After Governor Ron Desantis proposed golf courses, pickleball courts and other recreational opportunities for state parks in Florida last summer, Florida’s house voted against the plan.
The vote was 115-0 for the measure on Wednesday, which now goes to the Senate, where a similar bill is moving through the committees.
The supporters said that the public reaction and protests last year against what Desantis called the outdoor initiative was a key factor in the subsequent decision of the governor of archiving it.
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The protesters sing against the plan of Governor Ron Desantis to develop state parks with commercial companies such as Golf Campos, Pickleball Courts and large hotels during a demonstration in the state park Oleta River on August 27, 2024, in North Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, Archive)
“I think we were all surprised to hear what they were going to do at our precious state parks,” said Representative Robin Barthleman, D-Weston, through Wusf. “This is in direct response to that plan and in direct response to what our voters wanted us to do.”
“The public protest could probably listen to the moon or Mars,” said representative Lindsay Cross, a Democrat of St. Petersburg who attended some protests. The bill, he added, “will ensure that our wild Florida remains wild.”
The governor of Florida, Ron Desantis, talks to the media members after an event on July 27, 2023 in Chariton, Iowa. (Sergio Flores for the Washington Post through Getty Images)
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Development would still be allowed in parks, but any project must be “recreational uses based on conservation” that support activities such as hiking, swimming, riding, boat walks and study of nature, according to an analysis of the house staff.
“Any activity of use or construction must be carried out in a way that avoids impacts on the critical habitat of a state park and natural and historical resources,” added the analysis.
The Department of Environmental Environmental Protection proposed the plans last summer, but the opponents protested and many plans were discarded. Shortly after the proposal, Desantis returned to the field, saying that the plans were “returning to the drawing board.”
Governor of Florida Ron Desantis (Octavio Jones/Getty images)
“Our state parks are beautiful,” said Democratic State Representative Allison Tant. “We have our state parks that represent the true Florida.”
