Florida Legislative Tracker Archives - Friends of the Everglades

Spotlight On: How the U.S. Farm Bill contributes to toxic algae in Florida

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmfsR-k3SA8 Here’s how sugar supports in the U.S. Farm Bill create toxic algae blooms Big Sugar has a very sweet deal. U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals — which grow hundreds of thousands of acres of sugarcane in Florida — have long profited from federal protections in the Farm Bill, which is reauthorized by Congress every five years. The current Farm Bill expires September 30, 2023. Protectionist policies dating back to the 1930s benefit the industry through low-interest loans, price supports and import quotas, all designed to keep the price of sugar in the United States higher than it is on the global market. This cost, paid for by American consumers and taxpayers, creates windfall profits the industry then uses [...]

Allie Preston2023-05-30T11:48:20-04:00May 30th, 2023|Farm Bill, Florida Legislative Tracker, Spotlight On, Sugarcane Burning, Toxic Algae|

DeSantis just signed “Sprawl Bill” 540 into law

This afternoon, Gov. DeSantis signed into law the worst environmental bill passed by the Florida Legislature during the 2023 session. Senate Bill 540, which will take effect July 1, is a death knell for smart growth in Florida. It will effectively end citizen challenges to comprehensive plan amendments by sadling those who challenge an amendment and lose with the other side’s legal fees — including developers’ attorney fees if they join the case. Signing SB 540 into law defies the spirit of DeSantis’ own Executive Order 23-06, which called for protecting the long-term planning process that safeguards sustainable growth in Florida. And it will embolden developers to propose more environmentally perilous projects. Friends of the Everglades did not stand [...]

Allie Preston2023-05-24T16:52:13-04:00May 24th, 2023|All Posts, Bad Bill Alert, Florida Legislative Tracker, Florida Legislature, SB 540, Smarter Controlled Development|

VIDEO: Is the Florida Legislature really doing the people’s work in Tallahassee?

https://www.youtube.com/live/VkKWZJcSTqY?feature=share There was a lot to unpack from this legislative session that ended on May 5, and not a whole lot of it was good news for Florida’s fragile environment. Today’s Friends of the Everglades LIVE focused on what went down and the ways you can still help us kill some of the worst bills that came out of this “Session of Sprawl.” As our Executive Director Eve Samples put it, “Our future as a state is at stake. We are on the front lines of climate change, we’re implementing the most complex and expensive ecosystem restoration effort on the planet in Everglades restoration, and we are not doing ourselves any favors if we allow more reckless development to [...]

Allie Preston2023-05-16T14:31:38-04:00May 16th, 2023|All Posts, Florida Legislative Tracker, Florida Legislature, Friends of the Everglades LIVE|

Friends of the Everglades 2023 Post-Session Report

As we feared, the 2023 Legislative Session turned out to be the “Session of Sprawl,” as Florida lawmakers advanced legislation that facilitates inappropriate, environmentally damaging development proposals. Lawmakers passed several bills disempowering citizens, handcuffing local governments, and making it easier for reckless development to sprawl across the landscape: In line with our 2023 Legislative Priorities, we offer the following update and analysis on key bills: The worst bill of the session, Senate Bill 540, will, if signed into law, require citizens who challenge a local comprehensive plan amendment and lose to pay legal fees incurred by the “prevailing parties,” which could include deep-pocketed developers. This could end citizen challenges in Florida, paving the way for more reckless development. Friends [...]

Allie Preston2023-05-15T18:20:58-04:00May 16th, 2023|All Posts, Florida Legislative Tracker, Florida Legislature|

WATCH NOW — Last call: SB 540 VETO requests

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9eCeQIy86M From the desk of our Executive Director, Eve Samples, your Voice of the Everglades update: The clock is ticking. Last Thursday, May 9, state lawmakers sent “Sprawl Bill” 540 to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, triggering a 15-day deadline for him to either sign or veto this environmentally reckless bill. If approved, the legislation would be the death knell for responsible growth-management in Florida — putting citizens at huge financial risk if they challenge changes to local comprehensive plans, which are the blueprints for growth in cities and counties. Much is at stake. Florida is the fastest-growing state in the country; it's ground zero for the climate crisis; and it’s undertaking the largest ecosystem restoration effort on [...]

