Florida Forever bill passes House committee, won't affect Lake Okeechobee reservoir

A House committee Tuesday unanimously passed a bill to boost Florida Forever funding and restrict its use to buying land or paying for conservation easements on rural land.

House Bill 7063 allocates $57 million to the Department of Environmental Protection for land preservation next year and gradually increases the amount to $110 million by fiscal year 2023-24 and $200 million by fiscal year 2029-30.

Before the hearing, the bill's sponsor eliminated a prohibition on using Florida Forever funds to build on rural lands. Everglades advocates objected to the prohibition, saying that would apply to the proposed reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee aimed at curtailing polluted freshwater discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers.

State Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, said that wasn't his intention and he wants to ensure the reservoir remains on track, so he removed that provision before the Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee voted.

Bill supporters

Several environmental advocates applauded the bill during the hearing.

Aliki Moncrief, executive director of Florida Conservation Voters, said it hones in on land acquisition, an important and "underutilized" tool to protect the state's environment.

"When you buy lands around a spring, for example, and you make sure that those lands stay in conservation instead of being turned into gas stations or developments or what have you," she said, "you're actually protecting the spring and you're protecting our underground resources."

Caldwell introduced the same bill during last year's legislative session. It passed the House nearly unanimously, but died in the Senate, taking a back seat to the $800 million Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, wanted for the Lake Okeechobee reservoir.

Florida Forever used to receive about $300 million a year since 1999, but it was gutted during and after the 2008 recession.

"We appreciate that it's a strong effort to establish a steady stream of funding to Florida Forever, the Florida Communities Trust and Florida Rural and Family Lands program," Moncrief said, "and we're looking forward hopefully to your support today in seeing this bill travel and hopefully pick up some steam along the way."

The bill's next and last stop before a floor vote is the Appropriations Committee.

Senate version

The Senate is backing a different plan, but it's stalled in the House.

Appropriations Chair Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, sponsored the bill to allocate $100 million annually to Florida Forever and prohibit its use for general agency operations.

SB 370 unanimously passed the Senate last week, but no House committees have heard that chamber's identical version.