Senate Passes Restore Act Bill: Bondi Seeks $5.48 Billion From BP

April 24, 2013

A Senate committee Tuesday approved setting up a non-profit organization to oversee money that might be recovered in the case. But the plan drew skepticism from northwest Florida officials, who are concerned it could infringe on money that counties are supposed to control under the federal Restore Act.

The plan, which the Senate Appropriations Committee approved as an amendment to an economic-development bill would create the non-profit Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., within the state Department of Economic Opportunity. The organization would make awards for projects and programs in Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Wakulla counties.

The plan, backed by Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, comes after a highly publicized case in Okaloosa County about the misuse of some Deepwater Horizon-related money. But officials from some of the counties expressed repeated concerns Tuesday to the committee about the new non-profit organization.

Wakulla County Commissioner Ralph Thomas said, for example, they are concerned that federal Restore Act money could be diverted to the state or to Triumph Gulf Coast. But lawmakers approved additional bill language that they said should alleviate those concerns.

“This is the double-dog guarantee,” Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said of an amendment designed to resolve the questions.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Florida is seeking $5.48 billion for lost revenue – past and future – from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Bondi, who has filed a federal lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production Inc., BP America Production Co., and Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., made a settlement offer for the same amount three months ago but she said on Tuesday that the proposal has been ignored.

The lawsuit, filed Saturday in the Northern District of Florida, in Panama City, on the three year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, seeks to recoup actual and potential lost revenue from the spill that impacted: lost sales and use taxes; corporate taxes; documentary stamp taxes; cigarette surcharges; cigarette excise taxes; beer, wine, and liquor taxes; fuel taxes; rental car surcharges; and utility taxes.

A majority of the state’s claim is for expected economic losses.

A spokesman for BP declined to comment on the suit or Bondi’s settlement offer.

Comments

2 Responses to “Senate Passes Restore Act Bill: Bondi Seeks $5.48 Billion From BP”

  1. tmc on April 25th, 2013 8:13 am

    How many Illegitimate Claims have been paid? I personally know MANY people that have collected THOUSANDS from BP… Most did not lose 1 cent over the DWH incident.. Just like our society today, everyone jumps on the Free money Bandwagon & it makes me sick.. This was an accident & lives were lost… We never hear any mention of that though…

  2. David Hammond on April 24th, 2013 3:28 pm

    The Senate Committee has the power to set up organisations to oversee the funds from BP and also the power to ensure that BP does not continue to deliberately delay the “settlement and payments” of legitimate claims that have been submitted to the DWH programme and the BP Claims Programme. There are thousands of perfectly valid claims that have been languishing in the system for three years. BP simply refuses to pay these claims, and yet they flood the National TV Networks, Prime Time, 24/7 boasting how they are paying all legitimate claims, and making everyone affected whole again. This has to stop, now. The true victims, individuals and Business Owners must be paid before the Government, State and County Claims are settled. The Senate must give BP a deadline. Thay have already plead guilty to 15 felonies and are facing charges of gross negligence in a current trial. It’s about time they accepted their responsibilities and cleared the backlog of delayed payements to people whose lives they seriously affected.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News