Last summer’s controversy that erupted across the state about the potential construction of lodges, golf courses and pickleball courts at Florida state parks will continue into the state’s 2025 legislative session.

State Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican, has filed the State Parks Preservation Act (SB 80) for next year. The bill would order the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to prioritize conservation-based recreational activities and specifically says those activities do not include golf, tennis, pickleball or sports that require a ball field.

Harrell’s Martin County district includes Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which was scheduled for three golf courses under a “Great Outdoors Initiative” announced last August. The initiative would have removed a boardwalk and the Hobe Mountain observational tower at Dickinson.

The lawmaker also wants DEP to develop 10-year management plans for each of the state’s 175 state parks. Those plans are to prioritize conservation-based recreational activities like fishing, camping, canoeing and hiking.

The bill filing is a turnaround from recent sessions in which Republican lawmakers, who still control both the House and Senate with supermajorities, showed great deference to the executive branch led by Gov. and then-presidential candidate Ron DeSantis; DEP is under the governor.

The Great Outdoors Initiative, which DeSantis has said he wasn’t involved with, survived only a couple of weeks after it was announced. It drew protests from the public and opposition from elected officials from city halls to Congress.

The initiative called for a 350-room lodge at Topsail Preserve in Santa Rosa County, a disc golf course at Maclay Gardens in Tallahassee and a pickleball court at Florida Caverns in Marianna, among others. There were also plans for golf courses and tennis courts throughout the award-winning state park system.

The public was given less than a week’s notice to prepare for a single public hearing on the proposal. U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott called the initiative “absolutely ridiculous.” State Sen. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, whose district includes three state parks, said the initiative created “unnecessary development.”

DeSantis soon backed away from the proposal and said officials were “going back to the drawing board.”

Harrell’s bill would provide guardrails for DEP officials if they intend to resubmit the initiative. The requirement of 10-year management plans for each park would include a detailed description of the park’s land, backed up by an inventory of forest and natural resources, such as water features and significant cultural and historical features.

More: A look behind the failed the pitch to create golf courses in a Florida state park — and what went wrong

Harrell also wants the management plan to include measurable objectives for habitat restoration and maintenance, public access, sustainable forest management, and more. Any changes in the plans must include a 30-day notice for at least one public hearing with publication of the proposed change.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee.