Latest news with #Gruters
USA Today
26-04-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
A new Florida bill would prevent golf courses, pickleball at state parks
A new Florida bill would prevent golf courses, pickleball at state parks Florida's Department of Environmental Protection last year announced a plan that would have allowed developers to turn state parks into more touristy attractions. The 2024-2025 Great Outdoors Initiative outlined plans to construct pickleball courts, golfing and disc golf courses and resort-style lodging in at least eight state parks. Public pushback put a relatively abrupt end to the plans, and now state lawmakers are trying to ensure similar proposals don't happen again. Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, filed SB 80 last year in response the the Great Outdoors Initiative. The bill was backed by the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Tuesday after it rejected a change that would have kept the door open for sports facilities, according to the News Service of Florida. More: After distancing himself from golf course plan, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blames 'left wing' narrative Here's what to know about SB 80, known as the State Park Preservation Act and how it plans to protect Florida's state parks. What is the State Park Preservation Act (SB 80)? The State Park Preservation Act is a bill focused on the management and preservation of state lands. It is aimed specifically at conservation and recreational areas. Under the bill's original proposal, it didn't ban the development but instead sought to put in the necessary curtails to protect each park's natural resources, native habitats and historical sites. The state senate took some umbrage to the proposal, however, rejecting a change by Chairman Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, that some parks supporters and lawmakers said would have kept the door open for sports facilities. 'The (Gruters) amendment, however, makes it muddy, leaving an ambiguous standard for what's allowed and, of course creates loopholes for bad ideas to be exploited,' said Beth Alvi, Audubon Florida's senior director of policy. Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, encouraged Gruters to recraft the proposed change to allow 'soft' maintenance needs at state parks, but to eliminate any 'commercialization.' While the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee passed the bill, it said more work is needed on the parks issue. What will the State Park Preservation Act do? The State Park Preservation Act, in its current form, is a 15-page bill that is aimed at directing state parks and preserves to be managed for conservation-based outdoor recreational uses, public access and scientific research. In its summary, the Senate Fiscal Committee clarifies that 'conservation-based public outdoor recreational uses' do not include sporting facilities like golf courses, ball fields, pickleball and tennis courts or any other sport requiring such facilities. Instead, the goal is to ensure any development for recreational uses minimizing impacts to undisturbed habitat while using disturbed upland regions to the maximum extend practicable. The bill would allow the installation of certain camping cabins but within certain constraints. Advisory groups and public input are a big part of the bill. Individual management plans for parcels over 160 acres and those located within state parks would require input from an advisory group and mandate public hearings and notices within a certain time frame. How many state parks does Florida have? Florida has one of the biggest park services in the country. It currently manages 175 state parks, which includes over 813,000 acres and 100 miles of beach.
CBS News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Florida Senate to take up bill that prevents development of golf courses, pickleball courts in state parks
A proposal designed to prevent golf courses, pickleball courts and luxury resorts in state parks is ready to go to the full Senate. The Senate Fiscal Policy on Tuesday backed the bill (SB 80) after rejecting a proposed change by Republican Chairman Sen. Joe Gruters that some parks supporters and lawmakers said would have kept the door open for sports facilities. Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell filed the bill after a controversy last year about the state Department of Environmental Protection's "Great Outdoors Initiative," a plan that called for adding golf courses, resort-style lodges and pickleball courts at state parks. Original plan pulled back after a public outcry. "This last summer was really a lesson in civics. It says the public does have a voice that counts," Harrell said. "The overwhelming rejection of the attempt to do what was being done was across the state of Florida." A focus of last year's plan was adding golf courses in the 11,500-acre Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County. It also included building lodges with up to 350 rooms at Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County and Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Walton County. Pickleball courts and disc golf were outlined for other parks. Proposal to create loophole shut down Under the bill, construction in parks could not harm natural resources, native habitats or historical sites. Gruters' proposed change might have allowed facilities such as golf courses, tennis courts, ball fields and pickleball courts if they were found not to cause "substantial harm" to natural resources or native habitats. Gruters said the proposed change would have required public hearings, and his goal was to provide more recreational activities for people who can't afford theme parks. "The question is, do we trust ourselves, do we?" Gruters asked. "Do we trust the state government to make the right decisions?" he continued, which drew immediate responses of "no" from several lawmakers. Travis Moore, a lobbyist for Friends of the Everglades, said the Gruters proposal addressed lodging issues, but the "substantial harm" provision remained subject to interpretation. "I don't think the public this (past) summer was