CRC - 2017                                           CS for P 91
       
       
        
       By the Committee on General Provisions; and Commissioner
       Thurlow-Lippisch
       
       335-00148-17                                            201791c1
    1                         A proposal to amend                       
    2         Section 7 of Article X of the State Constitution to
    3         prohibit the drilling for exploration and extraction
    4         of oil and natural gas in specified coastal waters.
    5          
    6  Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
    7  Florida:
    8  
    9         Section 7 of Article II of the State Constitution is
   10  amended to read:
   11                             ARTICLE II                            
   12                         GENERAL PROVISIONS                        
   13         SECTION 7. Natural resources and scenic beauty.—
   14         (a) It shall be the policy of the state to conserve and
   15  protect its natural resources and scenic beauty. Adequate
   16  provision shall be made by law for the abatement of air and
   17  water pollution and of excessive and unnecessary noise and for
   18  the conservation and protection of natural resources.
   19         (b) Those in the Everglades Agricultural Area who cause
   20  water pollution within the Everglades Protection Area or the
   21  Everglades Agricultural Area shall be primarily responsible for
   22  paying the costs of the abatement of that pollution. For the
   23  purposes of this subsection, the terms “Everglades Protection
   24  Area” and “Everglades Agricultural Area” shall have the meanings
   25  as defined in statutes in effect on January 1, 1996.
   26         (c) To protect the people of Florida and their environment,
   27  drilling for exploration or extraction of oil or natural gas is
   28  prohibited on lands beneath all state waters which have not been
   29  alienated and that lie between the mean high water line and the
   30  outermost boundaries of the state’s territorial seas. This
   31  prohibition does not apply to the transportation of oil and gas
   32  products produced outside of such waters. This subsection is
   33  self-executing.