TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 27 (UPI) -- Oil and gas companies are staging a last-minute lobbying blitz in support of a Florida offshore drilling measure, analysts say.
A group of companies, called Florida Energy Associates, whose membership is mostly secret, has hired at least 20 of the state's top lobbyists to help push through a quick-emerging, late-session proposal to give Gov. Charlie Crist the power to allow oil and gas exploration off Florida's Gulf of Mexico coast, The Miami Herald reported Monday.
The newspaper said the group was formed in December and is headed by Daytona Beach, Fla., lawyer Doug Daniels, who said the oil and gas interests making up the group wanted to remain anonymous for competitive reasons.
Florida now bans offshore drilling, which has long been regarded as a political "third rail" by residents who prize the scenic beauty and tourism drawing power of the beaches. But with state tax coffers running dry, the move to lift the ban has gained momentum among some state lawmakers, the newspaper said.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has denounced the proposal, telling the Herald he can't believe any Florida lawmaker would consider allowing oil rigs as close as three miles to the state's beaches.
