Sen. Jay Trumbull wants Florida to reopen local beaches.

The Panama City Republican filed legislation (SB 1622) to repeal a 2018 law that limited public access and barred local governments from passing ordinances about customary use.

“Our beaches are a pillar of our community and during my time in the Florida Senate, public access to our beaches has been an overwhelming concern of the residents of Senate District 2 – particularly in Walton County,” Trumbull said.

“Residents should not be denied access to our beaches and no one individual should have the power to deny the public from enjoying a community asset that means so much to so many. While the repeal of this law will help restore balance between personal property rights and the public’s ability to enjoy our pristine shoreline, it will also help provide a better path forward to a well-intentioned law that has, unfortunately, fallen short of its intended goal.”

The law Trumbull wants repealed has been controversial since it was first passed. Walton County, and many others, had a customary use ordinance at the time that allowed individuals to walk, sunbathe and picnic even on private beaches, according to the Pensacola News Journal.

Under state law, any sand below the high tide water mark is already accessible to the public. However, consistently dry land can be privately owned, creating disputes in many coastal communities, particularly in areas where private land abuts publicly owned beaches.

In 2018, the Legislature passed a law (HB 613) signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott prohibiting customary use ordinances that impact private dry land. However, ordinances in effect before 2016 were grandfathered, which Trumbull said singled out the Walton County rule even as others stood.

When the law was passed, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee lived in Walton County and heavily lobbied the Florida Legislature to restrict governments from enforcing customary use ordinances. But Huckabee sold his Blue Mountain Beach home in 2021.

Post Views: 0

Reporters are serving up softballs. But Florida’s First Couple won’t swing at the pitches.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis were more interested in talking about a quotable 20th-century baseball player than the 2026 race for Governor during a recent media availability.

“To quote the late Yogi Berra,” the First Lady said when asked if she was running, “if you see a fork in the road, take it.”

The Governor amplified the memorably quotable former New York Yankee in his own quippy comments at Florida International University.

“I think she’s leaving that to the imagination and to start talking about good old Yogi Berra, because you know he had a lot of very perceptive comments,” the Governor said.

“I just remember when they were in kind of the doldrums with Major League Baseball, you know, there wasn’t as much fan interest. I don’t think the Yankees were doing as well that year. And he said if people don’t want to come to the ballpark, no one’s going to stop them. And that’s just kind of the nature of it, right?” the Governor said on Friday.

Neither Ron nor Casey wanted to evaluate the emergent state of the race, which will include Donald Trump-endorsed U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.

But the Governor did revisit previous themes about people wanting Casey to take a more active role in politics.

“I’ve had people coming up to me for years begging to get her in the fray because I think you see with her presentation, I mean, she’s passionate. She’s articulate, she’s smart, she’s got rock solid values,” the Governor said, before repeating the increasingly familiar story of Rush Limbaugh saying the First Lady was “more conservative” than her husband.

Whether Ron or Casey DeSantis have more to say about the future remains to be seen. But for now, they clearly are patient at the proverbial plate.

Post Views: 0