It’s do or die time for a bill that would allow Manatee County to build a parking garage in Holmes Beach.
House Bill 947, filed by Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, was signed by legislative officers June 14 and presented to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis had not taken action on the bill as of June 19, according to flsenate.gov.
HB 947 would authorize Manatee County to construct one 36-foot-tall parking garage in a public park managed by the county within Holmes Beach city limits, such as Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive.
The bill would override a city code that prohibits multilevel parking facilities within municipal limits by allowing the county to construct such a structure without obtaining permits or approval from the city.
HB 947 cleared the state Legislature without a scratch earlier this year. The House of Representatives voted 116-0 April 27 and the Senate voted 39-0 May 4 to approve the bill.
Now that HB 947 has been presented to DeSantis, he has until Thursday, June 29, to sign or veto the measure.
The bill automatically passes if DeSantis takes no action.
If DeSantis vetoes HB 947, the Legislature can override the veto by achieving a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
Mayor Judy Titsworth, who has been a vocal opponent of HB 947, wrote in a June 16 text message to The Islander that the city had been unable to reach DeSantis to ask him to veto the bill.
“We have not been able to secure a meeting but have been pretty active with letters, social messages and also news stories,” Titsworth wrote.
In the meantime, two petitions opposing HB 947 had collected more than 8,000 signatures combined as of June 17.
A change.org petition, “Veto HB 947 – Say NO to proposed parking garage!” sought 5,000 signatures when it launched May 15.
As of June 17, 6,240 people had signed the petition, according to change.org.
Another petition, launched May 17 on manateecitizenstakingaction.com, had gathered 2,818 signatures in opposition to the bill as of June 17.
People can call the governor’s office at 850-717-9337 or email governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com.