HB 1217: Yet another attack on home rule

If it seems like all I’ve been doing lately is writing columns about the many ways that Ron DeSantis and Republicans in Tallahassee are destroying home rule, that’s because that is what they spent most of this year’s legislative session doing. Let’s talk about HB 1217.

If there is an easy way to sell bad legislation among Republicans, it’s attaching it to subjects that are seen as liberal causes. HB 1217 goes after silly local efforts to fight that non-existent threat called climate change. Formerly referred to as global warming, to describe the dangerously persistent warming of our Earth, it needed to be changed when people who knew they didn’t believe it, even before they had heard the scientists explain the phenomenon, pointed out that we were having more severe winters.

Climatologists shrugged, as they had explained in all that pesky research, that Earth has a major heat-transport system called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The AMOC acts as a massive ocean conveyor belt that transports warm surface water northward and cold deep water southward. The Gulf Stream is the powerful, wind-driven surface current formed by the merger of the AMOC and the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre.

Global warming melts Greenland ice and increases rainfall. This adds freshwater to the North Atlantic, which is less dense. As such, it doesn’t sink as easily. That can slow or even shut down this circulation. If circulation slows, some regions cool dramatically. Even in a globally warmer world, Europe and parts of North America could get much colder as less heat is transported north. Once enough ice has accumulated, the system can tip into a self-sustaining cold phase, triggering an Ice Age that isn't much more pleasant than a scorched Earth.

When glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica melt, water flows into the ocean, increasing ocean volume and raising sea levels. Sea level rise varies by region due to factors such as ocean currents, gravity, and subsidence (sinking ground). In South Florida, a slowing of the Atlantic circulation can cause more water to accumulate along the East Coast, where the land is low-lying and flat. Even small increases make a big difference. Miami has a unique vulnerability as it sits on porous limestone, rather than solid bedrock. That means the water doesn't just rise over seawalls; it comes up from below through the ground.

Miami-Dade County has already experienced a sea-level rise of approximately 8 inches since 1950, with recent data indicating an acceleration of 1 inch every 3 years over the last decade. For an area that is that close to sea level, it has already produced enormous problems, and the city has undertaken Herculean efforts to abate them, including a $500 million Miami Beach pumping system that is already being overwhelmed by recent King Tide events. 

In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, the county initiated a pledge to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and is transitioning to an electric bus fleet, replacing fossil fuels with solar power. Under HB 1217, however, all government entities are banned from pursuing any “resolution, ordinance, rule, code, or policy” that supports a net-zero policy.

This applies not just to cities and counties, but also to schools, universities, and even special districts. No charges can be issued based on greenhouse gas emissions, nor can they implement a cap-and-trade program. The bill goes so far as to prevent government procurement policies from selecting vehicles or equipment based on the type of fuel source. Governments can’t even pay “dues, membership fees, subscription fees, or charitable contributions” to an organization that has a net-zero policy.

If we have learned anything about environmental disasters, it is that an ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure. From draining the wetlands to destroying acre after acre of mangrove forests to drilling mishaps in the Gulf of Mexico, the tab for fixing the problem is always much steeper than the cost of implementing sensible preventive measures.

I’m sure none of you will be surprised to learn that the entire Manatee County Legislative Delegation—Rep. Bill Conerly, Rep. Will Robinson, Rep. Michael Owen, and Sen. Jim Boyd—voted in favor of this grossly irresponsible bill. It now sits on the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis. If you’d like to tell him what you think about this legislative abomination and ask him to use his veto power to protect the home rule that he and his fellow Republicans keep destroying, you can email him at GovernorRon.Desantis@eog.myflorida.com.

Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. Mitch's next novel, Fish Kill, is scheduled for release on April 20. His other books can be found here. He can be reached at editor@thebradentontimes.com.