-
Editorials
- Bradenton Herald
- Daytona Beach News-Journal
- Florida Times-Union
- Florida Today
- Ft. Myers News-Press
- Gainesville Sun
- Lakeland Ledger
- Miami Herald
- Naples Daily News
- NWF Daily News
- Ocala Star-Banner
- Orlando Sentinel
- Palm Beach Post
- Pensacola News Journal
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- TCPalm
- Sun-Sentinel
- Tallahassee Democrat
- Tampa Bay Times
- Columnists
- Cartoons
-
Press Releases
- Sayfie Review
- Jose Oliva
- Nikki Fried
- Bill Galvano
- Ron DeSantis
- Marco Rubio
- Ashley Moody
- Rick Scott
- Jimmy Patronis
- Congressional Delegation ≻
- Matt Gaetz
- Neal Dunn
- Kat Cammack
- Aaron Bean
- John Rutherford
- Michael Waltz
- Cory Mills
- Bill Posey
- Darren Soto
- Maxwell Frost
- Daniel Webster
- Gus Bilirakis
- Anna Paulina Luna
- Kathy Castor
- Laurel Lee
- Vern Buchanan
- Greg Steube
- Scott Franklin
- Byron Donalds
- Sheila Cherfilus McCormick
- Brian Mast
- Lois Frankel
- Jared Moskowitz
- Frederica Wilson
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Mario Diaz-Balart
- Maria Elvira Salazar
- Carlos Gimenez
- Political Links
-
News Links
- Drudge Report
- NewsMax.com
- AP Florida News
- ABC News' The Note
- NBC News' First Read
- Florida Channel
- Florida TV Stations
- Florida Radio Stations
- Capitol Update
- Florida Newspapers
- Florida Trend
- South Florida Business Journal
- Tampa Bay Business Journal
- Orlando Business Journal
- Jacksonville Business Journal
- News Service of Florida
- Politico Playbook
- Washington Post The Daily 202
-
Research
- Florida Fiscal Portal
- Search Florida Laws
- Search House Bills
- Search Senate Bills
- Search County, City Laws
- Search County Clerks' Records
- Cabinet Agendas, Transcripts
- Search Executive Orders
- Search Atty. General Opinions
- Search Supreme Court Docket
- Florida Supreme Court Rulings
- Search Florida Corporations
- Search Administrative Rules
- Proposed Administrative Rules
- View Advertised Contracts
- Refdesk.com
- Government Services Guide
- Electoral Vote Map
-
Reference
- Florida House
- Florida Senate
- Find Your Congressman
- Find Your State Legislator
- Find Your Local Officials
- Find Government Phone #'s
- Florida Agencies
- Florida Cities
- Florida Counties
- Florida Universities
- County Tax Collectors
- County Property Appraisers
- County Clerks of Court
- County Elections Supervisors
- MyFlorida.com
- OPPAGA
- Advertise with us
Times: Editorial Cartoons for Friday from Times Wire Services
Sun-Sentinel: A basic case of truth and justice in Delray Beach | Editorial
Times: Here's a way to reframe Trump's Stormy Daniels hush money case
Times: TikTok and the sands of time. What hath social media and smartphones wrought for our kids?
Times: Should you tip? Should you have to?
Times: Internet service needs the marketplace, not heavy-handed net neutrality regulation
Herald: Underline is more than a park. It's just what Miami needs | Opinion
Sun-Sentinel: The high cost of playing politics with sheriff's jobs | Editorial
Springs funding added to Senate's Everglades fix
By JIM TURNER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, February 9, 2016.......... Money to restore the state's natural springs has been attached to a proposal that would direct as much as $200 million a year to South Florida water projects.
The Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee supported an amendment Tuesday that would require at least $75 million a year to be budgeted for springs preservation.
Sen. Joe Negron, the sponsor of the overall bill (SB 1168) known as "Legacy Florida," said the money for the springs makes the proposal more statewide and won't impact his desire to direct to South Florida some of the funds approved by voters in a 2014 constitutional amendment for water and land preservation.
"By adding the springs component we're not detracting anything from the Everglades restoration," Negron said. "In fact, they complement each other and make the bill even stronger."
The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a similar measure (HB 989) to fund South Florida projects. The bill, which does not include the springs funding, is ready for the House floor.
Michael Williams, a spokesman for House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, said in an email Tuesday the House and Senate have not had discussions about the springs funding "concept."
"We look forward to learning more about their proposal," Williams said.
The Legacy Florida money is expected to pay for projects that will eventually reduce the need for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of contaminated water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, as it is currently does as a way to reduce stress on the Herbert Hoover Dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee.
The proposal has drawn support from organizations such as the Florida League of Cities, Audubon Florida, 1000 Friends of Florida, the Nature Conservancy and the Everglades Foundation.
“Right now, billions of gallons of polluted water are pouring out of Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers, wreaking havoc on their ecologies and economies," Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg said in a prepared statement supporting the Legacy Florida proposal.
Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, said lawmakers need to ensure the funding remains available.
"We're just going to have to dig deep to make sure there is the actual funding there to make this a reality," Soto said.
Soto is expected to join Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge, on Wednesday in proposing a budget amendment that would increase funding from $22.3 million to $220 million for land acquisition through the Florida Forever program. The Senate will take up its proposed budget Wednesday during a floor session.
Florida Forever, which uses bonds backed with revenue from documentary-stamp real-estate taxes, authorizes lawmakers to spend up to $300 million a year for preservation. But as the economy went sour during the recession, so did funding for Florida Forever.
Under Negron's bill, 25 percent or $200 million a year, whichever is lower, would go from what is known as the state land-acquisition trust fund to Everglades and Lake Okeechobee projects.
Of that money, $32 million would go to the South Florida Water Management District for the Long-Term Plan through the 2023-2024 fiscal year, about $100 million annually for the next decade would be used to plan, design, engineer and construct works already approved under the Central Everglades Planning Project, and the remaining funds would go the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program.
"It reflects a long-term commitment, over the next 10 years, toward restoration of the Everglades," Negron said.
The measure also would require the Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District to give preference to Everglades restoration projects that reduce discharges of water from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie or Caloosahatchee estuaries.
The land-acquisition trust fund is being used to carry out the 2014 constitutional amendment, which requires that a portion of documentary-stamp taxes are set aside for land and water buying and preservation.
Gov. Rick Scott's office has estimated the real estate tax is expected to generate $905 million for the land-acquisition trust fund during the fiscal year that starts July 1. The measure was projected to generate $740 million in the current fiscal year.