TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida legislators have agreed on a plan to hand out millions of dollars given to the state for damages related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Florida Senate on Monday voted unanimously for a bill that would guarantee that $300 million be distributed to eight Panhandle counties that were hardest hit by the spill. The bill heads back to the Florida House, which is expected to approve it.
Legislators previously passed a law that created a non-profit corporation to administer any economic damages awarded to the state. But House Republicans have pushed to place new limits on how the money can be spent.
The final bill (HB 7077) would spell out that the money cannot be spent on any local economic development projects.
