ADVOCACY
The Leading Advocate for Florida’s Engineering Community
ACEC Florida is the leading advocate for Florida’s engineering community and is working hard to pursue the industry’s interest in Tallahassee. With nearly 1,000 people moving to Florida every day, preparing Florida’s infrastructure for smart growth and development is essential.
The future of engineering is impacted by decisions made by elected officials. State and federal laws and regulations impact day-to-day operations. In order to promote and defend the professional interests of all engineers, ACEC Florida maintains a strong and effective voice with the Legislature. Our mission to promote engineering is made stronger every legislative session by the commitment our members make to personally visit lawmakers in their communities and at the Florida Capitol.
If you are interested in learning more about how to become involved, please contact Laura Heiselman, Director of Governmental & Political Affairs.
Please visit the national American Council of Engineering Companies website to learn more about our federal advocacy efforts.
2026 Legislative Priorities
Recruiting Professional Engineers to Public Service
Senate Bill 800 Senator Debbie Mayfield | House Bill 839 Representative Lauren Melo
This bill establishes a workforce initiative to recruit professional engineers to public service and modernizes the penalties for unlicensed engineering activity.
- The bill creates the Engineering Student Loan Assistance Program, funded by existing fees, to provide up to four years of financial assistance for student loan repayments to newly licensed engineers who work for state government or water management districts. Reducing educational debt for recent engineering graduates provides a powerful incentive to enter public service and creates an effective tool for state agencies to attract and retain qualified engineers who would earn higher salaries in the private sector.
- This bill increases penalties for unlicensed engineering activity, escalating fines with each additional violation. Ensuring engineering activity is licensed protects public safety.
Creating Consistency for Professional Liability Protection
Senate Bill 888 Senator Jonathan Martin | House Bill 699 Representative Bill Conerly
Under Florida law, the requirements for professional liability insurance for engineers are different for publicly funded infrastructure and private projects. This bill makes the requirements the same for all design projects across the state, limiting requirements for coverage to what’s insurable and ensuring taxpayers and property owners are protected against errors, omissions, negligence and recklessness.
Download our 2026 Legislative Priorities.
Foundational Issues for Florida Engineers
Sustained Funding for Critical Infrastructure
Challenge: Underfunding critical infrastructure increases costs in the long term.Insufficient funding for critical infrastructure threatens public safety and human health. Without sustained funding, communities could face unsafe roads, unreliable transit, poor-quality drinking water, and increased pollution, which impede economic growth and prosperity.
Solution: Sufficient, sustained funding will strengthen our economy.
Robust funding to repair, maintain, and modernize critical infrastructure provides the foundation for a strong economy, which attracts investment and creates high-wage jobs. Maintaining the financial integrity of the Transportation Trust Fund is essential to preserving Florida’s ability to invest in safe, reliable, and future‑ready transportation infrastructure. Safeguarding the fund ensures long term stability for projects that support mobility, economic growth, and community resilience for Floridians.
Long Term Cost Savings for Quality Engineering
Challenge: Pressure to prioritize cost savings over quality engineering in publicly funded infrastructure projects results in higher costs down the road.
Safety risks, project delays, and expensive cost overruns are often the result of selecting underqualified engineering firms that offer below market bids to undercut the more qualified competitors.
Solution: Safeguard the Consultants’ Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA).
Florida’s CCNA requires governments to select engineering professionals based on qualifications first, with the cost of services introduced in subsequent negotiations. Prioritizing qualifications in the procurement process protects taxpayers’ investment in public infrastructure by ensuring projects are designed to industry standards, which saves money in the long term.
Qualified Oversight of the Engineering Profession
Challenge: Spending taxpayer funds on public infrastructure designed by unqualified engineers will erode public trust.
Weakening licensure or defunding oversight of the engineering profession creates preventable threats to public safety and public health. Unqualified individuals could enter the field, leading to unsafe designs that cost additional time and money to repair and replace.
Solution: Preserve the role of Florida’s Professional Engineering Regulatory Board.
Florida’s Professional Engineering Regulatory Board plays a critical role in protecting public safety and public health by setting high standards and accountability for the profession, which ensures qualified engineers are designing critical infrastructure.
Engineering a Cleaner, Healthier Florida
Challenge: Florida’s water resources face growing strain from population growth, aging infrastructure, pollution, emerging contaminants, and increasing flooding risks.
Limited traditional freshwater supplies, impaired rivers and estuaries, contaminants such as PFAS, and more frequent extreme weather events threaten public health, environmental integrity, and the state’s long-term economic stability.
Solution: Florida’s engineers are delivering integrated, forward-looking solutions that secure water supply, improve water quality, and strengthen community resilience.
Through innovative water reuse, advanced treatment technologies, large-scale ecosystem restoration, and data-driven flood mitigation and resiliency projects, engineers are protecting natural systems while meeting the needs of a growing state.
