Key West Voters Approved Limits On Cruise Ship Size, Stops; FL GOP Doesn't Care, Filing To Overturn

[hatrack]

EDIT

The three ballot questions approved in November limit the number of disembarkations to Florida’s southernmost city. They also ban any vessel carrying more than 1,300 passengers, and prioritize cruise lines with above-average environmental and health records. All the measures passed a 60 percent threshold. The measure to give priority to cruise lines with good safety records priority was approved by more than four out of five voters.

Manatee County state Sen. Jim Boyd has now introduced a bill to overturn the local initiative. The DeSantis-endorsed, Florida Chamber of Commerce-backed politician has made a name for himself with his pro-business agenda. His bill (SB 426) notes that Florida’s ports are important for global trade routes and claims that “allowing each local government in which a Florida seaport is located to impose its own requirements on the maritime commerce conducted in that port could result in abrupt changes in the supply lines bringing goods into and out of this state.” It ignores the fact that the Key West ban still allows smaller ships and is simply designed to ensure tourists don’t overrun the 7-square-mile island.

Boyd's bill goes on to claim that local regulations enacted by citizens of a community threaten “the public’s health, safety, and welfare,” while, again, ignoring the fact that the health of local citizens is one primary concern the Key West measures seek to address.

The proposed bill is similar to another that Republicans pushed through in 2016 after Orlando residents expressed interest in banning environmentally dangerous polystyrene, better known as Styrofoam. Other Republican-backed measures have blocked voter and city official-approved initiatives that required paid sick leave, that would allow cities to engage with telecommunication providers directly, to limit gun sales, ban plastic bags, and to block coral reef-killing sunscreens.

EDIT

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2021/01/15/key-west-proves-it-florida-voters-care-about-the-environment-but-florida-republicans-overrule-them

[RKP5637]

1. Asshole republicans again ... n/t

[keithbvadu2]

2. GOP - The party of big gov't control.

[underpants]

3. The people have spok....screw the people

Having spent a week in Key West I can say that when one of the cruise ships unloads the place is suddenly filled with people (spreaders) and the stress of the environment shoots through the roof so to speak.