TALLAHASSEE, FL-Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill on Thursday that has been derided by some environmental groups, but praised by real estate developers and investors in Florida.

Among the key provisions in the bill include barring the Florida Wildlife Federation from suing to overturn a controversial decision to grant 30-year leases to 31,000 acres of the state's Everglades property to two major sugar companies; preventing water management districts from cutting back groundwater pumping by any entity that builds a desalination plant to increase its potential water supply; speeding up the permitting for natural gas pipelines that originate in other states; and forbidding cities from asking an applicant more than three times for additional information before approving development permits.

The bill won approval in the state House by a 98-20 margin and subsequently passed the Senate by a 39-1 tally, according to the Miami Herald.

“I don't think it's any feather in his cap,” says Estus Whitfield of the Florida Conservation Coalition in response to Scott's signing of the bill. “I think the general public is getting tired of seeing the environment sold down the river.”

Frank Matthews, a business lobbyist, says that his clients “appreciate the Legislature and the governor continuing to protect Florida's resources while promoting economic development and recovery. It's unfortunate regulatory reform is often sensationalized and characterized as anti-environment.” See story in the Miami Herald.