Activists propose Florida clean water amendment

Florida Right to Clean Water volunteers are gathering signatures for 2026 as voters go to the polls in 2024.

If Joseph Bonasia has his way, every voter who goes to the polls in the next two weeks will meet a volunteer seeking support for a clean water amendment to Florida’s constitution.

Why it matters: Florida Right to Clean Water’s goal is to gather 900,000 signatures by the end of 2025 to put the question on the 2026 statewide ballot.

• If his group is successful, Florida would join Pennsylvania, Montana and New York, which have similar amendments.
• Efforts are underway to enshrine the right to clean water, land or air in constitutions of more than a dozen states.

The goal of the amendment is to give Floridians more power to hold the government accountable for clean water. 

“Our big push for this year is to have a sizable force of volunteers at the polling stations on Election Day and for early voting,” Bonasia, the director of operations and communications for Right to Clean Water, told Stet News.

It’s the second try. Florida Right to Clean Water captured just over 100,000 verified petitions last year, he said. Organizers started over on Earth Day with revised amendment language and a new push for signatures.

It is part of the Florida Rights of Nature Network, which aimed to pass local laws to give rights to nature and to give citizens a right to clean water.

Flashback: Bonasia points to a grassroots campaign to get fishing nets banned off Florida’s shores as proof that the clean water effort is viable.

• In 1994, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment to ban the use of entangling fishing nets.

Here’s the clean water amendment’s ballot summary: This amendment creates an enforceable, fundamental right to clean and healthy waters, authorizing a person to sue for equitable relief when a State executive agency, by action or inaction, allows harm or threat of harm to Florida waters. This amendment provides for strict judicial scrutiny of such action or inaction; adds to available remedies; identifies affected constitutional provisions; provides for enforcement; defines terms; and requires attorney’s fees and costs to prevailing plaintiffs. 

• The full text is here.

With state and federal laws that govern the environment, a voter may wonder why the amendment is necessary.

• Algal blooms, red tide and fish kills that damage people, wildlife and property are becoming more routine, Bonasia notes.
• “We have lots of good quality laws and regulations,” he said. “They are not being enforced.”

The other side: There has not been public opposition to the proposed amendment.

• “We are not a threat yet,” Bonasia said.
• He anticipates there will be pushback from industry groups if the drive gains steam.

“It is really up to Floridians to make this work,” he said. “In the end, it comes down to volunteers who are going to make it happen.”

What about the six amendments on this year’s ballot? The League of Women Voters voter guide has information on them here.

What’s next? Don’t forget to vote. Early, in-person voting is now open at 29 sites in Palm Beach County.