Environmentalists, Business Lobby Square Off In Constitution Fight

That didn’t take long.

South Florida environmental activist Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, a member of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, earlier this fall proposed amendments to elevate environmental affairs to cabinet status the same as the agriculture industry now enjoys and to give citizens standing to enforce anti-pollution laws.

She argues this would emulate similar measures passed successfully in other states, such as Montana, where residents value their natural resources.

There are more details in The Ledger.

Unsurprisingly, Associated Industries of Florida, one of the top business lobbying groups in the state, is pushing to keep these proposals from ever reaching the ballot, WUSF reports.

AIF argues this would lead to unnecessary litigation that would hurt business. The group did not address how business pollution affects defenseless people.

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Posted in Group Conservation Issues.