DAVIE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill directing money toward protecting the state’s natural resources.
Senate Bill 1638 was a bipartisan piece of legislation passed unanimously in both the House and Senate.
It provides an infusion of $150 million to repair and upgrade the central and south Florida water management systems.
The new law will require money from the gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the state to be deposited into the Indian Gaming Revenue Trust Fund for conservation efforts.
The funds will also be used to conduct a study of the health and ecosystem of Lake Okeechobee in collaboration with Florida Gulf Coast University’s water school. The study will be used for future planning and invasive plant control, among other things.
“This project stretches from Orlando to the Florida Keys and we want to make sure that they have the funds to do so,” DeSantis said.
He said it will affect about 9 million Floridians.
The bulk of the Florida gaming revenue will go towards conservation efforts and DeSantis said about $750 million a year will go to the state just from the gaming compact. Here’s how some of the money will be broken down:
$100 million to the Resilient Florida Grant Program to help fortify vulnerable areas from hurricane damage
$100 million to the Florida Wildlife Corridor for land and conservation assessment purchases
$100 million for the removal of invasive species split between the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Agriculture and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Any remaining funds will go toward water quality improvement grant programs to help people across the state
You can read the full breakdown here.
The bill will go into effect when Senate Bill 7080 is signed, creating the Indian Gaming Revenue Trust Fund. That bill also passed unanimously in the legislature.
The gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe and the state was signed by DeSantis in 2021, allowing the tribe to operate sports betting, craps and roulette at its casinos and in return, the state receives billions of dollars. The state is said to receive at least $2.5 billion over the first five years and an estimated $20 billion over the 30-year deal.