Budget proposal would boost state environmental programs

Spending on Florida’s natural resources and environmental programs would grow by $220 million under a proposal unveiled Monday in Maitland by Gov. Rick Scott as he nears his final recommended state budget.

The $1.7 billion environmental package for lawmakers to consider in 2018 includes increased funding for the state’s springs, beaches and parks, along with $355 million for Everglades restoration, $50 million to help the federal government speed repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee and $50 million for Florida Forever, the state’s most prominent landpreservation fund.

The proposal, which will be included when Scott releases his overall budget recommendations before the end of the year, drew scorn from Democrats who labeled him an “election year environmentalist” for past promises on Florida Forever funding. Scott is expected to run for U.S. Senate next year.

Conservationists said the proposal reflects a growing, positive change among Republican policymakers toward the environment since voters in 2014 approved a constitutional amendment that required increased spending on land and water preservation.

As he has with other budget rollouts, Scott held a pair of public events Monday to highlight aspects of the spending proposal, appearing midday at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary outside Naples and later in the afternoon at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland.

The package includes $55 million for natural springs, $100 million for beaches and $50 million for the state parks.