Statement: Florida Governor Vetos Anti-Solar Legislation

By CeCe Grant, Campaign Director, Common Ground on Climate

The sun is shining brighter in Florida today as thousands of advocates celebrate the defeat of the harmful anti-solar legislation passed by the Florida state legislature. Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed the bill late yesterday, citing the bill’s devastating financial impacts to Florida’s residents and businesses.

We appreciate that the Governor understands that clean energy makes good financial sense, but we know that this win is about more than inflation. This is a win against corporate overreach and a win for energy freedom.

Over the last several months, tens of thousands of Floridians raised their voices in opposition to HB 741, a bill written and sponsored by Florida Power and Light’s lobbyists. In this time of hyper partisanship, Democrats, Republicans, and those who despise politics altogether were virtually unanimous in rejecting this attack against solar energy. Florida demonstrated a rare message of unity – proving that we can still come together, find common ground, and change the course of our nation.

While this is a major victory for solar energy, we can’t just stop here. We must continue to work together to find bipartisan, common sense solutions that reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

But for today, let us savor this energizing feeling of empowerment. I have a renewed sense of hope that together we can change the world. Together we will.