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Changes Weighed For Local Deepwater Horizon Plan Payouts
February 24, 2017
Money from the Deepwater Horizon disaster settlement may be used to market Northwest Florida and for broad economic development projects, under changes to a pair of bills before the House Select Committee on Triumph Gulf Coast.
Also, amendments that the committee rolled out just before a meeting Thursday would eliminate a requirement for projects to get approval from the Joint Legislative Budget Commission. Instead, Triumph Gulf Coast Inc. — a non-profit organization within the Department of Economic Opportunity designed to handle the bulk of the state’s settlement money — will be required to post online details of any project or program 14 days before cash awards are made.
House committee Chairman Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, said the changes being considered should create “a very fluid process” for projects to advance.
“The fact of the matter is, this is the Panhandle’s money, it’s not Tallahassee’s money,” Trumbull said after the meeting. “So why subject it with too many strings attached to it … too many opportunities for somebody to grab it and send it to South Florida.”
Florida is in line to eventually receive up to $2 billion from the $4.9 billion that is expected to be paid by BP to resolve Gulf Coast economic claims arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill disaster. The state received $400 million last year and is expected to get $106.7 million a year from 2019 through 2033.
Seventy-five percent of the money is to go to the non-profit representing eight Panhandle counties most impacted by the disaster — Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla and Walton. Panhandle officials and some member of the committee — comprised of Republican lawmakers from Northwest Florida — have expressed concerns that the initial House proposal was too restrictive.
Due to the late introduction of the changes, the committee agreed to postpone a vote on the amended bills until its next meeting, tentatively set for March 6, the day before the start of the regular Legislative session.
by The News Service of Florida
Comments
2 Responses to “Changes Weighed For Local Deepwater Horizon Plan Payouts”
Imagine if your home is burned to the ground by some careless act and your insurance company decides in the interest of a person and community two miles away should be able to use your insurance money to improve his/her home!
This is the way I see this whole “mess” with the distribution of fines and penalties assessed against BP et. al. being truly perverted and diverted by those representing this area or at least allowing it to be attempted to be done.
In addition to all this mayhem, the real beneficiaries are the lawyers/attornies “arguing” the various moot points of distribution. Think about that!
You can believe the folks(legislators) in Tallahassee from central and south Florida are trying as hard as they can to get their grubby hands on the funds that were tabbed to the northwest counties. Broxson and his fellow representatives from up here better watch out for those who elected them.