The Florida Legislature just finished it’s remarkably unproductive regular session, and is teed up to come back after Easter/Passover for a special session on redistricting. Since they failed to do the single thing they are constitutionally required to do – pass a budget – they will be working on that for the special session, and probably trying to pass a few more bills into law. They did pass a bill requiring George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s portraits be displayed prominently in every school, just so you know their priorities…
You can find a good summary of the session here from Florida Politics. These were some of the bills we were keeping an eye on. You can see a list of the bills that passed here.
They did manage to get a few things done, with a little bit of good and a lotta bit of bad. Let’s examine.
Good
CS/CS/SB 302: Coastal Resiliency – Passed. Designed to protect the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve from being dredged for a cruise port, this bill delineates specific reasons for dredging, which don’t include letting private companies profit off destroying natural Florida. There are some loopholes – will it truly protect the area? Tasks Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection with creating guardrails for coastal areas.
CS/HB 755 – Areas of Critical State Concern – Passed. Continues the ban on drilling around the Apalachicola River.
CS/HB 441 – Conservation Lands – Passed. Requires Division of State Lands to provide more notice for swaps or sales of conservation lands.
CS/CS/HB 1245 — Biosolids Management – Passed. Restricts the use of treated sewer sludge as fertilizer (and on roads????); requires the DEP to create rules managing biosolids.
Mixed
CS/CS/SB 484: Data Centers – Passed. Requires that Floridians are shielded from data centers’ electricity and water use costs. Also allows governments to hide data center proposals.
CS/CS/HB 433 – Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Passed with Section 48 stripped out. Section 48 would have prohibited criticism of agricultural products and practices (Big Sugar wanted this passed to stem criticisms of their sugar cane burning, Everglades adjacent rock mining, etc.). Otherwise, not great. Bans governments from restricting gas powered lawn or farm equipment. Muddies conservation land use and swaps.
Bad
CS/HB 1217: Prohibited Governmental Policies Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Passed. Prohibits governmental entities (municipalities, universities, & school boards) from adopting certain net zero policies; from using government funds in any manner that supports, implements, or advances certain net zero policies; from imposing tax, fee, penalty, charge, offset, or assessment to advance certain net zero policies. (Preemption)
CS/CS/HB 1451 – Utility Services – Passed. Denies the City of Gainesville local control over the City owned electric utility.
CS/CS/CS/SB 686 – Agricultural Enclaves – Passed. Makes it easier for developers to build on/adjacent to agricultural lands.
HB 167 – Former Phosphate Mining Lands – Passed. Makes it harder to sue phosphate mining/fertilizer company Mosaic for radiation and radon exposure.
CS/CS/SB 1434 – Infill Redevelopment – Passed. Preempts local governments from restricting some types of development.
To be continued…
