On Thursday, August 27th AIF President & CEO Barney T. Bishop debated Leon County Commissioner Bob Rackleff on the issue of oil and natural gas drilling off the coast of Florida at a meeting of the Capital City Tiger Bay Club.  In 2005, AIF was the first statewide business association to endorse oil and gas exploration and production in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  Since then, AIF has taken the lead on the drilling issue and last session advocated for a proposal to create a process by which the Florida Cabinet would have the authority to approve future drilling projects in Florida waters.  Under this proposal, oil and gas companies would have to submit a non-refundable 1 million dollar application fee to the state of Florida in order to explore state-controlled waters that stretch between 3 to 10 miles offshore.