T H E C A B I N E T S T A T E O F F L O R I D A _____________________________________________________ Representing: STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION BOARD FLORIDA LAND & WATER ADJUDICATORY COMMISSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT TRUST FUND
The above agencies came to be heard before THE FLORIDA CABINET, Honorable Governor Bush presiding, in the Cabinet Meeting Room, LL-03, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday, August 26, 2003, commencing at approximately 9:45 a.m.
Reported by:
KRISTEN L. BENTLEY Certified Court Reporter ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. 2894 REMINGTON GREEN LANE TALLAHASSEE, FL 32308 (850)878-2221 . 2 APPEARANCES: Representing the Florida Cabinet: JEB BUSH Governor CHARLES H. BRONSON Commissioner of Agriculture
CHARLIE CRIST Commissioner of Education TOM GALLAGHER Treasurer * * * ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. .
3 I N D E X STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION (Presented by Coleman Stipanovich) ITEM ACTION PAGE 1 Approved 34 2 Approved 34 3 Approved 34 4 Approved 35 5 Approved 35 6 Approved 36 DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE (Presented by Ben Watkins) ITEM ACTION PAGE 1 Approved 37 2 Approved 37 3 Approved 37 4 Approved 38 5 Approved 38 6 Approved 38 DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE (Presented by Jim Zingale) ITEM ACTION PAGE 1 Approved 40 2 Approved 40 3 Approved 40 4 Approved 41 5 Approved 70 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION BOARD (Presented by Martin Young) ITEM ACTION PAGE 1 Approved 71 2 Approved 71 FLORIDA LAND AND WATER ADJUDICATORY COMMISSION (Presented by Theresa Tinker) ITEM ACTION PAGE 1 Approved 72 2 Approved 72 ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. .
4 BOARD OF TRUSTEES (Presented by David Struhs) ITEM ACTION PAGE 1 Approved 114 2 Approved 115 3 Approved 116 4 Approved 117 5 Approved 117 6 Approved 118 7 Withdrawn 118 8 Approved 118 9 Deferred 119 10 Approved 119 11 Approved 120 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER
ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 5 1 PROCEEDINGS 2 (The agenda items commenced at approximately 3 9:45 a.m.) 4 GOVERNOR BUSH: We now have a vote for the parole 5 commissioner. On May 13th, the cabinet meeting, we 6 appointed Monica David as chair of the Parole 7 Commission and also appointed a new parole 8 qualifications committee to fill the vacancy on the 9 Parole Commission. 10 The parole qualifications committee process is set 11 out by statute and consists of five people who serve 12 for a two-year period as needed. The current committee 13 is made up of Deputy Sheriff Ed Spooner, Judge Merrill 14 Olowos (phonetic), Police Chief Osadeo Oligo 15 (phonetic), state attorney Jerry Blair, and sheriff Don 16 Hunter. Their purpose is to advertise and receive 17 applications for parole commission vacancies and then 18 forward three names to the governor and cabinet for 19 consideration. I would like to thank all of them for 20 their efforts. The three people that we had a chance 21 to visit with all were, I think, very well qualified to 22 take on this responsibility. 23 The three names are Mr. Patrick Donaldson, 24 Ms. Tina Pate and Mr. Robert Woody. Our vote today 25 will fill the vacancy for the term left by Commissioner ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 6 1 Henry that expires the end of June 2004. And Ken is 2 passing out the ballot. 3 (Ballots are distributed.) 4 (Pause.) 5 TREASURER GALLAGHER: Governor, as opposed to 6 doing a ballot, I'd just like to move Robert Woody and 7 request the others go along. I believe that Robert 8 Woody is, one, very highly qualified, having his 9 Master's degree from Rollins College. Two, he has the 10 experience necessary. And, three, he also happens to 11 be an African-American. Which, without him being named 12 to this very important position, we would be lacking 13 for the first time in many, many years an 14 African-American representation on the Parole 15 Commission. And that, I think, would be a mistake. 16 If you look at what we have in regards to -- in 17 black males, white males, there is a 32 percent white, 18 66 black. If you look at the female area, you end up 19 with 33 percent black female. 50 percent -- where am 20 I. I had the female one here. Anyway, there is a 21 large disparity among what's in the prisons as 22 opposed -- and we all recognize this problem -- as 23 opposed to in our society. I think it's extremely 24 important we have a very qualified African-American and 25 that that African-American is certainly one that would ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 7 1 have an excellent opportunity at it. 2 So I would move that we hire Robert L. Woody. 