Cretul & Atwater Decide Not to Work

BP has been caught in Florida dumping sand to cover oil their clean-up crew did not pick up. Tourism on the West Coast of Florida has been affected by the Deep Horizon spill. CFO Alex Sink has repeatedly urged House Speaker Larry Cretul and Senate President Jeff Atwater to call a special session to deal with the environmental crisis. Gov. Charlie Crist called the Florida legislature to a special session to address a possible Constitutional amendment to ban offshore drilling. Speaker Cretul said the best way to address the spill is to do nothing during the upcoming special session.

Today I received a message from the Senate President, a copy of which is attached along with my response. I agree fully with President Atwater that we are not ready to legislate with respect to the oil spill.

To that end, I have instructed our staff to work with the Senate staff to finalize the process and the dates for a special session no earlier than September.

Accordingly, you can expect your stay to be very short next week but in the coming weeks you can expect to be recruited for numerous legislative efforts to identify and craft solutions to problems related to the oil spill.

Attachments

Dear President Atwater:

I am in receipt of your letter dated today, suggesting a joint committee and special session in the coming weeks. I am glad we agree that productive legislation addressing the Gulf oil spill cannot be enacted during next week's scheduled special session. Our duty is to dispose of executive proposals responsibly. Rushing to amend the constitution at the last possible moment because of an accident hundreds of miles from our jurisdiction does not typify deliberation and responsible legislation.

As you and the citizens and legislators of the Panhandle know well, Floridians are suffering along the Gulf Coast from the BP Oil spill. I have followed with interest the work of Senator Gaetz' committee. I assure you that the House is also actively exploring the nature of the injuries, the nature of the federal and private responses, and all suggestions for state response that may require legislation. I believe we can cooperate as we prepare legislative proposals to be considered at a reasonable time. I have asked my staff to work with the Senate staff to resolve the details of the appropriate process and dates for a special session.

Consequently, I am committing the full resources of the House to the full exploration of any and all responsible legislation likely to aid Florida's survival of and recovery from the oil spill. I am also ready, willing and able to join you in calling a special session to convene as early as September, as soon as we can identify those subjects upon which we can act in order to responsibly improve our state's health.

Sincerely,
Larry Cretul
Speaker

Republicans need more time to address the spill. That is why Florida House and Senate Republicans will do nothing about the spill during the current session. Rep. Kevin Ambler and Sen. Paula Dockery apparently have time to use the special session to try to pass an Arizona-style immigration law. Azizona Gov. Jan Brewer's claims about illegal immigrats beheading people have been debunked. Brewer's other claim about crime on the border increasing has been proven to be bogus. Brewer has to make up false facts in order to justify an immigration law that was tailored to the most xenophobic in the conservative base.

Florida has a serious environmental disaster. The state is in no danger of being invaded by Mexicans. The fact that Rupublicans in the Florida legislature rather make a needless immigration bill than risk angering the oil industry shows how unfit to lead Cretul and Atwater are.

Alex Sink voiced her disapproval at Cretul's and Atwater's decision.

“We’re three months into this mess, and our small business owners and citizens should not have to wait another two months for relief,” said CFO Alex Sink. “Delaying urgently needed tax relief and economic initiatives for our small business owners and residents devastated by this oil disaster is wrong. The Florida Legislature should be prepared to do their job and not force taxpayers to spend more money on another special session.”

The Republican Party have repeatedly stressed man-made environmental damage is a conspiracy theory. The GOP really does believe the free market will magically get rid of all the tar balls on Florida's beaches and pay reparations to small businesses. BP justs enjoys giving their money to small businesses owners with no hope of a financial return. And if you believe that then you probably think Rand Paul is a genius.