
Water quality funding, affordable wind insurance and marine protection are among Monroe County’s priority list for the Florida Legislature in 2025.
Recently, county commissioners approved an agenda of legislative items they hope gain traction as members in the state House and Senate convene March 4 for a 60-day session in Tallahassee.
Funding for water quality projects through the Florida Keys Stewardship Act remains high on the county’s list. Lisa Tennyson, county legislative affairs director, said the county will be looking to secure $20 million for projects, including the ongoing canal restorations throughout Monroe County. The Stewardship Act was approved by the Florida Legislature in 2016. Since then, the county has secured roughly $100 million for projects to protect the Keys’ nearshore waters.
County officials are hoping the Stewardship Act gets funded through the state’s Land Acquisition Trust Fund. That would provide annual funding for the program without the need to request and battle for money in the state budget each session.
Wind insurance, namely the affordability for policyholders in the county insured through Citizens, is another key priority for county officials during the upcoming session. Citizens Insurance provides coverage to property owners who are in good faith and can’t obtain a policy through the private market. With rates continuing to increase via a state-approved glide path, the county will push for a 10% cap on annual increases for Keys policyholders who are insured through Citizens. Tennyson said Florida House Speaker Danny Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton have insurance high on their priority lists this session.
“Hopefully it means they will consider actions that are more consumer-friendly rather than focusing on the interests of the insurance industry,” Tennyson told county commissioners during a December meeting in Key Largo. “It does give us a glimmer of hope.”
Tennyson added the county will also be supporting a push to roll back a requirement for Citizens policyholders to carry flood insurance even though their homes and properties aren’t at risk of flooding.
The county also wants the state to clarify how local governments can handle the removal of migrant vessels from nearshore waters so they don’t become a detriment to the environment. Currently, the state handles the removal of grounded migrant vessels via an executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Once that order expires, Tennyson said, the local governments could be responsible for handling the removal of migrant vessels. Tennyson said the county’s local derelict removal program doesn’t address the issue of migrant boats.
“They typically carry diesel fuel and require an immediate removal process, which currently we don’t have guidelines for,” she said.
County officials also want the state to continue funding road elevation projects in Monroe County. Tennyson said the state has awarded $60 million in grants to the county for various roads in unincorporated Monroe County.
A request for additional building permit allocations will also be a part of the county’s legislative agenda in the upcoming session. In December, county commissioners voted 4-1 to request a change the statutes governing the Florida Keys as an Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC) – namely, a provision currently requiring a 24-hour clearance time for permanent residents in the event of a hurricane evacuation, used to cap the number of building rights throughout the islands.
The resolution requests an increase for the hurricane evacuation time of up to 26 hours – a time frame that, according to previously-discussed hurricane evacuation models, could add roughly 3,550 new units to the Keys. The resolution requires an even distribution of any new building rights over a 40-year period, but allows for units to be “borrowed forward” from future years if they’re used for affordable or workforce housing.