A cruise ship docked in Key West. By Worachat Sodsri @ Shutterstock.com
The Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas reports on the continued assault on Key West’s home rule, writing:
A day after citizens of Key West thought the legislation aimed at overturning their vote to limit cruise ship traffic appeared dead, Republican legislative leaders quickly reversed course Wednesday and powered it past Democrats to send it to the governor.
Sen. Jim Boyd, the Bradenton Republican who sponsored the original bill House, attached an amendment to an unrelated Senate transportation bill declaring that “any local ballot initiative or referendum may not restrict maritime commerce” at any one of Florida’s 15 deep-water ports.
The provision is retroactive, applying the ban to three referendums approved by 60% of Key West voters in November.
The bill was one of the most ambitious assaults on home rule this session and has commanded a remarkable amount of attention for a city that has a population of less than 25,000, an economy that has been booming, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.
The provision is retroactive, applying the ban to three referendums approved by 60% of Key West voters in November.
Only one Republican stood up against the proposal, Rep. Jim Mooney, an Islamorada freshman, who countered all the arguments of the proponents and echoed the comments of the fisherman and residents who helped organize the initiative.
“I will tell you in undeniable terms that the city of Key West, the city of Marathon, the city of Key Colony Beach, the city of Islamorada, Monroe County, the National Marine Sanctuary and all the other scientific communities within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary boundaries are opposed to this bill,’’ he said.
He said that “water quality is our lifeline there,” and when the cruise ships arrive they stir up the water, hurting fishing and damaging the reefs. “When the National Marine Sanctuary says that it’s hurting our reefs, you really have to listen to that.”
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