SB 274

The Springs Protection bill, sponsored by Senator Constantine, was brought up in the Environmental Preservation and Conservation committee yesterday as scheduled. There were presentations by environmental groups, Marion county, and homebuilders about the bill as currently written. Senator Constantine stated that he proposes now to expand the protection from the 4 springs named (Silver, Rainbow, Ichetucknee, and Wakulla) to all 1st and 2nd magnitude springs in the state. In order to do this, the bill will need to be greatly revised. A “strike all” amendment to this bill will be introduced once it is written (perhaps as early as later this week). In the meanwhile, the current bill has been TP’d (temporarily postponed) until the amendment and bill gets back on the committee schedule. I will let you know about the amendment as soon as I hear about it. Stay tuned!

Connie Bersok
Florida Springs Initiative