Oil lobbyist in Florida: "The stars and the moon have lined up for us. Timing is everything."

[seafan]

This final week in the Florida legislative session will live in infamy, as the Jeb Bush Republicans and their oil lobbyists gang-rape the state of Florida.


In the same underhanded way that these Florida Republicans railroaded legislation that coupled a too-early presidential primary vote last year with a desperately needed paper trail for voting....

Now these same people couple drilling royalties which would be steered to *environmental protection*, with ordering oil drilling less than 10 miles from Florida beaches.



THIS WILL NOT STAND.

Governor Crist, you'd better veto this latest assault. These Republicans need to be slapped down hard, so that they will never recover.





'Timing is everything' in bid to greenlight offshore drilling

By Jim Ash
Florida Capital Bureau Chief

April 27, 2009

Capitalizing on a worldwide recession and fresh memories of $4-a-gallon gas, conservative Republicans in the Florida House have outmaneuvered a formidable enemy in their quest for the industrial Holy Grail — offshore drilling for oil and natural gas.

"The stars and the moon have lined up for us," said Keyna Cory, a lobbyist for Associated Industries of Florida. "Timing is everything."

Rep. Dean Cannon, a Republican from Winter Park and the speaker designate, stunned environmentalists last week by ramming a bill through the House Policy Council that would give the governor and Cabinet the power to approve drilling as close as three miles from shore.

The 20-page amendment came out of nowhere in the final days of a chaotic session when all eyes were riveted on a standoff over fixing a $6 billion budget shortfall.

Environmentalists were scrambling to save Florida Forever, the $350 million a year environmental land buying program, that is being threatened by budget cuts.

With a little less than an hour's discussion, and a quick, mostly party-line vote, every conservationist's worst nightmare was headed for the House floor. The House gave preliminary approval on Friday.

"This is like a Carl Hiaasen novel," laments Janet Bowman, a lobbyist for the Nature Conservancy.

.....

AIF, the largest business lobby in Florida, has been demanding candidates' positions on offshore drilling before approving endorsements since Barney Bishop became its president in 2006.

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The icing on the cake was a provision that would divert more than $350 million in state drilling royalties to Florida Forever and beach renourishment programs.

Later the same day at a reception for lawmakers, Gov. Charlie Crist called the idea "intriguing."

Environmentalists were livid, and painted into a political corner. Not only were they forced to oppose a potential new revenue stream for Florida Forever, they faced the prospect of going up against a governor they have lavishly praised in the past for his support of renewable energy and his high-profile fight against global warming.

.....

The measure's chances in the Senate, where there is no sponsor, remained unclear. Former Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, is sponsoring the governor's renewable energy package, and expressed an interest in adding the drilling measure.

Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson of Tallahassee said that no matter how badly the state was hurt by the budget crisis, policy makers shouldn't take the bait.

"They're using us at a time when we are vulnerable," he said. "They're really trying to catch us when we're down."

Late last week, when budget negotiations with the House seemed hopelessly stalled, Senate budget chief JD Alexander said the drilling bill had seeped into closed-door budget negotiations.

.....

Florida drilling bill is rigged: Republicans pushing to allow drilling less than 10 miles offshore