Fla. Legislature to begin special session on oil

By BRENT KALLESTAD

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

On the surface, this week's special session of the Florida Legislature has a simple premise: in light of the BP disaster, should the state's ban on offshore oil drilling be added to the November ballot as a proposed state constitutional amendment?

But drill a little deeper and it's also a fight between the Republican-dominated Legislature and Gov. Charlie Crist, who abandoned the GOP three months ago to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent. By calling the four-day special session, which starts Tuesday, Crist has put the Republican leadership in a tough spot:

- Reject Crist's proposal and risk looking like they are siding with oil giant BP PLC, just as many of them are running for re-election or higher office.

- Pass it and give Crist a victory he can trumpet as he campaigns against his GOP opponent Marco Rubio, a former state House speaker.

Such election-year politics could ignite a free-for-all unseen at the Capitol in years despite the menacing tar balls and oil sheen that threaten pristine Panhandle beaches. One GOP lawmaker has proposed censuring the governor, saying he is playing politics.

"I think they will rise above any acrimony that they have toward me," Crist said. "They ought not let that get in the way of the concerns of the people. It's crystal clear how the people feel."

An April 20 explosion on a drilling rig operated for BP off the Louisiana coast resulted in an undersea gusher that spewed between 94 million and 184 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico before it was capped Thursday. The Florida Panhandle's tourism and hospitality businesses have been crippled by the oily Gulf waters, even though it has so far dodged the worst of the mess.

Florida already bans offshore oil drilling, but before the BP spill the Legislature and Crist had explored allowing it, possibly within three miles of the coast. Crist now wants to put the ban into the constitution: that will take a 60-percent vote in both the Senate and House and 60-percent approval from the voters. But it would then take an identical set of votes to allow drilling, rather than a simple majority vote of the Legislature and a governor's signature.

"Does it belong in the constitution? That's the big question," said House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala. "Do you make something (already) illegal, illegal? It makes no sense to me."

Cretul and Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, and others are dismissing Crist's motives as political and say they would prefer to recall lawmakers next month or in early September to help get answers for those who've suffered economic damages from the spill. The GOP leaders may not even bring the measure up for a vote.

Rep. Sandy Adams, R-Oviedo, wants her colleagues to go even farther and censure Crist for calling the session.

"He should be focused on ways to revitalize our economy, not play games with the legislative process for political benefit," Adams said.

State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor, said lawmakers should forget politics and do what they can to help Floridians hurt by the spill, adding that anyone wanting to play politics during this session isn't paying attention.

"Those people ought to get their little heinies out there and talk to those small business people who are one step closer to bankruptcy every day," she said. "That's not political."

Sink has other oil matters she would like lawmakers to consider: simplify the claims process for businesses and individuals who have lost money because of the spill, provide a mediator when necessary and establish a time line for BP to respond to a claim.

"Any other issues that are not related to the oil spill and this particular crisis ought to be reserved for the regular session when the Legislature has a full hearing process," Sink said. "We're in a new world, we've never experienced anything like this."