SESSION WATCH
THE BILL ITSELF

SB 726

Alternative Sources of Weather Information

VERSION S 726 Filed · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 726 By Senator McClain 9-00622-26 2026726__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to alternative sources of weather
3 information; amending s. 252.35, F.S.; revising the
4 requirements of the state comprehensive emergency plan
5 to include the evaluation of the integration of
6 supplemental weather observational data and advanced
7 forecasting products and the effects on specified
8 areas; creating s. 252.396, F.S.; defining the terms
9 “advanced forecasting products” and “supplemental
10 weather observational data”; requiring the Division of
11 Emergency Management to take specified actions to
12 integrate, evaluate, and promote supplemental weather
13 observational data and advanced forecasting products
14 in a certain manner; providing an effective date.
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
19 252.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
20 252.35 Emergency management powers; Division of Emergency
21 Management.—
22 (2) The division is responsible for carrying out the
23 provisions of ss. 252.31-252.90. In performing its duties, the
24 division shall:
25 (a) Prepare a state comprehensive emergency management
26 plan, which must be integrated into and coordinated with the
27 emergency management plans and programs of the Federal
28 Government. The division shall adopt the plan as a rule in
29 accordance with chapter 120. The plan must be implemented by a
30 continuous, integrated comprehensive emergency management
31 program. The plan must contain provisions to ensure that the
32 state is prepared for emergencies and minor, major, and
33 catastrophic disasters, and the division shall work closely with
34 local governments and agencies and organizations with emergency
35 management responsibilities in preparing and maintaining the
36 plan. The state comprehensive emergency management plan must be
37 operations oriented and:
38 1. Include an evacuation component that includes specific
39 regional and interregional planning provisions and promotes
40 intergovernmental coordination of evacuation activities. This
41 component must, at a minimum: contain guidelines for lifting
42 tolls on state highways; ensure coordination pertaining to
43 evacuees crossing county lines; set forth procedures for
44 directing people caught on evacuation routes to safe shelter;
45 establish strategies for ensuring sufficient, reasonably priced
46 fueling locations along evacuation routes; and establish
47 policies and strategies for emergency medical evacuations.
48 2. Include a shelter component that includes specific
49 regional and interregional planning provisions and promotes
50 coordination of shelter activities between the public, private,
51 and nonprofit sectors. This component must, at a minimum:
52 contain strategies to ensure the availability of adequate public
53 shelter space in each county; establish strategies for refuge
54 of-last-resort programs; provide strategies to assist local
55 emergency management efforts to ensure that adequate staffing
56 plans exist for all shelters, including medical and security
57 personnel; provide for a postdisaster communications system for
58 public shelters; establish model shelter guidelines for
59 operations, registration, inventory, power generation
60 capability, information management, and staffing; and set forth
61 policy guidance for sheltering people with special needs.
62 3. Include a postdisaster response and recovery component
63 that includes specific regional and interregional planning
64 provisions and promotes intergovernmental coordination of
65 postdisaster response and recovery activities. This component
66 must provide for postdisaster response and recovery strategies
67 according to whether a disaster is minor, major, or
68 catastrophic. The postdisaster response and recovery component
69 must, at a minimum: establish the structure of the state’s
70 postdisaster response and recovery organization; establish
71 procedures for activating the state’s plan; set forth policies
72 used to guide postdisaster response and recovery activities;
73 describe the chain of command during the postdisaster response
74 and recovery period; describe initial and continuous
75 postdisaster response and recovery actions; identify the roles
76 and responsibilities of each involved agency and organization;
77 provide for a comprehensive communications plan; establish
78 procedures for coordinating and monitoring statewide mutual aid
79 agreements reimbursable under federal public disaster assistance
80 programs; provide for rapid impact assessment teams; ensure the
81 availability of an effective statewide urban search and rescue
82 program coordinated with the fire services; ensure the existence
83 of a comprehensive statewide medical care and relief plan
84 administered by the Department of Health; and establish systems
85 for coordinating volunteers and accepting and distributing
86 donated funds and goods.
87 4. Include additional provisions addressing aspects of
88 preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation as determined
89 necessary by the division.
90 5. Address the need for coordinated and expeditious
91 deployment of state resources, including the Florida National
92 Guard. In the case of an imminent major disaster, procedures
93 should address predeployment of the Florida National Guard, and,
94 in the case of an imminent catastrophic disaster, procedures
95 should address predeployment of the Florida National Guard and
96 the United States Armed Forces.
97 6. Establish a system of communications and warning to
98 ensure that the state’s population and emergency management
99 agencies are warned of developing emergency situations,
100 including public health emergencies, and can communicate
101 emergency response decisions.
102 7. Establish guidelines and schedules for annual exercises
103 that evaluate the ability of the state and its political
104 subdivisions to respond to minor, major, and catastrophic
105 disasters and support local emergency management agencies. Such
106 exercises shall be coordinated with local governments and, to
107 the extent possible, the Federal Government.
108 8. Assign lead and support responsibilities to state
109 agencies and personnel for emergency support functions and other
110 support activities.
111 9. Include the public health emergency plan developed by
112 the Department of Health pursuant to s. 381.00315.
113 10. Include an update on the status of the emergency
114 management capabilities of the state and its political
115 subdivisions. The update must include the emergency management
116 capabilities related to public health emergencies, as determined
117 in collaboration with the Department of Health.
118 11. Evaluate the integration of supplemental weather data
119 and advanced forecasting products under s. 252.396 and the
120 effects on forecast accuracy, early warning systems, and
121 resilience outcomes.
123 The complete state comprehensive emergency management plan must
124 be submitted to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
125 House of Representatives, and the Governor on February 1 of
126 every even-numbered year.
127 Section 2. Section 252.396, Florida Statutes, is created to
128 read:
129 252.396 Integration of supplemental weather observational
130 data and advanced forecasting.—
131 (1) As used in this section the term:
132 (a) “Advanced forecasting products” means tools, models, or
133 services that provide greater precision, accuracy, and more
134 timely predictions than services offered by the Federal
135 Government.
136 (b) “Supplemental weather observational data” means
137 meteorological, hydrological, or atmospheric information
138 collected from sources other than the Federal Government.
139 (2) The division shall, within available resources and in
140 coordination with federal, state, and local partners:
141 (a) Integrate supplemental weather observation data and
142 advanced forecasting products into emergency management decision
143 making. The division shall identify and prioritize areas where
144 such data and products will most improve forecast accuracy and
145 public safety through partnerships, data sharing, or
146 infrastructure development.
147 (b) Establish standards to use when evaluating supplemental
148 weather data and procedures for the use of such data for
149 emergency management.
150 (c) Promote the use of supplemental weather data.
151 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.