NATURAL RESOURCES/ENVIRONMENT

The League of Women Voters of Florida supports state legislation for energy conservation and greater use of renewable sources such as solar energy. The League supports public policies that promote conservation of freshwater and its availability for environmental, public, agricultural, industrial and mining uses on a priority basis. The League also supports funding of the Department of Community Affairs, legislation to ban oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coast, and public transportation.

LEAGUE ENDORSES FLORIDA WATER AND LAND CONSERVATION AMENDMENT

The League of Women Voters of Florida has endorsed a proposed amendment to Florida's constitution that would protect hundreds of thousands of acres of land needed to ensure the state's clean water supply and wildlife habitat for generations to come.

The amendment would dedicate one-third of existing documentary stamp tax, which is paid when real estate is sold, to restore the Everglades, protect drinking water sources, and revive the state's historic commitment to protecting natural lands and wildlife through the Florida Forever Program. The amendment would provide more than $5 billion for water and land conservation in Florida over the next 10 years without any tax increase. It would take effect in 2015 and expire in 2035.

At least 683,000 petitions signed and verified by the supervisors of elections are needed to get the Water and Land legacy proposal on the ballot in 2014.

For more information on the Florida Water and Land Conservation Amendment, please click here for a one-page document on the issue.

MORE INFORMATION ON LEAGUE POSITIONS ON ENVIRONMENT

A bill that would have allowed offshore drilling for oil in Florida’s waters was shelved during the 2010 legislative session; this happened after the BP oil disaster occurred in Louisiana. The League has opposed offshore drilling, as well as drilling in the Everglades. One of the environmental groups in Florida is circulating petitions for a permanent ban on oil drilling in Florida waters between the mean high tide line and the outermost boundaries of the Florida territorial seas.

During the 2008 session, Senate Bill 360 was passed; the bill eased concurrency requirements for developers relating to schools and roads. The League opposed this bill and asked the governor to veto it. However, the bill was signed by the governor and became law. In October 2009, Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham told senators that SB 360 did not supersede the comprehensive plan already in place in a community, and the relaxing of concurrency rules would not necessarily apply. The first reaction of the committee was to write a new bill that would effectively do away with concurrency in the areas affected by the legislation. Over a dozen municipalities sued, and SB 360 was thrown out of circuit court because it would place unfunded mandates on communities. It may be appealed, although the sponsor of the legislation said that he would prefer to rewrite the bill so that it would not be prone to lawsuits.

During the 2010 session, the Legislature did not reauthorize funding for the Department of Community Affairs when it came up for renewal during this year’s session. The Department was conceived by Governor Bob Graham in 1985, a response to the unbridled growth and sprawl taking place in Florida. The future of the department is unknown at this time, althouhg a majority of its power was stripped by Governor Rick Scott. The “Hometown Democracy” amendment that would require local governments to allow voter participation in changes to comprehensive plans was defeated in the November 2010 election.

In the 2009 session, SB 2080 was passed; it eliminated public input to water management district governing boards. The public no longer could express concerns about environmental resource and consumptive use permit decisions. The governor signed it into law.

USEFUL RESOURCES

For more information about offshore drilling in Florida, review the League’s white paper "LWVF Seeks Answers to New Questions on Near Shore Oil Drilling in Florida" by League member Rebecca Sager.

Also check out LWVF President Deirdre Macnab's op-ed in the The Tampa Bay Times "Florida Needs an All-Out Effort for Renewable Energy."

For information about the Urban Heat Island effect and cooling cities using concrete, check out the League's Cool Cities PowerPoint presentation. 

TALKING POINTS

To find the League's positions and talking points on environmental bills this session, please click here.