Florida - Wednesday August 28, 2024: The Florida Policy Institute (FPI) CEO Sadaf Knight has issued a statement urging the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP's)to reconsider its proposed 2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative.
READ FPI CEO Knight's statement in FULL below:
“While the DeSantis administration and DEP have released few details on the proposed development of nine state parks, we know that a similar proposal from 2011 calling for construction of golf courses in public park regions would have required these facilities to generate revenue — meaning increased park fees or additional user fees.
“DEP has provided no information as of yet on how the Great Outdoors Initiative would be funded. However, as FPI has noted, it’s unlikely that the construction would be financed without increased or additional park fees or tax revenue.
“We strongly urge DEP to reconsider this initiative, not only to protect our cherished public lands and parks, but because there has been a serious lack of transparency as to how the construction would be funded. Floridians have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent and whether the state intends to increase user fees, which would make state parks less accessible.”
“Unfortunately, the lack of transparency around this initiative so far is all too familiar: In 2019, we saw a similar veil of secrecy around M-CORES, the tolled expressway proposal that lawmakers fast-tracked through the legislative process. Like we did with M-CORES, however, FPI, our partner groups concerned with government transparency, environmental advocates, and Floridians across the state will oppose measures that threaten our parks and the state's natural landscape."
The Florida Policy Institute
FPI is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing state policies and budgets that improve the economic mobility and quality of life for all Floridians.