Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, sent out a letter to all senators on a future special session to deal with the economic damage caused by the oil spill in the Gulf. Though Atwater said he is open to a special session, he is waitingto confer withHouse Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala before he can go much further.
While there may be room for cautious optimism about the status of the Deepwater Horizon well itself, I have no doubt that serious ecological and economic issues remain, wrote Atwater. In my estimation, residents along the Gulf will continue to feel the effects of the disaster for some time, and families and small businesses in those parts of the state will clearly benefit from some legislative relief now and in the foreseeable future.Many of the issues this state will face are as yet unknown, and those that can be reasonably defined are extremely complex.Our collective response will have to be deliberative and thoughtful.
Atwater offered a quick review of the brief special session that Gov. Charlie Crist called in July -- which was quickly adjourned in the House, with the Senate following suit.
Reasonable people will differ on the appropriate next steps, wrote Atwater. I have been very clear that my preference is to have a meaningful special session, devoid of purely political overtones On July 8, I sent a letter to the members of the Senate regarding what I felt to be some material weaknesses in the governors call for a special session and suggesting an expansion of his call.
"That was followed by a letter to the speaker on July 15 asking that he consider a special session later in the summer which would engage more substantive concerns. After gaveling the special session to a close, I publicly offered my views on what had transpired, and reiterated my desire for a more meaningful gathering.I will repeat again what I said then, I will be disappointed if we do not return in a special session at the earliest possible date.
I respect Speaker Cretul, his leadership team, and the process the House has defined, continued Atwater. As you all know, the speaker has appointed six work groups to explore specific facets of the Gulf oil release, and asked Rep. Aubuchon to coordinate that process.All indications are that he and his working group leaders have committed themselves to the task with dedication and professionalism.Rep. Aubuchon indicated yesterday that a final report would be delivered to the speaker on Aug. 31.
While waiting for Cretul and the House to decide their intentions for another special session, Atwater wrote that he intends the work of the Select Committee on Floridas Economy under Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, to continue handling the matter.
While we await a decision from the House regarding a mutually shared interest in proceeding with a special session, I continue to press our Select Committee to fine-tune our initiatives so that we can proceed, without delay, in mitigating the impact of the oil release on Floridas citizens and small businesses along the Gulf, wrote Atwater.As soon as we hear from the House, I will communicate with you immediately.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
