A bill that would have given states along the Gulf Coast and South Atlantic a greater share of royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling failed to make it to the Senate floor for a vote Thursday.
USA Today reports supporters of the bill needed 60 votes to end a filibuster on the measure but were only able to get 51. Florida Democrat Bill Nelson voted to keep blocking the bill while Florida Republican Marco Rubio voted to move it to the floor where it stood a good chance of getting the 51 votes needed for passage.
Florida, which has an offshore drilling ban already in place, would not have been directly affected by the bill. But Nelson led the opposition, fearing the lure of royalties might pressure state leaders to open up energy exploration that could harm the environment and the beaches that generate billions for Florida’s economy each year.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the bill’s chief sponsor, said his measure would have created up to 280,000 new jobs by 2035 and $194 billion in new capital investment that would generate billions for cash-strapped governments.
The bill would have steered extra royalties to Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Those four states currently receive 37.5% of the revenue generated by offshore oil and gas drilling but the amount is capped at $500 million a year. Cassidy’s bill would have raised the cap to $835 million by 2027, among other provisions.
