Florida Senate - 2011                              CS for SM 214
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senators Gaetz and
       Latvala
       
       
       
       578-00638-11                                           2011214c1
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to support the tax-relief provisions
    4         of H.R. 5699 and S. 3934, initiated in the 111th
    5         Congress, or similar legislation, relating to the
    6         Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill of 2010.
    7  
    8         WHEREAS, on April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the
    9  Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform, allowing millions of
   10  gallons of crude oil to contaminate the waters of the Gulf of
   11  Mexico and the beaches and coastline of Florida, and
   12         WHEREAS, the oil spill forced the closure of many areas of
   13  the Gulf of Mexico to commercial fishing, creating financial
   14  hardship for Floridians engaged in fishing and the related
   15  industries of seafood processing, seafood packaging, and the
   16  wholesale and retail sales of seafood, and
   17         WHEREAS, the oil spill forced the closure of many miles of
   18  pristine, white, sandy public beaches in Florida, depositing tar
   19  balls and oily sheen on the beaches and threatening tidal
   20  marshes and bays elsewhere in Florida, and
   21         WHEREAS, closure of the beaches and Gulf waters created
   22  financial hardships for the state’s hospitality industry,
   23  particularly in Northwest Florida, during its most profitable
   24  time of the year, NOW, THEREFORE,
   25  
   26  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   27  
   28         That certain provisions of H.R. 5699 and S. 3934, initiated
   29  in the 111th Congress, or similar legislation, which address tax
   30  relief for affected businesses and individuals and which would
   31  be most beneficial to Floridians should be approved by Congress.
   32  These provisions are: exempting from federal taxation as income
   33  any insurance payouts arising from the oil spill and payments
   34  for damages attributable to the oil spill under s. 1002 of the
   35  Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. 2702, which were reinvested
   36  in the Oil Spill Recovery Zone; recognizing any taxpayer who has
   37  a qualified oil-spill loss as eligible to use the federal 5-year
   38  net operating loss carryback for federal tax purposes; exempting
   39  from federal taxation the housing stipends paid to persons who
   40  are employed in the cleanup efforts, and awarding a tax credit
   41  to employers who paid the stipends; awarding an Employee
   42  Retention Tax Credit to qualified employers in the affected Gulf
   43  Coast area; waiving the tax penalty on early withdrawals of
   44  certain retirement plans if the proceeds are used as specified;
   45  relaxing the cap on federal deductions for charitable
   46  contributions dedicated to the cleanup efforts; and awarding a
   47  Work Opportunity Tax Credit for the hiring of qualified recovery
   48  zone employees.
   49         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
   50  dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
   51  President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
   52  United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
   53  the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.