SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Tuesday morning that addresses public access in Florida.
DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1622 during a news conference in Santa Rosa Beach. The bill repeals the “burdensome state mandates” and returns “decision-making power to local governments when it comes to recognizing recreational customary use of beaches,” according to DeSantis.
DeSantis said under prior law, local governments were prohibited from affirming the public’s recreational use of the dry sand areas of private beaches unless they first went through a “complex and costly judicial process that tied the hands of counties and cities.”
“By repealing the law, we return the authority back to local communities. Cities and counties can now adopt ordinances recognizing recreational customary use, walking, fishing, sunbathing, swimming without having to obtain a judicial declaration, parcel by parcel,” DeSantis said.
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This bill also allows the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to move forward with beach restoration in areas the state has already declared critically eroded as of August 2024 without having to secure public assessments from private Gulf front landowners.
“This will ensure the restoration projects can begin very quickly, and that every dollar we invest in rebuilding the beach goes towards actual sand and vegetation, not needless litigation,” DeSantis said.