By David Royse and Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Talk continues in the Senate over the need for a special session in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and a key lawmaker suggested Tuesday that alternative energy incentives could be part of the agenda.
Sen. Lee Constantine, chairman of the Senate Environmental Preservation Committee and a member of the Energy Committee, said members of the Senate were, at the request of Senate leadership, discussing options that could come into play in a session and were “preparing for something” before the fall.
The most likely issues lawmakers would tackle would be some sort of energy legislation, though Constantine said so far there is no draft proposal, and what to do about falling property values in the wake of the spill.
“Clearly we have to do something to encourage (alternative energy production),” said Constantine (R-Altamonte Springs). “I think this is a golden opportunity.”
Senate President Jeff Atwater said earlier this summer that if lawmakers return, they may try to provide some sort of relief to people and businesses affected by the oil spill, but there seems to have been little interest in the House, with one House staffer noting last week that helping people who have lost money would be difficult because the state has no money.
Lawmakers are looking at a deficit potentially topping $6 billion, and expected to get larger if the economy takes a significant hit from the spill. Constantine said he and members of the Senate, including the chairmen and staff of several key committees, were discussing options for a possible session.
“That process is being done in the Senate, I can’t speak for the House,” Constantine said. “I can simply tell you the president has said that he feels we need to do something, at least on valuation, and the committees are working up strategies.”
Valuation refers to the possibility that coastal property owners will see property values drop drastically, particularly in the Panhandle, and especially in areas dependent on tourism. Figuring out a way to at least help those property owners avoid a tax hit has been mentioned as something the Legislature might do, but another consideration is how to help the state deal with the hit from the ensuing loss of revenue.
Rep. Trudi Williams (R-Fort Myers) said Tuesday that there wasn’t a strong sense in the House of a need to return to Tallahassee in response to the oil spill. She also said it wasn’t clear that Gov. Charlie Crist was too interested, although he has suggested that he would be amenable to one.
Williams said if lawmakers were to return to Tallahassee, they may try to muster up votes to undo legislation Crist has vetoed, such as a bill aimed at having more women see an ultrasound before getting an abortion. Crist also vetoed a couple of land use bills that angered agricultural interests. Several legislators have complained that Crist hasn’t been that engaged in the discussion over a legislative oil spill response, at least not publicly.
“I don’t think he’s too excited calling us back, he’s got to worry about a veto override,” said Williams. “He’s getting enough media attention with the oil spill. He doesn’t need to call us back to get attention.”
Soon after the BP Deepwater Horizon spill began in late April, some lawmakers called for placing a proposal on the ballot to ban oil drilling in state waters. It’s barred currently by a moratorium.
Constantine said there was less appetite for such a constitutional push coming from several directions, not just those who oppose a ban. Constantine said even some who favor the moratorium on drilling are reluctant to ask voters whether they want to enshrine it in the state constitution for fear that it may not get the required 60 percent vote, and serve as a signal that people may not favor the ban at all.
“It’s a roll of the dice,” Constantine said, that some don’t want to risk.