Gov. Rick Scott‘s budget proposal released today does not fund new purchases under the Florida Forever land preservation program.
“It’s certainly a distressing outcome,” said Janet Bowman, the director of legislative policy for The Nature Conservancy.
Scott is the first governor, Republican or Democrat, since the program’s creation in 1999 to zero out the Florida Forever program in his budget proposal. Scott’s budget contains money for existing debt service only.
The state Legislature’s budget in 2009 did not fund Florida Forever, and the program received