By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
Several hundred student environment and energy advocates made their way to the Capitol in Tallahassee on Thursday, where they met with lawmakers to lobby for climate-centered legislation and oppose measures they say would harm Florida’s environment.
The morning began with a rally in front of the Old Capitol building, where participants focused on specific environmental bills that they both supported and opposed.
First up was the State Park Preservation Act (SB 80) which aims to protect Florida’s state parks from development and was filed by Southwest Florida Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell in response to the 2024 proposal to add golf courses, pickleball courts, and hotels to nine Florida state parks.
“We demand protection of our Florida state parks,” said Maya Shenefelt with the CLEO Institute. “Florida’s public lands are not playgrounds for greedy developers. Golf courses and pickleball courts do not belong in our protected spaces. These parks are meant for conservation, not concrete. Legislators need to do their job and protect our common grounds.”
Harrell’s measure passed unanimously in its first committee stop last month. Its companion bill in the House has yet to be heard.
Another measure the advocates are backing is HB 419, sponsored by Palm Beach Democrat Debra Tendrich. It would set conditions under which disconnection of residential utility services for nonpayment is prohibited and authorize public utilities to voluntarily suspend disconnections to protect the health and safety of customers.
“We also demand protection of our families from climate-driven insecurities,” said Shenefelt. “With hurricanes and extreme heat worsening, losing power is no longer just a minor inconvenience but a matter of life and death.”
Miami = ‘Ground Zero’
Romina Montenegro is advocacy coordinator with Engage Miami. She said that with Miami being “Ground Zero” when it comes to the deleterious effects of climate change, the region “faces the very real threat of displacement from extreme flooding and weather.”
Several of the advocates mentioned that they will be living a lot longer than the majority of state lawmakers as the damage from a warming planet descends on Florida in the coming decades.
“We’re not here to make a publicity stunt,” said Anamika Naidu, a junior studying political science at the University of Florida and a member of the Youth Action Fund. “We’re here to fight to make sure the Earth can sustain itself long enough for us to enjoy the sunset when we are the age of these lawmakers.” She added: “Whether or not they like it, we are outliving them.”
“In a time when billionaires and big corporations are taking control of our government, more than ever we need regular people like us to fight back,” said Giancarlo Rodriguez with the Sunrise Movement. “Working Floridians are paying the price for climate denialism and fossil fuel taking over our politics. High rent, high traffic, stronger hurricanes and floods — we have to stand up.”
PSC reform
Additional measures introduced in the 2025 legislative session that environment and energy advocates will be closely watching include a proposal by Panhandle Republican Sen. Don Gaetz (SB 354) that would significantly transform how Florida’s Public Service Commission (PSC) operates and makes decisions about utility rates.
For example, when a public utility company files a rate change request, it would have to file a detailed report to justify the increase. The PSC would publish the compensation for utility executives and add two members to the now five-person commission, with one being certified public accountant and the other a chartered financial analyst.
There’s also what is being called “Nature-based Methods for Improving Coastal Resilience” sponsored by South Florida Republicans Ileana Garcia in the Senate (SB 50) and Jim Mooney in the House (HB 371).
The legislation would establish more stringent standards for the development, maintenance, and restoration of resilient “green infrastructure,” like mangroves, reefs, and spoil islands; and “gray infrastructure” such as seawalls, flood pumps, and ditches. It would require the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science to develop design guidelines, standards, and specified models for green and gray infrastructure.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Banner photo: Maya Shenefelt from the CLEO Institute speaking in front of the steps of the Old Capitol in Tallahassee on Thursday (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix).
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