Fla. lawmakers OK plan for Everglades restoration

[May 03, 2013]  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida lawmakers have approved a new plan to help pay for Everglades restoration.

The legislation was sent to Gov. Rick Scott on a 39-0 vote by the Senate on Thursday. It cleared the House earlier in the session.

The bill is backed by environmental groups and sugar farmers, and its sponsors have said it represents a truce in a decades-old dispute.

The measure would keep intact an existing tax on farmers in the northern Everglades until 2036. The money from the tax will be used to help pay for water quality restoration projects that are part of an $880 million plan that was negotiated between Scott and the federal government.

The legislation also calls for spending $32 million a year for the next 10 years.

[Associated Press]

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