Cretul Shuts the Door on Special Session

Looks like the final nail is in the coffin for another special session of the Legislature in 2010.

House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, announced on Wednesday morning that the committees he had authorized to kick over options to handle the fiscal impact of the oil spill in the Gulf finished their assignments and he forwarded the various committee recommendations to his members.

As was intended, these members delved into the gritty details to understand how this spill has impacted Florida and focused on what the Legislature can appropriately do to provide relief for our citizens and critical state resources, wrote Cretul.

Based on the work groups recommendations, it would appear that while there are some issues where legislative action may be appropriate, there are no issues that require immediate formal legislative action, added Cretul, making a special session increasingly unlikely. Additionally, there are several areas where it is clear that we do not yet possess the information necessary to make informed decisions. Moreover, many of these issues require solutions that would benefit from closer scrutiny during a regular legislative session.

As I commented last month, the Deepwater Horizon oil-well blowout presents a unique set of challenges for Florida, concluded Cretul. While the people of Florida are among the victims of this spill, the Louisiana blowout occurred hundreds of miles from our state outside our jurisdiction, and is under the exclusive control of a foreign corporation, the federal government, and the United States Coast Guard. Be assured that even with those factors, we will continue to hold BP, the federal government and the Feinberg claims process accountable, and will continue to work to make sure that our people and our environment are once again made whole.