Senate Bill 172, through state preemption, bans local regulation of
over-the-counter drugs and cosmetics- a direct attack on the City of Key West’s
coral reef protection ordinance which bans the sale of sunscreen containing
oxybenzone and octinoxate, effective January 1, 2021. This is despite the fact
that there is a widely accepted body of science which shows these two chemicals
damage the health and reproduction of coral reefs, making them more vulnerable
to bleaching, disease, and death.
Last session Governor DeSantis stood up for home rule and defended
the authority of local governments when no compelling state interest exists.
Once again the state legislature has overreached to pass a statewide preemption
in response to a single local ordinance that is well grounded in science and
local support.
Please call Governor DeSantis at (850) 488-7146 and ask him
to veto SB 172 to protect home rule and the imperiled Florida Reef!
On January 30th, Governor DeSantis unveiled Florida’s Coral
Reef, a new awareness campaign and website created by the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection and twenty-five partner organizations, including NOAA,
Florida State Parks, the Coral Restoration Foundation, and others. The website
urges the public to “Check sunscreen active ingredients. Some chemicals commonly
found in popular sunscreens have been shown to negatively impact marine life.”
Additionally, NOAA and the National Park Service urge
consumers to avoid these chemicals; and bans are already in place in Hawaii,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, Bonaire, and Palau.
Coral reefs in southeast Florida have an asset value of $8.5
billion, generating $4.4 billion in local sales, $2 billion in local income,
and 70,400 full and part-time jobs. These also are imperiled. Florida and the
federal government currently are spending millions of taxpayer dollars to try
and restore the Florida Reef.
If safe alternatives to these chemical sunscreens are
affordable, effective, and widely available, why would the legislature pass
such a bill? It’s simple. Supporters of
the bill include Associated Industries for Florida (AIF), The Florida Chamber
of Commerce, and the Florida Retail Federation (FRF). These organizations
repeatedly seek to use preemption strategy to curb progressive legislation at
the local level (think plastics, minimum wage, vacation rentals, occupational
licensing, etc.). They heap hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign
donations to the sponsors of these bills through various PACS. Make no mistake;
this bill is not, as the sponsors claim, about protecting people from skin
cancer.
Call Governor DeSantis at (850) 488-7146 and ask him to not
capitulate to industry and to protect the Florida Reef by vetoing SB 172!
