More roads, cleaner water and affordable housing top Manatee delegation’s goals for 2020
A delegation of elected officials in the Florida Legislature met to discuss their legislative priorities heading into the 2020 session, which include water quality, affordable housing and infrastructure.
Speaking at the Manatee Chamber of Commerce’s Pancakes & Politics Breakfast Tuesday morning, state Rep. Margaret Good, D-Sarasota, said updated stormwater regulation is high on her to-do list. She introduced a bill in October that seeks stricter rules on water treatment and testing.
Water quality
“My biggest priority is water quality. I care a lot about things that a lot of people don’t care about like stormwater and wastewater,” said Good, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House seat now held by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key. “Since the red tide outbreak in 2018, I have been working really hard to update our stormwater rules.”
Efforts to improve local water quality are also included in the Chamber’s list of 2020 legislative priorities, said Casey Welch, chair of the organization’s legislative committee.
“We know that water quality doesn’t start or stop at county lines, and it’s an important issue for the state of Florida,” he said.
Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, also spoke in support of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2019 budget, which allocated tens of millions for the algae crisis at Lake Okeechobee.
On top of improved stormwater regulation, Good said both Sarasota and Manatee counties should find ways to branch out their economies into new fields like solar energy, which could help mitigate financial impact related to water quality issues.
“When you think about what happened with red tide, I think we all realize that we need to diversify our economy, and it’s something I know Manatee County has been working on and done a really good job in recent years,” said Good. “We need to continue that across the region and not just be based on a service economy.”
Red tide is still a persistent occurrence in Southwest Florida. According to the latest Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report, the harmful algae is not present in Manatee or Sarasota counties, but researchers say they’re still finding samples in Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties.
Affordable housing
Another chief concern among lawmakers is the lack of affordable housing stock across the state. Rep. Tommy Gregory, R-Sarasota, said he didn’t support “sweeping” the Sadowski Trust Fund that is meant to fund affordable housing programs and projects but noted that the Legislature has a duty to provide a balanced budget.
“Affordable housing is a problem. There is no doubt,” said state Rep. Will Robinson., R-Bradenton. “We need to have a statewide conversation about affordable housing and the components of it, because Sadowski is a piece, but we have other pieces that are important.”
“Frankly one of them is a tough topic. One of them is density in the right spots, and increased density causes its own issues with traffic and water quality,” he added. “That’s a tough, tough topic.”
“It’s not just budget items that we should be thinking about when we discuss these items,” said Good, who criticized bills passed earlier this year that she says highlight the fact that the Legislature “does not put affordable housing first.”
One bill took away the ability for local governments to negotiate affordable housing as a requirement in an incoming development and another bill discourages residents from challenging comprehensive plans.
“I think that there’s a lot of things that we can do legislatively to encourage affordable housing and encourage really smart development, but instead we’re sort of going in the other direction,” Good said.
Even if the state continues to use the Sadowski fund money for other purposes, state Rep. Wengay Newton, D-St. Petersburg, said there are still ways for local governments to spark change in their communities. He encouraged local officials to find partnerships with nonprofits and other agencies looking to solve the housing crisis.
“If you’re not going to going to build homes or help (nonprofit organizations) do that, then I would say get out of the way,” Newton said, urging officials to rethink policies that make it harder for affordable housing projects to win approval. “It’s creative things that we need to do and we’re not doing them. You heard about regulations and what’s causing it, but we have got to get out of the way.”
Infrastructure
Galvano touted three toll roads that the Florida Legislature and DeSantis approved earlier this year that he says will improve economic prosperity in those area, while also providing much-needed alternate hurricane evacuation routes. His next goal is working to provide internet in under-served areas.
“Prioritized this year will be fixed broadband access in small communities for their first responders and for kids who need the internet, and then to make sure we have water and sewer available for those projects,” Galvano announced.
Gregory said he’s listening to voters in Manatee County who also want to see more roads built to help alleviate local congestion. He has already filed an appropriations request for another $10 million toward the county’s 44th Avenue East extension.
“We have to build more roads, and of course that captures Manatee County bridges. We know those are two things we need to do in Tallahassee and I know that’s where my constituents want me to focus my time.”
The 2020 Legislative Session begins Jan. 14.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
