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Negron Vows To Consider State Funds For Hoover Dike

Florida Channel

Florida Senate President Joe Negron said he appreciates Governor Rick Scott’s support for water storage south of Lake Okeechobee. But he’s concerned about Scott’s request to include $200 million to fix the Herbert Hoover dike. Negron said he doesn’t trust the federal government to reimburse the state for repairs to the federally-operated levee.

Credit Florida Channel

“That being said, we’re certainly going to give it every consideration and every time the governor of the state of Florida makes a recommendation on a bill that’s moving through the process, we give great weight to that,” he said.

Negron has scaled down his reservoir request south of Lake Okeechobee. The revised plan buys less private land and reduces the price to $1.5 billion over 10 years. But, the House is opposed to borrowing money for the project.

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Sarah Mueller is the first recipient of the WFSU Media Capitol Reporting Fellowship. She’ll be covering the 2017 Florida legislative session and recently earned her master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting at the University of Illinois Springfield. Sarah was part of the Illinois Statehouse press corps as an intern for NPR Illinois in 2016. When not working, she enjoys playing her yellow lab, watching documentaries and reading memoirs.