"Hope Springs Eternal" w/video John Moran photo op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times

Received this in an email:

Dear The-Real-Florida Loving Folks,

I hope that you are enjoying another beautiful day in Florida, but please take time to remind Florida’s elected leaders we need strong action NOW to begin to fix the mess we made of Nature’s gifts (contact info below article).

http://www.tampabay.com/news/perspec...ternal/2172424

Feel free to forward this well-balanced and beautifully stated message to your legislators, especially members of the Senate Ag committee who meet Monday at 4 p.m. to consider CS/SB 1576: The Floridan Aquifer and Springs Protection Act.



Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1576: Aquifer and Springs Protection Act is on Senate Agriculture Committee agenda for Monday, 03/31/14, at 4:00 pm.

CS/SB 1576 is sponsored by Senator “Charlie” Dean (R) and co-sponsored by Senators Montford (D), Simmons (R), and Soto (D), Hays (R), Abruzzo (D), and Altman (R). That shows real strong bi-partisan support for the bill in the Senate.

There are 7 members on Sen AG comm:
· Montford (D) – Chair; One of five SB1576 writers; Bill co-sponsor.
· Bullard (D) – Member Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation comm (EP) where bill passed 8:0 on the Spring Equinox J
· Brandes (R) - SCUBA DIVER - St. Petersburg
· Galvano (R) – Bradenton
· Garcia (R) - Hialeah
· Grimsley (R) - EP member
· Sachs (D) - Minority pro tempore

That list actually looks pretty hopeful :)
I cut and pasted this from 1000 Friends of Florida:

Please contact the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee (listed below) and ask them to support CS/SB 1576, the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, which comes up for a vote on Monday, March 31.

The Senate Agriculture Committee takes up CS/SB 1576, the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, on Monday. Please contact the members of this committee and let them know of your strong support for this bill. We need another unanimous vote to show the Legislature that the public fully supports the need to restore and protect one of our most important and fragile natural systems.

The Chair, Bill Montford, is a great friend of the springs and is one of the five Senators who developed the bill language. CS/SB 1576 sets up a program with specific deadlines for completing MFLs (minimum flows and levels) and BMAPs (basin management plans) within spring protection and management zones, puts in place a grant and funding program to target and manage nutrient sources, and creates a program to protect springs before they become choked with nutrients.

Senator Bill Montford, Chair (850) 653-2656 [email protected]
Senator Dwight Bullard, Vice Chair (850) 487-5039 [email protected]
Senator Jeff Brandes (850) 487-5022 [email protected]
Senator Bill Galvano (850) 487-5026 [email protected]
Senator Rene Garcia (850) 487-5038 [email protected]
Senator Denise Grimsley (850) 487-5021 [email protected]
Senator Maria Sachs (850) 487-5034 [email protected]

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
(it’s better to send from your e-mail server rather than the senate web-site b/c you can put your topic of interest in the subject header textbox.)
If you are in their district, please let them know. To find your legislator: http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators

If you are a farmer, please let them know.

But, just putting something like: “Please Support SB 1576: Aquifer/Springs Protection Act” in the subject textbox is GOOD!

Please, remember, as well as exercising your right to express your political opinion, exercise civility.

You can access livestream of the meeting or archive later @ http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/AG

Thank you.

Best Wishes,

Jeannette Marie Hinsdale

p.s. you can also call and leave messages with their staff.

SpringsEternalProject.org



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