July 1996

July 1996

Sugar Industry Group Sues Environmentalists

A property rights group financed by the sugar industry filed suit in U.S. District Court on July 1st accusing environmentalists of tricking voters into signing petitions for a sugar tax to pay for the Everglades cleanup.

The Tax Cap Committee says the organization, Save Our Everglades, is confusing voters by using a multi-layered, three-color petition identical to one that the property rights advocates have been using for three years.

"They're tricking the public into signing a petition for a cause they do not support," David Biddulph, chairman of Tax Cap, said during a news conference at the Miami Hyatt. "People think they're signing a tax-limiting petition when, in fact, they've signed for a tax increase."

Joe Garcia, the spokesman for Save Our Everglades, denounced the suit. "That's the most specious piece of garbage that ever came down the pike," Garcia said. "This is a bogus lawsuit filed by a shill of Big Sugar."

Based in New Smyrna Beach, Tax Cap has received almost $4.4 million from sugar industry and other agricultural interests since 1994, Garcia said. Save Our Everglades is collecting signatures on three ballot proposals aimed at imposing a penny-a-pound tax on Florida sugar. The proceeds would go toward cleaning up and restoring the Everglades. To get their proposals on the November ballot, they must collect signatures of 429,428 registered Florida voters by Aug. 6.