Florida House passes the building bar golf course, state park hotel

The Florida home unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to prohibit golf courses, hotels and other amenities from being built on state park land.

The vote was 115-0 in support of the bill, and lawmakers praised the measure on both sides of the political aisle. Several lawmakers said they are proud of how Congress is taking up a rallies of Floridians who protested plans to develop nine state parks from Miami to the Panhandle. The plan was secretly coordinated by state officials and was first revealed by the Tampa Bay Times.

“I think we were all shocked to hear what they were trying to do with our state parks,” said Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston. “We can rely on (Floridians) and say, ‘We’ve heard you and acted.’ ”

Protecting state parks from development has broad public support, as evidenced by statewide protests last summer, but the bill’s final passage is not guaranteed. For at least a month, the bill stalled as neither the House nor Senate committee was scheduled for a hearing.

The Environmental Group was also divided over a period of time on the language of the bill and whether its protection against development was strong enough. Floridians gathered at the park with more than 12 people earlier this month to appeal to lawmakers to close potential loopholes that developers could exploit.

Honeymoon Island State Park may have been paved with four pickleball courts, but they held up signs, hiked wooded trails, hiked to horned owls and exchanged stories about why the park is so important. Marilyn Beck, a 67-year-old Seminole resident, loves to play pickleballs, but wants to keep the neon pickleball sparkle and pop to keep its neon pickleballs sparkle and pop, moving away from their favorite spots in Pinellas County and enjoying nature.

“We don’t want to go out here and hear pickle ball paddles hanging,” she said at the demonstration.

Following these events, House members strengthened the bill and encouraged celebrations by several conservation groups.

Even Wednesday’s vote in the House of Representatives is uncertain about its success. The Senate version differs from the House bill, and more changes could come, according to bill sponsor Sen. Gale Harrell (R-Stuart). The two rooms must agree to the same language before the bill is sent to the governor.

It is also unclear whether Desantis will sign a bill that represents a direct challenge to the plan that pursued his office. The governor’s office has not responded to multiple requests for comments sent by email and text message.

On Tuesday, the Senate Environment Committee unanimously approved a version of the parks bill, which claimed environmentalists were not as strong as their family members.

Advocacy groups like the Sierra Club and Florida’s 1,000 Friends can one day build on sensitive habitats, as developers continue to use loopholes in their Senate versions. Harrell said lawmakers are still working on behind the scenes corrections. It remains to be seen whether these tweaks will approach the House version. Sen. Jason Brodur, Key, told Politico after the meeting that he hopes the measure balances recreation and protection.

Still, Harrell told the Times that passing the parks bill at the 2025 legislative meeting was her number one priority, reiterating its importance on the committee on Tuesday.

“You may remember, but last summer there was an effort to really change the basic functions of state parks,” Harrell said. “And I have to say, I was very pleased to see the resulting public protest.” Harrell represents the district, Home Jonathan Dickinson State Park, the largest park in southeast Florida that could become a golf course under the proposal of the DeSantis administration.

“We’re defining the use of state parks exactly,” Harrell said of her bill. “The purpose of our state park is to preserve and protect the natural environment, planets, flora and fauna, making it accessible to the public and visitors for today and the future, for our children and grandchildren.”

The Senate bill must clear one more committee before heading to the full Senate for votes. The legislative session is expected to end on May 2nd.

This is a broken story and will be updated. Please check for updates.

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