Urge governor to veto SB 540
The harmful SB 540 — Local Government Comprehensive Plans — was sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk on May 9, with a host of other bills. Now is your last chance to tell the governor to protect every Floridian’s right to participate in the decisions being made about their communities. If this bill is signed, changes to comprehensive plans will favor developers or other deep-pocketed interests that can afford to risk questioning the plan in court. Tell Gov. DeSantis that you want him to stand behind Executive Order 23-06 he signed to protect the environment and water quality of Florida, by vetoing SB 540.
This extreme bill adds the provision of awarding the prevailing party’s attorney’s fees to local comprehensive land use challenges brought by citizens against their city or county. This means that should a citizen wish to challenge any comprehensive plan decision and they lose, they would be fully responsible for all sides of the legal costs associated with that suit. This includes any intervening party’s legal costs as well — meaning unlimited and unchecked legal costs of the developer’s attorneys would be paid by the citizen challenger, making any challenge a devastating financial risk. This bill essentially disqualifies citizens from the rights given to them by the Florida Constitution to utilize the courts to address differences we may have at the local level.
Civic engagement is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy, and this bill will effectively end Florida citizens’ ability to participate in local land use decisions.
There are many reasons this bill promotes gratuitous overreach, including the fact that current law provides for attorney’s fees to be awarded if the challenge is frivolous, therefore the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation argues that SB 540 is unnecessary, because protections for governments from illegitimate claims already exist.
Together with the multiple bills that have been passed by the Legislature that erode opportunities for growth management adopted the past few years, this bill eradicates one of the final opportunities for citizens to participate in shaping their own communities.
Our legislators must recognize that unchecked growth has a direct impact on our environment’s ability to protect us from storm surge and flooding, and also has an impact on our water quality and water supply.
Please join SCCF in asking Gov. DeSantis to VETO SB 540 by visiting https://p2a.co/l9zEuzi.
Time is of the essence, so another effective avenue to send the governor this veto message would be to call his office directly at (850) 717-9337 or send him at https://www.flgov.com/email-the-governor/. This is a way that those of you who don’t have qualifying Florida zip codes can still make sure your voices are heard.
Thank you for joining our campaign to roll back harmful restrictions on citizens’ rights!
Founded in 1967, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s mission is to protect and care for Southwest Florida’s coastal ecosystems. For more information, visit www.sccf.org.
To reach SANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION, please email