CS for CS for SB 1954 - Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience

• Establishes the Resilient Florida Grant Program within the Department of Environmental Protection to provide grants to counties and municipalities for community resilience planning, vulnerability assessments, and projects to adapt critical assets to flooding and sea level rise impacts.

• Requires the department to develop a comprehensive statewide flood vulnerability and sea level rise dataset by July 1, 2022, and complete a comprehensive statewide assessment by July 1, 2023, with updates every 5 years.

• Directs the department to develop an annual Statewide Flooding and Sea Level Rise Resilience Plan with a 3-year planning horizon, submitted to the Governor and Legislature by December 1 each year, with ranked projects limited to $100 million per year in proposed funding.

• Establishes the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation within the University of South Florida College of Marine Science to coordinate research, develop hydrologic models, and support flood prediction and adaptation strategies.

• Requires the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to include analysis of future expenditures by all government levels for inland and coastal flood control over a 50-year planning horizon in its annual water resources assessment beginning January 1, 2022.