The Florida Senate voted 35-2 Thursday to repeal a controversial 2018 law that restricted public access to beaches in Walton County and other coastal areas.
- SB 1622, sponsored by Sen. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, would eliminate the law that nullified Walton County’s customary use ordinance. Senators Don Gaetz and Kathleen Passidomo cast the only dissenting votes.
The bill has evolved significantly since its committee hearing. The current version not only repeals the 2018 statute but also includes provisions for beach renourishment projects in critically eroded areas. It establishes the erosion control line for certain Gulf Coast counties as the mean high-water line, determined by a survey conducted by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund.
Destin Mayor Bobby Wagner explained that the bill would enable beach renourishment projects without requiring unanimous consent from beachfront property owners, which previously allowed even a few holdouts to block entire projects.
- “Any new sand placed seaward of the erosion control line becomes public beach by law,” Wagner said. “In Destin, if a major renourishment project moves forward, it could add 50 to 80 feet of new, guaranteed public beach in front of private properties — even if the gates behind it remain.”
Wagner emphasized that the legislation doesn’t remove gates or convert existing private property into public land, but creates a mechanism to expand public beach access through renourishment projects.
“This bill is about more than beaches—it’s about protecting a way of life that’s been part of Walton County for generations,” Trumbull said in a statement after the vote. “For decades, families have walked these shores, cast lines at sunset, watched their kids chase waves, and made memories that define what it means to live—and visit—here.”
The 2018 law specifically affected Walton County because it exempted beach access ordinances established before January 2016, while Walton County’s ordinance was adopted in October 2016. This created a unique situation where Walton County beaches became increasingly privatized.
- “Somewhere along the way, a line was drawn—one that said Walton County didn’t deserve the same protections every other Florida community received. SB 1622 fixes that,” Trumbull said.
The companion bill in the House (HB 6043), sponsored by Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, passed favorably through the Judiciary Committee on April 8 and has been added to the Second Reading Calendar.
If passed by the House and signed by the governor, the law would take effect immediately upon signature, as specified in the bill text.
5 Responses
Why the H… does anyone vote for any politician who is in favor of having the horrible disgusting private beaches? Every resident, every visitor, every tax payer MUST have a right to use any beach. Who made those politicians GOD? They are not even worthy of getting ONE single vote. Fire them or those who can – please vote them out ASAP.
Yea Don Gaetz of all people, he should go!
This article is wrong. There was no privatization of the beaches. Much of the 30A shoreline to the MHWL has been private for decades.
Except homeowners and condo owners “quietly” extended that to the waterline. When a storm comes in and erodes the dunes, will those same owners repair the dunes? Nope!
All beaches should be open to the public.