Title: Gulf of Mexico Range Complex

Summary: Supports extension of current moratorium on drilling in Gulf of Mexico east of Military Mission Line.

Full Text:
WHEREAS, defense is the State of Florida's fourth la rgest industry, accounting for more than 775,000 jobs, $80 billion in economic impact, and percent of the regional economy of Northwest Florida, and WHEREAS, testing and training activities conducted from Florida's air and sea bases are considerably de pendent on unconstrained access to the Eastern Gulf of Mexico airspace and seaspace, and WHEREAS, the GOMEX Range Complex is a unique national resource, and WHEREAS, the range is larger than all other training ranges inside the continental United States combined, stretching from the Florida Panhandle south to Key West and encompassing the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and WHEREAS, surrounding the GOMEX Range Complex are numerous United States Department of Defense installations, ranges, and WHEREAS, originally a place to practice air-to-air engagements and air-to-surface bombing and strafing, the GOMEX Range Complex has served the nation for over years, and WHEREAS, after World War II, the GOMEX Range Complex was used to test surface-to-air rockets against drones and, with the advent of fifth-generation aircraft at Tyndall and Eglin Air Force Bases, has been used extensively to test future weapons systems, and WHEREAS, the military missions require day and nigh taccess to the airspace, from the surface up to 60,000 feet, for high speed flying and maneuvering, as well as day and night access to the seaspace, from the sea surface to the subsurface areas, for use by ships and submarines, and WHEREAS, the military uses live ammunition and missiles against remotely piloted full-scale targets and drones, resulting in large debris fields of dangerous objects, and WHEREAS, for well over a decade and through two presidential administrations, the United States Department of Defense policy has been to keep the Eastern Gulf of Mexico free from obstruction, and WHEREAS, oil exploration and offshore platforms placed in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico could jeopardize military missions and severely reduce the state's appeal in kee ping military installations, and WHEREAS, without access to airspace in order to test modern and emerging weapons systems and train the aircrews that support such systems, Florida would lose its primary reason for hosting the GOMEX Range Complex, and WHEREAS, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) of 2006 restricts oil and gas leasing in all areas east of the Military Mission Line established at 86 41' W. longitude and bans oil and gas leasing within miles of the Florida coastline in the East ern Planning Area and in a portion of the Central Planning Area until 2022, and WHEREAS, attempts to reduce restrictions on oil and gas exploration and production arose in 2013 and 2015, when the members of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives developed and introduced bills to change GOMESA without addressing the military need to maintain the GOMEX Range Complex, and WHEREAS, in 2013, the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act was introduced by United States Representative Doc Has tings of Washington to propose changes in oil and gas drilling and exploration locations, and WHEREAS, the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act of 2015 was introduced by United States Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, to increase oil and gas exploration and prod uction, most notably through reducing the exclusion area east of the Military Mission Line from miles to miles offshore and through shortening WHEREAS, the United States Secretary of Defense, the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and fifteen members of the United States Congress from Florida have written letters requesting an extension to the moratorium, which is essential for developing and sustaining the military's future capabilities and for guaranteeing long-term capabilities for future test missions that may enable new technologies such as hypersonic fifth-generation fight ers, advanced subsurface weapons systems, and other projects that require enlarged testing and training footprints well beyond 2022, and WHEREAS, without the certainty of an extension to the moratorium, investment in upgrades in telemetry, tracking, and other important improvements are at risk, and WHEREAS, in March 2017, twenty local county commissions, chambers of commerce, local economic development councils, and military affairs committees drafted resolutions in support of the moratorium and submitted them to the Florida Legislature, NOW, THEREFORE, Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Florida: HR 2018 hr0319 FL OR I DA HO US EO FR EP RE SE NT A TI VE SThat State of Florida must maintain a united front in supporting an extension of the current moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico east of the Military Mission Line. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to allow drilling east of the Military Mission Line would mean loss of range areas and possible relocation of aircraft and bases to other unrestricted range areas. BE IT FURTHER RE SOLVED that the Florida House of Representatives supports an indefinite extension of the restriction, specified in the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, oil and gas leasing in all areas east of the Military Mission Line established at 86 41' W. longitude and indefinite extension of the Act's ban oil and gas leasing within miles of the Florida coastline in the Eastern Planning Area and in a portion of the Central Planning Area.