The Gulf Consortium is a public entity created in October 2012 by Inter-local Agreement among Florida's 23 Gulf Coast counties, from Escambia County in the western panhandle of Florida to Monroe County on the southern tip of Florida and the United States.

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Florida’s 23 Gulf Coast Counties formed the Consortium to meet requirements of the RESTORE Act to develop a State Expenditure Plan for economic and environmental recovery of the Gulf coast in Florida following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The RESTORE Act was passed by the Congress on June 29, 2012 and signed into law on July 6, 2012 by the President.

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The Consortium Board of Directors consists of one representative from each county government and six non-voting Governor appointees. As a public entity, the Consortium must meet all government transparency requirements in Florida, including open public records and meetings, ethics and state auditing obligations. The Consortium meets several times each year to monitor and direct State Expenditure Plan (SEP) implementation.  The SEP was approved in September of 2018 and there are numerous awards/projects underway.

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To avoid duplication and to effectively utilize available resources, Florida’s local governments are working in partnership with the State of Florida to fully recover the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon disaster. To foster the development of the State Expenditure Plan, enhance coordination and to also ensure consistency with the goals and objectives of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council’s Draft Initial Comprehensive Plan: Restoring the Gulf Coast’s Ecosystem and Economy, the Consortium entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with past Florida Governor Rick Scott.