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Bruce Ritchie - page 13

Bruce Ritchie has 127 articles published.

Fracking bills pass House panel after testy exchanges

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House bills that involve oil and gas “fracking” passed their first committee stop with support from some environmental groups and opposition from others and tense questioning by state Rep. Ray Pilon. HB 1205 would establish a permitting program for hydraulic fracturing and acid fracturing, which are processes used to extract oil and gas from rock. HB 1209 would provide a public records law exemption for companies that submit information on their fracking operations. Last week, Tallahassee and Leon County joined…

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Environmentalists: House budget plan ignores Amendment 1 intent

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A House subcommittee chairman’s proposal for environmental spending ignores the will of voters who supported Amendment 1, environmental groups said Tuesday. “Most of Florida was left out of this budget,” said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida. He was responding to the 2015-16 environmental spending proposal issued Tuesday by Rep. Ben Albritton, chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. The proposal will be voted on by the full House Appropriations Committee. Amendment 1, approved by 75%…

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Bond Amendment 1 revenue, free up cash for other enviro projects, says House chair

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A House appropriations subcommittee chair on Tuesday recommended bonding Amendment 1 revenue for land-buying while using a significant amount of the cash from the conservation spending initiative for existing environmental spending, debt service, land management and agricultural water programs. A key issue in the 2015 legislative session is how the Legislature will spend an estimated $757 million from the Amendment 1 water and land conservation spending initiative. Environmentalists expect the measure to boost conservation land buying but House Speaker Steve Crisafulli…

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House rejects effort to repeal nuclear power fee

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A House subcommittee unanimously voted to file a Public Service Commission committee bill after rejecting a series of amendments that included repealing a charge allowed for proposed new nuclear plants. The proposed committee bill, EUS 15-01, establishes term limits for commissioners, requires a person who lobbies the PSC Nominating Council to register as a lobbyist and authorizes the governor to remove a PSC member who has violated state ethics laws. The House Energy & Utilities Subcommittee voted unanimously to file…

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Dwight Dudley has PSC amendments lined up for proposed subcommittee bill

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Rep. Dwight Dudley has filed amendments to a proposed subcommittee bill being heard today that involving the Public Service Commission including an amendment to require the election of PSC members. The House Energy & Utilities Subcommittee today will consider PCB EUS 15-01 appears to be a response to SB 298, a PSC reform bill filed by Sen. Jack Latvala, a St. Petersburg Republican. Dudley, a Democrat from St. Petersburg, is sponsor of HB 399, which requires PSC members to be elected. The bill also prohibits a utility…

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Florida in bad spot arguing feds don’t play role in water dispute, law prof says

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A legal dispute in the U.S. Supreme Court between Florida and Georgia over water can proceed without the involvement of the federal government that operates dams on the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers, federal officials say. That argument highlights how the water dispute between the states has changed. And if the argument holds true, then Florida is in a bad position for arguing its case before the U.S. Supreme Court, said Robin Kundis Craig, a University of Utah water law professor.…

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Is the environment screwed in the House allocations? Maybe, but we don’t know yet

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Wasn’t the environment supposed to get more money under Amendment 1 — not less? Is this the old Lottery-style switcharoo? Those are obvious questions to be asking after the House issued the general revenue allocation on Friday for the 2015-16 state budget. Agriculture and natural resources spending appeared to be taking a hit — at least compared to last year’s allocation. Last year the allocation was $467.8 million for the agriculture and natural resources and a portion of general government. This year the allocation…

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