Oil Spill: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill May Prompt Special Legislative Session, Constitutional Ban on Offshore Drilling
While oil from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig has yet to reach Florida’s shores, the disaster has already caused political leaders to consider a special legislative session. On May 6, 2010, Governor Charlie Crist told reporters that he was considering calling the Legislature into session to propose adding a ban on offshore drilling to the Florida Constitution. State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democratic candidate for governor, indicated her support for the concept of a constitutional ban, saying that the timing may now be right.
Attorney General Bill McCollum, the leading Republican candidate for governor, did not comment on the possibility of a constitutional amendment, but did say that the state may need to sue if the owner of the well, BP PLC, does not take financial responsibility. McCollum said, “We recognize that BP has stated publicly that it will live up to its obligation to pay all claims arising from this environmental and economic disaster. We hope that BP will. But we would be remiss in our responsibilities if we did not consider the possibility that enforcement or litigation efforts will be required in the future.”
Meanwhile, the Legislature’s two most prominent advocates of offshore drilling have declared that authorization of offshore drilling will not be considered in upcoming sessions. Rep. Dean Cannon (R-Orlando), who will become Speaker of the House after the November 2010 elections, assuming the Republicans maintain their majority, described the Deepwater Horizon disaster as a “game changer” and said that the question of allowing offshore drilling was “permanently tabled.” His Senate counterpart, Senate President-designate Mike Haridopolos (R-Melbourne), said, “I want to know what happened, because I was told there were redundancies … . We were assured that there would not be major problems like this. I’m not willing to risk Florida’s energy future, let along our economic future, to something that is not absolutely proven.”
Politics: Polls Show Gov. Crist Leading in the Race for U.S. Senate, While the Gubernatorial Contest Gets More Complicated
Two new polls show Gov. Crist, the no-party-affiliation candidate for U.S. Senate, leading both his Republican opponent, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R-Miami), and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-17th Congressional District).
In a Rasmussen Reports survey of 500 likely voters conducted on May 3, 2010, Gov. Crist led with 38 percent, followed by Mr. Rubio with 34 percent and Rep. Meek with 17 percent. Eleven percent were undecided. Gov. Crist gained eight percentage points over his performance in an April 21, 2010 Rasmussen poll. He drew support away from both of his opponents, with Rep. Meek losing five percentage points and Mr. Rubio losing three percentage points since April 21, 2010.
The survey of likely voters had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
A poll released by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research on May 6, 2010 had similar results. In the Mason-Dixon survey of 625 registered voters, Gov. Crist was supported by 38 percent of respondents, Mr. Rubio was supported by 32 percent, and Rep. Meek was supported by 19 percent, with 11 percent undecided. In a Mason-Dixon poll taken two months earlier, Gov. Crist led with 35 percent, followed by Mr. Rubio with 28 percent, and Rep. Meek with 20 percent. The earlier poll showed 17 percent of respondents as undecided.
The survey of registered voters, conducted from May 3 to May 5, 2010, had a margin of error of four percentage points.
The Mason-Dixon poll also was the first to measure the impact of health care executive Rick Scott’s entry into the Republican primary race against Attorney General McCollum and Sen. Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland). Mr. Scott, who has reportedly spent in excess of $4 million on television ads, has been running campaign ads for the past four weeks. The survey placed Attorney General McCollum in the lead with 38 percent, Mr. Scott second with 24 percent, and Sen. Dockery with seven percent.
Attorney General McCollum’s general election lead has shrunk to nine percentage points, from 15 points in March. In the May Mason-Dixon poll, Attorney General McCollum led the Democratic candidate, CFO Alex Sink, by 45 percent to 36 percent. Mason-Dixon also polled on a matchup between Mr. Scott and CFO Sink. In that contest, CFO Sink received the support of 38 percent of respondents and Mr. Scott received the support of 36 percent.
The Republican-only part of the poll included an oversampling of 400 likely Republican primary voters, to produce a margin of error of five percentage points. The general election part of the poll had a margin of error of four percentage points.
Health Care: Abortion Language Could Produce Veto of Agency for Health Care Administration Bill
A controversial abortion provision added late in the legislative session could lead to a veto of a bill intended to streamline the Agency for Health Care Administration’s (AHCA) regulation of health care facilities.
As originally proposed, House Bill 1143 represented a compromise between AHCA and various regulated entities. Among other things, the bill changes licensing standards for long-term care facilities, expands electronic filing, reduces duplicative inspections, and streamlines regulation of assisted living facilities.
When the bill was taken up by the full Senate, amendments relating to abortion were added on party-line votes after vigorous debate. One new provision would require that a woman seeking an abortion must be provided with a live ultrasound view of the fetus, subject to several exceptions. Another new provision would generally prohibit abortion coverage in state-funded health insurance plans. The House concurred in the Senate amendments after extensive debate on the last day of the legislative session.
Various interest groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, and many Democratic legislators have urged Gov. Crist to veto the bill. The governor’s office reported that, as of May 5, 2010, it had received 2,291 e-mails and 317 phone calls urging a veto, and 262 e-mails and 32 phone calls urging the governor to sign the bill.
While an AHCA spokesperson described the bill as “very important,” Gov. Crist told reporters on May 5, 2010 that he has “concerns” about the bill. He said, “I don’t want it to be something that’s too intrusive on the privacy of women.”
Once HB 1143 is signed by the presiding officers of the Legislature and presented to the governor, he will have 15 days to sign the bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature.
Public Policy News Alert is part of our ongoing commitment to providing up-to-the-minute information about pressing concerns or industry issues affecting our clients and our colleagues. If you have any questions about this alert or would like to discuss these topics further, please contact your Foley attorney or any of the following individuals:
Marnie George
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3398
[email protected]
Michael P. Harrell
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3373
[email protected]
Robert H. Hosay
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3382
[email protected]
Jonathan P. Kilman
Orlando, Florida
407.244.3256
[email protected]
Thomas J. Maida
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3377
[email protected]
Leonard E. Schulte
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3380
[email protected]
Marnie George of The George Group assists Foley on a variety of government and public policy matters as a consultant.