3 GOVERNOR BUSH: Well, I think the procedures are 4 to have a vote. And I will just tell you that I'm 5 voting for Tina Pate. We've never had someone who has 6 had a track record of focusing on victims. And 100 7 percent of the crimes committed in our state have a 8 victim attached to them. And so I think it's more than 9 appropriate to have that expertise. Robert Woody is a 10 friend of mine. He serves in my administration. He's 11 a very talented man. He's, to put it completely in 12 perspective, he's been the cochairman of my campaign. 13 And I have enormous respect for him. But I think Tina 14 Pate is the proper person. All three of them actually 15 were very well qualified. The other gentleman does 16 great work in the Department of Corrections. 17 GENERAL CRIST: I would echo the Governor's 18 comments. I also have voted for Ms. Pate. I think her 19 experience, particularly as it relates to victim 20 services, is critical. And as the Governor so well put 21 it, every crime does have a victim and we are very 22 fortunate today that we have three extremely qualified 23 people for this position. And Mr. Woody has been a 24 friend of mine as well and continues to be. 25 And, Patrick, had the chance to visit with you ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 8 1 this morning and was very impressed and appreciate the 2 fact that you applied. But I think Ms. Pate offers a 3 great breadth of diversity as relates to her experience 4 and background and I think would really serve the 5 people of Florida very well so I voted for her as well. 6 GOVERNOR BUSH: I'm assuming you're voting for 7 Mr. Woody, right? 8 TREASURER GALLAGHER: That's correct. 9 GOVERNOR BUSH: So it's a 2-2 vote which I think 10 is the first time under the new cabinet rules that the 11 governor must be on the prevailing side. And Tina Pate 12 is the new parole commissioner. Thank you all very 13 much. 14 Now, by law the appointment to the position of 15 executive director of the Department of Law Enforcement 16 is made by the governor with the approval of all three 17 cabinet members subject to confirmation by the Senate. 18 After advertising nationally and speaking to many 19 qualified candidates, I'm pleased to announce the 20 appointment of Guy Tunnell, sheriff of Bay County, for 21 the position of executive director, beginning October 22 1st. 23 I asked the cabinet's approval for my appointment 24 subject to a background review which has already begun. 25 And, of course, subject to confirmation by the Florida ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 9 1 Senate. 2 MR. WOOD: Governor, I just wanted to let you know 3 that there are citizens here from Bay County who oppose 4 that appointment based on findings of the federal court 5 and evidence that show Sheriff Tunnell is not qualified 6 and I ask for just one minute to be heard. 7 GOVERNOR BUSH: Mr. Wood, you can come for one 8 minute. 9 GENERAL CRIST: Governor, while he's coming, would 10 you entertain a motion? 11 TREASURER GALLAGHER: Sure. 12 GENERAL CRIST: I would move that the cabinet 13 approve the appointment of Sheriff Guy Tunnell as 14 commissioner of the FDLE effective October 1, 2003. 15 TREASURER GALLAGHER: Second. 16 GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion and a second. 17 Now, Mr. Wood, if you could, please -- you promise a 18 minute. 19 MR. WOOD: I promise a minute. 20 I provided to Mr. Gallagher a copy of the letter 21 that has been submitted. I asked that that letter be 22 entered into the record today prior to the vote in this 23 case. Attached to that is a federal order by Federal 24 Judge Steven Mickle which has identified substantial 25 evidence of racism on the part of Sheriff Tunnell ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 10 1 involving an African-American business in Panama City, 2 Florida. 3 And I don't believe that this material has before 4 been considered by whoever was considering the 5 appointment or, of course, by the members of the 6 cabinet. And I think it needs to be considered. 7 Sheriff Tunnell, according to the evidence and 8 according to the federal judge, is a blatant racist. 9 And I believe that this evidence should be made public 10 and that people should know about this prior to his 11 appointment. I know I'm probably outnumbered 200 to 12 one here. But in our form of democracy, sometimes one 13 voice can bring to the attention material that needs to 14 be considered before important decisions like this are 15 made. 16 To have a blatant racist to be the head of Florida 17 Department of Law Enforcement is wrong and you should 18 not allow it to happen today. 19 GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you. And just for the 20 record, you've sent me more information, my office more 21 information. We've had all of this. It's not news. 22 It's not new and it's not newsworthy in my personal 23 opinion. All this has been looked at. 24 MR. WOOD: You still have refused to order an 25 investigation in Bay County and that's why we have a ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 11 1 problem. 