Ask Governor DeSantis to veto attack on local waterway protections

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Dear [Decision Maker],

Please utilize your line-item veto authority to strike line item 146 of the legislature's budget (SB2500). Doing so will ensure that local communities can continue to enact stringent and protective fertilizer ordinances that are key to our water quality.

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- Local fertilizer ordinances are common sense measures that are now in place in over 100 municipalities across the state.

- Any preemption of amending or adopting new such ordinances would set us backward in our efforts to protect our most precious resource: our waters.

- Nutrient pollution has turned our waterways slime green, making them not only unsightly but unsafe. Pollution from nutrients in fertilizer can contribute to harmful algae blooms resulting in dead fish washing up on our beaches. It also poses risks to human health, economic prosperity, productive waterways, as well as quality of life.

- Clean water is the lifeblood of Florida's economy, yet many of our waters do not currently meet state water quality standards due to excess nutrient pollution.

- The budget item for which we are seeking your veto was not presented in legislative committees. Prior efforts to preempt local fertilizer ordinances have failed on the vine in the legislature.

- Local governments value all tools in the toolbox to combat nutrient pollution.

- University of Florida/Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), the entity to conduct the study outlined in line item 146, has a major mission of agriculture and turf, not water quality.

- For over 12 years, the current Florida statutes have allowed county and city measures to reflect local conditions and adopt more protective ordinances through a process outlined in state statutes. There is no need for a hiatus to this critical water quality tool.

Please protect water quality by vetoing the proviso following line item 146 in SB2500, the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Your Email]