3 Dangerous Bills in Florida

Threats to the Environment and Public Health

Florida’s pristine environment and the health of its residents are currently at risk as three dangerous bills make their way through the legislative process. These bills threaten the state’s waterways, encourage irresponsible development, and expose communities to cancer-causing toxins. By understanding the risks posed by these bills, we can urge Governor DeSantis to veto them and protect the health and well-being of all Floridians.

TLDR;

Take action to urge Governor DeSantis to VETO these three hazardous bills:

1. Fertilizer Ordinance Preemption (line item 146 in SB 2500) – update: signed into law on June 15, 2023
2. Bad Growth Bill (HB 359/SB 540) – update: signed into law on May 24, 2023
3. Radioactive Roads Bill (HB 1191/SB 1258)

These bills threaten the state’s waterways, promote irresponsible development, and expose communities to cancer-causing toxins. It’s essential for residents to take action and urge Governor DeSantis to veto these bills to protect Florida’s environment and public health.

Fertilizer Ordinance Preemption

Governor DeSantis signed SB 2500 into law. This law prohibits local governments from adopting or amending fertilizer application ordinances that propose a key summer blackout period for the next year.

This preemption threatens the ability of local governments to protect waterways from nutrient pollution, a major water quality issue in Florida.

Thank you to everyone who took action with us and told the Governor to VETO this bill.
And a very special thank you to our friends at Waterkeepers Florida for hosting this action alert.

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Bad Growth Bill

The “Session of Sprawl” continued to the very end. 🏗️🌴 Governor DeSantis signed HB 359/SB 540 into law on May 24, 2023. This bills is anticipated to have a significant chilling effect on community challenges to environmentally harmful development, as they allow winning parties in legal challenges to recover attorney fees from the losing parties. The attorneys that developers retain often charge extraordinary rates. This could deter community members and public interest groups from challenging development decisions due to the potentially high legal costs.

Please see this statement from our colleagues at Friends of the Everglades.

Thank you to everyone who took action with us and told the Governor to VETO this bill.
And a very special thank you to our friends at Waterkeepers Florida for hosting this action alert.

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Radioactive Roads

🚨 URGENT ACTION NEEDED 🚨 Keep our communities safe and healthy! Say NO to HB 1191/SB 1258! This dangerous bill would start the process of allowing the use of radioactive and cancer-causing material to be used in Florida road construction. 🚧

We can’t let these chemicals contaminate our water 💧 and air 🌬️, harming our environment and the health of all Floridians.

👉 Join Miami Waterkeeper and our friends at Catalyst Miami in urging Governor DeSantis to STOP this bill! 🛑

Take action by clicking the button below.

Tell Gov. DeSantis to VETO Radioactive Roads

Thank you to our friends at Catalyst Miami for hosting this action alert.

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Take Action to Urge Governor DeSantis to VETO 

The Fertilizer Ordinance Preemption, Bad Growth Bill (HB 359/SB 540), and Radioactive Roads Bill (HB 1191/SB 1258) are three bills that pose significant threats to the environment and public health in Florida. It is crucial that we come together as a community to raise awareness about these dangers and encourage Governor DeSantis to veto these harmful proposals.

By taking action now, we can safeguard Florida’s waterways, promote responsible development, and protect communities from exposure to dangerous toxins.