Oil Spill: Special Legislative Session Ends Without Considering a Constitutional Ban on Offshore Drilling

On July 20, 2010, the Florida Legislature convened in a special session called by Gov. Charlie Crist for the limited purpose of placing a constitutional amendment to ban offshore drilling on the 2010 general election ballot. Both houses of the Legislature quickly adjourned without considering the proposal or any other legislation. A statutory ban on offshore drilling in Florida waters has been in place since 1990.

After being in session for less than an hour, the House adjourned on a largely party-line vote of 67 to 44. Later that afternoon, the Senate voted 18 to 16 in favor of adjournment.

Gov. Crist said he was "significantly disappointed for the people of Florida. I can't believe this Legislature has shirked its duty so badly. How arrogant can a Legislature be? I call this Legislature the do-nothing Legislature, and I'm going to give them hell for it."

Senate President Jeff Atwater (R-North Palm Beach) said that the Senate would have been ready to take up legislation to provide relief to victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but both Gov. Crist and the House had resisted his efforts to expand the scope of the special session beyond the constitutional amendment.

Referring to the efforts of the Senate Select Committee on Florida's Economy, Sen. Atwater said the Senate was "the one chamber that's been trying to get this done." Both Sen. Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul (R-Ocala) said that they intended to jointly call a special session, probably in September, to address the economic impacts of the oil spill.

Rep. Cretul, in his speech to the House, criticized Gov. Crist for calling the Legislature back into session "at the last possible moment to consider a constitutional amendment for which he never proposed any language and permitted far too little time for reflection and review." He continued, "This is a terrible way to propose constitutional changes. Simple solutions designed to produce sound bites, photo ops, and political attacks will do nothing to help Floridians in need of recovery."

Rep. Cretul announced that he had created several workgroups that would review relevant issues and report back to the House before the anticipated September special legislative session. The workgroups will address disaster preparation and response, programs to meet the immediate needs of impacted areas, private sector damages and processes for compensation, strategies for public sector recovery of damages, long-term economic recovery opportunities, and the adequacy of civil and criminal sanctions for offenses related to environmental disasters.

Immediately after adjournment of the July special session, the Senate Select Committee on Florida's Economy met to review a wide range of issues that could become subjects for legislation in the next special session. These areas include:

  • Property tax relief for properties that have lost value because of the oil spill
  • Civil compensation remedies, including creating additional causes of action, providing litigation advantages or sanctions, and providing alternative dispute resolution
  • Creation of an office to assist Floridians with claims against BP or the federal claims administrator
  • Reductions in employers' unemployment compensation liability
  • Tolling of permits and extensions during a state of emergency

Oil Spill: Gov. Crist Issues Executive Order Authorizing Local Property Appraisers to Provide Calculations of Lost Property Values

On July 21, 2010, Gov. Crist issued Executive Order 10-169, which authorized county property appraisers to "provide an interim assessment of any property that may have dropped in value because of the oil spill." The executive order goes on to explain, "Property owners can then use that documentation to file a complaint against BP or any other responsible party."

The executive order does not provide any direct tax relief and does not allow the interim assessment to be used in calculating tax liability. Instead, as described by Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones, "What the governor has done is have the property appraisers provide some professional assistance to the folks that are impacted by giving them some kind of damage number that they could then take to BP and say they've lost money." Mr. Jones added that his office lacks the resources to provide the interim assessments to every property owner and may instead offer some form of mass appraisal.

The executive order applies to property appraisers in the 26 counties currently subject to the oil spill state of emergency.

Politics: Rasmussen Poll Shows Marco Rubio and Gov. Crist in Virtual Tie for U.S. Senate; Public Policy Polling Shows Solid Leads for Gov. Crist, Rick Scott, and CFO Alex Sink

Two new sets of polls provide dramatically different pictures of the Florida electorate. In a Rasmussen Reports survey of 750 likely voters taken on July 21, 2010, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-Miami) is essentially tied with Gov. Crist, who is running without party affiliation, in the race for the U.S. Senate.

In a three-way race including the Democratic candidate, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-17th Congressional District), Mr. Rubio is supported by 35 percent of respondents, Gov. Crist is supported by 33 percent, Rep. Meek is supported by 20 percent, and 11 percent are either undecided or favored some other candidate. When the matchup includes Rep. Meek's primary opponent, investor Jeff Greene, Gov. Crist leads with 36 percent, followed by Mr. Rubio at 34 percent, Mr. Greene at 19 percent, and 12 percent either undecided or favoring another candidate.

The automated telephone survey had a margin of error of four percentage points.

