Loranne Ausley today questioned whether Senate President Jeff Atwater has any intention of providing relief to oil impacted businesses in Northwest Florida still dealing with the effects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Over a month ago, Atwater refused to expand the call of the oil special session to include relief for small business owners, and then denied voters the right to ban near-beach drilling.
“Floridians just don’t have any trust in Tallahassee anymore, especially after Senate President Jeff Atwater’s refusal to let voters decide about banning drilling off of our beaches,” said Ausley. “It’s been well over 100 days since this disaster, and it’s past time our small business owners be provided some sort of relief. Because Jeff Atwater seems incapable of taking action, I’m calling on Governor Crist to set a date and the parameters for a special session that provides meaningful relief to our small business owners and residents in Northwest Florida.”