The Green Fee Advisory Council has released its recommended package of 75-project recommendation package totaling $126.4 million, focused on resilience, stewardship, and tourism management. The list runs the gamut from native species restoration and cesspool conversions to beach restoration.
The current fight (and yes, there is a current fight) is not really about the projects, but about how the first round will be funded. Lawmakers are pushing back on the administration’s plan to fund the projects with $42.2 million in bonds instead of paying directly from the new Green Fee revenue. In other words, the same projects, a different pocket, and suddenly everyone has concerns. Nothing like a good bureaucratic fight to slow things down.
There is also a transparency issue. HB1949 was introduced to create a Green Fee transparency program and public dashboard, which is a polite way of saying lawmakers want a better handle on where the money is going. Theoretically, this is a great idea, but we wonder how much the transparency will cost?
