TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A key Florida House committee approved legislation Wednesday that would block local ordinances that bar large cruise ships from entering Florida's seaports.
What You Need To Know
- Legislation is pending in the Florida House that would block local ordinances that bar cruise ships from entering certain ports
- Proponents say allowing municipalities to block ships from ports would impact tourism numbrs and hurt businesses
- Opponents to the bill say they've seen marked improvements in seawater quality since cruise ships stopped sailing during the COVID-19 pandemic
The legislation, HB 267, was prompted by a referendum passed by voters in Key West last November to outlaw the entry of ships carrying more than 1,300 passengers.
"If you don't pass this bill and you allow individual municipalities to suddenly close their ports to any type, size, or nationality of people that they deem fit, you're going to abrogate a lot of contracts," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Spencer Roach (R-Ft. Myers).
The bill's scope, though, was narrowed during Wednesday's hearing of the House Tourism, Infrastructure, and Energy Subcommittee, with Republicans from other parts of the state moving to exempt their municipalities from the legislation's prohibitions.
Representatives of the state's critical tourism industry warned the panel that allowing local seaport restrictions to stand could trigger a plunge in visitors and hobble restaurants, hotels, and tour operators. Environmentalists, however, pointed to marked improvements in seawater quality in places like Key West during the pandemic as the clearest evidence yet that large cruise ships — no longer sailing while the coronavirus runs its course — exact a devastating toll on Florida's delicate ecosystems.
They also warned of a heightened potential for environmental calamities to occur if large tanker ships are allowed to transit ecologically sensitive areas currently deemed off-limits by local governments.
"They regulate flammable cargo and hazardous cargo, and they don't allow it in their port because they're urban," said Holly Parker of the Surfrider Foundation. "They have people who are really close to that port who could be in harm's way if something were to happen, and that's the type of discretion that local governments need to have."
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