The future of fluoride in Miami-Dade’s drinking water was decided by county leaders Tuesday afternoon as they voted to remove it. NBC6’s Steve Litz reports
A wide-ranging agricultural bill that would prohibit local governments from adding fluoride to water supplies is ready for a full Senate vote.
The measure (SB 700), approved along party lines by the Republican-controlled Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Tuesday, in part revises the definition of “water quality additive.”
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WATCH HEREThe bill comes amid debates in communities throughout Florida, including in South Florida, about whether to continue the longstanding practice of adding fluoride to drinking water to help with dental health. In Miami-Dade County, commissioners voted on April 1 to stop adding it to tap water.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has until Friday to veto the item. She said she's weighing her options and called for a roundtable discussion on Monday, where parents, officials and doctors spoke out.
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A longtime critic of fluoridation in Escambia County, Pueschel Schneier, told the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee the issue is about “medical freedom” and claimed there is no excuse for someone to claim they don’t have access to a toothbrush.
“No government entity has the right to medicate us against our will,” Schneier said. “They have no right to medicate an entire population because they believe maybe a small portion of that population will benefit.”
But Jackson Oberlink, legislative director for Florida For All, maintained that fluoridating water has been one of the nation’s most successful public health initiatives.
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“Are cavities the new culture war? Is the water too woke?” Oberlink said.
Calling it “public health malpractice,” Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo in November advised local governments to stop adding fluoride to their community water supplies. The American Dental Association responded by claiming Ladapo was “misinformed.”
Local officials in Port St. Lucie, Naples and Niceville are also among communities that have agreed to remove fluoride from their water.
The wide-reaching bill approved Tuesday also would allow the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to create rules to prohibit plant-based products being “mislabeled” as meat and poultry products.
The bill also would ban most drone operations over agricultural lands and preempt local governments from regulating construction of housing for “legally verified” agricultural workers.
A similar housing preemption was vetoed last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who claimed the 2024 measure lacked enforcement related to illegal workers.
