Summary of Last Legislative Session

Ryan Smart of Florida Springs Council has sent the following message regarding the latest season of legislative action from our leaders in Tallahassee.

Nothing very surprising here, and we have had better years.

Trying to view our state’s leadership from an objective viewpoint, we see contradictions.

Even before, but especially starting with Gov. Rick Scott and continuing with DeSantis, we have seen Florida  protect businesses at all costs which often directly harms the environment.  Yet, at the same time,  tourism is our number one industry.

Our DEP and water managers are directed to deliberately allow our springs, rivers and aquifers to slowly die and become more and more polluted, a policy which costs the state billions in lost tourism revenues.

This is self defeating and makes little sense, but it all comes down to lobbyists and money.

Read the original article by Florida Springs Council here.

We appreciate Ryan Smart and the good work of the Florida Springs Council.

Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum

FLORIDA SPRINGS COUNCIL

One of my responsibilities as director of the Florida Springs Council is to track legislation that will affect Florida’s Springs, and the 2023 Florida Legislative Session was one of the busiest in the past decade. I have been asked how the springs fared this year, and I would like nothing more than to give you better news.

Unfortunately, there were no obvious bright spots for Florida’s springs either in the $116 billion state budget or among the hundreds of bills passed into law.

With strong control of both the House and Senate, Republican lawmakers were able to move their agenda without much opposition.

Legislators used this power to preempt local governments from regulating fertilizer application periods (SB 2502), reduce the regulatory costs of phosphate mining (HB 1191), limit the ability of citizens to challenge land use decisions in court (SB 540), and ban local land use referendums (SB 718).

Here’s two things I want you to remember as we move forward:

1. Not all bills are created and enforced equally

Implementing bills that favor developers and polluters is the top priority for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), while laws to protect our environment are weakened or simply ignored with the blessing of DEP, legislators, and the Governor.

This is especially relevant regarding bills like HB 1379 that purport to make positive changes to water quality laws, but could end up significantly delaying springs restoration. It all depends on how the bills are implemented, and so far DEP’s track record is not good.

Florida Springs Council member groups have been in court for nearly five years to force DEP to follow the law in creating Outstanding Florida Springs BMAPs, which DEP still refuses to do even after losing in the First District Court of Appeals.

1. Big funding does not equal big results

Legislators approved record funding for Everglades restoration and the Florida Wildlife Corridor, while significantly underfunding Florida Forever and only appropriating the minimum springs funding legally allowable.

While the loss of springs funding is disappointing, we should be less focused on how much money is being appropriated to environmental projects and more focused on the results those projects are achieving. Again, so far the track record is not good.

We are investigating how the funding relates to actual results, and we will release a report later this year tracking the effectiveness of springs projects funded through the Land Acquisition Trust Fund since 2016.

Springs advocates, it’s okay to be disappointed by the setbacks we faced during this Legislative Session. But, don’t be discouraged.

Instead, let this session serve as a reminder of why our work is so essential. The Florida Springs Council is dedicated to holding state agencies and polluters accountable through legal means. Together, we can educate fellow Floridians to counter the deceptive tactics employed by industry groups, state agencies, politicians, and their allies.

Make a lasting impact and ensure that future generations inherit a Florida with clean springs and thriving ecosystems by becoming a sustaining member of the Florida Springs Council.