Bill to bar golf courses, Hotels from Florida State Parks wins in dynamics

On Tuesday, the first day of the legislative session in Florida and already a top -class bill for the ban on the construction work of golf courses, hotels and pickle balls in State Parks was in the end.

House Bill 209, called the State Park Preservation Act, passed his first committee with cross -party support. The coordination was the first time that the draft law had brought forward in the Florida House after a similar version of the Senate had received a unanimous committee vote during the chairmanship of the legislator.

The legislator submitted the proposal after the Tampa Bay Times announced last summer that the Desantis government secretly planned to give parks throughout the state potentially destructive amenities. The core of the plan was to bring the golf courses to the Schrulel in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County.

The government officially introduced the plans after the reporting of time – just to be overwhelming by politicians and residents.

The early progress of this law in both chambers – accompanied by comments on the enthusiastic support of both parties – is a strong sign of its opportunities. The legislative period should take 60 days, and everything that will not be adopted by the next year is not adopted.

Beth Alvi, the Senior Director of Policy at Audubon Florida, said on Tuesday that the “avalanche of the cross -party opposition” plans to “underline how important this is for our communities, our culture and economy”.

Some sponsors of the law, including Rep. John Snyder in the house, are Republicans whose districts belong to Jonathan Dickinson State Park. MP Peggy Gossett-Seidman, a Republican of Highland Beach, who joined the co-sponsor, said her family has been hiking in Jonathan Dickinson for more than four decades.

“It is important that we keep these parks untouched,” she said.

The public records published last month showed that Desantis had planned a meeting with the non -profit organization in February 2023, which put the legislator on a plan for building golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson.

When Desantis emphasized his environmental priorities on Tuesday during his annual speech by the state, he brought up the restoration of Everglades and added more natural intersections for wild animals such as the Florida Panther.

But there was no mention of state parks.