Allie Preston2023-05-15T11:52:27-04:00May 15th, 2023|Action Alerts, Bad Bill Alert, Florida Legislative Tracker, Friends of the Everglades LIVE, SB 540, Smarter Controlled Development, Stopping Sprawl, Voice of the Everglades|

Protect local fertilizer bans to protect Florida’s water

A clandestine attempt by Florida Legislators to ban rainy season restrictions on fertilizer use threatens to eliminate a key tool for local governments trying to curtail nutrient pollution. Tucked inside an “implementing bill” — which contains directions to implement the state budget — is a measure that would eliminate local governments’ ability to adopt strict fertilizer control ordinances for the next year. While this ban on fertilizer bans would expire after that, it may be followed by legislation designed to make it permanent — a move that would only benefit big fertilizer companies. Nitrogen and phosphorus-rich runoff can have serious impacts for surrounding water quality, and communities throughout Florida have relied upon rainy-season fertilizer restrictions to reduce excess runoff [...]

Allie Preston2023-05-11T13:10:42-04:00May 5th, 2023|All Posts, Bad Bill Alert, Florida Legislative Tracker, Florida Legislature|

Register now for a Friends of the Everglades LIVE

Allie Preston2023-05-03T16:15:08-04:00May 3rd, 2023|Florida Legislative Tracker|

Gov. DeSantis, don’t disempower citizens. VETO Senate Bill 540

We need you to speak up! Senate Bill 540 , which the Legislature passed May 2, would be a death knell for citizen engagement in development decisions. It would make it almost impossible for average residents to bring challenges to legally flawed amendments to local comprehensive plans, which serve as the blueprint for growth in local communities. SB 540 undercuts the fundamental right to seek remedy from the courts if the political process fails. That’s bad for the future of Florida, bad for the Everglades, and bad for water and wildlife. It also flies in the face of Gov. DeSantis Executive Order 23-06, which called for protecting the long-term planning process that safeguards sustainable growth in Florida. To [...]

Allie Preston2023-05-02T17:53:37-04:00May 2nd, 2023|Action Alerts, Action Alerts, All Posts, Bad Bill Alert, Florida Legislative Tracker, SB 540|

Friends of the Everglades joins call to veto HB 1191

Photo credit: Sierra Club On May 1, Friends of the Everglades joined Sierra Club and more than 30 other organizations in sending a letter to Governor DeSantis requesting that he veto HB 1191 - Use of Phosphogypsum. Phosphogypsum is the radioactive waste from processing phosphate into phosphoric acid for fertilizer. This bill would permit the use of phosphogypsum in Florida road construction. As the letter states, "While HB 1191 would require the Florida Department of Transportation to complete a study on the feasibility of phosphogypsum for road construction, the unreasonably short study period ending on April 1, 2024, cannot even begin to thoroughly review the health and safety consequences. To even begin the study would be a tremendous [...]

Allie Preston2023-05-01T15:46:06-04:00May 1st, 2023|Bad Bill Alert, Florida Legislative Tracker, Florida Legislature, Friends of the Everglades Statements, HB 1191|

WATCH NOW — A Postcard from Tallahassee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6N94KZSWL8 Greetings from Tallahassee, where the Legislature is heading into the final weeks of a high-stakes session — with troublesome environmental legislation still in play. We’re here at the Capitol this week, advocating against two especially concerning bills that threaten to erode what’s left of sound growth-management policies in Florida. Our mission at Friends of the Everglades is to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world — including its connected waterways. That can only happen if we plan wisely for development, taking reasonable precautions to protect wetlands and wildlife. Unfortunately, the bills we’re tracking most closely would grease the skids for developers who propose sprawl that encroaches on Florida’s last remaining green spaces. The short video [...]

Allie Preston2023-04-18T10:40:55-04:00April 18th, 2023|Florida Legislative Tracker, Florida Legislature, SB 540, Smarter Controlled Development, Stopping Sprawl, Voice of the Everglades|