Governor Ron DeSantis has signed HB 209, the State Park Preservation Act, into law.
The signing of the bill comes after massive statewide protests last summer, when plans to build golf courses and hotels at Florida state parks came to light. Gov. DeSantis distanced himself from the initiative, called the Great Outdoors Initiative, after months of public backlash.
The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. John Snyder, Sen. Gayle Harrell and Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, passed both chambers unanimously.
The law prohibits development like golf courses, pickleball courts and lodging in state parks, instead preserving them for conservation-based activities.
DeSantis said he would sign the bill into law earlier this month.
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Rep. Gossett-Seidman said in a statement about the signing of the State Park Preservation Act: "We owe it to the next generation to preserve what brought people to Florida in the first place."
The law goes into effect July 1.
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