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Tell Your Friends Send this message to friends and family members. Tell them to help Florida's birds and wildlife too. Florida's Birds and Wildlife Need Your Help Your funds will go into an exclusive conservation fund to be used to influence decision-makers to keep our water clean and flowing and to keep our wildlife safe from the impacts of habitat loss.

Advocate: Oil Drilling Bill Gets Tabled This Year

With two weeks remaining in Regular Session, events are accelerating at the Capitol. House oil drilling legislation was debuted yesterday and tabled today, and all eyes now turn to the appropriations process and how to bridge the budget shortfall. Thanks to you all for your support. ~ Audubon of Florida Policy Team

Speaker-elect Cannon Tables Drilling Bill for This Year

After releasing the House's proposed committee bill to open Florida's nearshore waters to oil drilling yesterday, Speaker-elect Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park) today announced the bill would be set aside this year for lack of appetite in the Senate. This afternoon Cannon's Select Policy Council on Strategic and Economic Planning discussed the summary of its discussions this year, as well as a report commissioned from the Willis Group on the potential risks and benefits of this proposal. At the meeting's end, the committee voted to transmit the committee's report to the Senate. Cannon pledged to revisit the proposal to open Florida's nearshore waters to drilling in a future Session when both chambers welcome the proposal...which could be as soon as next year. Thanks to all of you who wrote to the members of this committee yesterday to voice your opposition to nearshore drilling and your support for clean, job-creating renewable energy.

Pythons

SB 318 by Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood) and SB 572 by Sen. Lee Constatine (R-Altamonte Springs) were combined and amended in Senate General Government Appropriations this week to mirror python legislation now on the House floor. These important bills would limit the breeding and ownership of large constrictors in Florida. Source control is an important step in meeting the challenge these invasive exotics pose to Florida's ecosystems.

Appropriations: Florida Forever and Everglades

This week showed little progress on the budget, although conferees are scheduled to meeting Saturday at 10AM to begin discussions. News from Washington that $800M in Medicaid funding may not be forthcoming could make the conference meetings even more challenging. At the moment, the Senate budget includes $15M for Florida Forever and $10M for Everglades restoration. The House budget does not include funding for these two programs. Some amount of funding is important to ensure continuity in both of these programs.

Springs

Springs advocates are watching SB 550 by Sen. Lee Constantine (R-Altamonte Springs) very closely, with the knowledge that it must clear Ways and Means next Tuesday to proceed to the floor. This will likely be a very challenging committee stop for Sen. Constantine's springs bill. If you have not already done so, please take action by writing to your legislators, voicing your support for meaningful springs protections this year.

Department of Community Affairs Reauthorization

In the Senate, Sen. Mike Bennett's bill to reauthorize DCA is moving forward to the Senate Floor. However, no House movement is forseen. A possible late session move to attach the Senate reauthorization language to a related Growth Management bill may be the only path left available.

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