Bill Text: FL H0363 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster/Penalties

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-03 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see SM 218 (Adopted) -HJ 1101 [H0363 Detail]

Download: Florida-2011-H0363-Introduced.html
HM 363

1
House Memorial
2A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3Congress to dedicate penalties collected from parties
4responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster to
5repairing the environmental and economic damage caused by
6the disaster.
7
8     WHEREAS, on the night of April 20, 2010, there was an
9explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig which caused at least
10170 million gallons of oil to spill into the Gulf of Mexico over
11the course of several months and wash up onto the coastlines of
12the five Gulf states, and
13     WHEREAS, this man-made disaster spoiled portions of
14Florida's coastline and waterways and devastated its fishing and
15tourism industries, and
16     WHEREAS, this man-made disaster has directly resulted in
17the loss of jobs and business for Floridians, and
18     WHEREAS, a preliminary study by the University of Central
19Florida predicted job losses of 195,000 and spending losses of
20$10.9 billion if Florida's 23 counties along the Gulf Coast lose
2150 percent of their tourism and leisure jobs and spending, and
22     WHEREAS, that preliminary study also predicted job losses
23of 39,000 and spending losses of $2 billion if those same
24counties lose 10 percent of their tourism and leisure jobs and
25spending, and
26     WHEREAS, despite clean-up efforts, oil remains buried in
27the sand on the Gulf states' coastlines and in the waters
28offshore, and
29     WHEREAS, the amount of oil remaining in the Gulf waters is
30still unknown and some researchers have discovered oil below the
31sea's surface, including on the ocean floor, and
32     WHEREAS, although seafood caught off of Florida's coast is
33safe to eat and approximately 90 percent of the fishing closures
34in federal waters have been lifted, the long-term effect on the
35Gulf's sea life is still unknown, and
36     WHEREAS, under current law, any civil penalties recovered
37pursuant to the Clean Water Act must be deposited into the Oil
38Spill Liability Trust Fund to be used for clean-up and response
39efforts for future oil spills, and
40     WHEREAS, United States Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus,
41recommended that Congress dedicate a significant portion of any
42civil penalties recovered under the Clean Water Act to providing
43assistance for the region where the damage from the disaster
44occurred, NOW, THEREFORE,
45
46Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48     That the Legislature requests the United States Congress to
49enact legislation that permits any civil penalties recovered
50under the Clean Water Act due to the Deepwater Horizon oil
51disaster to be distributed in the following manner:
52     (1)  Deposited into a newly created Gulf Coast Recovery
53Fund, which is managed by a Gulf Coast Recovery Council and used
54to provide assistance for long-term environmental and economic
55recovery in the Gulf;
56     (2)  Directed to the five Gulf states to enable each state
57to pursue its own recovery efforts; and
58     (3)  Deposited into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for
59future recovery efforts.
60     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
61dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
62President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
63United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
64the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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