Public Policy Polling has released a series of surveys of 900 registered voters taken from July 16 through July 18. In the Senate race, Public Policy Polling shows Gov. Crist with a lead that is outside the margin of error. When Rep. Meek is included in the matchup, Gov. Crist leads with 35 percent, followed by Mr. Rubio at 29 percent, Rep. Meek at 17 percent, and 19 percent either undecided or favoring another candidate. The results are similar when Mr. Greene is included, with Gov. Crist receiving 38 percent, Mr. Rubio receiving 29 percent, Mr. Greene receiving 13 percent, and 19 percent undecided or favoring another candidate.

The survey also showed former health care executive Rick Scott leading Attorney General Bill McCollum in the Republican primary for governor. Mr. Scott held a 14-point lead over the attorney general, 43 percent to 29 percent, with 28 percent undecided.

CFO Alex Sink, the presumptive Democratic candidate for governor, leads both Republican candidates and unaffiliated candidate Bud Chiles, the son of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles. In a matchup that includes Attorney General McCollum, Ms. Sink leads with 37 percent, followed by Mr. McCollum with 23 percent, Mr. Chiles with 14 percent, and 26 percent undecided. When Mr. Scott is included in the matchup, Ms. Sink leads with 36 percent, followed by Mr. Scott with 30 percent, and Mr. Chiles with 13 percent, with 22 percent undecided.

In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Rep. Meek and Mr. Greene are essentially tied. Rep. Meek was supported by 28 percent of respondents, Mr. Greene had the support of 25 percent, 10 percent supported other candidates, and 37 percent were undecided.

The automated telephone poll surveyed 900 registered voters, including 400 registered Republicans and 339 registered Democrats. The margin of error for the general election questions was 3.26 percentage points. The margin of error for Republican primary questions was 4.9 percentage points, and the margin of error for Democratic primary questions was 5.3 percentage points.

Politics: State Candidates Release Second Quarter Campaign Finance Reports and Begin to Collect Public Matching Funds

Campaign finance reports covering the period ending July 16, 2010, showed that CFO Sink's campaign for governor has raised more in contributions than any other campaign for state office. Through July 16, her campaign had raised $7.3 million and spent $1.5 million, leaving $5.8 million in cash on hand. Attorney General McCollum, one of the Republican candidates for governor, has raised $5.7 million and spent $5.2 million, with $542,857 in the bank. Mr. Scott, the other Republican candidate, is running a largely self-financed campaign. He raised $414,126 and loaned his campaign an additional $22.9 million to fund expenditures of $22.7 million, leaving $656,497 in the bank.

Mr. Chiles, who is running without party affiliation, raised $79,570 and spent $34,756, leaving cash on hand of $44,814.

Among other statewide races:

  • The Democratic candidates for attorney general filed similar reports. Sen. Dave Aronberg (D-Greenacres) raised $1.2 million and had $656,751 in the bank. His opponent, Sen. Dan Gelber (D-Miami Beach), raised $1.1 million and had $665,803 in the bank. Among the Republican candidates, Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp raised $773,624 with $316,589 cash on hand, former Tampa prosecutor Pam Bondi raised $614,082 with $400,942 cash on hand, and former legislator and agency head Holly Benson raised $553,945 with $274,969 cash on hand.
  • Senate President Jeff Atwater (R-North Palm Beach) has a strong fundraising lead in the election for chief financial officer. He raised $2.3 million and had cash on hand of $2.1 million. His Democratic opponent, former state Rep. Loranne Ausley (D-Tallahassee), raised $782,304 and had $622,429 in the bank.
  • U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam (R-12th Congressional District) has a strong fundraising lead in the race for agriculture commissioner. The Republican candidate raised $1.6 million and had cash on hand of $1.3 million. His Democratic opponent, former Tallahassee Mayor Scott Maddox, raised $424,909 and had $394,343 in the bank.

Florida's campaign finance laws provide public funds for candidates for governor or state cabinet offices. In general, once a candidate for governor has raised $150,000 and once a candidate for cabinet has raised $100,000, the candidate is eligible for matching funds. Each contribution from an individual in the amount of $250 or less is matched dollar-for-dollar.

Candidates who accept public funding must agree to expenditure limits of $24,901,170 ($2 for each registered Florida voter) in the governor's race and $12,450,585 ($1 for each voter) in cabinet races.

The first distribution of matching funds was delivered to candidates on July 23. Attorney General McCollum's campaign for governor received $1.3 million, Sen. Atwater received $492,870, Rep. Putnam received $317,813, Sen. Gelber received $353,798, Lt. Gov. Kottkamp received $259,884, Ms. Benson received $249,877, and Ms. Bondi received $246,259.

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