Florida Senate - 2012                                     SB 924
       
       
       
       By Senator Simmons
       
       
       
       
       22-00731A-12                                           2012924__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to special observances; creating s.
    3         683.185, F.S.; designating April 4 of each year as
    4         “Everglades Day”; providing an effective date.
    5  
    6         WHEREAS, as one of the largest wetlands in the world, the
    7  Everglades ecosystem provides water supplies to one in three
    8  Floridians and is an important aspect of South Florida’s
    9  tourism, agricultural, real estate, and recreational economies,
   10  and
   11         WHEREAS, Everglades National Park, which draws an average
   12  of 1 million visitors annually, will celebrate its 70th
   13  anniversary in 2012 and has been designated an International
   14  Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of
   15  International Importance in recognition of both its local and
   16  global significance, and
   17         WHEREAS, continued restoration and preservation of the
   18  greater Everglades ecosystem, which originally spanned from Lake
   19  Okeechobee to Florida Bay, are needed to protect the habitat of
   20  many species of animals, including 67 endangered species, and
   21         WHEREAS, the significant economic and ecological importance
   22  of the Everglades ecosystem is an invaluable part of Florida’s
   23  heritage and its future, NOW, THEREFORE,
   24  
   25  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   26  
   27         Section 1. Section 683.185, Florida Statutes, is created to
   28  read:
   29         683.185 Everglades Day.—April 4 of each year is designated
   30  as “Everglades Day.”
   31         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.