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Yesterday’s two hour special session that accomplished nothing, cost you the taxpayer an estimated 55-thousand dollars. That’s 16-thousand dollars more than the average Floridian makes in an entire year. As Whitney Ray tells us, both sides agree that the session was a waste of money, but no one wants to take responsibility.

They loaded onto planes, rented hotel rooms, and ate out on your dime; just to come to Tallahassee for a two hour special session. The state legislature was supposed to stay for four days, discuss a ban on offshore oil drilling and vote on putting the issue in front of voters in November. Instead they griped.

The actual cost of the legislative fiasco won’t be known for weeks, but early estimates suggest lawmakers spent 55-thousand dollars, to gavel in, ignore the issue, and go home. Most lawmakers traveled all that distance and spent all that money and didn’t even speak on the floor… They just kept their seat warm and pushed a button.

So who’s to blame? The legislature blames the governor for calling them back against their wishes.

“I think it’s a waste of money. We let the governor know we had no interest in banning something that’s already banned,” said State Senator Mike Haridopolos.

The governor blames the legislature.

“Well they almost got the chance to vote, but because of the legislature they didn’t,” said Crist.

But whoever’s at fault is irrelevant when the bill comes do, because the guilty party isn’t paying, you are. The 55-thousand dollars figure is only an estimate calculated from past special sessions. House staff thinks the brevity of this session may have lowered the cost below previous averages.