2 TREASURER GALLAGHER: Governor, I'd like to say a 3 couple of things if I may. 4 GOVERNOR BUSH: Sure. 5 TREASURER GALLAGHER: First of all, let me just 6 tell you that I think Guy Tunnell is an excellent 7 sheriff. I had a chance to spend a little time with 8 him yesterday after you told us who you had chosen. 9 And I truly believe that he will make an excellent 10 person in charge of FDLE. I would also say that in the 11 future I would ask that your staff would do the 12 background check prior to bringing someone up. I mean, 13 there's not a sheriff in this room that would hire a 14 deputy that would not do the background check prior to 15 naming them. 16 So I know it's a formality, but it's a very 17 important formality that we all have to do. I'm 18 certainly going to vote for him because I like him and 19 was very interested in months ago that he would get 20 this job. So I'm certainly for him. I just would like 21 us to sort of get things in the right order in the 22 future if we could. And I know that's not your fault, 23 it's a staff issue. But maybe this will have the staff 24 do it in the right order. And so therefore, I'd be 25 most happy to vote in favor of the sheriff. ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 12 1 GOVERNOR BUSH: I can tell you that Guy Tunnell is 2 as good a cop that this state has and we've got a ton 3 of good ones. And he's a person of unimpeachable 4 integrity and he has the support -- the broad support 5 of law enforcement all across the state. And there has 6 been proper checking. It is a formality and I 7 apologize if you feel uncomfortable about it. But I am 8 completely comfortable with my choice and I would urge 9 a unanimous vote. 10 TREASURER GALLAGHER: You have a unanimous vote 11 because you have a second and I'm certainly agreeing 12 with it. And I'm sure the background check will come 13 in just fine. But I did feel an obligation to at least 14 mention that. So hopefully staff will put it in the 15 right order in the future. 16 GENERAL CRIST: If I might. I think I need to 17 give a friendly amendment to my motion to support the 18 sheriff to add the salary of $124,000. And look 19 forward to the unanimous vote. 20 GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion. 21 TREASURER GALLAGHER: I'll second that. 22 GOVERNOR BUSH: Second. Any other discussion? 23 All in favor say aye. All opposed. 24 Sheriff, you want to come up and speak? 25 Congratulations. ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 13 1 (Applause.) 2 SHERIFF TUNNELL: Good morning. Obviously this is 3 a very exciting and important day in my life. Needless 4 to say, a few of my friends are here today and I'd like 5 to take the liberty to introduce them. I think, like 6 me, although for probably different reasons, they are 7 having a hard time believing that this is actually 8 taking place this morning. So if I may, I'd like to 9 introduce my lovely wife, Patty. And I'd like to ask 10 the other members of my family who are here to stand, 11 please. 12 (Applause.) 13 I'd also like to ask my extended family, many of 14 the fine men and women of the Bay County Sheriff's 15 Office, my sheriff's office, who are here this morning 16 to support me to stand too, please. 17 (Applause.) 18 And certainly last but not least, I brought my 19 heavy handers with me this morning. A number of my 20 fellow sheriffs are here and I'd certainly like to 21 appreciate them for their support and being here. 22 Thank you. 23 (Applause.) 24 Governor, thank you so much for this opportunity 25 and the confidence you placed in me in making this ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 14 1 nomination. Gentlemen of the cabinet, Commissioner 2 Bronson, Treasurer Gallagher, General Crist, thank you 3 too for your support. I look so forward to working 4 with you, gentlemen, and your staffs, your respective 5 staffs in the job that has to be done. 6 Obviously my predecessor, recently retired 7 Commissioner Tim Moore of the FDLE, is a class act. A 8 tremendous leader, proven leader. Definitely I've said 9 this, if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred 10 times in the last 48 hours, his shoes, as big as my 11 feet are, will be difficult to fill. But I pledge to 12 you, along with the fine men and women of the FDLE, to 13 endeavor to do the very best job that I can, to raise 14 the standard for public safety for the citizens and the 15 visitors of the great state of Florida. God bless you 16 and thank you so much. 17 (Applause.) 18 GOVERNOR BUSH: Treasurer? 19 TREASURER GALLAGHER: Let me mention that this is 20 the first time in a long time that we've had a head of 21 FDLE that has come -- actually, the first time ever, I 22 think, that's actually come from the Florida sheriffs 23 and with the support of the Florida sheriffs. And I'm 24 thrilled that you chose one of the Florida sheriffs 25 because there's always been a little bit of contention ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 15 1 between the two and I think this is going to eliminate 2 that. And, in fact, I don't think, I know it will. I 3 think that's a really good thing for law enforcement in 4 Florida. And I know Guy is going to do a great job in 5 having a good relationship with his whole team and the 6 different sheriffs throughout the state. That's going 7 to be a really good thing for Florida law enforcement 8 and for the people of Florida. 9 I know that they'll also work with our respective 10 agencies. You have quite a few law enforcement that 11 work in different -- for your secretaries, Commissioner 12 Bronson does, I do. Charlie, you have some, I think, 13 sworn deputies that do certain things. So it's going 14 to be good for all of us. So you've made an excellent 15 choice. We thank you. I know the sheriffs, they 16 wouldn't be here in the large quantity if they didn't 17 fully agree to that. So I thank you for the choice you 18 made. 19 GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you, Tom. And I'd also like 20 to thank Darryl McLaughlin for doing a great job in the 21 interim. FDLE is a great organization with really 22 highly trained, capable people. And Darryl has done a 23 fine job in these months and I have enormous respect 24 for him as well. So I'm excited about this. 25 Next we have a presentation for -- from the ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 16 1 Florida Reliability Coordinating Council. Ken Wiley is 2 here. And Lila Jaber who's the chairman of the PSC. 3 Sheriffs, you don't want to stick around and hear 4 about how our grid is much better than the rest of the 5 country? 6 (Laughter.) 7 Apparently not. It's a riveting subject. I'm 8 just shocked that you want to leave. 9 TREASURER GALLAGHER: I think the celebration is 10 starting now. 11 GOVERNOR BUSH: This is an important subject given 12 what happened with the blackout. I don't know if 13 anybody has seen the satellite picture of the blackout 14 night where there was a chunk, a third or maybe a fifth 15 of the country, almost in a triangle form that was 16 totally black. And the rest of, thankfully, Florida, 17 was totally lit. So it's important to get a review, I 18 think, of where we stand and why is Florida a little 19 bit different than Ohio. 20 MS. JABER: Thank you, Governor Bush and members 21 of the cabinet. We appreciate the invitation to be 22 here certainly. And I think the request is timely. 23 And we hope that between Ken and I we can give the 24 appropriate assurances and be available to answer 25 whatever questions you may have. Recognizing the ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 17 1 amount of work you have to do after this, we will keep 2 our comments brief. 3 I wanted to try to answer the obvious question 4 everyone has, Can the kind of blackout that the 5 northeast encountered be possible for Florida. And 6 while Ken and I are not going to say that anything is 7 100 percent reliable or 100 percent guaranteed, I think 8 that there are, as the governor mentioned, some factors 9 that exist within the state that make it far less 10 likely for the kind of blackout that the northeast 11 experienced to occur in Florida. 12 The first and perhaps the most important factor to 13 point out is just the very geography of the state of 14 Florida. We are a peninsular state which means quite 15 frankly that our import capability from other states is 16 limited. We are connected to what's called the eastern 17 inner connection grid by a series of transmission lines 18 into Georgia. But the reality is we only have an 19 8 percent import capability in the very optimal 20 conditions and that equates to about 3600 megawatts. 21 Because of that, Florida has had to be 22 self-sufficient, self-generating. And there is a 23 reasoned, incremental, very thoughtful approach to 24 understanding how much generation the state needs. And 25 we do that as an organization, as the commission, and ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 18 1 with conjunction of and the assistance of the 2 utilities, DEP, and the Florida Reliability Council, by 3 looking at a ten-year plan that we require the 4 companies to submit every year. And that ten-year plan 5 gives us not only the demands and the generation 6 facilities for the year that we're looking at, but also 7 ten years out in the future. 8 That's a very thoughtful approach to understanding 9 population growth, impact on electricity from other 10 factors such as industry, just people moving to Florida 11 generally. And we look at the ten-year site plans 12 every year. We have, the Florida PSC, has a statutory 13 authority to require improvements or construction based 14 on whether we believe the plan is adequate. 15 In addition to that, but related to those two 16 topics, is the notion that Florida utilities have 17 agreed to a 20 percent reserve margin, an excess 18 capacity that goes to serve load during peak times. 19 Now the national normal is 15 percent. But Florida 20 utilities that contribute to 75 percent of the state's 21 electric needs, Florida Power & Light, Progress Energy 22 Florida and TECO, have agreed to a 20 percent reserve 23 margin. 24 The third point, but also equally important, 25 relates to the transmission infrastructure. The ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 19 1 Florida companies have roughly 6,700 circuit miles of 2 transmission capacity and these are 230 kv lines or 3 higher transmission lines according to the Florida 4 Reliability Council load and resource plan. Peninsular 5 utilities -- those are the three largest Florida 6 utilities -- are planning to add another 500 circuit 7 miles of high capacity kv lines over the next ten 8 years. The PSC recently approved for Florida Power & 9 Light a 240 kv line that's making its way to the 10 governor and cabinet. 11 GOVERNOR BUSH: Is that -- what percentage 12 increase is that in terms of our capacity that's being 13 planned for the next ten years? 14 MS. JABER: I don't know what the percentage 15 increase would be, Governor. We can certainly look 16 that up and get back to you. But that in and of 17 itself, Governor, is probably not the complete picture. 18 What I did yesterday, to try to understand more of our 19 transmission infrastructure upgrades, I asked FP&L to 20 give me just a rough estimate of what they've spent in 21 the last couple of years on upgrades and that will give 22 us a better picture. 23 FP&L has invested $420 million the last four years 24 on transmission facilities. The next four years, they 25 expect to spend another 750 million. ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 20 1 Gulf Power, I asked the same question. And for 2 the year 2000 they spent 180 million. And for 2002 3 they spent 37 million. These are important numbers 4 because if you recall reading some of the fallout from 5 the blackout in the northeast, the accusations are that 6 the companies are not spending any money on upgrades 7 and infrastructure construction. So our companies are 8 doing both. Certainly we'll get back to you in terms 9 of what that adds in percentage numbers to capacity. 10 Finally, complicated systems like power grids, 11 it's very, very important to design a system where a 12 single disturbance won't affect the rest of the 13 customers that are served by other Florida companies. 14 This has been tested in Florida just last year. JEA 15 had a major power outage in their area. The Florida 16 Reliability Council, again, with the assistance of the 17 Florida investor-owned utilities, were able to spot 18 that quickly. They shut JEA down in terms of access to 19 the grid and the problem was isolated to that area 20 alone and no other customer in the Florida area saw any 21 effect of the outage. 22 Just to give you an idea of generation capacity 23 added, Governor, similar to the question you just asked 24 on transmission, the Florida PSC in the year 2002, we 25 approved an additional 2700 megawatts of generation ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 21 1 capacity. And the governor and cabinet sitting as the 2 siting board approved those. 3 And the year before that we approved collectively 4 almost 1800 megawatts and we intend to keep looking at 5 those costs and those constructions prudently, again, 6 in the context of a planning process which we are 7 finding out other states really don't have. 8 With that, I'm going to introduce Ken Wiley from 9 the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council for a more 10 detailed presentation. 11 GOVERNOR BUSH: Good morning. 12 MR. WILEY: Good morning, Governor and Cabinet. 13 Thank you, Chairman Jaber. The fact that Lila and I 14 are standing here together at the podium talking to you 15 about reliability in this state is indicative of the 16 fact that this industry and the Florida Public Service 17 Commission have been going hand in hand over the past 18 two to three decades worrying about and watching out 19 for the reliability of the transmission system in this 20 state. 21 I know the question in the forefront of our mind 22 here today is, Can this happen in Florida? And as Lila 23 indicated, we're not going to say it never can, but I'm 24 hoping to give you some assurances today that we at the 25 Florida Reliability Coordinating Council and the Public ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 22 1 Service Commission have been diligent and are diligent 2 in looking after this affair. 3 First, let me explain who the Florida Reliability 4 Coordinating Council is. Acronym is FRCC. It's all 5 the players that utilize the electric transmission grid 6 in peninsular Florida. We have 29 members' companies. 7 We're a non-profit corporation. Our membership 8 includes all the investor-owned utilities, the 9 municipal utilities, the electric co-ops, the power 10 marketers and generators, independent generators. 