Companion bills in the Florida house and senate are leading some environmental groups to worry it might mean more oil drilling in sensitive lands and create a burden on local governments.
The bills, titled Relief from Burdens on Real Property Rights, are written to explicitly add subsurface mineral rights, such as underground oil and gas, into definitions found within the Bert Harris Act, which protects private property rights.
Language in the bills would also further define what government actions could affect property rights under the act.
Sen. Ray Rodrigues (R-Lee County) said the idea for this bill has been on his mind since his time in the state’s house of representatives.
Whoâs behind a thorny Florida property rights bill? A real estate empire
It would bolster a law critics say is a hurdle to protecting the environment.
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Sen. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, sits at the Capitol in Tallahassee during session earlier this month. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
Updated Mar. 16
A bill in the Florida Legislature that would bolster a state property rights law â one critics say already scares local governments away from protecting the environment â was written by representatives of a major development business that has donated to its Senate sponsor.
Sen. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, said he worked with a lobbyist for the Barron Collier Companies and Collier Enterprises Management to draft the proposal. An email shows a lobbyist passed along draft language from an executive at Barron Collier Companies, one branch of a real estate and investment empire that traces back to Collier Countyâs namesake.
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With Daniel Lippman and Steven Overly
IRANIAN SCHOLAR CHARGED WITH VIOLATING FARA: The Justice Department announced today it has arrested an Iranian political scientist and scholar for acting as an unregistered agent of the Islamic Republic. According to a complaint unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn,