HM 539

1
House Memorial
2A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3Congress to support the tax-relief provisions of H.R. 5699
4and S. 3934, initiated in the 111th Congress, or similar
5legislation, relating to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
6of 2010.
7
8     WHEREAS, on April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the
9Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform, allowing millions of
10gallons of crude oil to contaminate the waters of the Gulf of
11Mexico and the beaches and coastline of Florida, and
12     WHEREAS, the oil spill forced the closure of many areas of
13the Gulf of Mexico to commercial fishing, creating financial
14hardship for Floridians engaged in fishing and the related
15industries of seafood processing, seafood packaging, and the
16wholesale and retail sales of seafood, and
17     WHEREAS, the oil spill forced the closure of many miles of
18pristine, white, sandy public beaches in Florida, depositing tar
19balls and oily sheen on the beaches and threatening tidal
20marshes and bays elsewhere in Florida, and
21     WHEREAS, closure of the beaches and Gulf waters created
22financial hardships for the state's hospitality industry,
23particularly in Northwest Florida, during its most profitable
24time of the year, NOW, THEREFORE,
25
26Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
27
28     That certain provisions of H.R. 5699 and S. 3934, initiated
29in the 111th Congress, or similar legislation, which address tax
30relief for affected businesses and individuals and which would
31be most beneficial to Floridians should be approved by Congress.
32These provisions are: exempting from federal taxation as income
33any insurance payouts arising from the oil spill and payments
34for damages attributable to the oil spill under s. 1002 of the
35Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. 2702, which were reinvested
36in the Oil Spill Recovery Zone; recognizing any taxpayer who has
37a qualified oil-spill loss as eligible to use the federal 5-year
38net operating loss carryback for federal tax purposes; exempting
39from federal taxation the housing stipends paid to persons who
40are employed in the cleanup efforts, and awarding a tax credit
41to employers who paid the stipends; awarding an Employee
42Retention Tax Credit to qualified employers in the affected Gulf
43Coast area; waiving the tax penalty on early withdrawals of
44certain retirement plans if the proceeds are used as specified;
45relaxing the cap on federal deductions for charitable
46contributions dedicated to the cleanup efforts; and awarding a
47Work Opportunity Tax Credit for the hiring of qualified recovery
48zone employees.
49     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
50dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
51President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
52United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
53the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.