# 119-hr-9017: Restore Florida Water Independence Act of 2026

119-hr-9017, Restore Florida Water Independence Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19] (R-FL); status in_committee (as of 2026-09-26).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9017
- As of: 2026-09-26
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9017
- Congress: 119
- Title: Restore Florida Water Independence Act of 2026
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-05-22
- Sponsor: Rep. Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19] (R-FL)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-26

## 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. - 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.

## Cosponsors (9)

- Rep. Patronis, Jimmy [R-FL-1] (R-FL), 2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-21] (R-FL), 2026-05-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moskowitz, Jared [D-FL-23] (D-FL), 2026-05-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Haridopolos, Mike [R-FL-8] (R-FL), 2026-05-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16] (R-FL), 2026-05-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL), 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] (R-FL), 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Laurel M. [R-FL-15] (R-FL), 2026-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Webster, Daniel [R-FL-11] (R-FL), 2026-06-18T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Fewer Endangered Species reviews for Florida: benefit, low. 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 Ag…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-9094: Florida Freeze Disaster Assistance Act of 2026
- 119-hr-470: Red Snapper Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3699: Energy Choice Act
- 119-hr-933: Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act of 2025
- 119-hres-719: Honoring the life and legacy of Charles Charlie James Kirk.

## Sources
- [119-hr-9017 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9017)

## Related
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-9094: Florida Freeze Disaster Assistance Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9094)
- [119-hr-470: Red Snapper Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-470)
- [119-hr-3699: Energy Choice Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3699)
- [119-hr-933: Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-933)
- [119-hres-719: Honoring the life and legacy of Charles Charlie James Kirk.](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-719)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9017 (as of 2026-09-26).