SLATER PROTECTION: Fla.Gov. Presents Kelly With Protection Bill

Earlier today, Florida Governor Charlie Christ presented a signed copy of Senate Bill 1472 to eight-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater.

Cocoa Beach, FL (November 13, 2007) – Earlier today, Florida Governor Charlie Christ presented a signed copy of Senate Bill 1472 to eight-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater. The presentation took place at an event celebrating Slater’s appointment to the Governor’s Council for Physical Fitness.

Senate Bill 1472 works to preserve the public’s right to access the beach and protect beach users and sea turtles from the harmful affects caused by an experimental form of coastal armoring. The bill received unanimous passage through both the Florida House and Senate, allowing Florida to joins such states as California, Texas and Oregon in establishing a formalized beach access protection policy.

Kelly noted, “Here in Florida Surfrider has been extending itself beyond the surf community, this meeting with the Governor shows that we have gone mainstream. We’re not only looking out for the concerns of surfers but everyone that enjoys the ocean.”

The Surfrider Foundation has over 3000 members and 11 Chapters in Florida. Their combined activism was instrumental not only in passage of Senate Bill 1472 but the inclusion of an ‘Open Beaches Amendment’ to the legislation. Surfrider activists throughout Florida communicated with their elected representatives the critical need for beach access protection in the nation’s 4th most populous state. A contingent of highly dedicated volunteers even took a day from work to travel hundreds of miles to Florida’s Capitol in Tallahassee to meet with legislators the day the bill was voted upon.