Crist wants October session, but legislators are in no rush

By Jim Ash
News Journal capital bureau
© 2009 Pensacola News Journal
Thursday September 10, 2009

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist, eager for the state to immediately tap $162 million in gambling proceeds while he campaigns for the U.S. Senate, wants legislators to approve a Seminole gaming compact in an October special session.

Crist is so eager that he would even consider taking up offshore drilling in the same special session.

"At this point, he is open to topics other than the compact," said his spokesman, Sterling Ivey.

In no hurry

But House and Senate leaders are less than enthusiastic. Crist has the power to call them back to Tallahassee, but political reality dictates that there be at least a general agreement if any special session is to be successful. And Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, is studying the controversial gambling expansion proposal and is in no rush to sign off.

"Until we finish that, and have a good idea of what's in it, any talk of a special session is premature," said his spokeswoman, Jaryn Emhoff.

In the House, where social conservatives are wary of any gambling expansion, leaders also are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, has mentioned October or November, when lawmakers will be in town for committee meetings, but he's not ready to confirm there will be a special session at all, said spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin.

"No final word yet," Chamberlin said.

Members in both chambers recently received schedules for October committee weeks, and there is no mention of a special session.

Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, opposes expanded casino gambling, a view he says he shares with a Northwest Florida district he describes as one of the most socially conservative in the state.

Adding the explosive issue of offshore drilling to an already contentious agenda could be a recipe for failure, Gaetz said.

"That's not a two-day special-session topic," he said. "It's much more complicated than 'drill baby drill,' or a bumper sticker with a rig with a line through it."

Audubon of Florida lobbyist Eric Draper, who is leading the opposition to offshore drilling, said lawmakers would be hard pressed to answer all of the questions that any drilling proposal would raise.

He sent a list of 11 technical issues to Haridopolos on Wednesday, issues that he said need to be dealt with before any meaningful debate can take place. They include everything from an independent analysis of available oil and gas reserves to studies on the potential cost of a "worst-case" spill. Lawmakers still haven't decided the sizes of the individual leases, Draper said.

'Public not on their side'

"Florida doesn't even have rules in place for this," he said. "You can't do something without having a rule and you can't have a rule without having a law."

Associated Industries of Florida President Barney Bishop, one of the biggest champions of offshore drilling, accuses opponents of trying to stall.

"There's been plenty of discussion," he said. "The problem with the environmentalists is that they don't have the public on their side."