No. HB 1161
Filed under Environment & Water.
Big Cypress Basin ; Revises membership of Big Cypress Basin governing board; requires SFWMD to revise boundaries of Big Cypress Basin based on specified study & ensure that distribution of basin ad valorem taxes be used for specified projects & flood control operations & maintenance.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDBy 11:59 p.m. on July 1, 2026, the South Florida Water Management District must redraw the Big Cypress Basin's boundary to match a scientific study the district gave the Legislature in 2021, rather than the district's original 1970s-era boundary.
The Governor must now appoint exactly eight basin governing-board members -- six who live in Collier County and two who live in Lee County -- replacing the old open-ended requirement of at least five members from the area.
Big Cypress Basin ad valorem taxes must now be spent on projects and flood control operations and maintenance only within the county where that tax was collected.
AIBy 11:59 p.m. on July 1, 2026, SFWMD's governing board must set the Big Cypress Basin's boundary to match the scientific line recommended in the district's 2021 Boundary Delineation study, replacing the basin's original 1970s boundary.
AIThe Governor must appoint exactly eight members to the basin's governing board: six residents of Collier County and two residents of Lee County who live within the basin, replacing the prior open-ended requirement of at least five members residing in the area.
AIAd valorem taxes levied within the counties that make up the Big Cypress Basin must be used for projects and flood control operations and maintenance in that same county, rather than pooled for use elsewhere in the basin.