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Legislative leaders may delay a special session to provide relief to gulf coast residents who have lost jobs and money because of the BP oil spill. A session was tentatively scheduled for September, but as Whitney Ray tells us, some high ranking state senators are starting now saying it could be November before they hold a session on helping Floridians hurt by the spill.

When lawmakers met in July for a special session on oil drilling, a vote was taken to go home with the promise to try to come in September, but with the leak capped and the oil disappearing the urgency may start waning.

Carol Dover the President of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association doesn’t want the pain her members are feeling to be forgotten.

“The perception is that if it gets cap then the oil just automatically goes away and all of our problems go away. I have to tell you, in fact, for us now its worse,” said Dover.

The story is the same when it comes to the environment. BP and the Feds say 75 percent of the oil has been collected, burned skimmed or eaten by microbes. Environmentalists say there is still a crisis.

“Clean up is going to take a long time and we are going to continue to see oil washing up on our beaches,” said Eric Draper with Audubon of Florida.

The changing status of the impact in the gulf is changing the way the state responds. The emergency operation center is now in just a partial activation mode, and there’s still no date set for a special session to help Florida fishermen, hotel owners, and people losing property value because of the spill.

September was the target lawmakers were shooting for, but now there are talks of waiting until November.

“If we can work out a deal were we can have a plan in place well get it done, but no later than organizational session in November,” said Incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

“The hope is that we’ll be able to get some resolution of those problems through either a special session or at the organizational session of the new legislature,” State Senator Don Gaetz said.

By holding a special session in November when the legislature is already scheduled to be in Tallahassee to reorganize after the election and swear in new members, lawmakers could save taxpayer money.

Florida’s House Speaker has organized workgroups to focus on six areas where the state could lend a helping hand. Those groups must submit their findings by the end of the month.