If you’ve ever spoken at a county commission meeting, written a letter to the editor, or joined your neighbors at city hall to oppose a reckless development — you know the power of your voice.

You’ve seen it make a difference. In rural communities across this state, people have stood up to protect farmland, preserve clean water, and keep their roads from turning into traffic jams. Local governments have listened — and that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

But that changed when the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 180 in 2025.

SB 180 was sold as a hurricane recovery bill — but hidden in the fine print are provisions that block local governments from passing any new “more restrictive or burdensome” rules on development. That phrase isn’t defined. The law applies retroactively, and it allows anyone — not just property owners — to sue their local government if they don’t like a planning decision. That law strips you of your voice in these matters.

Let’s be clear: this wasn’t written for our towns. It didn’t come from the people who live and work in rural Florida. It came from the corridors of power in Tallahassee, written to protect special interests — not your community.

Now, when you and our counties try to limit sprawl, fix floodplain policies, or require new development to pay its fair share, they’re being threatened under SB 180. And local leaders who want to stand up for their communities are being told to stand down.

At Defending Rural Florida, we believe the people who live in rural areas, farm the land, and steward our natural resources deserve a voice in the decisions shaping their communities — and a say in the policies threatening their future.

It’s time to repeal the worst parts of SB 180 — specifically Sections 18 and 28. These provisions strip citizens like us of our voice, gut responsible planning and leave rural communities wide open to overdevelopment.

We’re calling on lawmakers to fix this mess. But we can’t do it alone.

Talk to your neighbors. Share what’s happening. Call your state legislators and tell them that Floridians — not developers — should decide what our communities look like.

Because once your voice is gone, it’s a lot harder to get it back.

Lane Watkins is president of Defending Rural Florida, a statewide grassroots organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of Floridians who are concerned about the rapid decline of rural areas, farms and ranches across the state. A resident of Crestview, Lane comes from a family that has farmed and ranched in Putnam County for four generations and is active in protecting rural areas from overdevelopment. To find out more, please visit defendingruralflorida.org.