TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate's budget panel has advanced to the floor a measure that creates a nonprofit board to manage money from settlements from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The Appropriations committee on Tuesday cleared the bill (SB 1024) with only one 'no' vote from Sen. Arthenia Joyner.
But representatives from Gulf Coast counties expressed concerns that the state would wrest control of the money through the nonprofit Triumph Gulf Coast board.
Bill sponsor Nancy Detert says the board would safeguard any funds recovered by Attorney General Pam Bondi. She sued BP and Halliburton last week before the statute of limitations expired on the 2010 disaster's third anniversary.
The Venice Republican says the new board would not control Gulf recovery money from the federal RESTORE Act.