adopted a technical amendment aligned with the House version. Reported favorably by committee.
- CS for CS for SB 700 (Sen. Truenow) — Comprehensive farm bill (see separate article). Reported favorably by committee.
- SB 1226 (Sen. DeSigli) — Establishes a regulatory framework for pet‑insurance products based on a NAIC model; reported favorably by committee.
Public testimony: The record shows a mixture of brief in‑support pleas (for example, industry and local officials supporting the Black History Museum location) and more extended comment on the farm bill (notably the fluoride provisions). Several industry groups (Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Farm Bureau, Florida Feed Association) and local officials waived in support of bills during the hearing.
Process notes: Committee members were repeatedly reminded that the budget and projects will be reflected in the GAA printing and that some project titles may appear differently when the printed proviso list is distributed. The committee adopted technical amendments on a number of bills without objection and used roll calls for final reports on several measures.
Ending: The committee adjourned after reporting all items on the docket favorably and without objection to move the measures forward in the Senate process.
