Above photo: The offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon experienced catastrophic failure in 2010, spilling over 200 million gallons into the Gulf of Mexico — a fate that Proposal 91 is aiming to prevent. Courtesy of US Coast Guard
By Luke Cross
For the first time in 20 years, Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission toured the state garnering public feedback on prospective amendments to the constitution, making its final stop at USF St. Petersburg March 13.
More than 1,200 people attended the hearing, of which over 430 requested to speak before the CRC. To accommodate every request, the hearing lasted over 10 hours.
The 2017-2018 commission is the third of its kind in Florida history since its creation in 1968.
The CRC comprises the Attorney General, fifteen appointees from the governor, nine appointees from the Florida Senate president, nine appointees from the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and three appointees from the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court.
Florida is the only state in the nation that offers this unique process, allowing citizens a venue to voice their opinions and submit proposals themselves. The deadline to submit a public proposal for consideration by the CRC was Oct. 6.
The issues covered by the 36 proposals that remain under active consideration by the CRC include a prospective ban on greyhound racing, removing the constitutional ban on state aid to sectarian institutions and turning school superintendent into an appointed position rather than elected position.
One proposal in specific, Proposal 91, would prohibit exploration for and extraction of oil from Florida’s state and coastal waters.
“The proposal would protect waters three miles offshore in the Atlantic, and up to nine miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.” said Sarah Gledhill, Florida field campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national nonprofit environmental organization supporting the proposal.
“Our foundation is that our human welfare is interconnected with the wellbeing of our wildlife,” Gledhill said.
While measures already exist forbidding oil drilling in state waters, Gledhill fears these safeguards can be easily discarded.
“The Florida state statutes do have language that prohibits drilling in Florida water. However, our state legislature controls these statutes, and they convene once a year and can alter the statute’s language,” Gledhill said. “There have been efforts to open our waters to drilling in the past, but this is our way of stopping that for good.”
For many of the proposal’s supporters, allowing oil exploration and extraction would sacrifice long-term gain for short-term exploitation.
“It impacts not only our environment and the wildlife, but the tourism. People come to rely on our clean white sands, and not have to worry about oil washing up on the beaches,” Gledhill said.
Ultimately, Gledhill sees Proposal 91 as a means to better protect the resources that Florida depends on.
“Florida’s lifeblood is our clean environment and our healthy beaches and fisheries, and it’s too risky to even entertain the idea of opening our waters to drilling,” Gledhill said.
Now that its public hearings have ended, the CRC will decide which proposals will be voted on in Florida’s 2018 General Election.
The CRC began its floor session in Tallahassee today and will deliberate over which proposals will make the ballot until May 10.
Until then, Florida voters can contact commissioners to voice concerns or support at https://www.flcrc.gov/Commissioners.
Looks like we missed an opportunity to allow crossover primary voting and reduce party stranglehold.