Alternative Sources of Weather Information

HB 457 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to alternative sources of weather 2
information; amending s. 252.35, F.S.; revising the 3
requirements of the state comprehensive emergency plan 4
to include the evaluation of the integration of 5
supplemental weather observational data and advanced 6
forecasting products and the effects on specified 7
areas; creating s. 252.396, F.S.; defining the terms 8
"advanced forecasting products" and "supplemental 9
weather observational data"; requiring the Division of 10
Emergency Management to take specified actions to 11
integrate, evaluate, and promote supplemental weather 12
observational data and advanced forecasting products 13
in a certain manner; providing an effective date. 14
15
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
17
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 18
252.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 19
252.35 Emergency management powers; Division of Emergency 20
Management.— 21
(2) The division is responsible for carrying out the 22
provisions of ss. 252.31-252.90. In performing its duties, the 23
division shall: 24
(a) Prepare a state comprehensive emergency management 25

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plan, which must be integrated into and coordinated with the 26
emergency management plans and programs of the Federal 27
Government. The division shall adopt the plan as a rule in 28
accordance with chapter 120. The plan must be implemented by a 29
continuous, integrated comprehensive emergency management 30
program. The plan must contain provisions to ensure that the 31
state is prepared for emergencies and minor, major, and 32
catastrophic disasters, and the division shall work closely with 33
local governments and agencies and organizations with emergency 34
management responsibilities in preparing and maintaining the 35
plan. The state comprehensive emergency management plan must be 36
operations oriented and: 37
1. Include an evacuation component that includes specific 38
regional and interregional planning provisions and promotes 39
intergovernmental coordination of evacuation activities. This 40
component must, at a minimum: contain guidelines for lifting 41
tolls on state highways; ensure coordination pertaining to 42
evacuees crossing county lines; set forth procedures for 43
directing people caught on evacuation routes to safe shelter; 44
establish strategies for ensuring sufficient, reasonably priced 45
fueling locations along evacuation routes; and establish 46
policies and strategies for emergency medical evacuations. 47
2. Include a shelter component that includes specific 48
regional and interregional planning provisions and promotes 49
coordination of shelter activities between the public, private, 50

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and nonprofit sectors. This component must, at a minimum: 51
contain strategies to ensure the availability of adequate public 52
shelter space in each county; establish strategies for refuge-53
of-last-resort programs; provide strategies to assist local 54
emergency management efforts to ensure that adequate staffing 55
plans exist for all shelters, including medical and security 56
personnel; provide for a postdisaster communications system for 57
public shelters; establish model shelter guidelines for 58
operations, registration, inventory, power generation 59
capability, information management, and staffing; and set forth 60
policy guidance for sheltering people with special needs. 61
3. Include a postdisaster response and recovery component 62
that includes specific regional and interregional planning 63
provisions and promotes intergovernmental coordination of 64
postdisaster response and recovery activities. This component 65
must provide for postdisaster response and recovery strategies 66
according to whether a disaster is minor, major, or 67
catastrophic. The postdisaster response and recovery component 68
must, at a minimum: establish the structure of the state's 69
postdisaster response and recovery organization; establish 70
procedures for activating the state's plan; set forth policies 71
used to guide postdisaster response and recovery activities; 72
describe the chain of command during the postdisaster response 73
and recovery period; describe initial and continuous 74
postdisaster response and recovery actions; identify the roles 75

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and responsibilities of each involved agency and organization; 76
provide for a comprehensive communications plan; establish 77
procedures for coordinating and monitoring statewide mutual aid 78
agreements reimbursable under federal public disaster assistance 79
programs; provide for rapid impact assessment teams; ensure the 80
availability of an effective statewide urban search and rescue 81
program coordinated with the fire services; ensure the existence 82
of a comprehensive statewide medical care and relief plan 83
administered by the Department of Health; and establish systems 84
for coordinating volunteers and accepting and distributing 85
donated funds and goods. 86
4. Include additional provisions addressing aspects of 87
preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation as determined 88
necessary by the division. 89
5. Address the need for coordinated and expeditious 90
deployment of state resources, including the Florida National 91
Guard. In the case of an imminent major disaster, procedures 92
should address predeployment of the Florida National Guard, and, 93
in the case of an imminent catastrophic disaster, procedures 94
should address predeployment of the Florida National Guard and 95
the United States Armed Forces. 96
6. Establish a system of communications and warning to 97
ensure that the state's population and emergency management 98
agencies are warned of developing emergency situations, 99
including public health emergencies, and can communicate 100

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emergency response decisions. 101
7. Establish guidelines and schedules for annual exercises 102
that evaluate the ability of the state and its political 103
subdivisions to respond to minor, major, and catastrophic 104
disasters and support local emergency management agencies. Such 105
exercises shall be coordinated with local governments and, to 106
the extent possible, the Federal Government. 107
8. Assign lead and support responsibilities to state 108
agencies and personnel for emergency support functions and other 109
support activities. 110
9. Include the public health emergency plan developed by 111
the Department of Health pursuant to s. 381.00315. 112
10. Include an update on the status of the emergency 113
management capabilities of the state and its political 114
subdivisions. The update must include the emergency management 115
capabilities related to public health emergencies, as determined 116
in collaboration with the Department of Health. 117
11. Evaluate the integration of supplemental weather data 118
and advanced forecasting products under s. 252.396 and the 119
effects on forecast accuracy, early warning systems, and 120
resilience outcomes. 121
122
The complete state comprehensive emergency management plan must 123
be submitted to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the 124
House of Representatives, and the Governor on February 1 of 125

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every even-numbered year. 126
Section 2. Section 252.396, Florida Statutes, is created 127
to read: 128
252.396 Integration of supplemental weather observational 129
data and advanced forecasting.— 130
(1) As used in this section the term: 131
(a) "Advanced forecasting products" means the tools, 132
models, or services that provide greater precision, accuracy, 133
and more timely predictions than services offered by the federal 134
government. 135
(b) "Supplemental weather observational data" means 136
meteorological, hydrological, or atmospheric information 137
collected from sources other than the federal government. 138
(2) The division shall, within available resources and in 139
coordination with federal, state, and local partners: 140
(a) Integrate supplemental weather observation data and 141
advanced forecasting products into emergency management decision 142
making. The division shall identify and prioritize areas where 143
such data and products will most improve forecast accuracy and 144
public safety through partnerships, data-sharing, or 145
infrastructure development. 146
(b) Establish standards to use when evaluating 147
supplemental weather data and procedures for the use of such 148
data for emergency management. 149
(c) Promote the use of supplemental weather data. 150

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Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 151