Posted: October 07, 2009

A recent St. Petersburg Times editorial, “Stacking the deck for drilling”, brought attention to Republican Senate President Jeff Atwater’s perceived manipulation of the Committee on Communications, Energy and Public Utilities. While his colleagues have granted him the authority to configure committees, and while I believe him to be a thoughtful legislator, I agree with the newspaper's point that this “taints the integrity of the Senate’s deliberations on drilling.” In fact, in light of my recent removal from the Energy & Utilities Policy Committee, where I had served for three years as the Ranking Democrat and as an opponent to drilling in state waters and a proponent of renewable energy, I think the House’s deliberations will be tainted too. Further, the committee was assembled in such a way that not a single member represents a coastal Tampa Bay district south of Hernando County. It’s a disservice to the public and our state’s future to have this important debate take place without the Tampa Bay area being well represented.

I would urge my colleagues to do the right thing, to eliminate even the perception of a stacked deck, and to fix the geographic imbalance on the House committee.