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PRESS RELEASE: Rep. Keith Perry Named As One of LCVs’ “Dirty Dozen in the States”

published on: October 12, 2016

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: October 12, 2016

Contact: Aliki Moncrief, Executive Director, [email protected], 850-443-7609 or Jonathan Webber, Deputy Director, [email protected], 954-593-4449

Twitter: @fcvoters

Rep. Keith Perry Named As One of LCVs’ “Dirty Dozen in the States”

List targets the most anti-environment state-level candidates in the country

Tallahassee, FL (October 12, 2016) — Today Florida Conservation Voters named Rep. Keith Perry as one of the “Dirty Dozen in the States.” Modeled after the League of Conservation Voters’ trademark federal “Dirty Dozen,” the state version highlights twelve of the most anti-environment state-level candidates from around the country who state leagues are working to defeat in the upcoming election.

“Rep. Keith Perry’s career-long support for fracking and oil drilling in Florida makes him an obvious choice for this list,” said Jonathan Webber, Deputy Director, Florida Conservation Voters. “By naming Keith Perry as one of the ‘Dirty Dozen in the States,’ we are highlighting his misguided priorities for North Florida. Voters deserve to know the truth about Keith Perry’s pro-fracking record, which seriously threatens our drinking water and world-renowned network of springs.”

There are many reasons why Perry has earned this dubious distinction, and a few of them are:

  • Perry has consistently voted for pro-fracking legislation. He supported HB 191, which passed the House during the 2016 legislative session but died in committee in the Senate. What’s worse, Perry voted against several amendments to HB 191 that would have required additional environmental and public health protections, among them, amendments that would have required the fracking industry to study the impact of fracking chemicals on prenatal health and effects of fracking on air quality. Perry supported similar legislation in 2015 and 2013.
  • Perry supported HB 7005, which delays the cleanup of Lake Okeechobee. This harmful water legislation eliminates deadlines for reducing agricultural pollution into the Lake and further weakens water quality protections. With the recurring discharges of millions of gallons of polluted water into coastal rivers, rampant algal blooms, and destruction of marine life, HB 7005 is a step in the wrong direction for cleaning up Lake Okeechobee.
  • In 2012, Perry voted in committee for HB 695, a bill that would have expanded onshore oil drilling. The bill would have allowed oil and gas exploration and drilling in state parks, forests, preserve, or other public lands. During that same session, Perry voted for HB 87, which would have given tax breaks to oil companies to expand oil production in Florida.

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Florida Conservation Voters Action Fund is committed to electing pro-conservation candidates to public office.

Paid political advertisement paid for by Florida Conservation Voters Action Fund, 1700 N. Monroe St. #11-286, Tallahassee, FL 32303 independently of any candidate. Not approved by any candidate.