Voters Unhappy With Bundled Offshore Drilling and Vaping Amendment
October 23rd, 2018 by Jake Stofan
Offshore oil drilling in state waters would be banned by Amendment 9 on this year’s ballot.
Offshore drilling or exploration hasn’t been allowed in state waters by law since 1990, but Amendment 9 gives Florida voters the choice to solidify the ban in the constitution.
“Offshore drilling is inconsistent with Floridians and our economies,” said Hunter Miller with the environmental group Oceana.
In 2010 the BP Oil Spill coated some Florida beaches with tar balls.
Just one year earlier, the State House voted to repeal the ban on oil exploration in state waters, but it was blocked by the Senate.
“We didn’t have that solid protection in our constitution and it becomes much harder to get rid of if it’s in our constitution,” said Miller.
Amendment 9 is opposed by the group Explore Offshore, which is made up of former Florida officials and oil industry lobby groups.
“We deeply believe that we can do this [explore offshore drilling] in a balanced responsible way to protect the environment of Florida,” said former Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp at a press conference held by the group in August.
Amendment 9 also includes a ban on vaping in the workplace, which is another subject already covered in Florida law.
The bundling was unsuccessfully challenged in court, with the Florida Supreme Court ruling that the Constitution Revision Commission had the authority to change multiple parts of the constitution with single ballot items.
Voters we spoke with like FSU Student Alix Clise, say combining the two ideas upset them; even if they decided to vote yes.
“It’s ridiculous that they’re put together on the ballot. There’s no relation between indoor vaping and offshore drilling, but if you have to compare the two, it’s more important to ban offshore drilling than to give somebody the right to hit their JUUL inside,” said Clise.
The ban on oil drilling doesn’t affect Federal waters, which were opened up for exploration by the Trump administration earlier this year.
The administration pledged to take Florida off the table, but so far there has been no official action.
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