The Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative, a proposal to force the Legislature to fund conservation efforts for the next two decades, is running strong in a poll. The proposal is listed as Amendment 1 on the November ballot.
Amendment 1 garners little opposition according to a WFLA/Survey USA poll released on Tuesday, though a sizable portion of Florida voters continue to remain undecided on the matter. Needing 60 percent to pass on the November ballot, Amendment 1 would mandate the Legislature send 33 percent of funds generated from real estate document taxes to be used for environmental conservation efforts for the next 20 years. Estimates show these funds would range from $700 million to $1.3 billion.
The poll shows 49 percent of likely voters support Amendment 1 and only 7 percent are opposed to it. But a large segment of voters -- 44 percent -- remain undecided on the amendment with three weeks to go until the general election.
According to the poll, voters of both genders and all racial groups support Amendment 1. Younger voters support the proposal more than other age groups, with 61 percent of voters under 35 backing the amendment. The poll shows the proposal does better on the Atlantic coast, with 60 percent of voters from Southeast Florida and 57 percent of Northeast Florida residents backing it, but Amendment 1 is running strong in all parts of the Sunshine State.
There is a slight political divide on this amendment. More Republicans -- 12 percent -- oppose it than other political groups, as only 7 percent of independents and 2 percent of Democrats stand against the proposal. A majority of Democrats -- 55 percent -- back Amendment 1 while 47 percent of voters outside the major parties and 44 percent of Republicans support it. However, the poll shows large segments across the board -- 44 percent of Republicans, 43 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of voters outside the major parties -- remain undecided on the issue.
The WFLA/Survey USA poll of 566 likely voters was taken from Oct. 10-13 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
