Special Session on Oil Disaster Looking Less Likely

If the feeling coming out of Tuesday morning's work group -- one of six on the Deepwater Horizon response -- is any indication, chances of a special session may be fading.

The six work groups organized by House Speaker Larry Cretul are submitting their final reports today.

They were tasked with studying different aspects of the oil issue, everything from disaster response and preparation to determining if current laws are strong enough -- then letting the speaker know if they think anything should be addressed immediately in a special session.

"Special sessions in election years are fraught with peril," said Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Heathrow, after the Tuesday morning work group conference call.

Dorworth chairs the group assigned to examine the adequacy of criminal and civil penalties over disasters like the BP Deepwater Horizon gusher. They met this morning to discuss the finishing touches on their work.

On a number of issues, their recommendation was to make no changes to Florida law.

Other issues, they said, will continue to be reviewed.

"You have to remember, this is a work group, not a committee. We're not setting policy" said Dorworth.

"The idea was to generate information to determine what deserves further inspection, be it in a special session or a further session," he said.

The complete reports from all six groups are expected to be released by the speaker's office Tuesday afternoon.