Fluoridated water and Floridians' attempts to "block the sun" will both be banned in the Sunshine State, Gov. Ron DeSantis promised on Tuesday.
He referred to two controversial new bills approved by the Legislature: SB 700, which outlaws fluoride in drinking water, and SB 56, which imposes felonies for Floridians who try to alter the weather. At Tuesday's Miami press conference, DeSantis vowed to sign both into law once they're sent to his desk.
"It's forced medication when they're jamming fluoride into your water supply," DeSantis said, likening his leadership on bucking Covid vaccine mandates to his efforts to shut down fluoridated water.
Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo urged all Florida counties to strike fluoride from their water supplies in November, days after fluoride opponent Robert F. Kennedy was nominated to Secretary of Health and Human Services. Fluoride, a naturally occurring, anti-tooth decay mineral, has been in various American water supplies for decades, though skeptics point to the link between excessive fluoride and skeletal and thyroid issues.
While some, like Stuart and Winter Haven, promptly complied with Ladapo's request, others, like Miami-Dade, engaged in vicious debates over whether or not to strike the anti-tooth decay mineral from tap water. Hours before DeSantis arrived to tout the anti-fluoride legislation, Miami-Dade Commissioners overrode Democratic Mayor Daniela Levina Cava's veto of their ordinance banning fluoride.
"I know the Miami-Dade Board of Commissioners has voted, and I think they voted the right way," DeSantis said.
Once SB 700 is signed, it will preempt all counties that have chosen to keep the mineral in their tap water. This includes Cocoa, Port Orange, and even Tallahassee, which never took up legislation to ban fluoride in the first place. Tallahassee has been fluoridating its water since 1987.
The bill takes effect on July 1.
No "Blocking the Sun" in the Sunshine State
DeSantis also promised to sign a bill imposing felony charges and a $100,000 fine for Floridians who try to alter the weather.
This could include solar radiation management, a new process involving deflecting the sun's rays to decrease the Earth's temperature, or releasing chemicals into the atmosphere to induce rain.
Sponsored by Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia, SB 56 also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to set up an email to respond to Floridians concerned or confused about potential weather modification.
"You have all these people that are saying, 'well, the way to fight climate change is to inject this stuff and block the sun,'" DeSantis said Tuesday. "And...no. No, we're not doing that in Florida. We're the Sunshine State."
The bill would extend to alleged "chemtrails," a long-standing conspiracy theory claiming that the vapor trailing behind airplanes is not condensation, but dangerous chemicals harming Floridians and the environment alike.
When asked if chemtrails are something that DeSantis believes to be a threat, he acknowledged that while they're "characterized as cooky" and Florida isn't "doing any of that," there are private businesses and "movements" interested in injecting chemicals into the atmosphere.
Once signed, the bill takes effect July 1.
