SCCF provides legislative update on Week 6
Both the House and the Senate passed their respective budgets last week with few changes to the amounts previously proposed for Everglades Restoration and the Florida Forever Land Acquisition program. There were some adjustments in the amounts used from the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund, where in addition to affordable housing projects, wastewater infrastructure and sea level rise mitigation projects were also funded. Proponents of using the trust fund money say that they have added protections to secure the fund for the future. Opponents of using the Sadowski trust fund dollars contend that there are other more appropriate funding sources for wastewater infrastructure and sea level rise projects, including federal stimulus dollars designed for non-recurring projects such as these.
Another notable Senate budget addition was for an emergency funding allocation of $3 million for an initial emergency Piney Point clean up, with a proposed future $200 million allocation to come from the federal stimulus dollars to be used for a long term clean-up plan. Many are voicing frustration that this is a taxpayer bailout of an industry that should have taken responsibility prior to this becoming an ecological disaster, but the Department of Environmental Protection has stated it is working diligently to find a way to hold the polluters accountable.
The House and the Senate remain $50 million apart on proposals for Florida Forever land acquisition, where the difference will be worked out in the upcoming budget conference committees. For more details, please refer to the SCCF Legislative Tracker at www.sccf.org/our-work/environmental-policy for links to the governor’s, Senate and House budget summaries.
Bills of interest that advanced last week include:
– Water Quality: SB 268 — Preemption of Local Occupational Licensing was debated in the Senate Rules Committee, its last of three committee stops. The bill prohibits local governments from imposing additional licensing requirements on specialty contractors. The bill also includes a provision to eliminate any previously existing local licensing requirements by 2023. That provision is being strongly opposed by local counties and municipalities as it prevents long-standing local fertilizer ordinances from requiring best management practices by fertilizer applicators. Improper fertilizer application can result in runoff that sends nutrients meant to feed a lawn into waterways where they feed harmful aquatic algae instead. The bill preempts the ability of local officials to use valuable tools such as training and education for fertilizer applicators to protect and improve water quality. An “unfriendly” amendment to remove the harmful provision was withdrawn, but bill sponsor Sen. Keith Perry signaled there could be some room for revisions once the bill reached the Senate floor. The bill passed 11-5 and the identical House version, HB 735, has passed the full House by a vote of 82-32.
– Everglades Restoration: SB 722 — Big Cypress Basin proposes to extend the current Big Cypress Basin water drainage boundary northward from the Collier County line into southern Lee County to include Bonita Springs and Estero currently located in the Okeechobee Drainage basin. The change is based upon the recommendation of a recently completed Big Cypress Basin Delineation Study and will distribute the taxes collected by the respective basin boards to projects within the counties from which they were collected. Amendments to the bill include the composition of the Big Cypress Basin Board to include four members from Collier and one from Lee and an effective date of the change to July 1, 2022, for adequate time to make the transition. The change will result in a tax revenue loss of $6.3 million for Everglades Restoration project O&M, which is collected by the Okeechobee Basin but not by the Big Cypress Basin. The bill has one additional committee stop in Senate Appropriations, while the similar House Companion, HB 209, has passed all of its committees and is on its second reading — of three total — on the House Floor.
Some legislative committees were scheduled to meet over the weekend, so check the SCCF Legislative Tracker at www.sccf.org/our-work/environmental-policy for current updates.
Holly Schwartz is environmental policy assistant for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. Founded in 1967, the SCCF is dedicated to the conservation of coastal habitats and aquatic resources on Sanibel and Captiva and in the surrounding watershed. For more information, visit www.sccf.org.