Public opposition takes down “Toxic Spill Bill” and strong Everglades Restoration budget passes for FY24.
With the 2024 Florida State Legislative Session now officially concluded as of Mar. 8th, we’re happy to report a couple pieces of great news:
- The “Toxic Spill Bill” (SB 738/HB 789) did NOT pass!
- The FY24 Florida State budget is set to allocate $1.1 Billion for Everglades Restoration and Water Quality Improvements.
Rallying action to defeat the “Toxic Spill Bill”
Senate Bill 738/House Bill 789, or the “Toxic Spill Bill” as we called it, contained egregious provisions that would have protected big-time polluters and punished hard-working people. The bill was a threat to every single person in Florida, limiting the liability of polluters and restricting the legal options for citizens in the event of a toxic spill.
Midway through the 2024 Legislative Session, the bill appeared to be dead, with all signs indicating it wouldn’t be moving any further in the process.
BUT, one week before the end of session, political power-grabs brought it back to life and it started to grow legs. Then, on the Thursday before session closed, the Senate version of this bad bill (SB 738) passed a floor vote.
That’s when we sounded the alarm, warning the public of the ramifications of the bill and rallying action to stop the House version (HB 789) from moving any further to ensure this bad proposal wouldn’t turn into law.
Why was the bill toxic?
The bill truly was a threat to every single citizen of Florida.
Under current law, if a citizen (including an angler or fishing guide) is affected by a toxic spill—like say from large mining operations, toxic chemical spraying or handling, or a toxic spill into our waterways—they have the ability to remedy that situation by seeking damages from the polluter for recovery of bodily or economic harm.
But this bill would have prohibited citizens from taking legal action against those polluters if a spill event occurred while a polluter was operating under a permit.
So basically, this bill would have removed citizen protections that already exist, and expanded protections for big-dollar polluters.
Taking the bill down
Thankfully, our supporters weren’t going to let the bill slide through and they answered the call when we turned on the sirens.
Over the course of only 9 short days, we launched a swift public campaign against the bill, reaching over 250,000 people. We had 19,000 people engaged on our call-to-action content, with clean-water advocates, brands, and partners generating a huge splash on social media.
People shared our alerts, people made phone calls to legislators, people sent emails, and ultimately, when Session closed, the House version had not even ever been heard on the floor.
The public outcry of opposition to this proposed legislation had generated plenty of political pressure to kill the bill—the “Toxic Spill Bill” had been defeated.
So thank you to everyone who shared our content about the bill, and to everyone who called your Representatives—it made a difference.
Another solid budget secured for Everglades Restoration
The other great news to come out of Legislative Session is another strong budget for Everglades Restoration.
The Florida state budget for FY24, which passed on the last day of session, allocates $1.1 billion for Everglades Restoration and Water Quality Improvements.
Breaking it down a little more, that includes:
- $740 million for Everglades Restoration
- $75 million for the Indian River Lagoon
- $50 million for the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie River Estuaries
- $25 million for Biscayne Bay.
Coincidentally, the Federal Budget for FY24 also passed around the same time as the state budget, earmarking another $425 million for Everglades Restoration.
As the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is funded through a 50/50 cost share between the Federal government and the state of Florida, its success and progress absolutely hinges on continued robust funding every single year, so it’s motivating to see that support at both levels secured for yet another year.
Public opposition takes down “Toxic Spill Bill” and strong Everglades Restoration budget passes for FY24.
With the 2024 Florida State Legislative Session now officially concluded as of Mar. 8th, we’re happy to report a couple pieces of great news:
- The “Toxic Spill Bill” (SB 738/HB 789) did NOT pass!
- The FY24 Florida State budget is set to allocate $1.1 Billion for Everglades Restoration and Water Quality Improvements.
Rallying action to defeat the “Toxic Spill Bill”
Senate Bill 738/House Bill 789, or the “Toxic Spill Bill” as we called it, contained egregious provisions that would have protected big-time polluters and punished hard-working people. The bill was a threat to every single person in Florida, limiting the liability of polluters and restricting the legal options for citizens in the event of a toxic spill.
Midway through the 2024 Legislative Session, the bill appeared to be dead, with all signs indicating it wouldn’t be moving any further in the process.
BUT, one week before the end of session, political power-grabs brought it back to life and it started to grow legs. Then, on the Thursday before session closed, the Senate version of this bad bill (SB 738) passed a floor vote.
That’s when we sounded the alarm, warning the public of the ramifications of the bill and rallying action to stop the House version (HB 789) from moving any further to ensure this bad proposal wouldn’t turn into law.
Why was the bill toxic?
The bill truly was a threat to every single citizen of Florida.
Under current law, if a citizen (including an angler or fishing guide) is affected by a toxic spill—like say from large mining operations, toxic chemical spraying or handling, or a toxic spill into our waterways—they have the ability to remedy that situation by seeking damages from the polluter for recovery of bodily or economic harm.
But this bill would have prohibited citizens from taking legal action against those polluters if a spill event occurred while a polluter was operating under a permit.
So basically, this bill would have removed citizen protections that already exist, and expanded protections for big-dollar polluters.
Taking the bill down
Thankfully, our supporters weren’t going to let the bill slide through and they answered the call when we turned on the sirens.
Over the course of only 9 short days, we launched a swift public campaign against the bill, reaching over 250,000 people. We had 19,000 people engaged on our call-to-action content, with clean-water advocates, brands, and partners generating a huge splash on social media.
People shared our alerts, people made phone calls to legislators, people sent emails, and ultimately, when Session closed, the House version had not even ever been heard on the floor.
The public outcry of opposition to this proposed legislation had generated plenty of political pressure to kill the bill—the “Toxic Spill Bill” had been defeated.
So thank you to everyone who shared our content about the bill, and to everyone who called your Representatives—it made a difference.
Another solid budget secured for Everglades Restoration
The other great news to come out of Legislative Session is another strong budget for Everglades Restoration.
The Florida state budget for FY24, which passed on the last day of session, allocates $1.1 billion for Everglades Restoration and Water Quality Improvements.
Breaking it down a little more, that includes:
- $740 million for Everglades Restoration
- $75 million for the Indian River Lagoon
- $50 million for the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie River Estuaries
- $25 million for Biscayne Bay.
Coincidentally, the Federal Budget for FY24 also passed around the same time as the state budget, earmarking another $425 million for Everglades Restoration.
As the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is funded through a 50/50 cost share between the Federal government and the state of Florida, its success and progress absolutely hinges on continued robust funding every single year, so it’s motivating to see that support at both levels secured for yet another year.