(The Center Square) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promoted legislation that he says will help assure the rights of recreational boaters in the Sunshine State and criticized House leadership for its “obstructionist” policies.
At a news conference in Panama City Beach, the second-term Republican governor spoke at length about Senate Bill 1388, which was authored by Panama City Republican Sen. Jay Trumbull.
The “Boater Freedom Act” would prohibit waterborne state and local law enforcement officers from performing a boarding of a boat without probable cause; allow the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to create a “Florida Freedom Boater” safety inspection decal program; and create a grant program for construction and maintenance of publicly owned parking for boat-hauling vehicles and trailers.
The bill would also prohibit state or local governments from restricting the use or sale of any watercraft based on its power source.
DeSantis said Trumbull’s legislation comes from a grassroots effort from constituents informing him and lawmakers like Trumbull to “make it better for fishing and boating in the state of Florida.”
The bill was advanced by the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on March 25 by a unanimous 8-0 vote.
“My next door neighbor was stopped three times for a safety inspection in one day last summer,” Trumbull said. “Constitutional rights don’t just stop when you get in a boat off the dock. They should have to have probable cause to pull someone over.”
DeSantis also blasted the state House of Representatives for being “obstructionist” about passing identical legislation in the House, which has not progressed out of committee.
“They seem to have taken this weird tack where they’re coming in and have this massive supermajority that they’ve built off the work of many others to be quite frank,” DeSantis said. “They’re trying to undo a lot of the stuff and that (Sen.) Jay (Trumbull) and I and others have worked for over many, many years without campaigning on any of this without telling voters this is what you want to do.”
DeSantis also blasted the House on its stance on tax reform, as he says voters support his plan of using $5.1 billion in surplus funds to distribute a one-time, $1,000 property tax rebate for homeowners.
House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, has proposed a sales tax cut from the present rate of 6% to 5.25%.
“Because I’m doing property (tax reform), so they’ve got to do something else because they’re obstructionists,” DeSantis said. “You know, they want to do tax cuts for Canadian tourists and for non-residents. Why would we ever be doing that? We should be doing property tax, but it’s just because they’ve got to be obstructionist.”
