Guest commentary: SCCF provides legislative update for Week 7
Updates from the seventh week of the legislative session included:
– House/Senate Natural Resource budget proposal differences
– Local Government Land Regulation passes last committee
– Solid Waste (Auxiliary Containers) passes last committee
With only two weeks left in the 2025 session, time is running out for those bills that still have a committee stop left. With many of leaderships’ priority bills already advanced through the process, the focus will shift toward resolving the differences between the House and Senate budget proposals.
NATURAL RESOURCES BUDGET WORKSHOP
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee met to present budget comparisons between the House and Senate for the Environmental, Natural Resource and Agricultural state agency budgets. Of note were just some of the following differences to be worked out in the upcoming budget conference committees:
– Everglades Restoration: House at $357 Million and Senate at $752 million
– Florida Forever: House at $0 and Senate at $100 million
– Rural and Family Lands: House at $200 million and Senate at $250 million
– Land Management for Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Protection (each): House at $32 million and Senate at $22 million
– Reductions in Positions Vacant over 90 Days: House “yes” vote and Senate “no” vote
LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAND REGULATION
SB 1080, by Sen. Stan McClain, passed by a vote of 18-4 in its last committee and will now head to the Senate floor.
SB 1080 amends certain statutes regulating the review and approval of development permit and order applications by local governments. The bill was filed to address a few very specific enclave parcels on the east coast, but will have detrimental impacts across the entire state. This law would allow certain developments in rural areas to circumvent the local comprehensive planning process if they are adjacent to existing development.
This would essentially greenlight certain residential land uses on previously undeveloped rural land.
The bill was pared down from previous versions, but some senators and environmental advocates hope for additional changes to the bill, such as exemptions for areas of critical state concern (areas meant to protect environmental and natural resources), and to clarify definitions of “density on adjacent parcels” and “water bodies” in order to qualify for the expedited development process.
The comparable House bill, HB 579, has one more scheduled stop in the House Commerce Committee.
SOLID WASTE (AUXILIARY CONTAINERS)
CS/HB 1822, by Sen. Jonathan Martin, passed in the Rules Committee by a vote of 16-7. During the four-hour-long committee meeting, more than 50 people submitted cards to speak and were limited to 30 seconds each.
The majority of meeting attendees spoke against or waived in opposition to the bill. Thank you to the 300-plus people that sent emails in opposition to the Rules Committee members through the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s (SCCF) Action Alert.
An amendment to the bill was filed one day before the meeting to allow the state to regulate auxiliary containers in state parks, but the original intent of the bill remains — to preempt local governments from regulating their own rules regarding plastic bags and auxiliary food containers.
Several senators spoke in opposition to the bill, stating that their communities have successfully addressed growing plastic pollution by regulating the industry at the local level. These legislators also pointed out that this bill does not address the problem — it just preempts proactive communities from doing so.
The comparable house bill, HB 565, was temporarily postponed in its second of three committees, so House members will most likely consider the Senate version on the House floor.
The SCCF opposes this bill. Should it pass, we will work with our partners toward future legislation that offers statewide solutions to our increasing plastic pollution problem.
Visit the 2025 SCCF Legislative Tracker at https://sccf.org/what-we-do/2025-legislative-session/.
Holly Schwartz is policy associate for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). Founded in 1967, the SCCF’s mission is to protect and care for Southwest Florida’s coastal ecosystems. For more information, visit www.sccf.org.