A state lawmaker wants to create a consistent way to pay for Everglades restoration.
Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Port St. Lucie, said ever since Congress and Florida committed to a comprehensive plan to fix the Everglades about 16 years ago, funding has been inconsistent.
“It goes in fits and starts… we started C-44 canal project here in Martin County and every year it was a fight to get the money. We didn’t know whether you were going to get it and other parts of the state were fighting for their fair share of the money,” she said.
That’s why she’s sponsoring a bill that creates a dedicated funding source for Everglades restoration. The money would come from the Land Acquisition Trust Fund. That fund is supported by a 2014 voter-approved ballot measure commonly called Amendment 1.
Either 25 percent of those funds or at least $200 million would be set aside annually.
That money would go toward the large federal-state partnership, local projects and efforts to reduce water releases from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers.
Environmental groups like Audubon Florida support the possible legislation.
A similar bill has been filed in the state senate.
