A Senate committee backed a proposal that would earmark up to $20 million a year for environmental projects in the Florida Keys, a week after Gov. Ron DeSantis included protection of Florida’s coral reefs as part of his second-term environmental plan.
The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved a bill (SB 54) on Tuesday that calls for providing money each year from the state’s Land Acquisition Trust Fund, which receives real-estate tax dollars under a 2014 constitutional amendment aimed at land and water conservation.
The proposal by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Doral, would provide money to restore Florida Bay, the Florida Keys and ecosystems such as coral reefs and to acquire land within the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern.
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State law already directs money from the trust fund for such things as Everglades restoration and springs protection. David Cullen, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club, voiced opposition to the proposal, which was amended Tuesday to remove a ban on using the money for wastewater projects.
“Sierra Club strongly believes … the LATF (Land Acquisition Trust Fund) --- per the constitutional amendment passed in 2014 --- is for the acquisition, restoration, management and improvement of conservation and recreational lands,” Cullen said. “Not for pumps and pipes.”
Last week, DeSantis called for lawmakers to spend $3.5 billion over the next four years on environmental projects such as restoring the Everglades and addressing water-quality problems. Among other things, he called for protecting coral reefs.
“We are also going to establish a coral reef restoration and recovery initiative to increase coral deployment, to enhance coastal-flood and storm-surge protections,” DeSantis said at the time. “That is something that is very, very important, and we are going to continue to make progress there.”
