Center for Biological Diversity

Media Advisory, March 2, 2018

Contact:  Jacki Lopez, (727) 490-9190,  jlopez@biologicaldiversity.org
Susan Glickman, (727) 742-9003, susan@cleanenergy.org
Hunter Miller, (863) 528-6011, hmiller@oceana.org

Press Conference in St. Petersburg Will Support Ballot Measure Banning Nearshore Oil Drilling in Florida

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Business owners, elected officials, scientists and environmental activists will unite on Tuesday, Mar. 13 to urge Florida’s Constitutional Revision Commission (CRC) to place Proposal 91 on the November 2018 ballot — a constitutional measure that would ban near-shore oil drilling in the state.

Businesses, scientists, elected officials, tourism and environmental will stand in support of Proposal 91 at the commission’s final public hearing being held in St. Petersburg that same day. 

“We have a chance to make history and turn the ship,” says Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, a CRC member who sponsored Proposal 91 after she was approached by environmental groups. “We would be the only state in the nation to have this in our state constitution.”

What: Press Conference to support a ban on nearshore oil drilling ahead of the Constitutional Revision Commission’s hearing.

When: Tuesday, Mar. 13 at 11 a.m.

Where: University Student Center - USF St. Petersburg, 140 USFSP Harborwalk S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Who: Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, elected officials, business owners, tourism operation owners, scientists, environmental groups and representatives from the fishing industry.

Background
Proposal 91, being considered by the Constitutional Revision Commission, would ban oil drilling in state waters. The commission meets just once every 20 years to revise Florida’s constitution. It will place measures on the November 2018 ballot that, if approved by voters, will amend the Florida Constitution. As an amendment to the state Constitution, Proposal 91 would prohibit offshore drilling in state waters (within 3 miles on the East Coast, 9 miles on the West Coast).

Proposal 91 has already passed out of two CRC committees and will be voted upon by the full CRC after the final public hearing Mar. 13 in St Petersburg.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.6 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

www.biologicaldiversity.org

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