CALL THE GOVERNOR: VETO Shooting Range: SB1156
THE CLOCK IS TICKING NOW. HE WILL EITHER SIGN THE BILL; LET THE BILL BECOME LAW WITHOUT HIS SIGNATURE; OR VETO THE BILL. THE DEADLINE FOR HIS ACTION IS 5-22-04 CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AT: Governor Jeb Bush
PL 05 The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Phone: 850-488-4441
Fax: 850- 487-0801
E-mail: jeb.bush@myflorida.com HERE IS OUR VETO LETTER GIVEN TO THE GOVERNOR APRIL 27TH. USE IT AS YOUR "MESSAGE" GUIDE. The Honorable Jeb Bush
Governor
The Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001 Veto SB 1156, Outdoor Shooting Range Immunity Bill Dear Governor Bush: The signatories of this letter strongly urge you to veto SB 1156, commonly referred to as the Outdoor Shooting Range Immunity Bill. Language within the bill states that it is necessary to avoid "unnecessary litigation and unnecessary regulation by governmental agencies of sport shooting and training ranges." The bill text also states that environmental regulation of outdoor shooting ranges "impairs the ability of residents of this state to ensure safe handling of firearms and to enjoy the recreational opportunities ranges provide." The crafters of SB 1156 attempt to justify the need for it by stating that "The cost of defending these actions is prohibitive and threatens to bankrupt and destroy the sport shooting and training range industry." The facts do not support these allegations. In truth, Florida has in excess of 240 outdoor shooting ranges (some sources say as many as 400). Our FDEP has only had to work with 26 of these facilities to clean up contamination. Only one outdoor shooting range has been involved with the courts, due to its refusal to work with FDEP. We hold that, rather than providing shooting range owners with immunity from responsibility for pollution, Florida must put environmental protection first and foremost. We hold strong objections to several of the provisions of SB 1156. First, employees of local and state government agencies must not ever be subject to criminal prosecution for attempting to protect waters of the state or for defending public health. This provision sets a dangerous precedent for allowing well-funded special interest groups (in this case, ultimately, the NRA) to dictate state policy by intimidation of state regulators. Another problem with SB 1156 is its lack of funding. The assessment and remediation costs for a single contaminated site can easily run into hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more). Each year our legislators struggle to divvy up our limited financial resources between many essential programs. Inevitably, the budget comes up short. With promises that government will pick up the cleanup tab, but no new source of revenue to deliver on that promise, it is likely that lead and arsenic will remain in place for some time to come. How does that serve the public? A third critical shortcoming of SB 1156 is the long lag time between the awarding of immunity and the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) by shooting range owners. According to SB 1156, immunity would be bestowed within three months of the bill`s signing, but BMPs would not have to be implemented until January of 2006, some 19 months later. Since the concept of immunity was justified by the implementation of BMPs, this lag time constitutes a betrayal of the public trust. Again, how does this serve the public interest? The toxicity of lead to babies, children and pregnant women is well established. Arsenic, another contaminant associated with shooting ranges, is a known carcinogen. The citizens of Florida rightfully expect our state and local environmental agencies to protect us from contaminated soil and water. We harbor serious doubt that SB 1156 can fulfill this expectation. SB 1156 appears to have been crafted to address the narrow concerns of a small group of business owners to the detriment of the vast majority of our citizens. In the interest of public heath, public trust, and fiscal responsibility, we ask that you exercise your veto power to put a stop to SB 1156. Respectfully yours, John Swingle, Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club Conservation Chair
239-693-3854 Nancy Brown, President, Florida League of Conservation Voters
850-668-4772 Dan Hendrickson, Legislative Chair, Florida Consumer Action Network
850-385-6160 Susie Caplowe, Lobbyist
850-567-2448 David Ludder, President & General Counsel
Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation
850-681-2591 | 
