Crist wants special session on oil drilling, alternative energy

Add Gov. Charlie Crist to the growing list of people who want a special session of the Legislature to tackle a possible ballot question that could lead to a ban of oil drilling off Florida's immediate coastline.

"I think it's important that we go ahead and have a special session,'' Crist said Tuesday morning. "I'm encouraged that the Legislature is of a mind to do so as well.''

Talk of a special session to consider the potential November ballot question has been growing as more oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico from a rig that burned and collapsed 40 miles off the Louisiana coast.

"It's front and center for all of us right now,'' Crist said.

The biggest unknowns right now are who will call the special session - be it the governor or legislative leaders themselves - and when it might occur. Some have discussed the week of May 24 as a possibility.

"I'm not sure who will call it, but I know it will be called,'' the governor said.

The leaders of the Florida House and Senate didn't sound as certain.

"During this time of crisis, our state resources and leadership should be focused on solving the real problem at hand, not fighting political campaigns at taxpayers' expense,'' House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, said in a news release. "Drilling in Florida's waters is currently banned by law and will remain so. There is no need for taxpayers to pay for a special session just to provide a platform for politicians to score political points."

Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, seemed to agree.

"At time when our economy is facing record deficits, it is imperative that government use every dollar provided by Florida's taxpayers wisely,'' Atwater said in a news release. "Thus, before we enter a special session, which could cost taxpayers upwards of $40,000 daily, we must find common ground with our partners in the governor's office and Florida House. I have asked Governor Crist to submit energy legislation to us that would have minimal impact on Florida's rate-paying citizens and be mindful of the state of Florida's budget."

Some Democratic lawmakers last week pushed for a special session as officials all along the state's coastline kept a wary eye on the menacing spill in the Gulf that threatens the state economically and environmentally.

"It speaks well of the governor to be responsive of concerns like this,'' said Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, a Democrat from Sarasota who was one legislator who called for the session. "I am looking forward to going up there.''

Lawmakers have said they want voters to approve a constitutional amendment to ban drilling in Florida waters. That would mean no drilling would be allowed within 12 miles of the Gulf Coast and within 3 miles of the Atlantic coast.

The BP spill, however, occurred some 40 miles off the Louisiana coastline.

"We have no authority about what would happen beyond 12 miles,'' Fitzgerald said. "But we think it would send an important signal.''

Rep. Rick Kriseman, a Democrat from St. Petersburg, hopes the state ban would put federal authorities on notice that Florida doesn't want oil drilling anywhere near its shores - whether it's within 12 miles, 125 miles or 250 miles.

He said he is afraid to think what would have happened if a massive spill such as this one occurred just a few miles off the Pinellas County coastline.

"I think it would have been bad enough we would have had to evacuate some of the communities,'' Kriseman said. "There is a fairly high level of toxicity. Certainly we would have destroyed our beaches for a very, very long time. It would take years of cleanup.''

Crist said Tuesday that he wants any special session to also focus on energy alternatives - be it wind, nuclear, solar, natural gas or other forms.

"We want to get some of the best minds together and lay about a plan before we start the session,'' the governor said.

If the session dwelled only on the drilling ban, Kriseman said he doesn't think it would last too long.

"I think we are talking a couple of days at most,'' he said. "To me it's a pretty clear-cut issue.''

Escambia County Commission Chairman Grover Robinson responded to Crist's call for a special session after a media briefing at the county's EOC on Tuesday morning.

"I can only say that this board has been consistent in its position that drilling is not for Florida," he said. "We believe our assets that we have naturally are much more suited to tourism, fishing, a variety of other uses that are inconsistent with oil. If I was a commissioner in Louisiana, I might have a different feeling. But as a commissioner in Florida, I believe tourism, fishing, recreation, the outdoors - those things are much more vital to our economy than drilling."

Of course, he said, this kind of news comes only after such a calamity occurs.

"That is the challenge of politics; sometimes we're more reactionary, rather than proactive," Robinson said. "But I've always looked at the situation as, what is best for Florida, and what is best for Escambia County. I truly believe what is best is what we're currently doing. I think to restructure our entire economy would be difficult, if not impossible."