TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In 2014, about 4.2 million voters said they wanted dedicated funding for land and water conservation when they approved Amendment 1.
But lawmakers and environmentalists have differing ideas about what that means, and for the third session in a row, organizers behind Amendment 1 are disappointed.
“Florida Forever funding is at zero in the House right now, and it’s at $15.2 million in the Senate,” said Aliki Moncrief, of the Florida Conservation Voters. “(And) $15.2 million is what it got last year and the year before, and it’s obviously a lot less than the hundreds of millions of dollars it used to get in the past.”
But key lawmakers said they are following voters’ wishes.
“We want to have a roust problem for dealing with problems like the Everglades -- like the St. Johns River, (or) like our springs,” said Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Orange Park.
Plans for Everglades restoration are taking a big part of the land money, and environmentalists agree. Still, the question environmentalists are asking lawmakers is, "What part of Land Acquisition Trust Fund don’t you understand?"
Cash that used to come from general revenue that now comes from the Trust Fund is being used for law enforcement efforts at the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and at the Forestry Service.
“They didn’t say compliance assistance for polluting entities,” Moncrief said. “They said Land Acquisition Trust Fund.”
On the bright side, Moncrief said, there are signs lawmakers are slowly paying more attention. But at the current rate, it could take decades before voters’ intentions are fully honored, Moncrief said.
Recommended Videos
Environmentalists are working on several amendments they hope will be offered when the House and Senate discuss the budget Wednesday.