1. 2014 Florida Chapter Conference Welcome!

2.  State of the State Florida Chapter Conference 2014 Holly Parker

3. State of the State: Us  11 Chapters  9 Active Campaigns  Beach Access-2  Coastal Preservation- 3  Ocean Ecosystems- 1  RAP- 3  Surf Protection 6  33 Victories  Beach Access- 13  Coastal Preservation- 12  Clean Water- 6  RAP- 2  Programs RAP, OFG, Not the Answer, QUAD  Beach cleanups, dune plantings, invasives removal, socials, fundraisers, and more!

4. Strengths  Unique role  Expertise  Branding  Boots on the ground  Fun!

5. Areas for Improvement  Building capacity  Volunteer retention  Recognizing our value  Saying no  Proactive campaigns

6. My Conference Wish List  Learn best practices, what to do (and what not to do) from the experts who have already figured it out- your peers!  Each chapter is doing awesome things, let’s scale up!  Pick “low hanging fruit” to increase our capacity.  Build a statewide presence- no one else is doing the important work we do!

7. State of the State: Policies  Plastics  Water Quality  Beach Preservation  Climate Change & SLR

8. Rise Above Plastics Legislative Priorities  Eliminate statewide preemptions on the regulation of plastic bags. Allow local governments to ban, tax or otherwise limit plastic bags. Have Senate Sponsor from Miami, Senator Bullard.  Need resolutions of support from local governments.  Need: Op-Eds, LTEs  Need: Meetings with legislators in district offices  Give local governments the authority to ban smoking on their outdoor municipal/county owned properties, including beaches, playgrounds, public parks and recreation areas.  Need: Op-Eds, LTEs  Need: Meetings with legislators in district offices

9. Water Quality Legislative Priorities  Eliminate preemptions in the septic tank bill passed in the 2013 legislative session that keep local governments from enacting more stringent septic tank maintenance for protecting their waters from nutrient and bacteria pollution.  Do not allow any legislative preemption of local government’s ability to regulate fertilizer use in their communities, so they can continue to appropriately address regional and local water quality conditions.  Create centralized database that tracks reported instances (to FDEP, FDOH, and WMD’s) of mass aquatic life die off or any human health illness caused by a water-borne pollutant or harmful algae outbreak.

10. Amendment 1: Florida Water & Land Legacy  Dedicates 33% of net revenues from existing excise tax on documents for 20 years to the acquisition, restoration and management of conservation lands.  Passed with nearly 75% of the vote!  Now goes to the Legislature to pass a bill to outline how to implement the program.

11. Beach Preservation Legislative Priorities  Monitor legislative changes to Chapter 161, Beach and Shore Preservation  Push to include SLR in Beach Management Funding Assistance Program  Push to remove structures  Push sand bypass systems  Work to right-size Citizens Insurance and the Cat Fund.  Gradually reduce Cat Fund’s mandatory coverage.  Increase eligibility requirements for Citizens.  Remove non-primary residences from Citizens

12. Questions? Holly Parker hparker@surfrider.org 850-567-3393