A roundup of news items related to climate change and other environmental issues in Florida:
Florida lawmakers want to re-up funding for a program designed to lower property insurance costs | WUSF
Florida lawmakers want to re-up funding for the My Safe Florida Home program.
The program, which was originally created in 2006, incentivizes homeowners to make property repairs that, in turn, should lower risk for insurers and costs for policyholders.
The program expired in 2009 before lawmakers re-established the program during a 2022 special session. Lawmakers re-funded the program in 2023 and are now considering keeping it alive for the current fiscal year.
Bear ‘self-defense’ bill moves ahead in Florida House | News Service of Florida
A proposal aimed at allowing people to kill bears in self-defense is headed to the House floor.
The House Infrastructure Strategies Committee on Tuesday voted 16-5 to back a bill (HB 87) that would allow people to kill bears without permits if the people are protecting themselves, their family members or pets on their private property.
The measure, which has been approved by three House panels, also would set guidelines for quickly reporting bear killings.
Opposition to bill easing replacement of old coastal buildings softens after amendment | Florida Politics
Outcry over a bill that would help developers raze and replace old, coastal and sometimes historic buildings didn’t crumble after its sponsor made changes to scale back its impacts, but it certainly softened.
Miami Springs Republican Sen. Bryan Ávila, the bill’s sponsor, vowed to continue working on his measure to ease concerns historic preservationists have about it while still providing property owners more agency.
“It’s a delicate balance between property rights and history,” he said. “Certainly, I’m extremely pro-property rights; however, I do want to make sure, especially with this, that we preserve as much of our history as possible.”
If you have any news items of note that you think we should include in our next roundup, please email The Invading Sea Editor Nathan Crabbe at ncrabbe@fau.edu. Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here.
