Florida Democratic Party Chair Slams Republican Power Grab Of Office of Energy

Today the Florida House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee voted on House Committee bill PCB ANR 20-01 to move the Office of Energy out of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and into the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The move would centralize more power under the Governor’s office stripping authority from the duly elected Commissioner of Agriculture, Nikki Fried.

In response, Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party made the following statement:

“This bill is nothing more than a ridiculous partisan power grab. This is not about creating ‘efficiency’ in government, this is the governor consolidating his power.

“Commissioner Nikki Fried has done an excellent job leading the Office of Energy — which has been part of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) for nearly a decade. Under her leadership, the Office of Energy created the Florida Energy and Climate Plan, the state’s first comprehensive energy plan in a decade.

“If Republicans think that they can get away with such a blatant partisan power grab, they are sorely mistaken. Voters will not soon forget about the Republicans’ irresponsible attempt to play politics with Florida’s energy future.”