interested in setting a high hurdle, I think they were interested, as it came to golf courses, slamming the door," Moore said. Beth Alvi, Audubon Florida's senior director of policy, said Harrel's bill would draw a clear line between allowed and prohibited uses of state parks. "The (Gruters) amendment, however, makes it muddy, leaving an ambiguous standard for what's allowed and of course creates loopholes for bad ideas to be exploited," Alvi said. Republican Sen. Don Gaetz encouraged Gruters to recraft the proposed change to allow "soft" maintenance needs at state parks, but to eliminate any "commercialization." After the amendment was rejected, Republican Sen. Keith Truenow said more work is needed on the parks issue. "I think there are some lands that we own today that probably shouldn't be state parks, they don't lend a real point to the mission," Truenow said. "And there's lands out in the state of Florida that need to be in the state parks." The House unanimously supported its version of the bill (HB 209) last Wednesday. The House and Senate would have to work out any differences before the scheduled May 2 end of the legislative session.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida Gov. DeSantis leaves top offices vacant for weeks with no replacements in sight
Florida has gone weeks without two of its top five executive branch officials. So far, it hasn't disrupted state business, and Gov. Ron DeSantis isn't in a rush to appoint anyone to the roles. Former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez left that role in February to be interim president of Florida International University. Former Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis left his position March 31 ahead of winning a special election for a U.S. House seat. DeSantis hasn't said when he'll name a replacement for Nuñez. Florida law requires a lieutenant governor to be appointed when there's a vacancy, but there's no deadline to make such an appointment. During the tenure of DeSantis' predecessor, Rick Scott, now a U.S. senator, the position went vacant for 10 months before he was sued by Democratic groups and named former state lawmaker and then-Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Carlos Lopez-Cantera to the post. For the CFO job, DeSantis has said he'll likely wait until mid-May to name Patronis' permanent replacement. But unlike when he named an acting attorney general to replace Ashley Moody earlier this year before ultimately appointing his former chief of staff James Uthmeier to the role, DeSantis hasn't named an 'interim' or 'acting' CFO. Instead, the CFO post is empty. It's a statewide elected position in charge of paying the state's bills, overseeing the regulation of insurance and financial markets and is the State Fire Marshal. The person now leading the Department of Financial Services (DFS) is Susan Miller, Patronis' chief of staff at the agency. 'There will be no interruption of Department services during this transition period,' DFS spokesman Devin Galetta said in an email. The Lieutenant Governor position pays $135,516 per year. The CFO is paid $139,988 per year. The Governor's annual salary is $141,400. Under state law, if the lieutenant governor position is vacant and the governor leaves office, is incapacitated or impeached, the attorney general would become governor. As for whom DeSantis could name to the CFO spot, state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, is a legislative ally of the governor who is interested in the job. But state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, already has filed to run for the position in 2026 and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. Gruters was a special guest at a reception in Clearwater on the evening of April 17. An invitation posted online looked similar to a fundraiser event, but Senate rules prohibit members from raising money during the legislative session. The current 60-day regular session is ongoing and slated to end May 2, but Gruters said the event wasn't a fundraiser: It was a 'friend-raiser.' 'There's no money being raised; there's no money being solicited,' Gruters said. 'We're just trying to show support for the official campaign.' Gruters, a Florida State University graduate, received some online criticism because he attended the event, which took place later the same day as the shooting on FSU's campus that left two people dead and others wounded. Despite the testy relationship he has with DeSantis, dating back to his time as chair of the Republican Party of Florida, Gruters remains optimistic he'll be appointed to the open CFO job. 'I'd love the governor to appoint me right now,' Gruters said. 'I would hope he'd support the President of the United States and go ahead and put me in there but whatever he decides is fine. But we'll have an election in 2026 and I fully expect to win that.' As the CFO position is up in the air, lawmakers are debating whether to eliminate the lieutenant governor job altogether. The House on April 16 passed a bill (HB 1325) that would place an amendment on the 2026 ballot to remove that office and create a new Cabinet-level post, the Commissioner of Government Efficiency. The new position is an homage of sorts to the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump. Supporters of the bill argue the lieutenant governor position is superfluous, and other than leading the board of Space Florida, a group promoting the state's aerospace industry, it has no official duties. But former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who served in the position under Scott before resigning amid controversy leading to the 10-month vacancy, criticized the bill in a letter earlier this month. 'Abolishing the lg's position has nothing to do with Florida DOGE activity. It's a ruse and a disguise to get more power placed in the governor's post and create an additional elected position,' Carroll wrote. Although the House passed the bill on an 82-32 vote, the Senate version of the measure never received a hearing and died when former state Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, resigned to take an open U.S. House seat. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis leaves CFO, lieutenant governor posts vacant for weeks
