A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis says it wasn’t his fault that gas stations didn’t have generators in the wake of Hurricane Milton, but that despite statutes mandating generators in many circumstances, he has no appetite to tighten what he calls a “loophole” in the law.
While Florida law dictates that gas stations should be able to operate with “an alternate generated power source for a minimum of 72 hours … no later than 36 hours after a major disaster,” the law grandfathered in facilities built before 2006, and offered exemptions for gas stations based on arbitrary population cutoffs.
In counties with 300,000 people or more, the law applies to stations with “16 or more fueling positions.” In counties with between 100,000 and 300,000, the threshold is 12 fueling positions. And in smaller counties, the state says eight is enough. Chains with more than 10 locations must make a portable generator available, but the law seems to let smaller providers off the hook.
“I think that it was written in a way that if you want to conduct your operations to not be covered by that, you can. So I think there’s a lot of them … they’re in kind of like a loophole. They’ve made it that way,” DeSantis said Monday at SeaPort Manatee.
Over the weekend when rolling out public fuel depots, DeSantis talked tougher about gas stations failing to buy basic equipment that could have made a difference. He said that while “a lot of these gas stations, quite frankly, are supposed to have generators, very few of them have used them that I’ve seen, especially in the areas that were the hardest hit.”
The chief executive has backed down from such condemnations though, explaining the business case for these companies not to bother with quick power fixes, even as he offered vague assurances to “look at the issue.”
After all, Florida is more efficient than ever in restoring electricity.
“I think some of these stations, they reckon because we prestage all these linemen, they’re probably not going to be out for two, three weeks, like maybe in the past. And so I think they think it’s cheaper to maybe just kind of wait,” DeSantis said, adding that roughly 1 in 10 accounts are out now in Sarasota and Manatee, roughly four days since Milton exited the state.
DeSantis’ “sense” of the issue “is that you have to figure out how much do you want to be dictating from the state or how much do you want to just work collaboratively on some of this stuff. And to say we’re just going to mandate almost anything, I don’t know that that’s necessarily the best approach. I mean, the fact is, these are private businesses, the fuel supply is a private sector. We are not Venezuela.”
8 comments
Larry Gillis, Libertarian (Cape Coral)
October 14, 2024 at 2:50 pm
It is basic political common sense, to pick your fights rather than fight all of them.
A lot of these gas stations are individual franchises of particular brands. I’ll betcha real money that the cost of generators would pass directly onto the franchisee, not the Brand. That would put the Guv in a brass-knuckles fight in the Legislature with each and every one of the franchisees, all across Florida.
The Guv has taken a pass on this. Good choice.
(I wish my LPF Libertarian executive committee had as much common sense. Maybe we can rent the Guv now and then, for some advice).
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Make Florida Venezuela!
October 14, 2024 at 3:21 pm
This is what happens when free enterprise rules the world, supply and demand baby! Basic economics and so now Rhonda wants to stick her nose in this??? How about looking into the future at alternative fuels to get us off gas dependency! Ya short sided wack! Restore electricity so it gets knocked down again during the next storm, ya! So basically, the suggestion is a communist form of socialism gas station that is owned controlled and managed by the government???
Skeptic
October 14, 2024 at 5:35 pm
When Ronnie says “They’ve made it that way” to whom is he referring? The Republican supermajority of the Senate or the House? Or his predecessor who pocketed his veto pen (I assume this law precedes Ronnie’s own tenure)? Is that the same guy running to be U.S. Senator? Agree that it may have been difficult to do anything else without upsetting the lobbying trough, but man up to your greed and failure instead of the lame excuse of “they made me do it.” It might have cost extra cash for consumers of fuel, but so does insurance — get used to it.
A Day without MAGA
October 14, 2024 at 7:11 pm
The Florida Flintstones
A Day without Hurricane
October 14, 2024 at 7:17 pm
Their will be a tropical storm off the coast of Cuba next Monday,where it go nobody knows maybe Miami
waking up
October 15, 2024 at 7:46 am
This is most illustrative of how our GOP is crazy, whacked and twisted. So, can we agree that State government can mandate fire extinguishers in hotel buildings and safety equipment in public pools? Hopefully because these are longtime measures used for years. So, understand that citizens need gas after natural disasters to power generators for public health and safety. So the government passed a law to require generators at gas stations to help run the pumps. Makes sense, right? But the GOP added loopholes such as a grandfather clause. Fair enough. But then, gas stations don’t comply and citizens can’t get gas. So our Governor says oh that’s ok, the law is too harsh on the poor gas station owners. What? Then he compares the common sense law to a banana republic dictatorship? What? This same assclown is using tax dollars to give free gas to whoever shows up in affected areas. Why not buy generators and give them to gas stations and require them to sell gas in affected areas and collect the State gas tax to help pay for the generators? On the other hand, Rona and the GOP are fine telling women that they have to have the baby after being raped? And just fine spending tax dollars to fight the citizens trying to have electors decide whether to amend the Constitution to protect women’s rights to make medical decisions about pregnancy? This is seriously twisted and we have to vote the GOP out of office in Washington DC and Florida. These clowns are dangerously hurting our health, wellbeing and freedoms!
Retired state employee
October 17, 2024 at 4:39 pm
Florida Statutes 526.143 requires generators for gas stations of a certain size in a certain population must be wired to operate by generator. This law was adopted in 2006. Is the governor saying he has not upheld this law?
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