DeSantis signs bill banning intentional releases of balloons in Florida

TAMPA, Fla. - Governor DeSantis signed three bills into law on Monday, including one banning the intentional releasing of balloons for things like gender reveals in Florida. 

CS/HB 321 prohibits Floridians from purposefully letting go of balloons, and those who do would face a fine for littering.  

READ: Florida lawmakers pass bill banning intentional release of balloons

Balloons are often released for events like weddings or memorials, and there's a growing trend of seeing them at gender reveal events, but environmental groups say they can have deadly consequences on marine life. 

"Balloons take years to break down and often end up in waterways or the ocean, where they can be swallowed by marine animals," the bill's summary analysis reads. 

JP Brooker, the director of Florida Conservation for the Ocean Conservancy, says balloons are one of the most common types of debris they find during mass cleanup activities. He said they've picked up tens of thousands of balloons in a single year during cleanups. 

"When we find dead manatees, we often find pieces of balloon in them," he said. "Sea turtles, in particular, will target balloons and think that they're jellyfish, which is a natural food source for them. And so these balloons, when they ingest them, can get stuck in their throats and need to be removed. The ribbons from balloons can get wrapped around animals’ necks."

Advocates said balloons can travel hundreds of miles from where they were released. Hunter Miller, the field campaigns manager with Oceana, said balloons are even being pulled out of some of the most remote and pristine areas of the state, including the Florida Everglades. 

"It could be miles inland," Brooker said. "We know there have been coastal releases out on the beach where those balloons come down in cattle pastures inland. And actually, cows have been seen to eat the balloons."

Brooker says there have been stakeholders who expressed concerns about peoples’ right to celebrate or honor a life event.

SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter

"We think that's really important, too," Brooker said. "We think that there are ways to do that. Planting trees, spreading flower petals, things like that, that don't also require littering, like releasing balloons does."

Those who do take part in or organize a balloon release will face a $150 fine for littering under the new law. Fifty dollars of that $150 would go towards the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund grant program. 

Floridians under the age of 6 are exempt from the law. It will go into effect on July 1.