2024 Session: Releasing any balloons outdoors could soon be illegal in Florida

Tallahassee Democrat

SB 602 would classify the intentional release of balloons inflated with a gas lighter than air as littering, and people who violate the law could be subject to a $250 fine.

Balloons are often a staple at celebrations such as weddings and parties but, more often than not, they end up as trash in the state’s rivers, lakes and oceans, where they can injure and kill wildlife.

Now, a bill filed this legislative session would outlaw the release of any balloon lighter than air in Florida, following years of concerns voiced by environmental experts. Current Florida law allows nine or fewer balloons to be released within a 24-hour period.

The bill (SB 602) unanimously cleared its first committee Monday. If signed into law, it would take effect July 1.

It would classify the intentional release of all balloons inflated with a gas lighter than air as littering, and people who violate the law could be subject to a $150 fine. Of that, $50 would go to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's solid waste management trust fund. For balloons over 15 pounds, fines could reach up to $1,000.

"Not all good balloons go to heaven, they all come back down to earth where they are litter," said state Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, who presented the bill for its sponsor, fellow Republican Nick DiCeglie.

If not caught on tree branches or electrical wires first, balloons are carried by the wind and end up in the ocean where they are mistaken for food by marine wildlife, according to an article from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration titled “What Goes Up, Must Come Down.”

And once eaten, the balloons can lead to suffocation, starvation, internal injury and death.

Weather, research and hot air balloons that are recovered after flight would still be allowed under the bill.

The bill would also drop a provision in state law that allows biodegradable balloons to be released. There are no balloons that meet the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission's biodegradability requirements, according to a staff analysis.

The Senate bill next heads to the Community Affairs committee. An identical bill (HB 321) is filed in the house.

Benjamin Taubman is a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat and is the editor of Florida State University's student newspaper, the FSView and Florida Flambeau. He can be reached at btaubman@gannett.com.