Overview
- SB 302 limits dredging and new fill in the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, effectively foreclosing a proposed cruise terminal near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
- The law allows only projects serving public recreation or navigation and requires state permitting with public notice.
- SB 302 directs the Department of Environmental Protection to issue statewide standards for nature-based coastal protections by 2027 and to expand public education on those methods.
- HB 1417 eliminates the Environmental Regulation Commission, consolidates rulemaking at the DEP, ratifies springs-related groundwater rules, and updates Title V air-permit payment schedules with an estimated $500,000 in annual administrative savings.
- Both measures take effect July 1, and local groups say port backers could still pursue county rezoning and state or U.S. Army Corps permits.