Florida Dems seek constitutional amendment banning offshore drilling UPDATED

May 6, 2010 · Posted in Alex Sink, Charlie Crist, Florida, Kendrick Meek, Man-made Disasters, Marco Rubio, News and Current Affairs, People, Political News

A group of Florida Democrats, including the leading Democratic contenders for governor and attorney general, just sent out a press release saying they’re calling on Gov. Crist to call a special legislative session to put forward a constitutional amendment protecting Florida’s beaches from offshore drilling. (UPDATE: Crist has said he’s open to the idea. More after the jump…)The release reads in part:

Miami, FL— Joining together from coast to coast, CFO Alex Sink, State Senator Dan Gelber (D-Miami Beach), and State Representatives Keith Fitzgerald (D-Sarasota) and Rick Kriseman (D-St. Petersburg) called on Governor Charlie Crist to reconvene the legislature for a special session to consider a constitutional amendment that would ban drilling off of Florida’s beaches. Hosting press conferences in Miami and St. Petersburg, the three lawmakers released proposed legislation they intend to file should the legislature be called into special session.

“I have seen the BP oil spill up close, spreading for miles. This evidence proves that near beach drilling in Florida is a disastrous idea — we must never let oil companies drill just three miles off our beaches,” said Florida CFO Alex Sink. “Last year, oil companies spent millions on lobbyists and a PR spin machine and quickly passed near beach drilling through the Florida House. The people of Florida must send Legislators a message that we will not allow Florida’s economy to be put at risk or forget the painful lessons of this historic spill. It is for these times of crisis that the Governor has the power to call the legislature back to Tallahassee, and I hope Governor Crist will do so immediately to take up this important amendment to ban near beach drilling. This special session should also tackle the urgent economic and environmental issues which may result from this disastrous oil spill, such as making absolutely sure that BP will pay for every last dime of this cleanup and income lost by our businesses.”

“The tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico and the growing impact to Florida’s coastline and economic engine underscores the need for some in the legislature to drop the issue of oil drilling entirely,” said State Sen. Dan Gelber (D-Miami Beach). “Florida’s fragile coastline and its beautiful beaches are the backbone of our multi-billion-dollar tourism industry. Shortsighted fixes to meet today’s energy demands are a real threat to Florida’s most unique economic and environmental asset. We need a united front to fight the big oil interests who want to open the waters around our state to drilling.”

According to the lawmakers, who also include State Representative Keith Fitzgerald (D-Sarasota) and State Rep. Rick Kriseman (D-St. Petersburg), the amendment would:

Allow voters to decide if the Florida Constitution should be amended to include a prohibition on drilling for oil or natural gas off Florida’s coast.
Send a clear message to the oil industry of what Florida residents think about proposals to open more areas off our coast to oil drilling. The amendment takes the decision away from the oil executives and places it with the people of Florida.
Preserves our beaches and coast by reducing the chance that the pollution associated with drilling will destroy Florida’s pristine coastline.

Kendrick Meek is also trying to make drilling an issue in the Senate race and draw a distinction between himself and his main opponents, sending out a release a few minutes ago hitting both Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist for their prior support for offshore drilling (Crist has since changed his mind.) Calling Meek “the only candidate who has consistently fought against drilling off Florida’ shores,” the release hits Crist and Rubio for inconsistency, and consistency, respectively:

Does Governor Crist Support Offshore Drilling? Depends on What He’s Running For…
When Governor Crist ran in 2006, The Tampa Tribune reported that Crist opposed offshore drilling, writing that “Crist wants to preserve the quality of life in Florida, starting with the environment. He is against offshore drilling for oil and wants Florida to be a leader in ethanol development. ” Then in the summer 2008, as he was eyeing John McCain’s vice presidential nomination, Governor Crist flipped in favor of offshore drilling. On June 18, 2008, The Tampa Tribune wrote, “Crist has abandoned his staunch opposition to off-shore oil and gas drilling, saying Tuesday that he supports Sen. John McCain’s plan to lift the federal moratorium and will weigh the possibility of drilling off Florida’s coastline.” In 2008, he told Fox News he supported drilling off Florida beaches.

Sure enough, as oil continued to creep out toward Florida beaches, Crist flip-flopped again. On Sunday, he told David Gregory on Meet the Press, “(Offshore drilling) must be tabled.” As with most every public policy issue, Governor Crist has allowed the political winds to inform and then influence his decision.

Speaker Rubio: A Consistent “Drill, Baby, Drill” Republican
Speaker Rubio comes from the “Drill, Baby, Drill” wing of the Republican party and has consistently pushed for drilling off Florida’s beaches. Even as the press reported that the Gulf Coast oil spill could be a worse environmental disaster than the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, Marco Rubio was at least consistent in his support of drilling off Florida’s beaches. The St. Petersburg Times wrote Tuesday, “(Rubio) still supports offshore drilling as part of an overall energy strategy.” Unlike Governor Crist, Speaker Rubio is consistent on the issue of oil drilling — he just happens to be consistently wrong.

UPDATE: Gov. Crist responds, telling Post on Politics he’s open to the idea:

PALM BEACH — Gov. Charlie Crist says he’s open to a proposal by Democrats to convene a special legislative session to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to prohibit drilling off Florida’s coast.

“Obviously, in light of what’s happened recently in the Gulf of Mexico, those kinds of ideas we’re going to have to field,” Crist said before visiting Palm Beach Public Elementary School for an assembly to mark “Teacher Appreciation Week.”

“This much is clear. Let me be very clear about this, as far as oil drilling is concerned: Not now, no way,” Crist said. “Whether it’s in the form of a constitutional amendment or a special session remains to be seen.”

Read the rest here.

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