Florida Legislature
The Florida Legislative session just wrapped, and what started out as the “Session of Sprawl on Steroids” ended with a bit of a whimper as some of the worst pro-development bills were either sanded down before passing or — like…
State Rep. Lauren Melo wants you to know she loves wild Florida. Growing up, the Naples Republican used to hunt quail and learned to drive a “three on the tree” gear shifter in the wide-open spaces. As she told the…
Now it all makes sense. As we and others have noted this legislative session, there’s been a huge onslaught of pro-”sprawl” bills, most of which invoke “affordable housing.” That is, if we limit local governments ability to regulate new housing…
You think you know what’s best for your community? Lawmakers in faraway Tallahassee disagree. Indeed, this year there are multiple bills in the state Legislature with a single goal: Taking power away from local communities. Some of them involve straight-up…
Look, you know how the game is played. Special interests call the tune, your legislators dance; they file bills written by and for deep-pocketed donors. And as you’ve heard us say so many times over the years, few donors have…
The Florida Legislature is soon in session, and we’d like to think clean water will be atop the 2026 agenda. We’re not putting money on it, though, so we’ll be watching our lawmakers very closely this session – and we…
VoteWater and 37 other Florida conservation organizations are calling on the state Legislature to repeal key portions of Senate Bill 180, legislation signed into law earlier this year that effectively prohibits local governments from adopting measures to sensibly guide growth,…
Every year when the Florida legislative session convenes, we can expect a barrage of bad bills destined to coddle polluters, facilitate ever-more “sprawl” and restrict citizens’ rights to participate in decision-making. The 2025 session lives up — or down —…
For weeks Florida legislators have been meeting in committee, filing and debating bills and preparing for the official start of the 2025 Legislative Session on March 4. This session VoteWater’s Gil Smart will travel to Tallahassee to lobby for clean-water…
Developers, Legislators want to shut you out – and shut you up
The Florida Legislature is now in session. What could possibly go wrong? In fact, the sheer number of bad bills filed this year is stunning. Many involve attempts to push more “sprawl” through the pipeline with less public oversight. There…