Those counties are also slated to get three-fourths of the remainder of the $2 billion the state is expected to receive for damages associated with the BP disaster, which dumped millions of gallons of oil less than 100 miles off the Florida coast.
However, the House proposal went further than the Senate by initially imposing guidelines on how the money could be used to market Northwest Florida or to support broad economic-development projects. Those issues reflected larger philosophical differences between the House and Senate on business-recruitment and tourism-marketing issues.
“North Florida is different than Central and South Florida,” Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who represents Franklin, Gulf and Wakulla counties, said Monday. “If it were not for the funds of (tourism marketer) Visit Florida, these small rural counties, all the counties of North Florida, would have very little help.”
The proposal, which must go back to the House before it can land on Gov. Rick Scott’s desk, would create a trust fund from which the BP settlement money would be available to the non-profit; expand the non-profit’s board from five to seven so there is more representation for the less-populated counties; and require each county next fiscal year to receive 5 percent of the money received so far.
