SB 584, a bill that would have required state and local governments to sell land before buying more land, ran into a wall of opposition as Senators from both parties expressed support for Florida Forever and public lands. Senator Alan Hays (R-Umatilla) offered an amendment to soften the effect of the bill, but Senator Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater) questioned the effect of requiring perpetually management funding before conservation land could be protected.

Audubon executive director Eric Draper pointed out that even with the amendment the bill would be a de facto moratorium on new conservation lands. The full meeting video can be viewed by clicking here. Eric Draper's testimony begins at 34:00 minute mark.

Senator Hays TP’d (temporarily postponed) the bill after a majority of members of the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee expressed concerns. Hays warned the committee that he will be back with the proposal: "I can promise each one of you I'm not going away," Hays said. "I got a term for four years. So there are at least three more years we are going to bring this puppy up."

A loose collection of Tea Party activists showed up to support the bill. One argued that public parksthreaten individual freedom. Another offered the example that Broward County had too much government land (most of the public land in Broward County is part of the historic Everglades and is used as the drinking water source of much of southeast Florida).

While the bill itself is done for this year, Senator Hays is the powerful chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government. That committee recommended no new money for Florida Forever, relying instead on sale of existing public lands or reallocating previously appropriated funds.

Our job is to persuade Senator Hays and Senate leaders to match the House and Governor’s budget request with at least $25 million for Florida Forever.

For more information on Florida Forever, please visit the Florida Forever Coalition website.