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119-hr-9017119th Congress

Restore Florida Water Independence Act of 2026

Sponsored By: Representative Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19]

In Committee

Summary

Treats a specific Fish and Wildlife Service programmatic biological opinion as satisfying the Endangered Species Act for Florida's Section 404 program assumption. The bill would make compliance with that named biological opinion count as ESA compliance and remove the need for additional ESA Section 7 consultations for the defined Agency Action.

Show full summary
  • State of Florida: Lets Florida rely on the programmatic biological opinion tied to EPA's December 22, 2020 approval when it runs the Section 404 dredge-and-fill permitting program. This clarifies which documents count as ESA compliance for that state-run program.
  • Permit applicants and developers: Projects and permits that fall inside the bill's defined "Agency Action" would not trigger separate ESA Section 7 consultations, which shortens the regulatory steps for those covered activities.
  • Conservation and species review: The bill limits further ESA review for the identified actions to the terms of the specific November 17, 2020 Fish and Wildlife Service programmatic biological opinion and its incidental take statement.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Fewer Endangered Species reviews for Florida

This bill would treat the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service programmatic Biological Opinion dated November 17, 2020 (FWS Log #: 04E00000-2021-F-0001; 04E00000-2021-B-0001), including the incidental take statement on pages 69–73, as satisfying the Endangered Species Act for a defined EPA action. The Agency Action is the EPA Administrator's approval of Florida's request to assume administration and permitting of the Section 404 dredge-and-fill program (see EPA notice Dec. 22, 2020; 85 Fed. Reg. 83553) and related activities defined in that Biological Opinion. If enacted, compliance with that Biological Opinion would be treated as compliance with the ESA and no additional consultation under section 7(a) of the ESA would be required for that Agency Action. This would mainly reduce extra reviews and uncertainty for Florida permit applicants, including businesses and homeowners who need Section 404 permits.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19]

FL • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Patronis, Jimmy [R-FL-1]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 9/24/2026

  • Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-21]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 5/22/2026

  • Rep. Moskowitz, Jared [D-FL-23]

    FL • D

    Sponsored 5/22/2026

  • Rep. Haridopolos, Mike [R-FL-8]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 5/22/2026

  • Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 5/22/2026

  • Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 6/3/2026

  • Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 6/4/2026

  • Rep. Lee, Laurel M. [R-FL-15]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 6/8/2026

  • Rep. Webster, Daniel [R-FL-11]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 6/18/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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