Florida is one step closer to restricting smoking at beaches and parks after a proposal was approved and is now headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis, reports Fox 35.

The Senate voted 30-7 in favour of the proposal (HB 105) that would see smoking of filtered cigarettes banned at beaches and parks owned by municipalities and counties, reports Fox 35. The idea behind the bill was to reduce waste caused by cigarette butts that contain filters that are not biodegradable.
"If you live near a beach, the number one picked-up item consistently on an annual basis over and over again, are cigarette butts," said Senate sponsor Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota. "And those filters that are in the cigarettes are what ends up in the water, destroying the environment," he continued.
Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican voted against the measure and said it would not make a significant change. "You’re not going to get the desired results you want. When you walk up to that beach, in the parking lot, that now becomes the smoking section," he said.