After Governor Ron Desantis offered golf courses, pickleball fields and other leisure possibilities for Florida state parks last summer, Florida House voted against the plan.
The vote was 115-0 for the measure on Wednesday, which is now going to the Senate, where a similar bill moves through committees.
The supporters said that the public’s reaction and the demonstrations last year against what Desantis called the Great Outdoors initiative was a key factor in the governor’s later decision to put it aside.
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The demonstrators sing against Governor Ron Desantis’ plan to develop state parks with commercial companies such as golf courses, pickleball fields and large hotels during a demonstration in Oleta River State Park on August 27, 2024, in North Miami Beach, Florida. (AP photo / Wilfredo lee, file)
“I think we were all shocked to hear what they were going to do in our precious state parks,” said representative Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, via Wusf. “This is in direct response to this plan and in direct response to what our voters wanted us to do.”
“The public outcry, you could probably hear it to the moon or March,” said representative Lindsay Cross, a democrat in Saint Petersburg who attended certain demonstrations. The bill, she added, “ensures that our wild Florida remains in the wild”.
Florida Governor Ron Desantis speaks to media members after an event on July 27, 2023 in Chariton, Iowa. (Sergio Flores for the Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Florida Attorney General says he is working to make his condition the safest place to raise a family
Development would always be authorized in the parks, but all projects must be “recreational -based recreational uses” which support activities such as hiking, swimming, horse riding, pleasure navigation and nature, according to an analysis of room staff.
“Any activity of use or construction must be carried out in a way that avoids the impacts on the critical housing of a state park and natural and historical resources,” added the analysis.
The Department of Environmental Protection of Desantis proposed the plans last summer, but the opponents protested and many plans were put back. Shortly after the proposal, Desantis returned to the field, saying that the plans “returned to the drawing board”.
Florida Gov. Ron Desantis (Octavio Jones / Getty Images)
“Our state parks are precious,” said the representative of the Democratic State Allison so much. “We have our state parks that represent the real Florida.”
