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🏖️ Senate Bill 1622, aimed at restoring public access to private beaches in Walton County, passed its final committee vote 21-2.
🗣️ Senator Kathleen Passidomo opposed the bill but acknowledged it would pass, citing concerns about overriding judicial process.
🧒 Bill sponsor Senator Jay Trumbull shared personal stories about beach access and emphasized the bill’s intent to make beaches usable by everyone.
After clearing its last hurdle on Monday, the Florida Senate will vote on the bill that could bring customary use back to Walton County.
Senate Bill 1622, introduced by Senator Jay Trumbull (R – Panama City) passed with a vote of 21-2.
“I’m going to vote against the bill, but it’s going to pass today,” Said Rules Committee Chairperson Kathleen Passidomo, “I’m going to vote against the bill because I believe the judicial process that was included in the law we passed is the proper way to determine customary use.”
Passidomo, who helped to pass SB 631, the bill that SB 1622 would repeal if passed, then looked into the audience – which was filled with supporters of the bill and said, “I don’t know what it’s going to look like on the [senate] floor. It will pass today, so don’t run away and get all upset.”
Senator Trumbull was then allowed by Chair Passidomo to introduce the bill and answer questions about it. “I realize that it’s a lot for you to put this bill up, and it’s not lost on me,” Trumbull said. As part of the Florida Senate rules, the chairperson can choose not to add the discussion of a bill to the committee’s agenda. If that happens, the bill effectively dies.
Speaking on behalf of his bill, Trumbull pulled a story about his childhood to tell the committee members and the gallery’s audience. “I was offered an opportunity at an early age to go to my friend’s house in Walton County all day and catch Pompano and make it home before dinner,” he reminisced, “Unfortunately, my kids in today’s current situation don’t have that same opportunity unless I buy a place [in Walton County on the beach].
Trumbull noted that of the 26 miles of beach in Walton County, about 9 miles are public. The bill would expand the rights of people who do not own beachfront property in Walton County to use what is now considered private and inaccessible beach [to the public]; he says he does not want to eliminate or infringe on property rights. “My goal is not to take private property,” Trumbull said, “my goal is to say, ‘The beaches can be used by everyone.”
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