We need to urge Florida Governor Charlie Crist to VETO SB 2080. 

SB 2080 is a threat to open government, the economy and the environment in Florida.  This bill will take transparency out of governing water management districts and allow deals with developers vested interests to be hashed out behind closed doors.  It will take the public notice requirements away and remove the public's participation in the process.

Groups like the St. John's Riverkeeper supports veto of the bill due to the threat of easy access of land use to developers and influence wetlands and water resources.

These closed door permitting deals will allow developers to have easy access to water usage and wetlands destruction without the public ever being notified.   The very people who would be affected to most would be left out of the decision process. 

Should Floridians be allowing more special interest land development in this economy with no input on water usage and wetlands destruction while there are 300,000 empty homes in Florida?  Is this really the best action plan for our children's future and for Florida's financial security?  What about additional threats to our environment and future costs that will be associated as a result?  What about Florida's already uncontrolled population growth and the impacts of proposed water withdrawls from the St. John's and Ocklawaha rivers as a result?  

We need to stop irresponsible development and protect the public's access to government transparency and encourage the public's participation in landuse deals, not block it.  We are therefore urging Governor Crist to veto SB 2080. 

We need to be proactive now so our children aren't forced to be reactive later. That is our obligation as responsible Floridians.  The proposed SB 2080, as amended,  is greedy de-regulation that will undoubtedly lead to problems for Florida as a whole, while benefiting only a select few.