The 60-day policy and funding discussion meeting in Tallahassee is less than a month away. State Representative Jim Mooney hopes to secure funding for infrastructure, education, environment and other key projects in 2022 in his first year in office. 

In the 2020-21 legislative session, Mooney successfully secured full funding for the Florida Keys Management Act. With the approval of the $20 million grant, this is the first year that the plan has received full funding since it was signed into law in 2016. The funding of the plan supports ongoing environmental projects in key areas and will remain a priority for the next session. 

The initial budget during the last legislative session did not fund the House of Representatives’ Stewardship Act, while the Senate had only $2 million. However, before the end of this session, the situation has changed. DeSantis finally signed a budget to spend US$20 million in "Management Law" funds and an additional US$5 million in land acquisitions. Mooney said he will work hard this year to ensure that the Management Law is approved for recurrent funding.

"We will propose a bill to try to obtain recurring funding so that we don't have to fight for it every year," Mooney said. "If we can get $20 million this year, that would be great. We will see how it turns out. We are in a critical problem area, so it always makes things easier."

Mooney also led the allocation of $300,000 in the House of Representatives for the installation of glass breakers, conveyors and material handling components in Key West. Charley Toppino & Sons Inc. agreed in principle to cooperate with the City of Key West to share land and operating resources to establish glass reuse and material distribution. Waste management companies are willing to collect recycled glass and transport it to the shredder for reuse in the community. According to the appropriation request, the mayor and city commissioner have expressed support for glass reuse. 

Collecting recycled glass and transporting it to a crusher for processing into usable materials will eliminate the transportation cost of transporting the glass to a landfill hundreds of miles from Key West. Recycled glass will be collected from residents and businesses, transported to glass breaker facilities, converted into filling materials and distributed to material yards for concrete, asphalt and general filling materials.

"This has been heard in the committee and passed in the first obstacle," Mooney said. "I can't wait to see that."

Key Colony Beach is seeking $2.6 million in state funding to build a rainwater collection and treatment system for a south-facing watershed that extends approximately 1,000 feet north from some intersections on Ocean Drive. The system will be seen as a rainwater treatment system, consisting of a perforated PVC piping system, then a baffle box with hydrocarbon filtering socks, and then to a gravity injection well. The existing road/shoulder area will be reinforced by perforated pipe leakage ditch. Engineering research and plans have been completed. 

There are also grant applications for Pigeon Key's wastewater treatment system and irrigation upgrades, $770,175; Florida Keys College completes college classroom facilities and emergency operations center, $3 million; and Monroe County's ship evacuation plan, $300,000. 

Mooney also supports a funding application of US$942,000 for the construction of a category 5 regional fish and vegetable symbiosis facility. The project will enable fresh ministries and colleges in the Florida Keys to collaborate to provide education, workforce training, economic development, and food insecurity mitigation. 

"The direct services provided to citizens will be vocational training, fresh and healthy agricultural products, low-cost agricultural products and sustainable income," the application is based on the funding request. 

Governor Ron DeSantis' full budget proposal has not yet been announced. But he has announced several plans, including more than $100 million to support the Florida National Guard and the establishment of the Florida National Guard, a civilian voluntary force that will assist the National Guard in state-specific emergencies . He also proposed to provide 400 million U.S. dollars in new funding to increase the salaries of first responders.

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