* by Michael Bonts
Special To Financial News
In the final hours, on the session’s final day, the Florida Legislature passed the so-called “Hawley Smith Bill,” which restricts the ability of non-affected citizens to file frivolous environmental permitting lawsuits.
“The beginning of the bill came out of my experience in permitting Palencia (the huge development in St. Johns County.) There were only a few opponents, but they were energetic and tenacious. They were able to use an unfair system to delay the project and make it much more expensive for us and ultimately for the homeowners,” said Smith.
After spending an additional half-million dollars to fight groups who were not directly affected by the St. Johns County development, Smith had enough. He vowed to see what could be done to prevent individuals from filing lawsuits against permit applicants with the intent of settling for money.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Jim King of Jacksonville, was attached to the Everglades funding bill.
The legislation makes it difficult to file baseless environmental permitting lawsuits, and also prevents organizations from forming “shell” corporations for the sole purpose of harassing or delaying development projects by filing lawsuits.
Supporters of the bill, including the large environmental group Audubon of Florida, portrayed the environmental community as largely OK with the measure.
The proposed law is designed to eliminate a “drive-by and sue” mentality that certain environmental groups seem to display. The bill would affect who has legal standing to file challenges with various governmental agencies.
“We are not trying to take away anyone’s legitimate right to critique a project, or bypass the permitting process. We simply want the system to be fair and responsive,” said Smith.
The amendment mirrors bills that were proposed in each of the last two legislative sessions. Smith got the ball rolling three years ago and admits it took three months out of his life to convince lawmakers to seriously consider the legislation.
The first year it passed the House, but died in committee and never got to the floor of the Senate. The second attempt passed the House, but again never saw light of day on the floor of the Senate.
This year, despite misleading information being distributed by some environmental groups, the bill was seen for what it is, calling for a level playing field in the permitting process and passed.
“It’s designed to stop economic competitors, extortionists and so-called no-growthers from filing frivolous challenges just to delay a project or in the hope of being paid to ‘go away’. We are not trying to take anyone’s rights. It’s not directed at people with legitimate environmental interests,” said Smith.