Florida Chamber-Backed Water Bill Passes Senate Environmental Preservation Committee
The Florida Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee today unanimously passed a Florida Chamber-backed water bill that will help secure Florida’s water future.
The bill, SB 0552 by Senator Charles Dean (R-Inverness), will:
- Help ensure clean and abundant water,
- Reduce the prospect of “water wars” among users in resource-limited areas, and
- Promote strategic partnerships between the public and private sector in achieving water resource development goals.
In testimony before the committee, Florida Chamber lobbyists David Childs of Hopping Green & Sams, P.A. explained that this bill will go a long way to ensure we have the water quality decision being made to ensure that, Florida isn’t decades from now, kicking itself and wishing that it would have done something.
“We’re on the home stretch of a very long journey,” Childs said. “This is not a victory lap, but a lot of hard work to ensure that in 20 years and 30 years from now, we look like Florida and not California who is dealing with water shortages.”
The House companion bill, HB 7005 sponsored by Representative Matt Caldwell (R-Lehigh Acres) passed its first committee stop two weeks ago.
With six million more residents expected to call Florida home by 2030, the Florida Chamber of Commerce believes that securing Florida’s water future is essential in preparing Florida’s infrastructure for smart growth and development.
The Florida Chamber thanks Senator Dean and Representative Caldwell for sponsoring this legislation, and we will continue to monitor its progress in the coming weeks.