11 We have existed in one form or the other for four 12 decades. Our responsibility is primarily to set the 13 reliability standards for the transmission grid in the 14 state and to set the policies and procedures that all 15 users of that grid must follow whenever they operate in 16 peninsular Florida. We have an extremely close 17 relationship to the commission as you're aware. They 18 have the statutorial responsibility over reliability. 19 One way that they -- we and they work together is 20 that their staff participate in the day-to-day type 21 activities when we're discussing reliability and 22 operating matters in this state. They don't vote, but 23 they certainly have their input and they hear what 24 we're doing and we have very close coordination with 25 the commission staff. ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 23 1 You've probably read in the news lately that in 2 Congress there's a big push for Congress to enact some 3 national reliability legislation. That's one of the 4 titles in the energy bill that is now in the conference 5 committee in Congress. 6 The purpose of the reliability section is to 7 empower a national organization known as North American 8 Electric Reliability Council -- you've read that in the 9 news, NERC is the acronym -- with the ability to set 10 the standards and to have the mandatory capability to 11 enforce the compliance with those reliability 12 standards. 13 The enforcement mechanism that they would utilize 14 is to delegate to the ten regions such as the FRCC in 15 North America the power to enforce the particular -- 16 GOVERNOR BUSH: Doesn't that bill also require us 17 as taxpayers to subsidize in essence the utility 18 companies in areas of the country where they've not 19 made the same kind of investment in capacity and 20 transmission lines? 21 MR. WILEY: I'm speaking specifically to the 22 reliability title. 23 GOVERNOR BUSH: I'm speaking about since we 24 invest -- you-all have invested in capacity that goes 25 into the rate base and transmission line investments ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 24 1 have kept pace in our state -- contrary to what 2 happened in other places -- we've paid for that 3 investment as ratepayers and now the solution to do 4 something is that we all, and as a nation, are now 5 going to have to pay for the places where that 6 investment didn't take place. 7 MS. JABER: Governor Bush, there are aspects of 8 the bill that absolutely the Florida Public Service 9 Commission has sent comments to the Florida delegation 10 and other members of Congress that have participated in 11 that bill. And absolutely, you're right, there are 12 places where it calls for cost shifting. We've opposed 13 that. We've sent alternative language. 14 With regard to the reliability part of the 15 legislation, the Florida PSC has said, We have to 16 preserve our state jurisdiction in that regard. While 17 the goals are admirable with regard to a national 18 reliability standard, you have to defer to the state's 19 jurisdiction because quite frankly, we can impose 20 stricter standards and more efficiently. 21 So absolutely, it's not a perfect bill. We 22 understand that some parts of the bill may be 23 compromised out. We're anxiously awaiting to see what 24 parts. 25 GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay. ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 25 1 MR. WILEY: Actually, there's been some discussion 2 of taking the reliability section of the bill and 3 pulling it out of the energy bill and passing it 4 separately. But at this point there's a lot of 5 speculation of whether or not that will happen. And 6 certainly the FRCC has been fully supportive of the 7 reliability part of the energy bill and that's the only 8 thing that we get involved in. 9 GOVERNOR BUSH: But, I mean, we already have it. 10 So why would you want to federalize something that we 11 already do and we do apparently well enough to avoid 12 the problems that the midwest and the mid Atlantic 13 states faced? 14 MR. WILEY: Well, I'm hoping the remainder of my 15 discussion here will tend to answer that question, 16 Governor. But we certainly do not want anything to 17 happen at the national level that preempts Florida. 18 As a matter of fact, I've personally been involved 19 in drafting that national legislation just for the 20 reliability part of it and we have insisted and insured 21 that no preemption of state's authority, such as we 22 have in Florida, would ever happen. 23 The FRCC region does not cover the entire state of 24 Florida. It covers the peninsula. The area over in 25 the Panhandle which is where a few co-ops and Gulf ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC. . 26 1 Power serve are a part of the Southern Company which is 2 another reliability region. And electrically, they're 3 just not tightly tied to the peninsula. They are very 4 tightly tied to the north. And that's why they're not 5 a part of the FRCC. 6 GOVERNOR BUSH: Can I just simplify this? 7 MR. WILEY: Yes, sir. &nb |