"We have got to have this mining to build our roads," Reagan said. "But it is something I need to look into because I'm not familiar with the bill."
SMR Aggregates, the shell-mining arm of SMR, is also looking at the legislation.
"We are studying it right now," said Sondra Guffey, spokeswoman for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch.
Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton said the proposed bill goes way beyond addressing the need for aggregate materials.
"It seems to be a continuation of the mind-set to move city hall to Tallahassee," said Thaxton. "We have a lot of active mines here and they all are working under existing permitted conditions, but I think clearly this is a move to remove some of the more strict environmental covenants that local government may impose upon these industries rather than those that would imposed by the state government."
The Florida Association of Counties has been highly critical of the bill, Sarasota County Commission Chairwoman Nora Patterson said. "I'm very concerned whenever a conversation like this comes up at the Legislature as to what the real agenda is behind it all," Patterson said, adding that she questions the reason for the bill is a lack of aggregate materials. "The state just needs to recognize that it costs three times as much as it did five years ago to build a road. And if they don't provide even twice as much money, we are going to keep falling behind. And it just doesn't matter how much they slap local government on the head."
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