Neighbors in the Know Spring Newsletter

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Welcome to our digital Spring 2026 newsletter, which complements our printed version with live links and additional information. The email addresses for all of our current local/state elected officials are included, to make it easier to get in touch with them. Please bookmark this page if it helps, and feel free to pass it on. In addition, if you have any questions or thoughts that you want to share, you can email us at info@seausrise.org. Cheers!

Environment related bills passed in the Fl legislature 2026

Prohibited Governmental Policies Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions – HB 1217
Sponsored by local State Rep Berny Jacques. Prohibits governmental entities from adopting most net zero policies. Local preemption.
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques     Nay: Rouson, Cross

Florida Farm Bill – SB 290 Prohibiting counties from enacting or enforcing any law that restricts or prohibits the use of gasoline-powered farm/landscape equipment. Enables the state to sell public conservation land to agricultural companies. Local preemption.
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques, Rouson     Nay: Cross

AI/Data Centers – SB 484 Prohibits proposed data centers from using public utilities in a way that impacts residential rates. Shields data center proposals from the public.
Yea: Anderson, Cross, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques     Nay: Berfield

Coastal Resiliency – SB 302 Prohibits any dredging or filling of submerged lands at the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve. Also requires the Department of Environmental Protection, by a specified date, to develop guidelines and standards for nature-based methods to address coastal resiliency.
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, Cross, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques, Rouson

Department of Environmental Protection – HB 1417 Catchall bill for the DEP, including removing the Environmental Regulation Commission. This bill increases oversight on construction of solar facilities. The bill specifies that coastal resiliency projects qualify for public-private partnerships.
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, Cross, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques, Rouson

Conservation Lands – HB 441 This bill is designed to increase transparency and public oversight regarding the sale, exchange, or management of state-owned conservation lands.
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, Cross, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques, Rouson

Former Phosphate Mining Lands – House Bill 167  Makes it more difficult to sue mining-and-fertilizer giant Mosaic Co. over claims related to radiation exposure on former phosphate mines that have been redeveloped for housing or other uses.
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques, Rouson     Nay: Cross

Agricultural Enclaves – Senate Bill 686 Makes it easier for homebuilders to build residential subdivisions on farmland next to properties that have already been developed or that are zoned for future development. Local Preemption
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques, Rouson       Nay: Cross

Areas of Critical State Concern – House Bill 755 Extends a ban on drilling for oil and gas around Apalachicola River in the Panhandle.
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, Cross, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques, Rouson

Utility Services – House Bill 1451 Squashes a referendum approved by voters in Gainesville intended to restore local control of the city-owned electric company, GRU. Local preemption.
Yea: Anderson, Berfield, DiCeglie, Hooper, Jacques, Rouson      Nay: Cross

Take a deeper dive into some of these bills here.

🌴Florida State Legislators🌴

Help Save Florida Forever

Contact your state representatives/senators in the upcoming special session. Tell them to continue funding the Florida Forever program instead of giving the money to large land owners to preserve land, still barring it from the public. Usually the program had been funded up to $300M to protect valuable Florida land. Right now there is NO funding in the State House budget, and just $35M in the State Senate budget. The Senate money is earmarked for only conservation easement purchases.

What does the Florida Forever program do?

From Florida’s Division of Lands site:

Florida Forever is Florida’s premier conservation and recreation lands acquisition program; a blueprint for conserving Florida’s natural and cultural heritage. Florida Forever replaced Preservation 2000 (P2000), and is one of the largest public land acquisition programs in the United States. With approximately 10 million acres managed for conservation in Florida, more than 2.6 million acres were purchased through the Florida Forever and P2000 programs. Since the inception of the Florida Forever program in 2000, the state has purchased more than 1 million acres of land within Florida Forever projects.

Florida has used the program (and its predecessor) since the 1980s to purchase much of the land for state parks and public land. The Florida Wildlife Corridor, an essential project protecting and preserving natural Florida, would be harmed. WORSE, the state is instead proposing giving hundreds of millions of dollars to land owners by purchasing development rights through the Rural and Family Lands Protection program. That leaves the land available to the private owner for continued agricultural use but does not allow public access in any way. Public money going into private pockets.

🌴Pinellas County Elected Officials🌴

Which districts are you in? It’s confusing.

Residents are in several districts – City Council, School Board, State Legislature, and County Commission. You can check with the Supervisor of Elections, specifically the precinct look up map. Future editions of this newsletter will include specific neighborhood information about your districts and who represents you for those districts.  

🐬City of St. Pete Sustainability Program News🐬

Composting info catch your eye? You can find out more about the City’s composting program here, and sign up for workshops here.

Did you know you can get up to $200 for a toilet rebate? If you replace a toilet made in 1993 or before with a water efficient one, the Tampa Bay Water Wise program will send you a check. If you replace a newer toilet, you can still get a $40-100 rebate.  

🌳Green Events🌳

👍 Green Thumb Festival
Saturday, April 25 & Sunday, April 26, 2026  Walter Fuller Park, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
7891 26th Ave. N. St. Petersburg, FL 33710
🌻 Business Electronics & Chemical Collection Event
Every 2 Wednesday, 9 am – 4 pm
2855 109th Avenue N. St. Petersburg, 33716
 🏴‍☠️ Trash Pirate’s Madeira Beach Cleanup
Saturday, May 2. . 8-11 a.m. 
Sign in at Caddy’s or John’s Pass belltower, 14080 Gulf Boulevard
🌍 St Pete Eco Club Monthly Meeting
Meets every First Thursday of the Month – Next meeting May 3, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Outcast Brewing Company, St. Petersburg, FL
St. Pete Eco Club meets monthly at Outcast Brewing to connect locals in eco-action and community sustainability.
🐓 3rd Annual OSE / VFW Day of Service Cleanup
Saturday, May 3, 9 – 11 a.m.,
Lassing Park. 2042 Beach Dr SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33705

Do you have Eco-events you would like us to promote? Please send them to info@seausrise.org. 

🏘️ Neighbors in the Know Volunteering 🏘️

Neighbors in the Know is a hyper local project linking people who care about Florida’s nature with unbiased information about the actions our elected officials are taking. The project is designed to both gather and disseminate environmental and voting information.

NiK volunteers, aka, ambassadors, talk to their neighbors, and attend neighborhood meetings, to find out what neighborhood environmental matters people are concerned or excited or need more information about. The neighborhood ambassadors bring the information back to NiK, and we pass it along to the environmental nonprofits making up our advisory council. We don’t promise solutions, but we do promise awareness and follow up.

We also work to find out what our elected officials are doing for the environment. We have seen over the last few years that Floridians of all political persuasions come together to protect natural Florida. We have also learned that calling and writing elected officials, especially ones that are also our neighbors, has a HUGE impact.

Please email us at info@seausrise.org if you are interested in finding out what being a NiK ambassador. It is a great way to get to know your neighbors, build community, and maybe save the planet, one block at a time.

🎶 We have our own song!🎶

Sea Us Rise is founded on the idea that we can use music to inspire people to take better care of the planet. Imagine how thrilled we are that we now have a Sea Us Rise song of our own! Our buddy Dean Johanesen wrote this song (with the help of a whole bunch of middle school students!) for us! Dean did a songwriting exercise with each class that came through at the 2026 USFSP St. Pete Science Festival on the first day of the fest, then performed this on the main stage the second day. Thank you, Dean, it is so much fun.  

Thanks for reading our newsletter. Please let us know if you have news, ideas, photos we can use, and more. We would love to build Neighbors in the Know together with you.