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump appoints Joe Gruters to White House Homeland Security Council
Republican Sen. Joe Gruters, of Sarasota and Manatee counties. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) Joe Gruters' close alliance with President Donald Trump continues to pay dividends for the Sarasota Republican state senator. Gruters will serve on the 'revamped' Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), led by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the president announced on Thursday. Other members of the new committee include South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, conservative talk show host Mark Levin, and former Fox News contributor Bo Dietl. 'Under Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's leadership, HSAC will work hard on developing new Policies and Strategies that will help us secure our Border, deport Illegal Criminal Thugs, stop the flow of Fentanyl and other illegal drugs that are killing our Citizens, and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Congratulations to all!,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social Page. Gruters, a former chair of the Republican Party of Florida, has served in the Florida Senate since 2018 and in the Legislature since 2016. His alliance with Trump began before that, as he was named co-chair of Trump's first presidential campaign in Florida in Fall 2015 (along with Susie Wiles, now Trump's White House chief of staff). Trump has already endorsed Gruters' campaign for Florida Chief Financial Officer for 2026. 'When President Trump asked me to run for Chief Financial Officer of Florida, I immediately said 'yes' knowing you never pass up an opportunity to serve the President and the great state of Florida,' Gruters said in a written statement. 'The same goes with this appointment. There is nothing more important than the safety and security of the American people and I accept this appointment with the gravity it deserves.' According to a press release issued from Gruters, the Homeland Security Advisory Council: Provides organizationally independent advice and recommendations to the Secretary, including the creation and implementation of critical and actionable policies for the security of the homeland. Conducts research and provides policy analysis and recommendations on a variety of security issues. Evaluates the impact of security related public and private policies in an attempt to formulate prospective security policies. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida Lawmakers Push for Front License Plates Over Unidentified Hit-And-Runs
Florida has introduced a new bill that would make it the 30th US state, along with the District of Columbia, to require a front license plate along with a rear plate. SB (Senate Bill) 92, backed by the Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations Committee, aims to lower Florida's cases of unidentified cars from hit-and-runs. Out-of-state vehicles would be allowed to follow requirements for their home state. Florida Senator Joe Gruters highlighted how only 12.5% of Florida hit-and-run cases in 2023 resulted in charges, noting in a Fox interview: 'As people are speeding away from these scenes, there's a lot of cameras out there, and those cameras can't always see the back of the plate. Sometimes, there are repeat offenders who know exactly how to get away from an accident without having their plates seen.' Another section of the bill would require Florida drivers to submit crash reports to auto body shops for estimated repairs worth $2,500 or more. This report must include a driver's personal information, vehicle details, and a damage description. If drivers don't submit a crash report, the auto body shop would be required to send their repair estimate to a Department of Law Enforcement database. Body shops that fail to forward the estimate could lose their registration. If passed, the bill would enact the Lilly Glaubach Act, named after a 13-year-old Tampa girl who was killed in a hit-and-run while riding her bike home from school. The front-and-back license plate requirement was added last week as an amendment to the bill. Gruters noted that Florida drivers would pay a single registration fee, and the state would provide two plates, negating the need for another registration fee. Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd is in favor of the bill's body shop legislation but disagrees with the license plate requirement, labeling it as a burden for drivers to get another license plate and for police to enforce the law. 'We have a lot of technology that we use to solve hit-and-runs, and if added front license plates were the end all, then I would be for it, but it's simply not,' Grady said in an interview with Fox. Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations Committee members voted unanimously in favor of the bill, which has to pass through one more committee before a full Senate vote. Pending approval, SB 92 will take effect July 1—but this isn't the only Florida road law that could begin in July. A Florida legislature bill has proposed increasing the state's maximum speed limit from 70 mph to 75 mph. Palm Beach Gardens driver Hunter Hopwood said that a speed limit change is worth looking into for speeding up traffic flow but clarified that the law's effectiveness could be good or bad depending on the location and time of day, according to CBS. While cost and safety concerns over a new front license plate requirement are valid, many drivers object to the practice since they feel it negatively alters their vehicle's look. This perspective can be especially true for some car types, like Alfa Romeos and their Scudetto grille, which weren't manufactured with front license plate placement in mind. For many years, Alfa Romeo had an off-center position for the front license plate, but the automaker decided to ditch this design in favor of centrally-mounted plates last year. It'll be interesting to see how manufacturers and drivers against the mounting of a front license plate will react if this bill gets passed.
