Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday signed a bill that, among other things, strips public access from state decisions about who controls Florida’s precious water resources.

The new law takes effect Wednesday.

“It is surprising,” said Charles Lee of the group Audubon of Florida, who had denounced the bill as this year’s worst piece of legislation. “My hope is the governor will put his political efforts toward undoing this.”

Environmentalists also decried another portion of the wide-ranging bill that gives the state’s largest landholders the ability to secure water permits for as long as 50 years. Before Crist signed the bill, the longest a water permit could be secured was 20 years.

Crist, who has courted environmentalists with his efforts to save the Everglades and combat global warming, did not mention the 50-year permits in a statement he released Tuesday.

But he hinted he would encourage lawmakers next year to reverse the portion of the law that lets Florida’s five water management districts divvy up water without a vote of their governor-appointed boards. The bill allows each district’s executive director to make those decisions behind closed doors.

Crist also asked district boards and executive directors to “continue to include surface water and consumptive use permits on all board meeting agendas or other public meetings for discussion and transparency purposes.”

Crist said he signed the bill (SB 2080) because it reenacts the existence of the districts and prohibits homeowners’ associations from restricting “Florida-friendly” landscaping that conserves water.
House sponsor Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid, said Tuesday she would be interested in revisiting the public access issue “if there are problems.”

“With the open process that the districts intend to implement, I fully expect the community to have more input and see a more open process,” she said.

Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Winter Haven, sponsored the amendment in the Senate. He said Tuesday he had “committed” to Crist to iron out issues in the spring.

“If these issues are not addressed, I will do everything I can to address them in the next session,” Alexander said.

Tags: Charlie Crist, water

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