The bill that would nullify Key West’s voter-approved cruise ship reductions is making its way through the Florida House of Representatives and its committees. The bill already passed three state senate committees and, on April 19, passed the House Commerce Committee.
The committee voted 13-5 to support House Bill 267, which prohibits the port of Key West from restricting maritime activity based on the size, type or capacity of ships.
During Monday’s 90-minute debate, the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Spencer Roach of the Fort Myers area, and Rep. Tyler Sirois of Merritt Island, said the creators...
I won’t take up too much of your ink on the curious claims made by Ed Swift in his recent letter. He says he has no financial involvement in the draft legislation that would overturn the results of last year’s Key West election and force large cruise ships back into Key West. But this will come as a surprise to Kate DeLoach and the other lobbyists at the Southern Group, the high-priced firm that represents both Historic Tours of America and Mark Walsh’s Pier B Development Corporation in their effort to punish their neighbors for voting against large cruise ships and continue to exploit our shared...