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Bob Graham Supports A New Environmental Conservation Amendment

Bob Graham wants to make sure there's an amendment placed on the November 2014 ballot that ensures Florida spends money on land and water conservation, management and restoration.

He and Progress Florida are working with Florida's Water and Land Legacy Campaign on the amendment to the state constitution.

It would put a third of documentary stamp tax funds into the state budget for the next 20 years, specifically for funding conservation that protects Florida's remaining ecosystems. There will not be an increase in taxes because funds will come from already-existent tax revenue.

"Critically important in Florida is that our whole economy here is based on tourism," said Damien Filer, political director for Progress Florida. "So if we don't have clean beaches for people to come to and have parks and natural spaces, then we don't have an economy here in our state, either."

Filer said the campaign is going very well, and if they continue receiving the amount of support they have seen so far, the amendment will be on the Florida 2014 ballot.

If passed, the amendment would go into effect July 1, 2015.