Reform the U.S. Farm Bill — End the sugar program

Reform the U.S. Farm Bill — End the sugar program A small network of private sugar companies has rigged the federal Farm Bill to secure enormous government handouts at the expense of consumers and taxpayers — to the detriment of clean air and water in Florida.   By imposing controls on production and greatly restricting imports, the cost of the sugar program in the U.S. Farm Bill is shifted to American consumers in the form of much higher prices than on the world market. Windfall profits generated by the program are then used by the industry to buy influence in the form of lobbying and campaign contributions. This rigged system safeguards policies that protect Big Sugar at the [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Friends of the Everglades 2023 Mid-Session Legislative Report

Prior to the beginning of Florida’s legislative session March 7, we worried this would be the “session of sprawl.” Unfortunately, that prediction is coming to pass. Bills that will disempower citizens, handcuff local governments and result in more reckless development have sailed through committee hearings with little opposition. A few have already passed the full House or Senate and almost certainly will land on Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk. Meanwhile, many bills that might help our fragile waters have gone nowhere. There is some good news. The worst bills of the session, House Bill 1197 and Senate Bill 1240, have not gotten hearings. Those bills would have prohibited virtually any local government attempt to regulate water quality or pollution control. [...]

2023-04-26T15:08:27-04:00April 12th, 2023|All Posts, Florida Legislative Tracker|

Tell Sen. Mayfield to STOP SB 540

We need you to speak up! Senate Bill 540 (DiCeglie) would disempower citizens by requiring the losing party in challenges to local government comprehensive plans or plan amendments to pay the prevailing party’s attorney fees and court costs. This could be a significant burden for the average citizen, and runs the risk of scaring off well-meaning challenges, thereby leading to more development and sprawl. The bill was made even worse through an amendment that effectively greenlights a controversial Miami-Dade County proposal which Friends of the Everglades was involved in fighting last year — to bring dense industrial development to hundreds of flood-prone acres of farmland in Homestead, well outside the Urban Development Boundary. We’ve made it easy [...]

Your Everglades moment of Zen: Just Hatched!

Spring is in full bloom, signaling something we look forward to every year: It’s baby bird season! Everywhere you look in the Greater Everglades ecosystem, hatchlings are cracking open their multi-colored shells to peek out into the world for the first time. And they’re hungry! Their mouths are often wide open and pointed skyward, marking bullseyes for their parents to drop food inside. These birds will mature relatively quickly and will soon take flight to join the flocks that are indicative of thriving Florida ecosystems. Friends of the Everglades Multimedia Producer Leah Voss has spent the last few weeks capturing these Easter-egg-come-early moments. Barred owls, eagles, osprey, and [...]

2023-04-04T14:25:23-04:00April 4th, 2023|All Posts, Everglades Zen, Wildlife Habitat|